Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 113, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 June 1917 — Page 3

Message to the Trenches

By John Elkins

(Copyright. 1817, by W. G. Chapman.) “I >don’t care how much I loved a man, if I found he was a coward that would settle it for me.” Ve“ra Garth spoke with considerable emphasis on the word “coward.” The young man under the tree beside 'her looked questioningly in her face before he replied. „ “Different people may have different meanings for that term ‘coward,’ ” he said. “It has but one meaning to me, In this case,” she answered. “I know-—you think we are both talking about the same thing, but we’re not. You are talking about heroism. I’m talking about war. I say war is just exactly what Sherman called it. The marvel to me is that in this year of our Lord, nearly twenty centuries since he came, that his words are entirely disregarded, and wholesale murder is sanctioned by sane men.” “And with this country at war, you will not fight?” she questioned. “I have not said that. If this country were Invaded there would be but one thing to do.—No-mancouldseea wild beast falling upon a woman or child without springing to their aid. But I don’t believe we will have war, and I don’t believe in Inviting it by our foolish words and deeds.” “Foolish !” she blazed out. “So it is foolish to be patriotic, to stand up for your country!” “Not when it is right. But there is a bigger word than ‘country,’ and that Is humanity.” —— —; Vera looked at Gilbert Lewis with something akin to contempt. She could not understand the fine distinction the young man made. Like thou* sands of others, she had fired up at the thought of “insult to the flag,” “love of country,” etc., and had not gone beyond the boundaries of her own land to consider a world republic. In some ways she was undoubtedly right, but her mental equipment could not follow the line of Gilbert Lewis’ thought; and they went on with the discussion till she became so exasper-

“I Despise a Coward!”

ated that she exclaimed with intense' disgust: “Wfell, I want you to understand- I despise a coward!” She had risen from the rustic seat, nnd turned away as she spoke. Her tone and manner roused something in Lewis that drove him to say: “Do you mean that for me?’ “I hope it doesn’t apply to you,” she answered, with a strong emphasis on <the “hope.” “If you have any doubt —about me 'being a coward .I—l think there is innthing more to be said.” He turned and walked away. Vera, blazing with the heat of the -discussion, said nothing to call him back. She Ipved him, and had told ?him so when he asked her. But just now she was thinking of nothing but her disappointment, as it seemed to her, in the patriotism of the man she had placed so high. Lewis, also disappointed In the uncomprehending. mind of Vera, and hurt to the heart by her words, made no move toward reconciliation/ And so silence fell between them. Vera, with the pride which has been bred by the foolish convention of ages, would not make the first move by acknowlefiing she wished for an amnesty, so two young people who really loved each other, and whose hearts were breakihg over the separation, went their several ways, and tried to forget. - In less than three weeks Vera heard that Lewis had sailed, in the interest of his firm, for England. Vera worked . -4q the war relief and indnstriously knitted socks for the soldiers. One day a friend laughingly asked her if she was knitting them for Gilbert Lewis. Vera flushed and answered sharply: “I thought you knew these were for soldiers!!* The girl answered quite as sharply: "Well, didn’t you know he was one? He’s in the trenches In France now.” "No,” said Vera, “I didn’t know.” "His mother has come back from California, and she’s heartbroken over It."

