Well Al the world serious is over just like I said it would be with the White Sox winner and each one of the boys gets $3,600.00 and that would of been my share only I loved my country more than a few dollars and I bet the boys feel kind of ashamed of themself to think I was the only one that passed up all that jack to work for Uncle Sam at $30.00 per mo. but between you and I Al I have got a scheme where I will make twice that amt. and if some of the rest of the boys here thought about it they could do the same thing but why should I tip them off because you can bet they wouldn’t tip me off to a good thing if they thought of it first.
Here is the scheme when a man has got a family the govt. keeps out ½ of your pay every month or more if you want them to and then the govt. sticks the same amt. in with it and sends it to your wife or who ever gets it. Say you are a private and getting about $30.00 per mo. and you tell the govt. to keep out $15.00 of it. So the govt. keeps $15.00 and sticks another $15.00 with it and sends it to your family.
Well Al I am going to tell them to keep out my whole $30.00 per mo. and they will have to put another $30.00 with it and send the $60.00 to Florrie and she won’t need it so she can either send it to me or salt it away somewheres in my name and it means I will be getting $60.00 while the rest of them are dragging down $30.00 and if it was just luck on my part I wouldn’t think it was hardly fair but when a man figures something out in your head you got a right to take advantage of it and a man that give up a big league salary and the world serious dough to do their bit deserves something extra while the only way some of the rest of these birds could earn $30.00 per mo. outside of the army would be to ask for it with a peace of lead pipe.
Well old pal bon sore for this time and that means good night in French and pretty soon I will be writeing you a whole letter in French only of course I wouldn’t do that because it would be like waisting that much paper because they couldn’t nobody in Bedford make heads or tales out of it and I might just as well save my labor for my pains as they say.
Camp Grant, Oct. 18.
Friend Al: Well old pal I got a peace of news for you that I bet you will be tickled to death for my sake when I tell it to you. I guess I told you in my last letter about Gen. Barry inspecting us. Well Al I kind of thought I seen him looking at me like he liked the way I carry myself and etc. but I didn’t want to say nothing about it till I was sure but after breakfast this a.m. Capt. Nash sent for me and when I went in his office and saluted he says “Good morning Corporal Keefe.” Well Al of course that means I have been appointed a corporal and of course I expected it only I wasn’t looking for it so soon and while Capt. Nash didn’t say nothing it don’t take no Bobby Burns to figure out that the orders come from higher up.
The corporals and sargents we had at first was men from the regular army and they been sending them away lately and now some of the boys from the ranks gets their chance. In order to get a corporal or a sergent a man has got to have the drills down perfect besides being a perfect physical specimen and good appearance and a man that the rest of the boys will look up to him and respect him and a man that don’t know the meaning of the word fear. Well Al I must of filled the bill and I will show Gen. Barry he didn’t make no mistake.
My command is made up of 7 men that I am the boss of them and they contain Sebastian and Red Sampson and Shorty Lahey and a wop named Janinny or something and a big stropper named Hess and 2 boys named Gardner and Bowen and some of them is pretty rough birds but I won’t have no trouble handleing them because they know about my record in baseball and they can’t help from respecting a man that give up a big salary to help Uncle Sam out and the only I that might try and give me trouble is Lahey and I guess he has got better sense then trying some of his funny jokes with a corporal because when a private monkeys with a officer he is libel to wake up the next a.m. with no place to wear his hat.
Well Al a corporal isn’t the highest officer in the army but its a step up and everybody has got to start at the bottom and Napoleon started as a corporal and the
