The Robinson Index from Robinson, Kansas • 1

If You are not a RegRobinson is located THE ular reader of The one of the best far- Robinson Index subigate this community until you ming districts in the scribe for the paper middle west and home right away. You will seekers should investR ROBINSON INDEX not realize do. its value Entered at the Robinson. Kansas. as Second Class Matter, but 18 Really a First-class Newspaper Volume XXVII NO.

27 ROBINSON, BROWN COUNTY, KANSAS, THURSDAY, JAN. 2. 1919 Whole Number 2667 LETTERS FROM THE BOYS IN SERVICE Robinson Boys Writes Home of Their Experiences While Serving Their Country U. S. Naval Base 17, Dec.

2, 1918. Dear Mother: -I just got yours ani Thelma's letter yesterday. I had been on leave and I have been here a week. I was in London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. Well I can write anything I want to as our mail is no longer going through the censor.

Before we could make no mention of another fellow's name, nowhere we were at or what we were doing. Well you will be surprised to know that Base 17 is in Northern Scotland, near Invenners, on the Firth of Cramedy, only a few miles to the North Sea, and is the main European mine base. We mined the whole North Sea and a great part of the Mediterranean. From here we have official credit for 19 subs sunk by mines and I saw three go down myself, one of which I wear a star for being one of the gun crew which sent her to the bottom. You remember the fellow in the center of the picture I sent home.

He was shot clear into right beside me by a six-inch shell from the armed transport St. Louis that mistook our signals and fired on us by mistake. We were convoying her into Liverpool with twelve thousand soldiers aboard. She sent over 14 shells but only hit us once and that took our gun, the one on the stern, overboard. That was the one that killed Vernon and wounded two more of the crew, only three days before the armistice, which makes it worse.

Mother it was worth the year over here and the long cold watch and hard life we have went through to see the surrender of the German fleet. England seems to be getting all the credit but mother, we were the first to meet the first twenty of the subs and bring them into the Firth of Forth at Edinburgh and then the whole fleet, the finest ships I have ever seen, far more and 1 it looks as if England was going to get the whole thing, credit and all, but us that have taken part know. If their destroyers had played the part ours did we would have never lost the Tuscania and Andana. I saw the Tuscania sink from the deck of the Baltic, another big passenger boat all loaded down with soldiers and we couldn't do a thing, and the English destroyers that were supposed to protect us steamed away and left the convoy to the French and two of our own or we might have lost the entire convoy with 125,000 soldiers. It was the most wonderful sight in the world as soon as she was hit with the torpedo.

Every light was lit and the Loats were put out and there was not a Lit of confusion, no more than if the fellows were going ashore for a picnic. This was at midnight, with a heavy sea running. The armed guard, that is the sailors that were stationed on the guns, never left the ship and let the soldiers have. the places in the boats. They were singing, "Where Do We Go From Here, Boys," when the ship sank.

Most of them got away on ammunition chests and were picked up by French destroyers. One trip we made guarding the mine layers were attacked by subs. This was the time we got one. At that time there was something gone wrong with some little thing in the mines, and they were exploding as fast as they were laid out. Of 4,000 on the trip 3,500 exploded.

That and the depth charges we dropped from the destroyers was the most wonderful sight in the world. They are charged with 250 pounds of T. N. the est explosive in the world and the depth charges which we call ash cans 450 pounds. All you could see carry was great spouts of water going up in the air and the awfulest explosions you ever saw.

The sub we got, we got on top of him and dropped a depth charge, turned him upon his nose and then we put a five-inch shell right in the middle of it. And to make it complete we swung around and rammed him and cut him clear into. Every time we made a trip we found numbers of dead Germans floatgreat about. We could tell the different ing men by the buttons on their clothes. We had them completely hemmed in with the mines.

They had to sweep a road through before they could get out to surrender. England has tried to do this every since the war started and failed. Germany said it was impossible but we have done it and nobody will ever know as well as the ones that tried to get out how well we did it. I have visited every one of the big cities over here and seen some of the most historic places and the longest bridge in the world over the Firth of Forth at Edinburgh, the Buckingham palace, the castle where Mary Queen of the Scots was confined, the big museums and castles. I think of all I like best is Glasgow, although London and Paris are much bigger and more important, but you know Edinburgh and Glasgow are the most beautiful and famous of all the old cities.

