Other gatherings of equal interest were arranged, during which the _Morning Scratch_ was presented with its ephemeral owners and contributors and its policy of "charity to none and malice toward all." This remarkable paper not only attracted the attention of the divisional censor, but outlived three editions in which plain fabrication vied with outspoken truth in ferreting out the peculiar qualities of well-known men in the organization. Sergeant McCarthy and Corporal Malone acted as editors of this worthy "sheet" but shielded the names of contributors to the last. Robinson and Stearns valiantly attacked the "general's march" unceasingly when the word was passed down that General Pershing was coming to inspect the Company on November 11. Clothing and equipment were scrubbed as never before, but the stigma of a quarantine saved the men the nerve-racking experience of an inspection by the General, and the only sight they had of him was when his car flashed past to Landaville where the headquarters of the 102d Regiment was located. After patiently translating most of the French handbook on the Hotchkiss machine gun which was issued to the Company the previous week, Lieutenants Carroll and Nelson transmitted their information to the rest of the Company officers and the men were called out for the first demonstration. Described as being "air-cooled, gas operated and strip-fed," the gun was extremely heavy but at the same time one of the most dependable machine guns used in the war, and its comparatively simple mechanism soon was well known by most of the men. All during this time of acclimation "chow" was as scarce as Mike Shea's speeches, kitchen police was a detail for which first class privates strove and methods of adding to the slender rations were many as well as devious. Matches were unheard of things, cigarettes priceless luxuries. There were few men in the Company who would not have pledged at least half of their next month's pay for a satisfying supply of chocolate. All company officers being quartered in barracks a quarter mile down the road with the exception of Captain Wolf, who enjoyed the distinction of a clean, dry room with one of those slumber-provoking French beds in a house in the village of Certilleux, were relieved from quarantine restrictions, as were Lacaillade and Hobart, who found refuge with the second battalion of the 102d Regiment while measles, or the threats thereof, held the camp in their grasp.