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ing. In the pause between tattoo and taps there are low voice bunk confidences, plans and oft repeated stories that sort of help with the telling. Outside there are miles of lighted windows, miles more of lighted windows and a great deal of stillness. That is the best time to be lonesome, to remember things that are better left unremembered when the business of the present is of such vital importance. He can think as he chooses, he can wish hard, but when taps, faint, restful, final, sounds through the open windows it ends it all and he is asleep, content.
JONES.
WALLACE OVERMAN, Ex-'18 Ambulance Co. 356
When we pause a moment to contrast our present situation with that of a year ago, it is hard for us who are now wearing the khaki, to realize that we are at war. A year ago we were there at old U. of N. going about our work and planning for the future, little realizing that our environments would be so changed within a year. But "we're in the army now," and hardly a man is not eager to be over there after the Kaiser.
Army life, as Uncle Sam orders it in this age of modern conveniences, is mostly what the man himself makes it. We have steam heated barracks, hot and cold water, plenty of warm clothes, good wholesome food, comfortable beds, and we make $30 per month besides, so we have little cause for complaint about our conditions.
Besides the regulation routine of duty, there are "multitudes" of accessory duties, such as guard, stable, detail, kitchen police, keeping quarters clean, hauling coal, etc. Such phases of army life are not always pleasant.
The army is a remarkable place to remove one's pride. It is a very common thing to see a man who has graduated from law college and practiced several years, in the kitchen washing pans and skillets beside a man who cannot read or write. And there are sometimes other things to hurt one's pride, which are often amusing, e. g., tying a can to a dog's tail, a rare bit of fun which drew ten hours of hard work with an axe. Evidence of hostility toward work will also often cause unpleasant recollections for the individual who shows such evidence.
Reveille sounds at 5:45 and every man must be up and stirring. That longed for desire to "sleep a little longer" is never realized in the army. The day's work varies, depending on the branch of the service. In the infantry it may consist of infantry drill, bayonet exercises, rifle practice, trench work, etc. In the medical corps it may be foot drill for a period of two hours, followed by litter and ambulance drill, or lectures upon first aid bandaging, sanitation, personal hygiene, etc., or perhaps rescue work with litters and "patients."
Medical service is of a high type. Men with any disease are sent to the hospital, and men who have been exposed are sent to the isolation camp. Neither of these places are particularly desirable, but one often has to go when he doesn't want to.
A remarkable service is being rendered by the Y. M. C. A. Movies, educational lectures, entertainments, French classes, religious services, athletic contests, boxing matches
