III
AND BECOMES ACQUAINTED WITH PAPER WORK
Paper work had now become our perpetual companion. Neither by night nor by day did he leave us lonely. He strutted at mess. He paraded across the drill ground. He sat by one's cot through the troubled watches of the night. It becomes, therefore, necessary to study the creature's habits.
Let us take a fanciful case that everyone can understand, since even in those early days Corn Willy was omnipresent. Let us suppose that a mess officer desires some information about this old friend. His impulse might be to dash off a note like this:
"Capt. Blank. Dear Sir: Having heard that you've made a life study of the subject, it's occurred to me that you might tell me how it is possible to make Corn Willy palatable."
If one didn't care to bother the colonel about details of paper work, Captain Gammell was always glad to put one right.
“Not at all, my dear young mess officer. Not at all. You must send it through channels."
"I don't think his office is far away. I might just run up and see him."
“What nonsense, my poor ignorant young mess officer! In that case what record would exist of this matter!"
So picture the mess officer in question studying in "Army Paper Work" all about going through channels. As a result he might turn out something like the following:
26
