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Show WHEN THE SOLDIERS COME BACK. Fifty thousand soldiers a week would total 2,600,000 in a year. Today 1,300,000 American boys are in Franco or on tho way. By January 1, 1919, at least 800,000 more will land. Then there will bo an army of two million In France, of whom approximately 1,-300,000 1,-300,000 will be fighting men. When tho spring campaign opens, if ship building progresses favorably, two million combat troops will be following fol-lowing the Stars and Stripes. This time next year, 3,500,000 Americans will be "overseas." Before the war ends 5,000,000 of our boys will be in army uniforms. The war should be approaching the end as the winter of 1919 closes in on the battle lines. Then by 1920 we should begin to make plans for the reception of our returning heroes. When tho soldier boys como back, they will take possession of the land, and it should be their right to partake of the highest blessings of this country. coun-try. But what of the young men who, under un-der ono pretext or another, failed to respond to the call of this nation? What will happen to them? We can venture a prediction. The returning re-turning soldiers will make life unbearable un-bearable for the shirks and slackers. They will ask: "Where were you in 191S-19; where wero you?" Before the war closes, the evaders will be given some oopprblous term of derision such as "left-over," "mollycoddle," "mollycod-dle," "effeminate," or even plain "shirk." |