The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1917-10-12
Robcrs Bentley Writes From France.
Somewhere In France,
Sept. /. 1917.


At present I am one of the twenty
men and two lieutenants on a detach-
ment learning the French methods.
We have very good quarters at
baron's estate "a farm, sleeping in the
upper part of barn, which IS clean
and has plenty Of light and air. Our
kitchen and dining room is In the
hoy7e, or chateau it's called in French.
The cooking is done in an old fire place.
We have a very good cook from the G.
G N. w. dining car service and are
getting good supplies, so we are well
fed and very comfortably fixed in all
ways. Our only trouble is we're afraid
it won't last; also we haven't any
money. Uncle Sam is neglectlng to
nav us. I doubt if there is dollar in
the rec: mont except what the officers
lave. Tobacco IS at premium. Most
O. US lave none and 10 money to buy
any. We are not Gated where we will
get any benefit from the American
supply sen. over which we've read so
mq5h ABOUT. I'm afraid we will be
DISCUS ed with army life soon if we
dcu't get tobacco.
The French soldiers and what few
civilians we see (there are few here
s.ow) treat US very fine. They all want
10 shake hands with PAmericans. The
children run out ard take hold II our
h ads and eek for souvenirs and sous
2 sou is a copper piece of about one
cent in value. With the help of our
.little french self-taughts we do very
we'll unders anding the people and IL
m King ourselves understood. They
are al very patient and will always
keep at it until they make US compre-
bend what they n1e2l. There are several
interpreters with Us, who, of course,
are a great help. We are learning
some French ana hope to be able to
talk good pigeon French by the time
we arrive back in the good old U. S: A.
The climate is peculiar here. Nice
sunny days-not hot, just comfortable
with our WOODEN shirts, and nights so
cold we nave to use cur three blankets.
poncho, shelter half and overcoat On
cur cots. It seems cold enough for a
frcst every night. We've suffered but
enc hot day this whole summer i
think you and Bill will remember which
it was. (He means the day they
marched from Chicago.) It hardly
seems possible the summer is nearly
gone. The winters here will not be
vc-y severe [ think. 1t gets down to
about Is degrees above zero.
The buildings are all of the s2me ma
terial, chalk blocks and the roofs are
all the same, red Tile. The farm vag-
chs have two wheels and are drawn by
one horse O.. two in tandem and t1e
women work in the fields. Some wear
wooden shoes and carry bundles on
heir backs. TIE streets in Ire cities
and villages are narrow and winding.
Everything just as we see IN pictures
The railroads are about the same IS
tie English roads. Freight cars
wagons &C :ry one or two tons mo5e.
They are fastened together in the same
n2orner, i. e., two links with az ad-
Unstable screw between, and two
Oh ms. No automatic couplers like
ours. There are some large engines
here that look nearly like ours, also
some Boche engines which have been
captured.
There is small edition Of the Chi
csgo Tribune printed at Paris that We
get every morning when in town where
the regiment is quartered. This has
American news and news of the war
here. It costs us one cents. The pa
per this letter is written on was bor-
AOWSu lEOIu three Ol1lCEeIlL tIlSH. HS
rext may be written on newspaper
margins.
Most of the news you people have
had Of us, we understand, has been in
correct so don't pay too much attention
TO anything you read or hear. You
have "stove pipe" committee over
there too [ think.
Love to all,
BOB.