Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 151, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1918 — Former Linotype Operator Not Fond of Ocean Trip. [ARTICLE]

Former Linotype Operator Not Fond of Ocean Trip.

P. Z. MacDonald of Brook, who was employed for a short time a few years ago as' linotype operator on The Democrat and latsr was employed in the same capacity on the Kentland Enterprise, writes an interesting letter from France to the editor of the Enterprise, which we copy: France, JUne 6, 1918.. Dear Friend: —For the past two months I have put off writing to you thinking I could write something of interest, and now that I might bo able to do so" we are not allows c to mention things which might possibly* be so. But I will do the best I can under the circumstances. I wrote you of my leaving Ohio, and after a very short stay at our port of embarkation we bid farewell to “God’s Country” and for several of the longest days I ever spent saw nothing but a few streamers of smoke on the horizon and quite a number of fish, but none such as some of the fellows saw. (?) What I cannot understand is why so many people “rave’’ about ocean tr*ps, Be’.ieve me, old terra flrma is good enough for me—no, I wasn’t sick, either—but it is not the most beautiful scenery to see nothing but water for several days. And when ‘the coast of France showed up there wasn’t enough men on board to keep me below, and it would take severed Kentlands to exceed the number we had on board.

We reached the port of debarkation In the- afternoon and were lucky to be among the first to go ashore, and saw ouir first French town which was built—as all others are in France—entirely of stone. After reaching our camp, which, by the way, is one if not the oldest of r_.ny in France, and was one of Napoleon’s headquarters, surrounded by a stone wall, and it is claimed that a part of this was built by Caesar. After a five-days rest we .were put on board trains and had three days and nights of it, passing through some of the most beautiful country in the world. I will give but a brief description of it as it would, to do it justice, fill a good-sized book. There are no wire fences here, all being _ built of stone, dirt or walls, with lots of hedge, and it is very seldom a field contains more than a very few acres, so you cam iftragine the amount of labor expended to build them. But it is the same in everything—built to stand permanently. The roads here are all of stone, even lames, etc. You have good roads in Newton county, but these put them to shame. But as this is a rocky country they can be explained. I had expected to see quite a change in the soils, vegetation and crops grown hetre also, but there is not much . change. But the strangest of all was I never saw a corn stalk on my trip. After arriving at my present address we were put promptly at work getting our barracks in order, and now- for another good word for the Y. M. C. A. and Red Cross, as well as for the Salvation Army. Several times on our three days’ trip we would get off and find a sign reading “American - Red Cross.’’ I’ll tell you it was good for sore eyes, and at all of these coffee with something to go with it was given to us, with real American women to took at. Support the Red Cross, it is worthy of all that can be said or done tor if. Twenty-four hours afterreaching here a .Y. M. C. A. Ford pulled into camp with books, papers and smokes for us. I never realized what the “Y” amounted to till I arrived in France. At the Salvation; Army fruit, which we soon found after getting here, and under control of ladies, we can get that which will always make me have a wairm feeling for them. Real pie, coffee, cocoa and cookies can he had at nrices which are, it seems to me, hardly enough to pay for transportation of material for them. But I must close this or the censor will not pass it and I could not much -blame him, for I know he has his hands full all the time. I almost forget to mention that scarcely were we off the boat till a little fellow came up to us who knew but these few words of English, “Paper? Chicago Tribune and New York Herald, three cents!” It is needless to say that he did a "ood business while the papers lasted. But the difference in the size of the paper—C. T. was a single sheet. We do not hear as much of the war as. you people do, although we get our paper daily” from Paris. Here instead of autos; they are so common we hardly notice them, and there is a strange rumbling of the earth and noises in the air, but we do not mind that. I must close. Have not received a letter for over a month, and I aim homesick for a letter. Let me hear from you, also send The Enterprise. Your friend, P. Z. MacDONALD.