One day a case of necessary article* from far-off American came to the boys in the trenches. z One of them in high glee put on the pair of fine wool socks handed to him. .“Wy word!” he exclaimed. “What’s that in the toe?” Quickly drawing off the sock, he extracted a piece of folded paper, opened it and read with a smile that lengthened into a hearty laugh. Then he read aloud to the others ‘the lines: “I hope these socks will fit G. L. If he is at the front. But if he’s not, why then —Oh, well, They’ll do their little stunt Upon some other hero’s feet, But never help in a retreat.” _2_. “Hello! who’s *O. L.?”’ called out the reader of the note. “What fellow has those initials? He can have the note, but not the socks!” *0 “They’re mine!” laughed Lewis, “but it isn’t meant for me.” “Hold on!” cried the other. “Here’s a name! Vera M. G.” Lewis held out his hand for the bit of paper. “It is for me,” he said in a low voice. The other, seeing his face, said: “Here, pal! the socks are, too.” One day a note came to Vera from Mrs. Lewis saying she would like to see her. The girl sank down completely unnerved. What if something terrible had happened to Gilbert! How could she face his mother? She had never met Mrs. Lewis. Perhaps she might think her in some way responsible for his going to the front. But summoned up her courage and went. The mother showed her a copy of her lithe rhyme, and told her how glad he had been to get it, and read her his letter. In it he had said he was not there because he believed in war, but for another reason. Vera wondered what the other reason was. It was over a month when Mrs. Lewis sent for her again. The Instant she saw the woman’s face she divined what had happened. “Tell me!” she almost shrieked, “tell me what has happened?” “He is missing. They did not let me know- —because they hoped to hear something—but now—they seem to have given him up.” “Oh, no Ind I” sobbed Vera. “I can’t, I won’t, believe it!” The two women wept together, and the elder one knew then how the girl had loved him. One day a London postmarked letter came to Mrs. Lewis. It was,signed by a woman’s name unfamiliar to her. The letter ran: “From one mother to another whose son has been offered up in the great sacrifice, I feel that whatever concerned these dear ones will be of interest. Your son Gilbert became acquainted 'with my daughter, and called here often to see her. My abS was brought home from France badly wounded, and Mr. Lewis was with him a good deal. George worried so over having to leave the ‘boys’ and his duty at the front that the physician said that weighed heavily against his clyinces of recovery. I was quite ill at the time, and Edith, my daughter, feared his death would also prove to be mine. On£ day your son asked George if it would cheer him up any if he ' should go and take his place. At once George brightened up and asked him if he would, and would he tell the boys in his company how he longed to get back. M r - Lewis promised to go. We did not think he meant more than to humor the poor boy, but we soon found that he had kept his word. “George rallied, so that he was able to go back, but was killed by a shell before Verdun. I am writing this in the hope that any blame you may feel for my daughter and myself for having without any intention in a way caused your son to go to the front, may be forgotten in knowing of the splendid heroism of the sacrifice. It was not so much for the defense of France as it was the saving of two lives. You must Indeed be uplifted! You must be very proud to be the mother of such a son. He was dear, too, to us; and it is because of this the mother of another hero speaks to you.” Again the women wept together. The tone of the letter so surely meant that all hope was gone. Vera went home with many new thoughts surging through her mind. The man she had called a coward was the truest hero she had ever known. Then another torturing thought came into her brain. No doubt he had learned to love this English girl, and if it were possible he still lived he would go to her.

These thoughts drove Vera to sleepless nights and harrowing days, so that her only hope of remaining sane seemed to get away for a time tp other scenes. But even that did not help, so she returned before she had expected to. She sought at once the Lewis home. The mother meeting her, and seeing the drawn, haggard face of the girl, felt she must break what she had to say with some ta'ct. “I have news,” she said. “Oh, quick! quick! tell me!” sobbed the girt. “He was taken prisoner, and—” “Mother! I can’t wait!” cried a voice just; back of her, and Gilbert Lewis held the girl he loved in his arms. • .... ,

Ownership of Railroads.

No country in Europe owns all of Its railroads, but the movement toward government-owners^,..has made considerable progress. Where government ownership does not exist the government exercises a large degree of control. In Germany most of the railroads belong to the various states of the empire, by far the longest mileage being in the hands of Prussia. Kussla has more state-ownership than private ownership of railroads and Great Britain has no public ownership.

EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

The American woman will have a tailored suit and little cares she what the French or her own countrymen maysaytotliecontrary.Foritseems costumers made up their minds that the hour of the tailored suit had struck and that it should bd superseded this season by a one-piece frock and a seperate coat. But the foreordained failed of accomplishment. The American women liked the one-piece frock and continued to love the tailored suit, which flourishes now even more than ever. The tailored suit is at its best and smartest when it is made of strong, well woven fabrics and fashioned along clean simple lines. New fabrics come and go in the world of fashion and some of them make beautiful suits, but they never displace serge and cheviot and tweeds. The place of these is fixed and the good taste that selects them is never questioned. In keeping with this quality of per-

