But at that its better to have I man running it even a Frenchman then a lot of different gens. telling us to do this in that and the other thing every one of them different and suppose they done that in baseball Al and a club had 3 or 4 mgrs. and suppose for inst. it come up to the 9th inning and we needed some runs and it was Benz’s turn to hit and 1 mgr. would tell him to go up and hit for himself and another mgr. would tell Murphy to go up and hit for him and another mgr. would send Risberg up and another would send Russell and the next thing you know they would be 2 of them swinging from 1 side of the plate and 2 from the other side and probably busting each other in the bean with their bats but you take most bird’s beans and what would break would be Mr. Bat. But its the same in war like in baseball and you got to have 1 man running it. With a lot of different gens. in command, 1 of them might tell the men to charge while another was telling them to pay cash.
Jokeing to 1 side Al some of our boys have overtook a section up along the Moose river and I wouldn’t dast write about it only its been printed in the papers all ready so I am not giveing away no secrets to the Dutchmens. At lease they don’t mind us writeing something that’s came out in the papers though as far as I can see how would the Dutchmens know it any more if it was in the papers or not, because they ain’t so choked with jack over in Germany that they are going to spend it on U.S. papers a mo. old and even when they got them they would half to find somebody that could read English and hadn’t been killed for it and it would be like as if I should spend part of my $15 a mo. subscribeing to the Chop Suey Bladder that you would half to lay on your stomach and hold it with your feet to get it right side up and even then it wouldn’t mean nothing. But any way the Dutchmens is going to know sooner or later that we are in the war and what’s the differents if they meet us at the Moose or the Elks? Jokeing a side Al I guess you won’t be supprised to hear how I have picked up in the riffle practice and I knew right along that I couldn’t hardly help from being a A No. 1 marksman because a man that had almost perfect control in pitching you might say would be bound to shoot straight when they got the hang of it and don’t be supprised if I write you 1 of these days that I been appointed a snipper that sets up in a tree somewheres and picks off the boshs whenever they stick their head up and they call them snippers so pretty soon my name is libel to be Jake Snipe instead of Jack Keefe, but seriously Al I can pick off them targets like they was cherrys or something and maybe I won’t half to go in the trenchs at all.
I guess I all ready told you about that little trick I pulled on Johnny Alcock for a April Fool gag and at first he swelled up like a poison pup and wouldn’t talk to me and said he wouldn’t never rest till he got even. Well he finely got a real letter from the gal back home and she is still waiting for him yet so he feels OK again and I and him are on speaking turns again and I am glad to not be scraping with him because I don’t never feel right unless I am pals with everybody but they can’t nobody stay sore at me very long and even when some of the boys in baseball use to swell up when I pulled 1 of my gags on them it wouldn’t last long because I would just smile at them and they would half to smile back and be pals and I always say that if a man can’t take a joke he better take acid or something and make a corps out of himself instead of a monkey.
Somewheres in France, April 11.
Friend Al: Well Al I don’t suppose you knew I was a detective but when it comes to being a dick it looks like I don’t half to salute Wm. Burns or Shylock or none of them.
Seriously Al I come onto something today that may turn out to be something big and then again it may not but it looks like it was something big only of course it has got to be kept a secret till I get the goods on a certain bird and I won’t pull it till I have got him right and in that way he won’t suspect nothing until its to late. But I know you wouldn’t breath a word about it and besides it wouldn’t hurt nothing if you did because by the
