Arizona republican., 1918-07-08
SOCIETY WOMAN
 WRITES IF HER CANTEEN WORK

Working a twelve hour a day shift | behind the firing line Mrs. Edith | Knowles, well known society leader, | has described her experiences as a can teen worker in France in a letter to | Phoenix friends.
 A favorite guest at smart homes in l this country and abroad before the | war, Mrs. Knowles is living lin a funny little house down a muddy alley, l where the compost piles are in front Of the house, the COW goes in at the front door and a large white pig with a curly tail wanders around"
 While it is extremely difficult to be- come canteen worker overseas, Mrs Knowles, admirably fitted for the work, was accepted within a few hours after she made her application. A clever linguist, a woman of fine sym pathy and understanding, an indefati- gable worker, it is not surprising to her friends that Mrs. Knowles is mak- ing good on the job.
 In part, here is her most recent let ter to Mrs. Royal Lescher:
 Near Firing Line
 'I left Paris on the Sth Of March and went at once to a post within 14 kilometers of the firing line. I worked in canteen where l was associated with a Miss Mcknight of Pittsburg and a MT. Atkins of Newton, Kan. 1 had fresh attack of bronchitis when left Paris and it got worse and worse until I lost my voice entirely, and I coughed until-well. I wouldn't have believed anybody could be so sick and and keep afoot. but 1 never lost an hour. Of course, in the war zone, all | lights are covered at night so you can imagine the atmosphere in that low ceilinged cafe when the doors and win doWs were closed and all those boys smoking, coughing and spitting - great
 We were in L. two weeks and the troops moved, and, of course, it was up to us to catch up with them, so We were ordered to be ready to leave at 6 a. m. Palm Sunday All the time we were in L. we had almost daily visits from the Boche aeroplanes, and the afternoon before we left they shelled the town with cannon, but didn't do any vital damc~- I could hear the shells whistle through the air and when one exploded a little nearer than usual. I jumped, but wasn't a bit afraid-honest, I wasn't Well, to make long story short, we
 
 for those troops. The directors said we should have nothing to do for a week. so we went down to see if a change of climate would help our colds. It was an awful trip, but I had some old and dear French friends at the end of it and I was determined to get there. Believe me, it was happy reunion, and Doctor and Mrs. Bres took the best of care of us and we be- gan to get better.
 Riviera Is Sober
 We ~ot a car and drove to Monte Carlo and also to Grasse and the coun- try bac kof the coast. It is all very
 beautiful and the coast from Mar seilles right on down to Cape Martin re- minds one of California. Of course there is no hope of any of the old jol- lity that made the Riviera famous; there are no private cars, and after noon tea means tea and nothing else: persons in uniform cannot enter the
 gambling rooms anywhere, and food
 is very restricted-no sweets of any . wind, no white bread in fact. none O; 1. the good things of which one thinks
 when France is mentioned. All men over 19 or under AS are in the army
 which means, of course, that there are almost no workmen around. Many
 shops are closed. No repairs are made
 except such as are necessary to mili-
 tary affairs. Of course, all able bodied people work in munition factories and only just enough are excused to TUT the railroads and such necessities Still, with all the drawbacks, it is won derful how the country -ets on and is fed and fairly comfortable; Wher things go wrong they simply say, 'C'est la guerre,' and let it go at that never saw such patience.
 We had only five days in Nice, but it was restful to be away from the sound of the big guns. to be in 8 heated house. to have warm baths anc warm bed-above all, to be with deal
 friends We returned to headquarters
 where we found orders to come to the front once more. so we girded up oul loins once more and started out. Travel Is Slow
 Under ordinary conditions we would : have made the trip in about six hours but this time we were 29 hours CT , route. Connections are almost un known; one generally has to wait { long time for the next train an( changes are usually made somewher' in the small hours of the morning, say
 2:30 a m. or 4:15 or such. In abou
 one more trip I shall be able to rol : up in my cape and sleep sweetly ol :, any railroad platform just as the poilu :, do. I have a lunch box which I relig
 iously fill, and then l don't care whel
 1 get any place. l wash when I get |. chance-it's a great life if you don e weaken.
 e T am in northeastern France now n within five kilometres of the firing line I and can hear the guns all the time ] Now and then a barrage fire wake = me up, but 1 am generally so busy ldon't notice the noise. I'm in a littl s village in retaken territory and I liv e in funny little house down a mudd t lane, where the compost piles are i f front of the houses, the COW goes in a , the front door, and a large white pi s with very curly tail wanders around n When 1 first saw the domicile e thought l never could live in it, bu d when I came inside I found it per 1T fectly clean and a very nice youn
 woman as my hostess. I have a tin If room off the kitchen, so that 1 ge n a little heat when the fire is going. !; Huns Leave Little
 l. Mile. Marie buys my food and cook A it, makes my bed and does my wash y ing, so I am as comfortable as one ca o be in a country where the sun onl e shines every two weeks or so an
 where everything worth anything wa l. carried off by the Huns There is T g butcher any more, but I get some be- o from the army mess about three time n a week and some eggs and sardine Ia froCb lattuoo on1 c-ood braad do n.