ACTIVE SERVICE.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 December 1917, Page 2

ACTIVE SERVICE.

To the Editor. Sir, —In the' Local and General <olumn of sth inst there was a paragraph commencing "Writes a soldier on active service to a Wellington'friend," which as a sample of what no decent soldier would ever think of penning is an easy -a inner. Nobody argues that a soldiers iife is all soft going, ISut It isn't hard all the time, as this scribe would make out. There arc- many things'that compensate for the hardships and dangers, first perhaps being in -file best of company, and knowing that you are lucky to be out doing the best job of. all in these times. The food is not "iVoor'' taking it all round, except perhaps to the few pampered mothers' darlings that never knew what a bit of roughing meant till lh»y struck the army. Barring wounds, the life in the army is more ! il;e!y to build 'up and make a man kardv than the reverse. Many relatives of returned soldiers have teen agreeably surprised at the roluist and cheery condition in vshirh they have landed back. No; the general run of our boys tiut there hw i.ot got "their wind' up" as the writer of the let-t-er in question appears to have badly. There are lots of things you can do and got in the army that you have no chance of in civil life. The writer of this letter iays nothing about the jolly old French estamincts. Perhaps he never landed in one. What about the 10 "francs wanted in the centre," "lys and doin," or a flutter on the old crown and anchor board? (Did lie never get the glad eye from a "mademoiselle of Armcntiers"? Where's he been? What's he been doing that ho writes in this dam.null dismal stvle? Reminds me of a cove 1 heard of who was in a'canteen job, and used to spend most of his time, (when not sleeping or forecasting) in walking backwards and forwards, behind the counter murmuring "It's a hard life, it's M hard life!" No, in soldier's parlance, the letter to a Wellington friend is "up to putty," and the writer had been far better employed in putting a, bit on."the lucky old hook" or some other innocent pastime instead: of trying to put "the wind up" relatives of the boy 3 away fighting for their King and country.—'l am, etc., 1 "TWO ONUS."