Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1918-12-17
instead of cutting 1t.

ihoNSoN Va NuhNihb iN'
Such things as potatoes, corn
Willles," rice, three varieties of
beans, bread, bacon, tomatoes (can-
ned), salmon, jam, jelly, syrups, and
pickles, are issued us. and occasion
ally fresh vegetables are bought from
the peasants. with money from the
company fund.
Altho We all are Grabbing" about
out treatment, guess we should con-
slider ourselves mighty lucky in get
ting along as well as we do. The un-
lucky "doughboys' are the ones who
have to contend with hard life.
A Boche plane was over today, and
some of the boys said papers were
dropped from II. If ii is true they
were probably written to lower the
spirits or try to misrepresent the
present war conditions. The Germans
have done such things in this section
before, have been told. =
Quite frequently enemy machines
fly over at night quite low, and the
mill is always stopped and the
lights are put out till the danger is
passed. Several towns within fifteen
or twenty miles from here have had
bombs dropped on them, and in some
cases people were killed. Quite a
shower of shrapne from the anti
aircraft guns fell in camp about a
week ago, when they were shooting
at a Hun. Satisfied a few souvenir
fiends and did no damage.
The "Y" got small supply of
Camel "cigs" a day or so ago, and |
need not tell you how well they sold.
First ! had gotten hold of for about
three months, and | darned near
smoked myself sick, We get a Dur
am "tobac" issue once per week, but
| can't educate myself to 1t. Smoke
p. A.. Velvet or Tux" when | can
get 1t, which is not very hard to do,
as most "Y's" and government COM
missaries have 1t for sale. 1t is now
20 centimes, or about II cents per
can, and the Camels, by the way, are
80 centimes. Most everything in
that line is cheaper here than in the
states. There is no import duty on
1t, you know. We are able to buy
tobacco, Gig papers, cookies,
matches, razors, soap, tooth paste
and such articles at the "Y' and 1t
surely Is a great convenience.
The U. S. government also has
commissaries or canteens at various
places hereabouts, and sell most ev-
erything which a soldier may need,
and at prices that are surprisingly
cheap in comparison with the regu-
lar price in the states.
The French people, however, after
dealing with the Americans for a
while seem to realize or think we
have plenty of money and are will
ing to pay most any price for articles.
The common saying is, when an
American comes in the door the
prices raise" The situation became
so serious for a while that general
order was issued from headquarters
asking the men in the A. e. f. to re-
port any case Of overcharging, along
with the name and address of the
merchant, consequently conditions
are little better now.
A dozen eggs brings the peasant
) francs, or about 95 cents, and milk
sells for approximately the same as
It does at home. Home Gee, that
Is a great word, and implies great
deal Good eats, soft beds, electric
lights, door bells, lawn mowers and
best of all, love.
Thru the suggestion Of the "Y'
secretary, the boys are planning
minstrel show for the near future.
Rehearsing has been delayed for the
want of a piano which should have