12
SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE
WITH EMPEY
By Arthur Guy Empey
(Continued)
We were to form
two baseball
Teaching a classes, Stewart in
charge of one, 1
Chinaman the oth er. On the
French plaster of the bil
let we carefully
' ————scratched out a
baseball diamond, and then called
the Tommies in. They sat around
like little children in a school, eager- j
Jy intent. For two hours we explain
ed the game to them. When we got
through they all knew how to playi
baseball—on paper. We dismissed
them, telling them another class
would be held the following after-
COUNT FIFTY! NO
RHEUMATIC PAIN
Don't suffer! Instant relief
follows a rubbing with old
"St. Jacobs Liniment"
Stop "dosing" rheumatism.
It's pain only: not one case in fifty
requires internal treatment- Rub
soothing. penetrating "St. Jacob's
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uid by the time you say Jack Robln-
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and distress. "St. Jacob's I.iniment"
conquers pain! It is a harmless
rheumatism liniment whi :h never
Oi*appoints and doesn't burn the
skin. It takes pain, soreness and
st'.:Tncss from aching joints, muscles
and tones; stops sciatica, lumbago,
backache, neuralgia and reduces
swelling.
Limber up! Get a small trial bottle
o* eld-time, honest "St- Jacob's Lin
iment" from any drug store, atid in
a moment you'll be free from pains,
uclies and stiffness. Don't suffer'
Rub rheumatism away.
BACKACHE KILLS!
Don't make the fatal mistake of
neglecting what may seem to be a
"simple little backache." There isn't
any such thing. It may be the first
warning that your kidneys are not
nonking properly, and throwing off
the poisons as they should. If this is
the case, go after the cause of that
backache and do it quickly, or you
may find yourself in the grip of an
incurable disease.
GOLD MEDAL Haarlem Oil Cap
sules will give almost immediate re
lief from kidney and bladder troubles,
which may be the unsuspected cause
vt general ill health. GOLD MEDAL
Haarlem Oil Capsules are Imported di
rect from the laboratories in Holland.
They are prepared in correct quantity
and convenient form to take, and are
positively guaranteed to give prompt
relief, or your money will be refund
ed. Get them at any drug store, but 1
be sure to insist on the GOLD MEDAL'
brand, and take no other. In boxes,
three sizes.
Bth Year
Christmas Savings Club
Now Enrolling
$1,586,850.59
Saved by Members in Last 7 Years
8 Different Classes
UNION TRUST COMPANY
OF PENNA.
ijj Closing Out Our Entire ||
H Clothing Stock jjj
® We have some very desirable Suits, Overcoats fil
and Raincoats left, in order to dispose of
these quickly we will clean them up at
HALF PRICE and less. Come in and look 'pi
them over. Hp
I§ _ / _ • km
t§ /2 Price • if
| SIDES-SIDES |
FRIDAY EVENING,
noon. That night. Stewart and I,
around the stump of a candle, went
into details for organizing two teams.
Everything appeared rosy, and wc
were highly jubilant. A Tommy
eased over in our direction and In
nocently asked:
"I sye, Yank, isn't it necessary to
'ave byseballs and clubs? We cawn't
very well pl'y without 'em."
This was a bombshell to us. In our
eagerness and excitement we had
quite forgotten that bats, balls and
gloves were necessary. I thought
Stewart was going to burst. Letting
out a "Well, I'll be blowed!" which
nearly blew the candle out, he turn
ed a silly Jook in my direction, and
1 looked Just as cheap.
At last the Tommies had stumped
us. and we could see our reputation
fading into nothing. A dead silence
reigned for over Ave minutes. Then
Stewart started madly to open his
haversack. 1 thought he had sud
denly gone crazy. I reached my hand
in the direction of my bayonet, fear
ing that he was looking for a Mill's
Bomb. When he drew his hand out.
hanging to his list was a writing pad.
1 let go of my bayonet. Borrowing
a pencil from me (Stewart was al
ways borrowing), he started writing.
I thought perhaps he was going to
commit suicide and was writing a
farewell letter home, and asked him
what was up. He whispered to me:
"Emp, we're two bloody fools not
to have thought of this long ago. All
we've got to do is to write home to
one of the New York papers, askiiu:
the readers to send out baseball stuff
to us. and it will only be a matter of
a few weeks when we will have
enough to equip two teams."