The worst place of all is Queens.own, Ire land, our destroyer base. If you go ashore you have to fight your way but you can make sure our fellows always get the best of the argument. We had one fight with the English sailor "limes," we call them in Buckingham palace, London. When we were ashore for big dinner some big sailor threw a little flag, "the stars and stripes" on the floor and battle was on. We were kept on the ship for a week for this.

There was over 10,000 prisoners of war came in from Germany yesterday. They were mostly Kilties. "The Laddies from Hell" is what the Germans call them. They are the Highlanders, you know. It was the saddest sight you ever saw.

They were starved and their clothes were in rags and some of them were just a mass of bruises where they had been beat with bayonets and rifle butts, but they have a spirit that nothing in the world can break. If the English soldiers had all been like them and the Canadians it would have been a different war, and the French can never get the credit that is coming and Belgium, too. If you ask who the slackers are over here you will hear them all say, England. The Australians are fine soldiers, aimost like ours and their uniforms are almost the same as our soldiers. Well I have to stand watch from 12 to 4 tonight and it is raining to beat the band and I think I had better quit and get some sleep.

This is getting to be a book, anyhow, so will quit for this time. I think the next letter 1 write will be from the U. S. A. for we are going to meet President Wilson at Portland on the 14th and then we said for home.

So if I don't get caught in draft for sweeping these mines we layed I will soon be home, perhaps by Christmas, although it seems hard to believe. Well I must close with much love to all. From your sailor son, ALVA H. COWEN. DOCTOR'S LUCK One night last week a Kansas doctor sat in his auto, stuck in the mud.

Walking to the nearest house he secured the farmer and his team. They hitched to the car, but the team balked. After some persuasion they pulled the car from to hole. By that time it was too cold to be cranked. So they pulled it to the house and poured on a kettle of hot water.

It started, scared the team, which ran away. On the way home the doctor punctured a tire and when he arrived the tire and chain were dragging from the rear axle. To wind up this string of hard luck the doctor's medicine case had fallen out apd was lost in the mud and midnight. Does a doctor need your help to reach your sick ones in night, storm and bad roads? Mrs. Mabel Baxter and Mrs.

Brown were in Hiawatha Monday afternoon between trains. OBITUARY Andrew R. Geyer was born in Muskingdom county, Ohio, September 18, 1827, and died in Colorado Springs, Dec. 26, 1918, age. 91 years, 3 months and 8 days.

Father, Geyer came to Morrow county, Ohio, with 'his parents when a small boy and grew to manhood in the same community, where he lived until the year 1880, when he sold his farm and moved to Brown county, Kansas, with his family and bought a farm near Hiawatha, Kansas, which he owned up to the time of his death. He was married to Charlotte Valentine in 1852. To this union were born nine children, seven of whom are living, Julietta M. Perkey, Hiawatha, Kansas; Sarah E. Valentine of Hiawatha, Kansas; Eliza L.

Geyer of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Henry H. 0000 a 0 000. 0 0 Hurry! Hurry! 1000000.0000 GET SUPPLIED NOW Beginning With January 1, 1919, and continuing for the next two weeks we are going to offer any article every article in the store at 10 Per Cent Discount 0 Those who are going to need farming implements should place their order during this sale and get the discount price. Remember this sale is for two weeks only and for cash only. 0 0 JERE KIMMEL THE IMPLEMENT MAN a 0 0 0 0 0000 000000000 Geyer of Santa Ana, California; Almeda a Smith of Santa Ana, California; Nathaniel F.

Geyer who is an invalid in the Topeka State Hospital; Charles E. Geyer, Lomond, Canada. William B. Geyer and an infant son died when small. Seventeen grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren, also two brothers, Jacob Y.

Geyer at the Soldiers Home, Leavenworth, Kansas, and William H. H. Geyer at Edison, Ohio, still survive him. His general health was good, however, he had a general breakdown the first of last May and was on the decline and fined to his bed until his death. Father Geyer served his country of his death.

Since the death of his during the Civil war, having enlisted wife he has made his home almost ex- with the 88th Ohio Volunteer Infan- cxlusively with his son Elza try, for the period of two years or daughter, Mrs. Valentine. until the close of the war. The war Geyer died November 11, 1915, thirclosed when he had been in a little teen years ago. less than a year.

