TREAT 'EM ROUGH
LETTERS FROM
JACK THE KAISER KILLER
By
RING W. LARDNER
AUTHOR OF
My Four Weeks in France, Gullible's Travels, Etc.
ILLUSTRATED BY
FRANK CRERIE
INDIANAPOLIS
THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
Copyright 1918
The Bobbs-Merrill Company
PRESS OF
BRAUNWORTH & CO.
BOOK MANUFACTURERS
BROOKLYN, N.Y.
JACK THE KAISER KILLER
Camp Grant, Sept. 23.
FRIEND AL: Well Al I am writeing this in the recreation room at ourbarracks and they's about 20 other of the boys writeing letters and Iwill bet some of the letters is rich because half of the boys can't talkenglish to say nothing about writeing letters and etc. We got a finebunch in my Co. Al and its a cinch I won't never die in the trenchsbecause I will be murdered in my bed before we ever get out of here onlythey don't call it bed in the army.
They call it bunk and no wonder.
Well Al I have been here since Wed. night and now it is Sunday and thisis the first time I have not felt sick since we got here and even atthat my left arm is so sore it is pretty near killing me where I gotvacinated. Its a good thing I am not a left hander Al or I couldn't geta ball up to the plate but of course I don't have to think of that nowbecause I am out of baseball now and in the big game but at that I guessa left hander could get along just as good with a sore arm because Inever seen one of them yet that could break a pain of glass with theirfast ball and if they didn't have all the luck in the world they wouldbe rideing around the country in a side door Pullman with all theirbaggage on.
Speaking about baseball Al I suppose you seen where the White Sox havecinched the penant and they will be splitting the world serious moneywhile I am drawing $30.00 per mo. from the Govmt. but 50 yrs. from nowthe kids will all stop me on the st. and make me tell them what hotel westayed at in Berlin and when Cicotte and Faber and Russell begins totalk about what they done to the Giants everybody will have themselfpaged and walk out.
Well Al a lot of things come off since the last time I wrote to you. Weleft Chi Wed. noon and you ought to seen the crowd down to the Unionstation to bid us good by. Everybodys wifes and sisters and mothers wasthere and they was all crying in 40 different languages and the womenwasn't allowed through the gates so farewell kisses was swapped betweenthe iron spokes in the gates and some of the boys was still gettingsmacked yet when the train started to pull out and it looked like abunch of them would get left and if they had I'll say their wifes wouldof been in tough luck.
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