I offered to write the letter, and
with Stewart bending over me, 1
eagerly wrote an appeal to the read
ers of the New York Evening Tele
gram. and turned the letter over to
the Mail Orderly.
We then explained to the Tommies
that equipment was necessary and
that we had written home, but while
waiting for the baseball stuff to ar
rive we would carry on with our in
struction classes.
The next day Stewart and I made
a woolen baseball out of an old
puttee fixed up a temporary diamond
and showed the Tommies the general
run of the game. Their antics were
awful. If we had used a regular
baseball I don't think there would
have been a Tommy in the squad
without a black eye. Did you ever
watch a girl trying to catch a ball?
Well, a girl's team alongside of some
of these Tommies would have looked
like the winner in our World's Series.
It was hard work keeping their in
terest up.
Two weeks later we went up into
the front line; then came back again
for another rest. The interest in
baseball was dying out and we were
at our wit's end. Time passed, and
we figured out that we ought to be
hearing from our appeal, but noth
ing came. Then, once again we
went into the Front Line Trench,
The Tommies were very skeptical
and every time baseball was men
tioned they would gaze in 'our direc
tion with a sneering look. This com
pletely got our goats.
One evening we were sitting in a
dugout of the support trench; it was
raining like the mischief, and we
were cold and downhearted, Pretty
soon the rations came up. The ra
tion party generally brings the ra
tions down into the dugouts, but the
two men carrying our "dixie" set it'
down in the mud of the trench and \
almost 'shot the chutes' down the j
entrance to the dugout. They were I
breathless with excitement. One of
them yelled out:
"Yank, there's a limber full of
ppreels down in the reserve
They're all addressed to you.
h'Empey, and they're from America."
Stewart let out a shout and I felt
warm all over. How we lorded it:
over those poor Tommies. That |
night we were to be relieved and go
back to rest billets. We could hardly
wait for the time.
The next morning was Sunday. I
and after church parade we made a |
mad rush to the Orderly Room to
get our mail.
The Quartermaster Sergeant was
waiting for me, and behind him stood j
every officer in the company, trying;
to disguise the expectant look on :
their faces. Every eye was turned,
in the direction of a heap of par- j
eels. I thought the "Quarter" never j
would start. Even the Captain could [
not stand it, and giving way to his
eagerness, said: "Sergeant, you had
better issue the mail."
Stewart and -I were all anxiety.
Then, stooping down, the Ser
geant took up a parcel and read off:
"Empey, No. 5203," and threw it,
over to me. I caught* it on the fly.;
The Sergeant kept on reading out;
"Empey," and parcels came through j
the air like a bombardment.
The first parcel I
picked up was
Opened stamped, "Passed
bv Censor b >' Censor." and j
D> censor contained twelve |
brand new base- j
balls, or at least, eleven, and thej
remains of one. This twelfth ball'
was stamped, "Opened by Certsor," j
but search as I could, 1 could find
no stamp reading "Sewed up by Cen
sor." We did the sewing up. but j
that ball looked like a duck's egg|
when we had finished. Stewart and j
I roundly cussed the Censor. Later, I
we both cussed the inventor of base
ball. There was a reason.
The readers of The Telegram had 1
nobly responded to our appeal. There
were enough gloves and balls for
two teams, and even a chest protec- j
tor and mask. The mask was an'
article of great curiosity to all. Some)
of them thought it was a bomb pro-;
tector. Everyone in turn tried it on,
and everyone, upon learning that the
catcher was to wear the mask, want
ed immediately to sign up for the!
position. Stewart and I could have
been elected to Parliament right
there, if these Tommies could havej
had their way.
The next afternoon. the candi-1
dates, forty in all, and the whole
company turned out en masse on the :
baseball field, which we had laid out
during our previous stay in rest bil
lets.
From that day on, Stewart and I [
led a dog's life. Though on paper!
everything looked bright, and the j
candidates were letter perfect in the
game, or thought they were, on the
field they were dubs of the worst'
caliber—regular boneheads. If Mc- j
Graw of the Giants had had that mob 1
wished on him, he would have:
chucked up his job and taken the
stump for Woman Suffrage; so you j
can appreciate our fix.