He was converted The funeral was conducted from and joined the Methodist Episcopal the home of W. L. Valentine, Decemchurch when he was twenty-one years ber 29, 1918, Rev. Edwin T. Rice, old and remained a member of same officiating.

The M. E. choir led by to the time of his death. He was a Clay Harpster rendered most excelclass leader in the church for many lent music. The floral tributes by the years and an earnest worker for his children and grandchildren were beaumaster.

He went to Colorado Springs tiful. The remains were interred in with his son Elza, November, 1917, the Hiawatha cemetery, on his neatly where he made his home to the time provised lot beside his companion. 00000000 0000000 0 00000 Let us resolve that in this New Year we shall make the most of time; that we shall be proud of each day's work and happy at 0 the prospect of the labors of tomorrow; that we shall carry happiness with us into our business houses and on our farms and show a joyous heart to our neighbors; that each day shall find new progress made toward the goal of our ambition. And that at the end of the twelve months before us we shall find our homes better, our lives better and ourselves better men. 0 0 0 I 0 0.

0 "Look Hiawatha up and Golden not down; back, look and out lend and Rule a not hand." in; look Store forward and Kansas not 0 000 0000 THE NEWS OF NINETEEN YEARS AGO Items of Interest Taken From Old Files of The Index Dated January 5, 1900. Dick King returned from his visit to Virginia last Friday. Ernest and Henry Wachter of St. Joseph, visited with Jere Kimmel on a New Year's day. Leslie and Leslie were publishers of the Index at that time and they gave Robinson a splendid little paper.

Gene Brown says that his December trade was 50 per cent heavier than in '98. All of the merchants did a big 'business. Almost every exchange that came to this office last week made comment on the unusually large number of Christmas jags. A mean man from Hiawatha not only lets his wife build the fires these cold mornings but steals her kindling wood to start the fire at the store. January 1, was the fortieth anniversary of the wedding of Harry Cheal anb Harriet Cheal, celebrated at the Bride's home on the old homestead east of Robinson.

Alvin Perry and Miss Orlena Lee of Sommerset, uncle and 'neice of Dick King, returned with him his visit to the south and will spend the winter here. In the Market column we find some of the following prices; White corn 24 1 2c; mixed corn 24c; Oats, 20c; wheat 61c; Hogs, 4.20; Fat steers, 5.50; eggs, 13c; butter 12c; old hens and chickens 4c. Herm Amann has severed his conI nection with the firm of Amann and Walters here and returned to his old camping ground at Hiawatha. The face of Herm will be sadly missed by the young and old of this city. Geo.

Furse is the new clerk at J. M. Walters Co, hardware store, and sells stoves, nails, powder and shot with the same affability and dexterity which characterized his sales while handling prunes, beans and canned goods at Brown's store. In looking over the Index dated 1900, we find the following businesses represented in the paper: Jere Kimmel, E. L.

Truex's Cash Store; Parker Smith, druggist; J. B. Mitchell, druggist; M. P. Rush, Produce Exchange; J.

R. G'enn, Grain and coal; S. C. Miller, grain; G. W.

Moore, grain dealer; H. Fuhrken, restaurant and bakery; C. F. Lucas and company, lumber yard; Walter Trimmer and C. R.

Morehead, barbers; A. McGauhey, Lemaster and Van Voorhis and H. J. Deaver, physicians and surgeons. The flu ban was lifted in Brown county last Thursday morning and once more the schools, theaters, and other public gathering places are open.

The Robinson schools have been going all the time since the second flu ban was put on, as the flu here was in a light form and very little serious results were had from the disease. Although there are still a few cases in the county there is little danger of the disease spreading further if the people will observe the rules of the health board. While in. Hiawatha last Sunday afternoon making the change of trains there, we chanced to meet Major Chas. Browne, of Camp Funston.

It is the first time we have had the pleasure of meeting him since he has been in active service, and we can say that we hardly knew him he has changed so. He is much fleshier in the face than when he was on the job of editor of the Horton Headlight, and looks many years younger since working for Uncle Samuel. Privates Landon Cheal, Donald Mc- Cauley, Clarence Honer and Corporal Ralph Fridell, who were discharged from the S. A. T.

C. at Lawrence, spent Christmas with home folks..