The following are articles out of the 1918 Hamilton Grit. The United States was involved in World War I, so many of the following articles are related to World War I.
“The mayors of all cities have been requested to have an ordinance passed prohibiting vagrancy and idleness, requiring all able men between 18 and 60 to register who are not regularly employed at some productive, necessary labor, to the end that they might be employed, if not here, then elsewhere where the need is urgent, the harvest fields for instance. Are there any such in Hamilton? Some say there are several.
“Impressions”, The government is insisting that everybody save; save in foods, clothing, pleasures. The impression the editor gathered from his trip to Kansas City the other day was that everybody was doing just the reverse of what was asked of them. There has actually been an increase of travel since the higher rates went into effect on the railways, hotels are crowded at enormous rates, all amusement enterprises display standing room only cards; food is served as lavishly at the cafes as ever, with the exception that the beef less days are observed, but what odds when any fish that swims the sea, or fowl that wings the air is obtainable. Clothing and personal adornment seemed richer than ever. In fact, there seems to our mind an orgy of spending, and we came home convinced that whatever saving is being done is by the rural communities, and that war will have to touch us much closer than it has to this date before all of us realize that to win it will require every effort. To illustrate what we mean: Mrs. So and So had on display at a big store a piano embellished in gold marked at $10,000; now until Mrs. So and So and her silk can manage to get along either with the old instrument or one that does not cost more than a $1,000, investing the savings in Liberty Bonds or Red Cross it is our opinion that all the suffering of this war will have done little good. And that is only one of a thousand instances in greater or lesser degree. We believe that the rich and poor alike should make everything subservient to the winning of the war.
The following is part of a letter written by Lieutenant Hank Williams to Eugene Mitchell on May 26, 1918.
Dear Gene: Have had two letters from you since I tried writing anything. I was in a dugout up where I could smell the smoke when I started to write last, but now I am back at a camp in the rear training some new arrivals and I’ll soon be ready for the next hitch in the firing line. It was not always very pleasant up there, but it is exciting and real sport, and I understand what the old-timers mean when they say they are homesick for the front. Was not as scared as I expected to be the first time the shots dropped close: I think I grinned, but would not swear it. After a few days I paid not attention to them except to keep my ears open because you can tell a whole lot about them from the sound and a man is a fool if he stands in the road when he hears one coming his way.
Saw some of our supply wagons on the roads at different times under heavy fire and the mules hardly quit wagging their ears and they never change their gait. We had great grub up there as the best of everything is saved for the men in action. I think our men are generally a good account of themselves and the French and British expect a great deal of us in the next year. Am now training some newly arrived troops and it is a marvel the way they learn. Will be glad to go up to the front with this bunch of my own training. Am serving with a unit of the old regular army. Some of them are a little hard boiled, but it is a fine bunch of men and I think we are going to do some business. I have three good Bunkie’s in my shack. One of them, Tom St. Hill is a former high jumper at Yale and one of the fellows who drew the numbers out of the bowl in the draft drawing last summer. Another is a fellow Tasney from New Jersey, son of one of the vice presidents of the Prudential Life Ins. Co. The third is a second baseman from the Portland Coast League team.
Had the good luck to come out first in my class at the Artillery Officers’ school and ranked third among the lieutenants of the division. How is that for a simple farmer! Did it by keeping my trap shut when there were opportunities to show my ignorance. Hope things are coming good in Kansas. Yours, Hank Hamilton school district passed a bond for an addition to the school and the contract for building two rooms and basement addition was awarded to Charles Teegardin, of Eureka, for $7,000. It was found necessary because of the high cost of building to curtail the plan as called for in the bids, the lowest being many hundred dollars over the amount voted. There were four bidders.
In June 1918 a letter was received from Roy Higgins from somewhere in France. Dear Home Folks: It has been such a long time since I have written home that I expect you have begun to think that I have met with some misfortune. Such is not the case at all-very luckily.”