Stewart was a really good pitcher: !
plenty of curved stuff, having played j
semi-pro ball in the United States. It [
was my intention to catch for him j
and fill in the other positions with
the most likely candidates. This
scheme did not work in with the |
popular version a little bit. Out of:
the forty trying for the team, twenty- I
eight insisted on being catcher. Tf|
there had been a camera, each of
the forty would have had a photo;
taker, of himself wearing the "wirej
cage." Here was a great dilemma, j
At that time I was only a private, ]
and there were Sergeants, Corporals,
and even an officer, who wanted to j
catch. Stewart again came to the'
rescue. Calling me aside he said: ' I
"LeaVe it to me. Emp, I'll fix 'em. j
I'll try out each one in turn. Let j
them wear the mask, and I'll send in !
some curves, and when the ball ]
cracks them on the shins a couple of ;
times you couldn't pay 'em to put I
on the cage."
The Tommies were strange to the
curved balls, and Stewart had speed. I
It did my heart good to see him i
dampen their ardor and dent their!
anatomy at the same time. The
Tommies would see the ball coming
to them and would reach up their!
hands to get it. Then the ball would I
"break" and hit them on the shin
or knee. After five or six had re
tired, rubbing sore spots and cussing
Stewart out. no one else wanted to!
catch, and the situation was saved.
[To ho Continued.]
HXRRISBT7RG C66fttTELEGKXPfI!
THE MAN WHO WAS A FINGERBOARD
The International Sunday School Lesson For January 6
Is "John Prepares The Way For Jesus" —Mark 1:1-11
By WILLIAM T. ELLIS
A six months' journey through the
Gospel of Mark now opens with the
new year to every student of the In
ternational Sunday school lessons.
And Mark's message to the man or
j woman of to-day is aglow with an
| illumination that sheds a flood of
j light upon the intricate ways over
, which we are passing,
j This gospel was put into the soul
jof John Mark to give to the world.
I He was a son of Mary of Jerusalem,
a Jewish woman, and he was a cou
sin of Barnabas. Peter was his fa
ther in the faith (I Peter 5:13) and
' it is evident from the character of the|
gospel that it bears fany sings of
Peter's quickening influence upon his
j convert.
It is probable that Mark's gospel
j was written about 53 A. D., and for
i Gentiles particularly, rather than for
j the Jews. It is distinctly, as Dr.
i Griffith Thomas points out, the gos
] pel that "Emphasizes the activity,
authority and energy of Christ. His
deeds rather than His words. Here
we get the very frequent repetition
'of 'straightway,' indicative of the
I constant movement and activity of
j Christ, as He is doing deeds of kind
ness. teaching the truth, and fighting
j evil."
Into the study of an inspired mes
sage with such marvelous fitness foi
our own age and conscious need, we
may well enter with high expecta
tion of discovering therein divine
ideals of service for swift application
I to the complex and challenging days
in which we live.
The Forerunner
Once upon a time there lived that
rare wonder, a man who did not pre
tend to be what he was not. There
was almost as much posing and pre
tending and "bluffing" in his day as
in ours: but nevertheless this re
markable man would not "put up a
front" that was not genuine. With
all the opportunity in the world to
I pass as some great one, and to re
ceive honor and reward, he doggedly
I stuck to the statement that he was
! only a "sais"—such as you see all
| over he Orient, running ahead of a
: Somebody's vehicle to prepare the
I way for him.
Pressed to declare himself a dis
| tinguished personage, he persisted in
protesting that he was not a man on
horseback, not the man in the royal
vehicle, not the man behind the palm
branches, but only the forerunner,
the servant who ran ahead on foot.
|He was not "It:" he merely cried
aloud that The One was coming, and
that all should be prepared for Him.
110 was not the kind of press agent
who puts flattering notices of him
-1 self in print, when he should be ad
vertising the cause he represents.
Our Own Time's Make-Up
All this is enough to make this
| hairy man of the wilderness,, John
the Baptist, a unique charaerer in
history. Of course, we see now-*in
his case, not in ours—that it is real
wisdom, and at least the glimmering
of greatness, not to pretend any
-1 thing. The person who sets himself
l up to be somebody that he is not is
! invariably "taken down." It is bet
i ter to seem less than you are,
rather than more than you are; the
discovery of your real merits startles
people into paying you high honor.
