Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1918-06-30
AMERICAN SOlD|ERSBUY
SWEETS AND SOUVENIRS

OF tno hhipb chhttoh. IN 'front.' OF
his booth Is long queue OF Ameri-
can soldiers, patiently awaiting their
turn TO buy the sweets and souve-
Mrs displayed on the counter and In
tho showcases. II Ia m incident OF
life OF American soldiers on trans
port bound for France.
The cantoen-keeper Is tired. Never
In bis experience on British vessels
has he encountered such big bus
iness IIe has sold HIS wares in all
tho seven seas 10 people OF many ma
tIonallties. and II no we're awarding
la prize TO tho best customer II would
be bestowed promptly or the Ameri-
can soldiers.
II say" he exclaimed 10 the chief
steward after he had closed shop the
nrst day out. what a sweet tooth
they have. Al the rate they're buy
Ing me out. there won't bc a gum
drop left by the time we get halfway
across"
On some OF the British transports
that are taking Uncle Sans troops
to France there are az many as Ave
cantcons.
The demand for chocolates Ia so
great that the supply. large though
Il may have been. Is quickly ex-
hausted. American chewing gum Is
next In popularity. After the home
variety OF confections have been sold
out, the soldiers begin to experiment
with British sweets. OF which toffee
wins perhaps the most favor. II
American pop" could be had, II
would be consumed In large quanti-
ties Failing that, the troops drink
Spanish ginger ale.
on soldier Is known 10 have spent
si5 for candy and ginger ale. He
probably would have spent more be-
fore the ship reached port. but one
day, greatly to his establishment, he
became seaslck.
The canteen curios, such as shells
on which are painted the American
flag. attract many buyers. ana be-
fore the trip Is ended almost every
soldiers kit contains one or more Of
these treasurs.
On the British transports the bar
ber shop Is advertised on the door
as ''Hairdresser." As a rule this sign
is not understood by the American
looking for haircut or shave He
thinks II Is place for women to
have their hair dressed. and he
passes II by. When he confesses to
his comrades that he can't flnd the
barber shop. he is made the victim
OF good deal OF ioshing from those
who have fathomed the secret.
The soldiers who patronize the
halrdresser find the experience rath-
or novel II seems queer to be
shaved In an immovable upright
chair, and queerer still, but extreme
ly satisfactory. to be charged about
half the price one pays In frst-
class American shop.
II Is on the ship that many Amer
] leans become acquainted for the first
time with English money. Aside
from stray Canadian dime. they
usually have never seen British
coins, and when In exchange for an
American bill they are given strange
looking pieces OF silver and big disks
OF copper. they register, in the lang
uage Of the movies. wlde-eyed inter-
est.
what are these stove lids fori"
ask an Iowan Of q Texan, puzzled
and showing some disdain for the
big English pennies.
You put 'em In sock to bean
a Hun with. reckon" replies the
southerner, netting the coins. "Or.
maybe" he adds, I'VE can use 'em
to throw at submarines"
"a sergeant steps up with infor-
nation. "You use those things for
tips" he volunteers. They're worth
two cents piece. That's good
sized tip in London"
"You fellows" the sergeant goes
on. reaching for the Iowan's coins.
"better get wise to this English
dough-" He holds up silver coin
"You know what that is?"
A crowd has gathered to hear the
lecture.
That's shilling" says voice.
Shilling your grandmother.
That's half crown. It's equal to
two shlllings and six pence. You
want to be careful not to get II
mixed up with one Of these two
shilling pieces that's nearly the same
size"