Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 May 1917 — PHILOSOPHY OF WALT MASON [ARTICLE]

PHILOSOPHY OF WALT MASON

When civil war raged o’er the land, I was but two feet high; yet eagerly I wished ,to stand, a howitzer . in either hand, and for my country die. But sternly then my elders said, “You are too young to fight; don’t think or dream of carnage red, but drop your toys and go to bed, and in that bed sleep tight.” Again I hear of war's alarms', much talk of sturdy blows; the battlefield for me has charms, and I would like to carry arms, an 1 swat my country’s foes. But when I speak of this, my aim, the captains cry, “Nay, nay! You are too ancient for the game; go buy yourself a quilting frame, or help the girls crochet.” So if our battleships shall meet the foe upon the brine, or if on land the armies meet, I may not kill men and repeat, the inglenook is mine. They ought to let the fellow fight who wants to bear a gun, e’en though his kidneys are "not and though his scanty locks are white, and though he weighs a ton. But no, alas’ they choose their men, rejecting able lads, because one fellow has a wen, and one’s too old to fight again, and some wear liver pads.