The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-12-14
ST. PETERSBURG MAN
WRITES OF PREPARATIONS
MADE NEAR THE FRONT
fSt Petersburg Times)

{.
That $4,000 beds for injured VIII De
,,uov;ded in the hospital to which Al
bert Key is attached in France Is tne
news brought to his mother, MRS. 3D.
die E. Key, 1926 First street north' IN
letter just received from ner son.
The letter gives an intimate toucn Oh
life at the front. 1t reads as foiiows'
Dear mother: 1t is a cold WEI
rainy Sunday afternoon and l am mere
IN the scarlet fever ward with noun
ing TO do except few nose and throat
irritations and possibly to stand at at
tention while General Pershing makes
tour of inspection and probably Do
called down for wearing my new
green sweater which is not military
is he comes in Unexpectedly. But this
is the fourth time that he has threat
ened to visit and inspect us so am
not expecting him to show up. we
were very busy this morning getting
things all cleaned up and ready Tor
his official eye as they say ne Is
very severe. So we had the orderly
and the up patients busy sweeping
and dusting and scrubbing to beat the
band. Also had to run over and get
my bunk all smoothed out and my
various odds and ends out OF sight.
| According to military ethics nothing
; should be left lying around loose
and careless like as it were, and you
r know my failing for having every
, thing I own scattered around.
There is very little happening up
here and nothing to tell OF interest.
l wrote you of the fact that we re-
ceived the wounded from the German
raid on a salient in the American
/, trenches. but there were only few
!, and none seriously hurt so that
wasn't very exciting And there have
been no more raids or wounded from
the bosch guns since, though Of
! course we get some accident cases
daily. We are running with over SOC
patients now but only few of then
D. are very serious The worst thing Is
10 pneumonia, and that is often very
:" malignant type up here. We hav'
had several deaths from it and thu
l. worst of it is that no treatment cal
it stop the stuff 1t is this cursed eli
E. mate. The thermometer does not g
i down so low as yet but it is wet ant
penetrating and chills to the bone
and large number Of the troops ar
lg quartered in these dirty. little Frenc
to villages and sleep on the floors or i
es lofts. We have had several cases 9
broken bones from men falling out q
Be lofts, and one man now paralyzed an
o. awaiting death (broke neck) who fe
&c out of hay loft while asleep, the
say. Our first death was a fracture
W. skull by falling out of motor true
90 because the tail gate came open a
20 cidentally. So you see what unho
oo orable things can happen to the boy
DC over here who came to face the gul
oc of the bosches. BY the way, the fir
W ofncer killed who was in a motorcyc
accident and whose picture was
!, many United States papers, as he W,
the champion rifle shot of the arm
was one of our patients here and h,
the best brain surgeon here in Fran
to operate upon him but it was no u
as it was crushed like an eggshe
This is very morbid letter al
seems to deal much with death, VIII
In fact l am feeling fit as a fiddle.
must be bcause l attended my fiji
'se military funeral the other day. o
Of the engineers stationed here
re- town died and they had two co
panies, about 500 men. out as esct
and the service was very impressi
ooo with them all drawn up at parade re
Then taps was sounded over
- grave and it was truly a beauti
E. thing and made one feel that it v
worth while to come over here af
all.
Our DIR. Finner has been appoint
surgeon in chief to the American
Is peditionary force, we are very ha,
Ae especially as he is to remain here ,
make this his headquarters and II
, say that they are going to group
} 900 beds around here. That