Innovations ln the wedding procession that glveJt a spice of novelty are as welcome as the flowers'in May, so long as they do not get too far away from the conventional. It Is In dressing her maids that the fancy of the bride is allowed play and she may decide to depend upon them to make her wedding a little different from other weddings. Or it may fall to the lot of the maid of honor to be featured In something dlstractingly charming and original, or to even the little flower girl. Some of this year’s June brides are. going to use their tulle and orange blossoms In a new way. All sorts of -pretty caps have been and are used to support the wedding /veil and now Miss Nineteen Seventeen is going a step farther than the cap and have her tulle fashioned into the airiest, simplest and most dignified Of hats. It has a big butterfly bow at the back with long, ample ends of tulle falling from it. The ends of tulle form the .veil and the arrangement is novel and smart. This new disposition of the wedding veil is shown In the picture above. Another innovation that promises to please everybody, has been Introduced for the benefit of bridesmaids. If the bride departs not from the lines of the strictest convention In her own attire, she may allow picturesque or coquettish elements to distinguish the garb of her maids. Instead of bouquets, in kome processions, bridesmaids will carry muffs made of tulle in three or four

Sensible Suits of Serge

For the Great Day in June

manence in the materials the designs along which they wire made up should be conservative. A good tailored suit is an inyestment jpf money and time that ought to be worth while from every standpoint. It should look well and wear well for several seasons If required. Two sensible suits of blue serge are shown in the picture. That at the left has a plain skirt with lapped seams, long enough to extend two inches below the shoe tops. The half length coat is belted across the front and back, hanging in almost straight lines. A concession to the fad for buttons appears in a few, used for decoration, rimmed with white. At the right the model pictured is less practical in style because the coat is cut with a peplum, but it is conservative enough to outlast a season or two with little change. The skirt is plaited at the sides but otherwise plain.

pale colors, aspink,blue and green. They are melon-shaped affairs with deep frills at each end, so full that they stand out from the center like the petals of a giant flower. They provide color, Just as bouquets do, and add a bit of piquant frivolity to the joyous wedding pageant.

Waistcoat Is Effective.

’Bright colored silk waistcoats add to the"effectiveness of some new suits;, and since Paris fancies the buttoned jacket, left unbuttoned almost from the throat, the gay waistcoat serves to hide the blouse beneath as well as furnish a natty style touch. These waistof bright-colored moire or faille silk. Some of them have a high opening, with narrow revers that; turn oyer the revers of the coat.

Indoor Coats.

. The indoor coats committed in the name of medievalism belie their names and lend themselves extreme modernity by being fashioned the one side of satin for day wear, 'the other of bro-, cade, to slip oh at dinner time. Their economy stops there, for their material is of eastern richness, their neck cords weighted with colored stones and their background a shy, slim gown of glowing satin. • Si*

HAPPENINGS in the BIG CITIES

Nearly All Greater Boston Put Under the Plow BOSTON —Greater Boston has been put to the plow. So, history recounts, the conqueror dealt'with ill-fated cities in ancient times when they fejl into barbaric hands. The phrase plucked from the tedious Latin translation con-

in the great agricultural lands of the middle West should turn to their work with a determination and skill and care never before necessary in the history of the country in peace or war. It is not enough that the commonwealth should discuss plans, in response to the president’s appeal, for the mobilization of 5,000 boys in their teens to work on the undermanned farms of New England. It is not enough that the suburban gardener should cultivate his little plot in the rear of the house. Greater Boston is plowing up its public parks, its golf links, its school grounds and its churchyards, in some ■instancesu-and-thp front lawns nt its—domiciles in many Instances. Rather an ugly duty, It seemed, this tearing up of a spacious lawn, but as one grim-faced suburbanite remarked: ■ “This is not time for estheticism.” “Anyway,” said the housewife, who was watching the operation from the front piazza, “it will look much better when things begin to come up." Training Women of New York to Till the Soil NEW YORK.—To be operated as an extension of the agricultural department* g e -ahJThepuhllc'Tilgh”®stroW®r~SW — agricultural demonstration farmito train college women and high school girls

to till the soil has been opened under the auspices of the National League for Woman’s Service. The Crawford estate, a plot of 200 acres at Two Hundred and Twen-ty-second street, Baychester avenue and the Boston Post road, has been donated by George Crawford for this purpose. Mrs. Mary E. Hamilton, chairman of the agricultural committee of the league, will have charge. Mrs. August Belmont is the treasurer

