DIY History | Transcribe | World War I Diaries and Letters | Robert Morriss Browning correspondence to Mabel C. Williams, April-June 1918 | 1918-05-16 Robert M. Browning To Dr. Mabel C. Williams Page 1

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Robert Morriss Browning correspondence to Mabel C. Williams, April-June 1918

1918-05-16 Robert M. Browning To Dr. Mabel C. Williams Page 1

[1918] Wednesday night. 
Dear Miss Williams - 
After many days. Still in the homeguards and still at Fort Snelling. Perhaps you received a mysterious packet of wool some days ago. I had intended to send a letter at the time but failed to get it off, and now wonder just what you think of me. It might be better for you to send whatever comes of the yarn to somebody over there as the home guards will probably be able to get along some way by sticking around steam radiators this winter as they did last. 
We had high hopes about two or three weeks ago. Things looked pretty rosy. Then we had nearly two hundred "enemy aliens" from embarkation ports and some even came from France, having gone over with Pershing before it was decided not to let enemy citizens fight. Now our only hope is in the bill to grant citizenship to all soldiers. If the President vetoes that we can look for service on the border as our most likely avenue of escape from our present strenuous job of bluffing the i.w.w's and non-partisan leaguers. There is, of course, the possibility that these men may be transferred to some other regiment in case we can make ours so overwhelmingly superior to all other in the point of efficiency that we will be brigaded in place of some other less well prepared outfit. We are trying to do that now. Another chance is that this Federal Home Guard may be organized and trained to such a point of efficiency that

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[1918] Wednesday night. Dear Miss Williams - After many days. Still in the homeguards and still at Fort Snelling. Perhaps you received a mysterious packet of wool some days ago. I had intended to send a letter at the time but failed to get it off, and now wonder just what you think of me. It might be better for you to send whatever comes of the yarn to somebody over there as the home guards will probably be able to get along some way by sticking around steam radiators this winter as they did last. We had high hopes about two or three weeks ago. Things looked pretty rosy. Then we had nearly two hundred "enemy aliens" from embarkation ports and some even came from France, having gone over with Pershing before it was decided not to let enemy citizens fight. Now our only hope is in the bill to grant citizenship to all soldiers. If the President vetoes that we can look for service on the border as our most likely avenue of escape from our present strenuous job of bluffing the i.w.w's and non-partisan leaguers. There is, of course, the possibility that these men may be transferred to some other regiment in case we can make ours so overwhelmingly superior to all other in the point of efficiency that we will be brigaded in place of some other less well prepared outfit. We are trying to do that now. Another chance is that this Federal Home Guard may be organized and trained to such a point of efficiency that