The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-01-17
By WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1945. by King Features Syndicate


made for the contention that they were not
slapped on the soldiers by outsiders but in
vented by the troops themselves Early in
the draft, when the new men were Just learn
ing army dialect they were impressed by the
term "GI' meaning government issue or
| standard stuff and called themselves CTS"
Surely that could not have come from the
civilians because only a service man could
know what it meant. About the same time
the use of the name joe became common
among them, too, but, at first the two were
employed separately. Speaking of another man
in his outfit, soldier would say he is good
Joe," but it was not term of personal ad-
dress in the case of buddy in the aruy
OF the first world war. A man would not
sing out what outfit, Joe?'' as his father had
saluted strangers in the same cloth with what
outfit, buddy?'
| Damon Runyon, who is to our native slang
as Henry Mencken is to our more substantial
and enduring if quaint. forms of expression
says that for forty years "a Joe has meant
a jasper, joskin, and yokel and he may
be right but I don't know where it was so
used if SO and I have been around many of
the places where he has been during much
of the same time, always with ear stretched
out. Joskin never encountered until he used
| it few days ago in deprecating "GT' and
| 'GI joe as undignified but in my time Joe"
was applied exclusively to immigrant Italian
laborers on the railroad and other construc-
| ton gangs, and that was long ago. The boss
would yell hey, Joe'' and bunch of them
would come a'running. Some people mostly
drummers and few inexperienced travellers
who wanted to seem worldly, used to call all
Pullman porters, George" practice which
was deity put down by some subtle propa-
| panda eaSed into rrinf hv the late
Keely, the former tyrant Of the city room
OF the Chicago Tribune who ended his aggres.
sive caree. in the milky role OF press-agent
and goodwill provocateur for Pullman in a
strange and friendly association with men to
whom he would not pass the time Of day in
the elevator when he was boss. Nobody who
knows his way around calls porter GEORGE
these days and anyone who really wants to
call porter by name usually can find it in
the little frame at the end Of the car. I'M
migrant Polish laborers were called Steve
and the Irish who came earlier were called
| mick" or Mike
| Otherwise, though, and speaking from my
own experience, Joe seems to have been
originally baseball term, denoting a nom
descript but earnest sort OF fellow who made
awful, awkward mistakes and looked very I'M
promising in the spring but later opened his
pores, got the hang of things and stood up
all right. My memory has it that it was
first used, aside from its application to the
Italian laborer, about the spring Of 1880 when
AL Lopez, the Cuban catcher came up to
join Uncle Wilburt Robinson's Brooklyn club
which always looked hopeless in Clearwater
but generally floundered into the first division
at the end Asked if he intended to keep Lo-
PEI Uncle Wilburt said he didn't think so
because if you had one Of those Spicks you
had to get another to room with him. Other
wise the one wouldn't have anyone to talk
to in his own language. He didn't always
know his players names or personalities and
here was a highly intelligent young man des-
tined to be great catcher who hadn't even
caught his eye yet. During that camp Of
the essayists reported that Uncle Robby would
start the season, as usual, with Dazzy Vance
and lot of guys named Joe but probably
would do all right usual and that be-
lieve, is the true origin of the expression "a
lot Of guys named Joe" from which the SOL
diers, in turn, adopted their Joe and with about
the same meaning.
Used by civilians and the press and radio
however, I agree that "GI' and "GI joe
do sound familiar patronizng and undignified
and presently will fade.
The French soldier was not called "Poilu"
in this war. possibly because he longer
wears the Whskers that brought the name
down on him in 1914. It stuck through the
first war even though, with the introduction
VI CIlc SdS-ILdSh WHICH WdS IOI ucSiSIeu W
accommodate those horse-hair square-riggers
and galways, the whiskers had to come off.
Mr.. Kipling publicized the name Tommy
Atkins and the British people did call their
enlisted soldiers Tommies and with no dis
respect, either, but rather with affection and
the modern British troops, certainly no longer
the ignorant Kpling Tommes of the sluns,
did not resent it.
The most horrible mistake of this kind was
committed in the First World war when the
First division went to France. Some we'll
meaning but silly Englishman thought that
because they were nephews of Uncle Sam
they should be called Sammies and some of
their papers took it up, although anguished
Americans writhed, cringed and frothed as
they tried to explain why it just wouldn't do.
Pursuing the campaign to imflict this awful
thing on the American soldier, another Eng
lishman said it was term of endearment in
vented by our gallant French allies. They had
called the troops Les Amies' which had the
| effect of "Sammies'' if you closed your eyes,
held your nose and said it fast.
God rest his SOUL he was man OF many
good works so will not identify the American
editor who thought this a fine idea and
attempted to stick it the American soldier
by ordering his correspondent with the First
division to use it always in his dispatches.
Fortunately, after few months, he realized
what he was doing and dropped the name
| "Sammies'' cold. A man cannot be forced
to testify against himself so will never re.
veal who the CORRESPONDENT WAS who hecap,e