of the committee, and on the advisory .... ' -. -- - board are Prof. O. S. Morgan of Columbia university, Dean A. R. Mann of Cornell university, Mrs. Annie Nathan Meyer of the Home Economics league. Miss Helen Cameron, city chairman of the league, and Miss Harriet Bardner, field secretary. The school will be equipped with all modern farming implements, including tractors, harrows and scientific canning apparatus. After a survey of the ground the farmerettes will raise chiefly potatoes, beans, corn and green vegetables, and all the work of plowing and hoeing will be done by the girls. There even will be a machine shop whece the students will receive instruction in the repairing of tools and the making of them where it is possible. A modern cannery will be opened and the girls will be taught this phase of farm work as well. In spite of the advance in the price of tin, the league’* school will be supplied with cans at a reduced price by tin manufacturers to whom the project has been explained. Temporary bungalows for the accommodation of students will be built on the ground, and tents set up to be used during the summer, when the farm will be more crowded than at other times. The colleges and the high school* will have Saturday and’specified afternoons on the farm, and arrangement* can be made by the students for occupying the bungalows at night.

Forced to Dispossess Bees From Attic of Home SAVANNAH, GA. —E. J. Ward is authority for a story of bees taking possession of the residence of J. H. Hulme and appropriating it to their own use as a monster hive. A swarm of bees “settled” in the second story of the house four years ag<r and found a knothole

jwarms jointly occupying the residence with Hulme and his family. And the bees and the folks did not get along together —especially the children and the bees. The youngsters were inclined to insist on their rights in the house, with the result that they were frequently stung. iRecently Mr. Hulme recognized the fact that either he or the bees musti move, and the longer he waited the greater the handicap he would labor under, since the bees were increasing their army rapidly. He called in at number of neighbors and all the negroes working on his farm and, after offer* Ing each 50 cents and his share of half the honey captured, started out U» exterminate the bees. Armed with gallons of boiling water they caught the bees all buddled] together to keep warm during the cold and soon made short shift. Hundreds of pounds of the finest kind of honey was in the room.

Trainer Left Pets to Fight for Uncle Sam n ALTIMORE.—WiIIiam T. Meickle, trainer of Lady Alice’s rats, one of the D many amusing features in Barnum and Bailey’s circus, left his pets to join ■ the United States Marine corps. He visited Captain Evans at the Marinq

corps recruiting station and following a whispered interview, was taken to the back room, there examined and when lie emerged was a proud member of the “Soldiers of the Sea.” . Not long after Meickie had proudly left the recruiting station another member of the circus came swinging down the street, and when he spied "the blue coat of the marine on duty he hurried upstairs to Capfaln ~Evfins. - “Who are you, sir?” asked the cap-

tain of his visitor. ___ .—ix. - -as **M<*ue other than Frank Patrick Gallagher, Irish from the tip of me head to the aoles of me feet,” quoth the visitor. “And sure I was born on St. Patrick’s day, back in *99 when the Yanks were kicking the Spaniards out of Cuby. Sure, I was too young to fight then, but I’m the right age flow, you can bet. Look me over, admiral. And sure, I forgot to tell ye that I’ve been chummin* for the past five years with the wildest bastes that ever clawed an Iron bar inside a cage. Just show me a German—that’s all I want Sore. I’m a very bad man, I am, you bet your sweet life.” “ About thirty seconds later Gallagher Was also a member of tM Marina corps. He was an animal trainer. / . • ' ’ ■ ■'

jures up in the schoolboy’s mind a picture of the ashes of the captured city furrowed by the plowman rather than the pictures which Greater Boston in wartime have registered on tha. plates of the camera. The plow is a mighty weapon of the nation at war, a nation to which has been allotted the tremendous task of feeding a large part of the warring world. It is not enough that the farmers

to go in and out. All during the spring and summer th ey ma de th et r h 0 ney i n long rows of honeycomb which reached from one sill to the other. The first year there were only two swarms, and from these there came two swarms each in the next year, making six swarms in all. The third year two more swanns from each’made a grand total of 18 swarms of bees and the fourth year two more swarms from each made 54