^ * ri^ni BY OUR OWN P r\ well al // l\ laet yere wa f member al m / a . | was i mene fii~ \jcL| nusses this 3 ^ . their wont b ^"w 'fTnv^j 411 *?ne 61111 V v * \Z.y /f?^ me hay al 01 Jfo f me ah < * hear in this ' YTV\ J\\A wishing 1 wa \ JI I ]V you are theii V--V' ulk^K^M 1 everything. ^U^J but 1 know the,r 80 wha Rr-j^fnl ime hear ft i I I 116 be 840818 I /r^V^Cxi vl* beside what v # ilc*v^y YE i of ever felt "WhfATEjIn" 'wk me41 wen y? ] WWWC jir? w* per day even Aggie at hon J or pendlslduB ile be satisfide beside by beeing down hear as a soldger i UBICIU^ iu UUU UL unnug IU gv UO' from what la beeing ced heai ennywelgh aa the me8t aargint la pli aawdoff treea out of the wooda in t put on a d'ubbel fire garde so they mail/it pretty mutch like home only *- alnt or the old man flont alt arqund out aide of haveihg your foaks a ro peepil that your thinking aumthini sell them 8umthlng or maik your boi *.. you are worth, it 8hood be a grate far a8 I can maik out no one ia beein this criamua ft that ought to maik was a kid the moat successful criar junk from sandy claua. after a wi pile i got so much as the pile i gave well al by both those piles the ? hes geting al a lady rushes out of coat ft i beeing next to the car witcl aura city she throws her arnjs about shes not that kind & ced you dear much & wandering what we can do it was sum fur coat she had on 1 coo ft 1 ced that is very nice but we havi ^ course not but you are defending ou did vary little defending only offend weigh we ladles are making up bos you like best, well al it sgunded Ji my littel sister millle when i was a - a tool chest or -a pare of donaho' is up to you we of got so we talk eye we are libel to. wear them as unde man A i lit a cigaret havelng no eon their is dozens pf wimmcn lik theyre a grate trantch al they sertai tulling in that fur coat for a cnppe the other nite whoced the wlmmen k, we will know al on the twei 5 thousands & millions of peepul who . . the foaks can get stufT to us & we ci ime not detaled on dubbel Are dui with the candels on it. crismus coc & the other pile that were giv up to me to pull no sob stuff about \ its not as much as lots of the poor into this.here army"al i give them e it is. well al mary crismus as we ; offls. . ? ' your f iKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKKrtteKKHKKHjI HER CF BY ROSCOE DO not pity me n. * Indeed you are in et Glad that I bore and gla< Glad that my Wood may I - "Somewhere in FranceV v ne near a a i cm*, my ny* 6 And now 'tis Christmas And earth's most preciou 8 No, do not sympathize?J Indeed, you do not utidei >^ gave him freely?as m; And noto ho doleful so.n$ 5 No! Help me to be bravi Think of the glory and a For this is Christmas Day And over seas of space I (Copyright Curtis Publishing Coi |l INSIGNIA FOB SECOND LIKUTEN onia Second lieutenants now are an thorized to wear a distinguishing in signia. A gold bar. as distinct fror the silver bar of the first lieutenanl will denote the lower rank. On th overcoat sleeves the second llenten ants may wear single knots of brat one-eighth of an inch wide.. The die tinguishing feature will be its coloi brown. "Mary Crismus" UNG W.VLARDNER hear it la geting clost to the day witch m wen we got oar bonenuases you reilyan was ten dolars moar that what yrs crismus ai but their wont be no boneere al ft perapps It Is jfast as well that e no bonenusses. mlyun last yere was yweigh by new yeres ft what did it get aly a better drag with Aggie you know itter you are lafflng to think i will be tranelng camp sitting on my thum ft s wear i aint witch wood be home wile ft haveing a big time with the girls ft probly i will be wishing i was home al there aint-mutch chants of my geting ts the ust of laying around ft wishing, guest it wont be so bad after all. wont be geting no bonenuss of munny Ide to know their are other bonenusses Ore mnnny sutch as fealing better than befoar. witch Is sum bonenuss beleev iur In good heltb ft geting 3 good meels if ime not home if i know everybody & 3d is-o. k. ft not sick with newmonyou i knowing that ime doing the rite thing n the stead of loafing around all day & ck to the offls the next day. r wo wont have sutch a poor crismus inning sum feed & we are haveing little he bareux wear we can-lite them up & wont burn down the bareux witch will nothing is like home wear your mother ft cuss out the neckties ft bum seegars. und tho what is crlsihus al but showing g other about them be sides trying to is think your worth 20 dolars moar than s time then for us_soldgers al beeaus as ig thought moar about than the soldgers us feel pretty goo#al because when i nus was when i got the largest am't of le they maid me see that It wasent the soiager nas got no kick. take tne pne a limazene the other day In a big fur i had come into the trancing camp from my neck al like i wish Aggie wood .only soldger we are thinking a bout you so to maik crismus nice for you. well al I d ieel the dplars in the seelskin allmost a never met befoar have we. she ced of' ir homes arent you & i ced so far i have ling the sarjint. she