Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1918-08-29
Letter From Sergeant Snyder.
Still in the Same Place, France,
July 26, 1918.

BOOUHcSS SNSIy Qdy llldt pdSSSS SSSS uS
that much nearer home. Got three let
ters from home today that should have
been here before the first. 1t is like
reading a continued story and getting
the middle chapters before the first. II
is hard to keep the sequence of home
events in order when the mail comes
like that. For instance, in one letter
today read that someone was very sick,
and in the one got the other day read
that that person had passed away. Now
that is Just little disconcerting, to say
the least. also got Register, for
which am very thankful. | was read
ing it when Captain Edwards came in,
and laid it down on the desk. He pick
ed it up and started to look it over, and
saw one of my letters and started to
read it. When he had finished it he
looked up and said, "HaVe you any more
of these?" told him that had several,
and he said, swell, trot them out, III
send them to my wife," and finished by
asking me what meant by not showing
him those letters sooner. So from now
on he is a regular reader Of the Register.
was reading an article on the Liberty
Motor today in one of the automobile
journals from home and there were lots
of interesting things about the new
American masterpiece. The chief idea
was to prove that there was really
Liberty motors and aeroplanes in exist
ence. There seems to be an idea back
home that we are not getting any OF the
articles, and that the most
Of the work is on paper, but would have
to disagree with anyone who made such
a statement, for am on the field where
they are being assemble and tried out,
and every day sees new planes sent to
the front. Even as | sit here writing
| can hear the roar Of the motors and
the sharp staccato explosions OF the
Browning machine guns as they are
timed to fire through the whirling blades
of the propellers. Now there is
wonderful thing. The propellers re-
wolves some two or three thousand times
a minute, and those machine guns are
so turned up that they fire. right through
the blades and never touch thing, and
it is a short shift for any Boche who
comes straight at an American plane.
But then | don't see how the bullets
could hit the blade, for you can't see
them at all, for they go too fast. All
day and all night the men are working
on these machines, and the hum and
roar of the mighty Liberty motor is
constantly in the air. have heard lots
of comments, and every one is positive
that our motor is the best that has yet
been put out, and for power, speed and
endurance they have no equal. Our
planes are larger than the old Allied
ones, and there is also considerable diff
ference in the power, and it is not neces-
sary to look up to distinguish between
the planes, for ours come rushing
through the air with a deep-throated
roar that fills every nook and corner
with its resonance. The other day !
heard an unusually loud humming of
motors, and | went out to see the cause,
and there above my head flew seven
Libertys in battle formation, and a more
beautiful sight is hard to imagine. !
tell you that is the sort of thing that
makes fellow glad he is from the
United States and proud to be able to
say that he is an American. Then the
Liberty trucks are getting pretty nu-
merous over here, and they are sure able
to carry their end we'll. Most Of the
trucks are -tonners, which means
that they will carry all that you car
pile on them. They have a governor
which holds the speed down to ffteeD
miles an hour, but by little quiet ad-
justment it can be fixed so that the cars
make about twenty miles an hour, which
is plenty fast enough for a truck and
load weighing six or seven tons. One
of the conveys we sent out recently was
made up entirely of Liberty trucks, but
each truck had a Cadillac car for load,
the touring cars having been loaded on
the bed of the truck. Since the equip
ment was all going to the same place it
meant that every car loaded in that man
ner saved driver and also many gal
Ions OF gasoline. Every known device
is used TO save and get the utmost ef-
fciency out of all lines Of work. The
roads of France are wonderful and are
just the thing for motor transportation.
Were it not for this fact the troops would
be out Of luck in getting supplies of all
kinds, for the trucks go right up to the
front and carry ammunition and all
necessary equipment. Our shops here
are equipped to take care OF anything that
may come up, and we carry a big
stock Of parts and tires-in fact, there
is nothing needed in the automobile
line that we cannot supply. The ma
chine shop is fine one and the very
latest machines have been installed, so
that any part that may have TO be made
can be gotten out in short order.
The repair shop has over ahundred men
in it, so that will give you some idea of
its size, and every department is so
systematized that the least possible
delay is found in getting out the work.
There are also some French shops here
in the camp, and they use quite large
number of women workers, who live
in barracks similar to ours, and the
fellows have quite a time promenading
with them in the evenings after work