Show CAISSONS ROLL ALONG alonga IN A NEW TEMPO AS I 1 SIT AT THE W WINDOW of the th room in which I 1 write and watch the caissons chaissons cais sons go rolling along at some 40 miles an hour it causes me to think of the changed tempo ol 01 war since the days in the vhey I 1 w was s efi engaged in a and i nd knew something of soldiering in those days and in fact on through much of world war I 1 the caissons chaissons cais sons went rolling along at about four miles per hour the speed of a six mule team when being urged bya by a husky mule skinner in those days the canno rode the caissons chaissons cais sons with iron rimmed wheels and took all the jolts of the highways and battlefields war in those days was a slow leisurely operation era tion that could be bloody when one really got into it but you could not dot get in or out so quickly the doughboys dough boys walked and their speed was not more than 10 miles a day an enemy miles away could not reasonably be expected to attack within less than 10 days and that allowed time for preparation yes the doughboy walked and carried his equip equipment menton on his back aside from the field and staff officers about the only things that enjoyed the luxury of transportation other than e shanks mares were the company pots and pans in which were cooked the beans the sow belly and coffee which together with hardtack was what the commissary provided DEATH everywhere SETTING UP EXERCISES were not prescribed for troops on campaign the soldier got all the exercise he could take care of without any of a prescribed kind he did not need a lullaby or a crooner to put him to sleep at night he seldom waited for fol taps but was asleep at the earliest opportunity and awakened only to cuss the bugler for blowing reveille washington napoleon wellington bismarck grant lee pershing foch and haig commanded slow armies as com compared pareo with the speed of today in those old days you looked for death only on the ground you would get behind a shield but you did not also have to get under one today death comes on the ground from beneath the ground and from the skies As I 1 watch the caissons chaissons cais sons go rolling along on rubber tires at 40 miles an hour I 1 realize the speed of war today and the need of youth to maintain that speed I 1 do not question the worthiness of our cause I 1 do question the necessity of war in general I 1 question the necessity of destruction as a means of attempting to settle disputes but at soldier age I 1 saw glory and romance and adventure in the tramp trapp tramp of the doughboy in the clatter of the iron shod wheels of the caissons chaissons cais sons in the pounding of hoofs of the cavalry horses the young men of today see the same things in the roll of the rubber tired wheels of the great guns and trucks in which they ride in the clank of the tanks and the whirr of the airplane propellers we can be thankful that when we must fight as in this case we must we have youth that sees these things in the same way their fathers grandfathers and great grandfathers saw them in days that are gone the caissons chaissons cais sons are rolling along to eventual victory because of the valor of our american youth a AN AMERICAN LEADER AND A SOD HOUSE IN THE EARLY sod houses were not unusual on the plains of western nebraska they were houses with dirt floors dirt walls and dirt ceilings in one such house a man child was born of a pioneer mother I 1 cannot tell you his name for to do so would be breaking a confidence today he is one of americas leading economists occupying an important place in american life at the age of six he began attending school for five months each year his school was a one room affair presided over by a young woman who taught only the three Rs he wanted knowledge and he purchased it for himself working his way through college and majoring in economics that he might find out what made america tick he improved the opportunity america offered and today is making every possible effort to maintain that opportunity tor for americas boys and girls the american way of life SIXTY MILES AN HOUR and burn them up we will never miss the rubber until our tires wear out buy defense bonds |