laffed & ced enny:es for you boys out hear & what woodl list like the old man when he wood ask kid to find out what wood i rather have w skates, well 1 ced yourself lady it srything. only dont maik the box so big! rclose. she ced you .are a nobel young teback vou know me al. a that al" rushing, a-round & beleev me nly are bighearted & 1 beleev after nes1 of seconds that the guy was rite hear will win this here war. ity fifth of this month that their aye are with us & even if we can get home in get stuff to them & ennyweigh i hope ,y to watch.that tree outen the woods 168 but onct a year, hay al. Ing isent so small either al but it isent what ime giving becaus its not mutch & 1 ducks have had to give, wen i joind lyself & they are welcome to It sutch as ust to say the nite befoar leaving the riend, PRIVATE JIM. g [RISTMAS GILMORE STOTT ft or call me sad. tor?I am glad! i as well f gave; help to free, to save, 'E'en that I do not know; fi close whispered: "Go!" . 5 Day?and he is there? 5 s hour I've learned to share. four eyes are wet! 'stand?or you forget. y cheerful gift? r my voice shall lift, i, deny my tears; llay my fears; in every land, touch his hand. mpany) X - GEN. PERSHING'S AID HERE Lieut. Col. Nelson E_ Margetta, i- personal aid to General Pershing, has h returned to the United States with six army officers who also have been at the front. They will map out and . conduct at the training camps here a e course of. Instruction In European i- war methods. d Col. Margetta says the progress of h American soldiers has been unusual. \ He says the men overseas nre eager for their mail from home iND CAMP U. S. First To Morally / BY JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR. At Present Serving as a Y. M. C. A. Secretary at Camp Dlx, Wrightstown, N. J. One of the most encouraging things in connection with America's entrance' into the war is the fact that, through the Commission on Training Camp Activities, established as a department in the offices of the' Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, with Mr. Raymond B. Fosdick as its chairman, the period of military training of such large numbers of our young men is to be used to bring about the highest degree of de of these splendid youths. A highly Important feature of this work is being carried oifc at the request of the Commission on Training ' Camp Activities, by the War Camp Community Service, whose particular j field of endeavor lies in the 126 com- . munltles adjacent to our great train- ( Ing campB, to finance which work an effort Is now on foot in five thousaffd communities throughout the country to raise the sum of $4,000,000. Fighting Loneliness Experience has shown that-, when , enlisted men have free time many of < them want to get away from camp : routine and seek these nearby com- i munities. Within the camps they ? are under strict discipline. When they are on leave they are free to do ; as they choose. The War Camp Community Service is seeing to it that the i recreation provided for them in these : communities adjacent to tne camps is clean aid wholesome. It is opening up channels through which the soldiers may find substitutes for the normal relationships of life from which they have been suddenly cut | off. It is making it possible for them : to meet the townspeople and provid- : ing antidotes for. the depression of : social loneliness, which is so real a I menace to the moral strength of the | men. i This work should not be confused witA the splendid efforts of the Young Women's Christian Association, the Knights of Columbus and < other organizations under the direction of the Fosdick Commission inside the campB. The work of the War Gamp Community Service outside the camp is supplementary to ! D. S. SOLDIERS' CHRISTMAS CONTRAST WITH COLD, ( THEIR FORE Christmas in trench and camp will be very different this year from the i Yule-tide known by our soldiers in 1 the war between the states and in the I Revolutionary War. This year, greens, welcome packages from home, entertainments, dinners and cosy gatherings in recreation centers will mark the Christmas festivities. Quick transportation, a highly organized mail system and telegraph and telephone communication will bring substantial gifts and tender messages. Through the untiring efforts of the Quartermaster's Department, the American soldier today Is not only well fed but warmly clad and comfortably quartered. Think of the contrast between the Christmas of today and the Christmas of Civil War days. Following are a few facts from the "Reminiscences" of General John B. Gordon, C. 8. A. t "A Melancholy Wreck" "My men were winter-quartered in the dense pine thickets on the rough hills that border the Occoquan. Christmas came, and was to be made r as Joyous as our iurroundings would 1 permit by a genuine Southern egg- 1 nog with our friends. The country < was scoured far and near for eggs, < which were exceedingly scarce. Of 1 sugar we still had at that time a rea- i sonable supply, but our small store i of eggs and the other ingredients i could not be Increased In all the country round abput. Mrs. Gordon i superintended the preparation of this < favorite Christmas beverage, and at j last the delicious potion was ready, i All stood anxiously waiting with t camp cups In hand. The servant start- i ed toward the company with full and l foaming bowl, holding It out before him with almost painful care. He t had taken but a few steps when he 1 strnck his toe against the uneven i floor of the rude quarters and stum- c bled. The scattered fragments of s crockery and the aroma of the wasted < nectar marked the melancholy wreck ( of our Christmas cheer. 