Omaha daily bee., 1918-05-11
gifts killed some more, and ere we
are in tn same old plyce wifi ncthin'
done. Wot 8 tn blinkin' user"
CHAPTER XIV.
Rest.

| suppose tfidt thS thes s'i~
soldier in active service over there
looks forward to most and relishes
most when he gets it, is rest-REST
spelled all in capitals. The reason
Tommy likes rest so well is that he
never gets any. AS a rule, when
they move you out of the trenches
and send you back for spell OF re-
cuperation they find few light
chores to do in the way of making
roads or breaking stone or Juggling
ammo. When you are in the front
line there isn't much to do but wait
to get killed and wish you we're in
the rear. At the rear you think you'd
rather die quick than work yourself
to death. There's no real rest in
either place.
Once in a trench-rat's age, though,
somebody somewhere gets careless or
gets the orders balled up, and bait
is pulled out and put on its own for
week or two.
That happened to my bait along toy
ward the end of last July. We had
had nearly ID months in the Flanders
mud, which tasted just the same and
stuck just as close--and there was
tumultuous cheering when the word
went around that we were going back
| 10 a place called st. Omar for six
whole weeks. Nobody believed it, but
we were glad just the same. And it
came true.
This St. Omer burg must have been
named after this Omar Khayyam chap
that wrote the dinkly little four-line
verses about wine, women and song.
Anyhow, it was that kind of place.
Our billets were at suburb called
St. Martin, about Is minutes walk to
the town. We were almost entirely on
our own, having only two hours pa
rade in the morning, and then being
free until 9 p. m.
St. Omar had been town Of, per-
haps, 10000 people in peace times,
and was 10000 now, with soldiers and
war workers of various kinds. 1t had
pretty park in the middle of the
town with the Hotel de Vile and the
cathedral on both sides, and any num-
Der OF cafes, cstaminets, theaters and
movie houses. Everything was wide
wide open up to 8 o'clock. After
that everything was shut up tighter
than Boston at 5 in the morning.
Daring the open hours the main idea
Of St. Omar seemed to be to enter
tain soldiers. The military authors
ties approved, and even tried to get
an order from the French, keeping
the cafes open until 9 o'clock. We
were given unlimited money-within
reason--and were allowed to draw
three months in advance. They
showed US the town and told US to
fly to it. We few.
I don't mean by this that we in
dulged in any wild orgies. There was
nothing in the world to prevent man
from getting as drunk as lord If he
wanted to, or to plunge into the Wild
est dissipation. But it didn't work
out that way.
This is as good a time as any to
say something about the much-ad-
vertised vice and corruption that the
soldier is saturated with--according
to some well-meaning but badly in
formed investigators. The red light
district of st. Omar was wide open
and free to the soldiers of all the
nations. There was nothing in the
world to keep the soldiers out Of the
houses of prostitution, and yet the
number of men in uniform who went
into the restricted districts was
smaller than anyone would suppose.
This was due to the admirably or
ganized French supervision. The
women of the town were kept in their
own places and were forbidden to
solicit. If soldier went into the
district he did II in cold blood and
usually with sober head on his
shoulders
| have heard since returned to the
United States good deal of irrespon-
sible talk of the prevalence of disease
| in the armies. In all my experience
i of nearly two years at the actual
| front, going in and out of French
towns with large bodies of men, I
have known Of very few cases Of care
llessly contracted disease. | would
venture to say that the diseases OF
lpromiscuity are less prevalent in the
British army at the front than in
civilian life. Soldiers aren't any little
| tin angels, but they are taught to be
clean; discipline reaches them in their
J conduct while on their own, and as
a rule they are temperate, either
| through inclination or because they
. have to be. In either case the result
. is the same. They are in no danger
. of falling into any wild dsgeneracy.
St. Omar didn't really have much
n that we didn't get close up behind the
: front. Up there we had our beer in
. the canteens and vaudeville at the
! Divisional Follies, and games and
movies at the Young Mems Christian
. association. The grub, too, was as
! good as it was in town.
, The difference was this: Bacon and
eggs tasted better if you could sit
I down to a table and eat with knife
and fork, and didn't have to clean up
! the dishes afterwards. 1t was luxury
to come out Of a movie show and
, sprawl around on a bench in thepark
5 with no place to 60, and nothing to
: do but watch the people go by; or to
| sit at one of the little iron tables at
' a sidewalk cafe and sop up citron and
soda and just loaf.
Il REST. That was II. The only
! thing lacking was chance to sleep in
la bed. After you get out of the
! trenches there's nothing quite like
: getting between clean sheets and
e stretching out and wiggling your toes
It's almost worth being sent to the
I hospital for. Well, we didn't get any
beds at St. Omar. We kipped on stone
floors. But we sure did loaf to the
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