Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 187, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 August 1918 — Dewey Biggs Left August 8 For France. [ARTICLE]

Dewey Biggs Left August 8 For France.

Dewey Biggs, son of Mrs. Clara Biggs o this city and one of Rensselaer’s navy boys, left Philadelphia August 8 on the transport Henderson for France. Prior to his departure 'he visited many cities and interesting points, and writes of his experiences as follows: - Sunday, August 4, 1918. Dear Folks: —Well, I am back in Philadelphia again but I don’t know how long I will be here. We got here Saturday evening and we will find out Monday morning about how long we will be here. I just thought 1 would write and tell you how lucky I was, when I went up to the ipostoffice this morning and got tire letter you sent with the money order in it. It has been here for over two weeks but they knew 1 would be back so they kept it here. I made out fine with my school. Wfc all made it but one,,and he was too lazy to eat when he was hungry and he did not have good sense, either. lam afraid I won’t be able to get a furlough as the government has spent a lot of money schooling us and they Will want ns to get busy as soon as possible. I am glad to learn how well Elmer is" doing in the automobile business. He said in his letter when I needed money to write and tell him how much I wanted. Well, I think I will have plenty now to last me until I get same if they don’t forget to pay me. My pay is raised from $36.50 to $61.50 a month now. Don’t you think that is a good raise in wages for no longer than I have been in the service? I just happened to be lucky to get the chance to go to school. If I was out of the navy I could get from $7 to $lO a day at my trade. There are a lot of boys that have been in the service over four j ears and have not got nearly as far as I have. It’s all in being lucky. The officer said last night we would probably go to a port in Spain and be there all the time. Our work will be in the aviation repair work and we will be a good ways from the fighting district, probably several hundred miles, so it .won’t be dangerous. From the way some of the officers talked, we will be .going over in a few days. Will find out Monday I think. 1 believe I will like the trip fine. We are all tnxious to go. Maybe we will be more anxious to get back, but the boys that have been across say it is a fine place. If Igo soon I can write and tell you how I like it, but I guess one can’t write much about anything when he gets over there, but it won’t take any stamps and I will do lots of writing when I get there. " We sure had a fine place to stay in Jersey City. I have had it lovely ever since I left the Great Lakes. That was my long time place, three weeks. Seems like a year when we couldn’t go anywhere, but now time slips by like the wind. We had a fine dinner today. Here we have ice-cream every Sunday for dinner; sounds fuinny but it is the truth, and we have cake and pie often, and the best of bread. The job we have I think we will have everything nice as it is a lot better than most of them. It is next to a. petty officer. If lam lucky I may be able to be a petty officer in a few months, but one can never tell. I aim very well pleased the way it is. \

There is an airplane factory here but it is small. They only put out about one hundred planes a week. They are seaplanes. The building covers several acres of ground and they make some big ones. They sent one out Tor trial that carried 20,000 pounds, had two twelve cylinder engines and they both run all the time, one qn each side. It was a monster. I saw them working on it. They done most of the work inside, then took the parts outside and put it together, as it was too large to go through a door. Fifty feet across the wings and carried five men when flying. I came to town today and walked about four miles to get the money order cashed, then the postoffice was closed and the Y. M. C. A. couldn’t cash it as the main man was not there. I will get it tomorrow. Seems like I ami using lots of money but it is gone before one knows it. I borrowed $3 from a friend of mine; had that to pay back and I got a chance to buy a brand new pair of shoes for $3 and I bought them. That was $6 gone. But if I would have drawn the shoes from the navy they would have cost me $5 out of my wages. That is what the fellow I got them of did. He drew them and he was broke so I got them at my own price.

Yau. never told ime who. the fellow was from Rensselaer that was here. I have not seen anybody yet from home that I knew, but it don’t take long to get acquainted with lots of fellows. I.am glad to hear that Elmer did not have to go, for it is a tough old road for the first three weeks. One has to stand in line and wait your turn for clothes, the “shots” and a hundred other things, but one has to have patience. I guess after he gets through with all that he is alright then. Well, I will close as ' I have a little girl to go see tonight, haven’t seen her for three weeks. Will -write more some other time. Don’t send anything that amounts to much, for I may be going across soon. Will let you know soon as I find out. So long, DEWEY.