1 Organize |3|S Against Enemy PP! these efforts, and Is done in order I that much of the benefits derived || from them may not be lost. H I We non-combatants cannot set up U I moral standards, for the fighting men | that we are not living up to ourselves. I Relieve that It Is our pre- HJU II V eminent duty to live cleaner lives, to , Bet a higher standard of morality for ^^3 ourselves, as one great means of neiping me ngtiuiig meu. n iu? uuu- ,y combatant8 will do this. It will be a JF^MV^JI tremendous support to the soldiers in Prance and will be a mighty factor [1/ fVOJfl for military victory. For it has been lllj I ]j *11 estimated that soldiers, physically ? I and morally clean, mean an active I I // jj IIU army of at least twenty-five per cent yjL^J^ H more men on duty. A[W?fl|^nJ . Helping to Win the War Ujl ft W jjlj It is a splendid thing to be able to BJlUjjflu/ say that the United States is the first jflTJu JjU nation in the history of the world to P-Jw II LI organize morally against the enemy. KHKkmLH That is the meaning of all this work ml fln Bo?gn under the direction of the Fosdick ?|jjji ffi] wj Commission, inside and outside the jc=2^?-~ a in that will prevent them from being in- \ /dTfm IN capacitated through disease, and that 1^1111* Iu will bring them home an asset to the BlliTl'"| nation and not a liability. I want to emphasizo the fact that the work of the War Camp Community Service is entirely constructive VH and in no wpy restrictive of the sol- BT jfl tiler's liberty. At home he has bis HI j III friends, his clubs or associations, his VfJ I IB local dances, moving picture theatres, UJI books and outdoor sports. This or- MrKxJx^flfl ganization is supplying him with sub- HI stitutes to occupy his time when he >vH is on leave from camp. It is building w^\ [ l(ifl him club houses and recreation build- ymitttJ ings, comfort stations and swimming w pools. It is giving him books to read. H HI III jocials and receptions, smokers, HkH^H Ug vaudeville, athletics, concerts and |j|il motion picture shows. All these will HI uW~wEwl be at bis disposal. He is free to H||| UTfJy choose them or the unwholesome- RH Hlifl some amusements which scar the * body and sear the soul. No one ques- fffl tions what the choice of the average 'III .hnlnumt manlv American bov will O W TODAY IN STRONG |f?? HEERLESS YULETIDES SrpH* FATHERS SPENT IN FIELD |||B "The winter was a severe one and the men suffered greatly?not only k-wWtfW for want of sufficient preparation, but, because those from farther south ^ were unaccustomed to so cold a ell- Hf mate. There was much sickness In :amp. It was amazing to see the large number of country boys who + had never had the measles. Indeed. It* It 'seemed to me that they ran {jFjf/ through the whole catalogue of complaints to which boyhood find even ||rYC-jJ babyhood are subjected. They had I 3verything almost except teething, T ( \rJL. aettle-rash, and whooping-cough. I [> -Qthor ihinir anmo nf them were af- Y aicted with this latter disease." /IgiPAfifc Barefooted In Snow C\^\JfJn Piske, in his history of the United ' Hates, says, "The dreadful sufferings ?J )f Washington's army at Valley Forge have called forth the pity and Vwjrj k"*" idmiration of historians, but the point p9 j ' if the story is lost unless we realize 7 4 :hat the misery resulted from gross \? v nismanagement rather than from the V \ ' < poverty of the country. As the poor V i soldiers marohed, their route could \ f . )e traced fh the snow by the blood - I J ;hat oozed .from their bare, frost-bit- ?1 J :en feet. On the 23rd of December. I Washington Informed Congress that H| f le had in camp (2,898 men unfit for , iuty because they are barefoot and /1 itherwise naked). For want of blancets many were fain to sit up all BlW light by fires instead of taking comortable rest in a natural and com"Cold 'and hunger daily added nany to the sick list and in the :rowded hospitals, which were for the nost part mere log huts or frail wig- ~ , vams woven of twisted boughs, men I I 11 lometimes died for want of straw to >ut between themselves and the II II rozen ground on which they lay." j J Montgomery tells us, wnue Howe j ind his officers were living luxurious- L y in Philadelphia, Washington's p nen, naked and starving, were dying | U >f putrid fever on the frozen hill- It I I ildes of Valley Forge. They were U ft lying, too. before the good news LI" ^ :ould reach them that the French 3 ling would certainly aid America."