Republican farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1810-1920, 1918-03-01
ALLIED FIGHTERS
now HAVE LUXURY
IN REST BILLETS
Hardship Such AS Endured
In First Years of War
Unheard of.

French Front, Feb. 28-(Corres-
pondence of the Associated Press)-
The veteran of 1914 who has passed
four winters at the battlefront is apt
to make ironic remarks about 'feath-
cred soldiers when he hears newly
Joined comrades speak of the discom-
forts of cold-weather cantonments. At
the beginning of the war the fighting
men were more than pleased to dis
cover a comparatively dry spot under
the trees of a forest or in a drafty
stable or barn in which to pass their
very rare and short periods of repose.
Now all has been changed and ev-
erything possible is done to provide
some sort of comfort and distraction
for the men when they come down
from the front-line trenches. It must
not be supposed that all the modern
aids to human comfort are furnished
to the soldier but his lot is luxurious
compared with that during the early
months of the war.
In every village in the immediate
rear of the fighting line out of range
of the German guns town major has
been appointed, who makes it his bust
ness to know of every nook and corner
where men and horses can be housed.
| When a battalion or a regiment
marches in, everything is in readiness
for it's reception. Regimental work
shops and Offices, stables and kitchens
| already are arranged, and billeting &C
commodations for officers and men
listed in such way that the soldiers
have only to go in and occupy their
quarters. Sometimes they are lodged
in the cottages, but in general it has
been found more convenient to place
them in farm and barns, as
the hygienic facilities in the country
houses are far from modern.
| Every available grange and barn
has been thoroughly gone over and
made watertight by having its roof
covered with tarred paper and its
walls made draft-proof by thick
crenelated cardboard. Electric light
has been installed, every building pro-
Nided with a stove and washstands.
Partitioned off is a compartment
where the men may take hot and cold
! shower baths. In the nearby kitchens
every requisite is handy for cooking.
AS to the mems personal comfort
! each of them is given a trestle bed,
with straw mattress, known generally
as ''six-foot feathers" holsters, sleep
ing sack and blankets.
In the vicinity. of the villages sports
| grounds have been enclosed and
marked for football games, while
numerous plots of land are set apart
for truck gardening and generally
cultivated by old reservists who do
not go into the firing line. The pro-
duce is much appreciated by the
troops, who, when at the front, have
| to content themselves with canned
| vegetables.
In each cantonment large hut has
been erected to serve as a recreation
and reading and writing room. 1t i:
provided with a fairly extensive Ii.
brary and all kinds of indoor games
Every week or so a moving picture
performance is given by the Army
theatre, which also arranges dra-
matte shows.
Besides these official arrangements
for the troops other efforts are made
by private bodies to cheer the mer
between their arduous and perilous
periods of trench work. In almost
every cantonment a canteen has been
established under the auspices OF
French, American or British women
who serve the men with hot coffee
tea and bouillon and little food deli
cacies.
During the chilly months from Sep
TENDER to May each soldier is giver
extra supplies of warm clothing com.
prising three cotton shirts, two pair:
of f1annellette undergarments, two Oh
three pairs of wooden socks three
blankets, one sweater, one scarf an(
pair of wooden gloves, and in the
Vosges mountains and other sector:
where the cold is most severe still
more warmer clothing is placed at thu
disposal of the troops in case of need