If the twentieth century could go
to school to this uncouth desert
prophet, the Baptist, it might give
less time and substance to beauty
; doctors, massage artists, barbers.
' manicurists, tailors and jewelers, but
| it assuredly would give greater heed
j to the real qualities which make for
i essential manhood and womanhood.
!It would care a deal less about its
position in "society," and a deal more
about its standing before God. Utter
j honesty, which enabled him to re
i spect himself in the solitudes of the
wilderness as well as amid the
1 crowds by the Jordan's bank, was
[John's first characteristic.
"Who Art Thou?"
I Some men make their living by
[hunting up, or making up, distln
i ijuished genealogies for persons—
I antipodes of the Baptist—who, hav
i ing acquired money or power .want
, also social distinction. They desire
j to be prepared to answer the world's
'inevitable question, "Who art thou?"
I That was the query flung at John as
soon as he began to make a stir. The
I doctors of the law and the ecclesias
tical aristocrats would have liked
| him to produce such credentials that
' they could "recognize" him.
j John was drawing crowds straight
i way the same peril loomed before
•'him which confronts every person
• ality, that the Good Society of his
time would open its arms to him and
take him into its suffocating embrace,
j and soon reduce him to its own level
of mediocrity. "Social recognition"
] has been the end of many a prom
ising career. The Pharisees who
'went out to examine John wanted to
I make him of their own crowd. They
would honor him with office and
| standing and their own gracious fa-
I vor.
Holding a Job or Doing It
, These Pharisees were known for
I the jobs they held and the positions
I they occupied: and contemporaneous
religious life has plenty of analogous
i figures. But John was a person to
|be ' reckoned with because he was
himself. He did not need an ecclesl
astioal job or a rich or fashionable
pulpit: he had a message. And a
man with his own message may go to
the sands of Sahara and lift up his
voice (not a voice trained in a school
of elocution, either), and the world
will resort to him. The man .with a
vital massage, which possession
makes a true preacher—is as rare as
the sartorially immaculate, carefully
drilled pulpit ornament is common.
This man claimed to be merely a
"voice" crying in the wilderness.
He was only himself, and claimed
nothing but his true work. He was
no chameleon. He flew his own flag
and stood by it. A servant fore
runner, a mere messenger of the
great Coming One was he, and noth
ing more.
A Stick May Point
Any kind of a stick, so long as It
be not crooked, may point. John
conceived of himself as a fingerboard.
For that office he did not need polish
or social graces or the approving
seal of the Sanhedrln. Nobody was
expected to pay attention to him, but
only to look and to go where he
pointed. So the world conceived of
this man, girt with camel's hair and
subsisting on anchorite's fare, as
pointing, pointing, pointing to the
Coming One, and crying "Behold!—
The Lamb of God!"
Everybody points somewhere. The
least of us cannot escape standing
for something. The very first office of
life is bearing witness. One's '"do
as-I-please," devil-may-care attitude
Is rather checked by the thought that
one is pointing somebody some
where. At a railway station I once
as a boy thoughtlessly and ignor&nt
ly misdirected a woman with a bun
dle through the wrong tunnel. Later,
i saw her tolling back with her
load. Her useless and overburdened
tramp due to my misdirection; and
through all these years I have re
morsefully carried that memormy In
my mind. But what of the more se
rious mistakes we unwittingly cause
people, because our trend of life has
pointed them the wrong way?
As I conceive it the burden of this
Sunday school lesson is "Point
straight! Point straight!" Hear
witness to the truth, the highest
truth you know. Without fear, as
without self-seeking, stand stead
fastly for your highest illumination.
That is the way the world moves
upward. That is the way society is
kept from decay. That is the way
the kingdom of heaven comes.
The Man With Something to Say
In the wilderness. John came to
self-realization and acquired his mes
sage. Some preachers are affecting
the camel's-hair cloth and the leather
girdle and brusque speech, without
the message. But the message alone
is the thing. To hear that, the world
would seek out a man in the remot
est wilderness, or will not shrink
from most fashionable of
| Pennypacker Said
I jib# • I
''l had a dread of Roosevelt
coming into
| In these words the late Governor
introduces one of America's most force
ful citizens and describes him as a man
I of "impulse and lack of self-restraint."
