The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-03-06
| WAR THROBS /
NOTHING TOO GOOD
Lieutenant Keilmann Tells of
His Treatment in Paris.
Warm Room and White Bread
for Yankee Officers.
EVEN THE CHORUS GIRLS TRY
Sing Their Popular Songs in
English for Their Allies.
In Some Cases FlirtatiOns Were
Most Successful.
EVEN THE CHORUS GIRLS TRY
BY EARL D. KEILMANN.

BY EARL D. KEILMANN.
(Former Lieutenant American c. a. C. in
France)
The ride to Paris was uneventful,
but the events eventually eventuated
when we tried to get our baggage
transferred to another station. Why
hadn't the baggage come in on the
same train as we had? Why did we
want it now instead of waiting till the
morrow? Would we open those
trunks for the customs people? and
few other things all to be explained in
order to each of ahalf dozen officials.
Seeing that each was also an official
of the French government, l soon be-
came convinced that all my argu-
ments as a debater in favor of gov
eminent ownership had been at fault.
1t took lots of bad French on my part
and some tips on the side before we
had those trunks over at the Care
Auster1itz-in time to find that we
had missed the only train that night
for our destination.
At the hotel we had the shock of
our lives, would the gentlemen have
a WARM room?" We would and In
stead of a chilly atmosphere, against
which a few Goals struggled in vain
as in other so-caIled warm rooms, we
found that we had to open the win
dows. 1t was mothering-and steam
heat, too. No coal scarcity there. The
gentlemen have dark bread or white
bread with their lunch?" 1t was
WHITE. And it was as feathery as
one of the wife's biscuits. Where did
they get it?
After the Pay Check.
Over at the Quartermaster's we
were confronted with a sign saying.
| In order to assist in our campaign
! for efficiency we ask that all officers
first find out where they wish to go
before attempting to transact any
| business. We did just that. After
five visits to as many different Offices
we finally found young reserve Off
| Ger who admitted that he was one of
| the three persons in three different
/ officers who looked after pay vouch-
ers. None of the three could find the
voucher 1 had sent in ten days before.
| All ended the interview, saying well,
you know that the mail service is
somewhat disorganized now"
! Went back to the hotel and found
| that efficiency I had been looking for.
| There were my tickets to the theater,
my tickets to the next destination. On
| the bed in my room was a newly
pressed uniform and on a table was a
! light lunch. Coming down, the eleva-
| tor was waiting for me and the door
man led me direct to a taxi for the
| theater-and taXis are scarce in Paris
these days, too.
When 1 had visited the Follies Ber-
gere some months before. the show
was entirely French. Now there were
two French songs in the program and
the rest in English. The chorus was
| English and the girls who pranced
also tried to flirt with the men in
English and American off1cers-in
some cases successfully. The final
scene was supposed to be laid in Ari-
IONA and the cowboys played lear
frog while the principal part did a
niger clog dance The finale brought
in a milk white horse ridden by a
blond who wore short knee pants and
almost no waist at all. Never have
been in Arizone myself but some way
l have had an entirely different idea
of the way people there dress and en-
joy themselves.
TO be continued tomorroWl