The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1917-10-25
!. J. Keffer, Former Station
Agent at Fem, Writes
Interesting Letter.
CENSORSHIP STRICT
Likes Country, But States that
the American Women
Beat Them All.

The following interesting letter from
somewhere in France" was received
a few days ago by Lee Rice, from his
friend, /. J. Keffer, former station
agent at Fem:
In France. Sept Q, 1917.
Friend Lee:
There is so very little can say on
account Of the rigid censorship outside
Of saying that your letter just received
and am awfully glad to hear from
you and all my friends ir your vicinity,
and that will appreciate it very much
If you win continue to write all theI
time am over here, giving me all the !
news you can as there is no censor of
your letters sent to us, but they will
allow us to send out novletters contain
ing any names of places, routes orI
military information Of any kind, and
to write letter just telling you things
about myself In personal way would
surely be pretty dry reading to any
one
can't even say when we arrived,
how we came, where we are, or what
we are doing here.
can say however that we have seen
lots OF country since leaving our train
ing camp at American Lake, and that
nothing over here looks half so good
to us as the u. s. A. THE French
do have some pretty women but they
are not to be compared with the Amer
lean girl any more than are the En-
glish girls. Most Of us have seen them
all too, by that mean we have seen
all classes and descriptions and Amer
lea can surely say she has the prettiest
women of them all
The weather here is fine and we win
probably be able to work every day
from now on preparing the way for
the fighting soldiers who will probably
be arriving from America by the thous-
ands as soon as they are ready to move
and the transports can handle them.
Our regiment Is more of a construction
regiment OF engineers than some Of the
other engineers regiments. So you can
figure out for yourself about what we
are doing and know there is plenty to
DO preparing the way for the American
forces and that there will be lots of
soldiers sent. We get no news here at
all of the war. The French have very
few papers and we can't get an Amer
lean paper so you know more about
what is going on than we do. I used
nine months to make soldier but now
am in position to know and am
glad America is not rushing too much
for it surely does take long time to
make a soldier that is good for any
thing and hope there will be no green
troops sent over for their experiences
enroute cannot be better than ours and
know 1t is hard trip and one that
| would never want to make again,
except, possibly under the very best
possible conditions, such as first class
passage on one of the best boats and
IN the best trains as first class pas
sengers and at the best hotels, and
after having seen all these countries
wouldn't want to do 1t over again al
any price, but ! am glad came; glad
70 be here; glad can do something
TO help and wish you were with me
we would sure have some good times
together here, for about once week
we could take in some of the Bis
French Sights and while they are moth
ing near as big as / supposed we could
certainly have a good time together
Prices here are much the same as In
the United States and of course there
are lots of things we are used to thal
we cannot get at all and there art
some things on which the price is out
rageously cheap, such as wines ant
things of which they have a plenty
out for whiskey we pay about the sam.
as In the States. / found one plac,
where could buy BLACK and White
Scotch whiskey in the CITY yesterday
When ! say city, can't tell you whicl
one, but ii is surely some city and al
pig as all outdoors, and for the Scotcl
whiskey and mineral water to mi,
with II had to pay one franc, whicl
ls about twenty cents in II. s. coin, bu
Tor wine a fellow can get big drinl
or bottle for nearly nothing.
We are commencing to get goo
meals again now. Our army cooks ar
all good and when they can get tn
right stuff to work with they can Civ
'ls good meals but when we were tras
cling and had to depend on the Englisl
and French for our food supplies W
certainly did get some rotten meal
and at times we were handled so close
~ that we had to get what little slee
we got either setting up or packed $
close that II one man turned over a
the rest of them with him would hav
TO do the same; even the highest on
ers were In the same way and had {
put up with such things.