I But he was delighted with "Little
| Miss Ethel" and says so in his autobiog
| raphy now attracting State-wide atten- fi ,
tion to the columns of the Evening
Public Ledger. J
| His strictures on the Colonel will |
interest you.
Important! JJ
Three ways in which to be absolutely certain of receiving your copy of the Evening fc
Public Ledger:
1. Order your newsdealer to see that it is delivered to your home daily.
2. Reserve your Evening Public Ledger at your favorite news stand or with your
newsboy.
3. Write direct to the Evening Public Ledger (Box 1526, Philadelphia), and enter a six
months' subscription to it now.
Do not delay to act on one of these three methods of procuring the daily installments
of the greatest life story ever written by the man who lived it.
Already we are receiving complaints of friends who are confronted with "all sold out'
at news stands.
I tenoning Pubic Stefrger |>
CYRUS H. K. CURTIS, PUBLISHER
churches. Why Is It that Philadel
phia crowds flock every Sunday to
hear Dr. Floyd W. Tomjdns, while
our downtown churches are almost
empty? Simply because he has a
message about God. He does not re
hash the day's news from the pulpit,
nor choose topics that command
space in the newspapers, nor have
prologues or stereoptloon shows. He
just preached God to the hearts of
the people, and the multitude which
gathered in hunger goes away fed.
It was a plain sermon that Mark
reports John as preaching. First
there was the old appeal, "Repent
ye." Then there was the warning
that the axe was already lying at
the tree of hereditary religion, ready
to cut It down should they prove un
worthy of their fathers. And then
there was the promise of the greater
One who was to come. John ottered
his time Christ. That was its need
then: it Is the supreme now. As
Richard Watson Gilder so beautifully
wrote:
"If Jesus Christ is a man,
And only a man. I say.
That of all mankind 1 cleave to Him,
And to Him will I cleave alway.
"But if Jesus Christ is God,
And the only God, I swear.
I will follow Him through heaven
and hell.
The earth, the sea, the air."
jAmmrr'4, ism
How the Liggett
Stores Were Founded
In the American Magazine, Louis
Iv. Liggett, the drug store man, says:
"Our entire string of business en
terprises is founded on n slmplo idea
of co-operation. A few years ago I
was on the road selling a lino of
goods to drug stores. Shortly be
fore that I had suffered business re
verses, duo to temporary 111 health,
asd I had known what it was to
walk to savo car fare. So I was
locking about for opportunities to
; set ahead. On the train one day, It
. seemed as if the car wheels devel
-1 oped a rhythmic click that made my
I thoughts run faster, and a number
! of Ideas came into my mind. I won
dered why a lot of druggists in dif
ferent cities, not in direct competi
tion. shouldn't co-operate with one
another, combining their buying,
manufacturing and advertising.
"I interested forty druggists in the
idea, and they came together for a
business meeting. Each one chipped
in $4,000 and tho co-operative plan
was launched. To-day, we have 8,-
i 000 stockholder distributors in the
United States, Canada, Great Britain,
Hawaii, and tho Philliplnes, and pro
I vide our members with a complete.
lino of goods running all tho way
from drugs and perfumes to brushes
and stationery. Wo manufacture
our own perfumes and make con
tracts to buy all tho flowers of cer
tain varieties raised in one entire'
nrovlnce in France."
Alkali Malces Soap
Bad For Washing Hair
Most, soaps and prepared sham
poos contain too much alkali, which
Is very Injurious, as It dries tho scalp
and makes tho hair brittle.
The best thing to use is just plain
muisiflod cocoanut oil, for this Is
pure and entirely greaseless. It's
very cheap, and beats the most ex
pensive soaps or anything else all
to pieces. You can *et this at any
drug store, and a few ounces will
las' the whole family for months.
Simply moisten the hair with water
and rub' it in, about a teaspoonful is
all that is required. It makes an
abundance of rich, creamy lather,
cleanses thoroughly, and rinses out.
easily. Tho hair dries quickly and
evenly, and Is soft, fresh looking,
bright, fluffy, wavy and easy to
handle. Besides, it loosens and
takes out every partlc'e of dust,
dirt and dandruff.