The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-05-29
Dean Eldridge
Writes Again
Six. or Seven Thousand Miles
East of Home.

East of Home.
This is such a picturesque OLE
town. If it would ever warm VI
again it would make residing here il
fuel-less times more agreeable. A,
matter of fact the war does no
change the heat and light question
so much here. No other people are
so lavish in these-and many other
respects as Americans anyway
American things are so much better
certainly the sweet things. They
never have used more than a frac-
ton (isn't it one-seventh) of the SUI
gar we do and now have so very little
they have to use saccharine, that
chemical stuff.
This morning just as was starting
out for real bath I met five bright
faced boys whom I guessed to be
"Eclaireurs" or French boy scouts.
Thursday is the free day from school,
not Saturday, and when I asked them
what they were up to, they said they
were going to do their good turn,
and when inquired what it was to
be, they said they were going to
gather some wood for an old lady,
I believe.
This afternoon l watched our men
at work. l don't know how much
/ am allowed to tell but / can at
least speak of the great travelling
cranes. I walked and walked over
the works. It may not be so poetical
as up at the front, where many are
anxious-or think they are-to go,
but their work is highly useful and
necessary I only wish we could do
more to liven up their dull existence,
as indeed we shall surely do as soon
as we get our moving picture ma
chine.
Last night strolled thru the mess
hall and our Y part, and found 112
engaged in writing letters, even tho
our trunkful of writing paper had
given out.
The thermometer dropped to seven
degrees centigrade this morning and
is only ten degrees now.
Pay day, long heralded, came at
last for most of the companies and
we had corresponding rush. Of
course a good natured crowd, but the
changing of their 100 and 50-france
notes is always problem. I had
been boarding for just this occasion
and so got by pretty well. We also
took in some thousands of francs to
send home to folks or banks. That is
one of the best services, I believe.
Saturday night.
Colder than ever but I have my
overcoat on. Usual Saturday night
rush and still flush from pay day.
Moe says he will almost be recon-
.iled when they are not so flush. You
may be interested to know that to-
lays business amounted to 2126 |
francs and that where the largest
possible item is 2 IL francs, which
IS for a good bath towel. Many
transactions will be 10 centimes for
/ box of matches or 80. centimes for
/ package of gum, so that total rep
'esents much work for Moe, myself,
md the one or two soldier boys who
lelp out. Besides this we arranged
or and collected some thousands of
rancs to send home. I think we
lave a pretty efficient sales force
md system. l must sometime de-
cribe in some detail what our can
cen looks like and how ingeniously
locks up.
Every Sunday is cold and rainy
n the afternoon if not all day. At
80, as our pianist was late, we had
good informal song service-popu-
ar airs and then hymns and fine
PRACTICAL minute talk by Mr..
'haw on "Going Back getting
eady to be better men when they go
ack home. Shall get an engineer
ng library here as soon as possible.
This morning went as planned
D the old Protestant church and en-
Dyed the service greatly. The organ
yas especially fine and well played.
Nine. Benigneuse, whose husband
in the army as chaplain now
in the Foyer du Soldat {
ork, lent me hymn book, or rather :
lared it, during the Sunday school
osing, and had me sit in her pew for +
lurch. The building is quite puritan a
above and brown below, '
gh pulpit, pews with doors, all very +
ain in contrast to the highly decor d
ed Catholic churches. In the after l
ION went to delightful chamber t
ncert. As the program does not G