Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-08-03
PRETTY GIRLS WELCOME
IN THE WAR ZONE

Pretty American girls are a most
desirable quantity in the war zone Of
France. despite all assertions TO the
contrary. At last. so says one man
who has been around and knows.
The praise OF the plain, practical
woman who can cook, sew, bake.
scrub, sweep. Ia1nder and do nurs-
ing amid the chaos OF war has
been sung frequently. Now up speaks
William H. Johnson, Jr., 10 announce
that il does our young American SOL
diers world OF good 10 gaze upon
pretty girls from back home who are
acting as canteen workers. Mr. john
son, who is the Y NJ. c. A secretary
in charge of entertainment work re-
ported his conclusions TO Thomas s.
McLane. director OF the "Y' entertain
ment bureau. after an inspection tour
of several centres where Americans
predominant.
He described the artillery school for
Americans at k, where the "
has taken over a large chateau at
rental Of LOCO franc a month. One of
the Red Triangle staff was an at
tractive young woman worker Mr..
Johnson favors the sending of good
looking canteen workers.
The very fact that they are pretty
means so much TO the men. and then,
they are much more than clerks at
country store he argues.
In X. conditions are very friend
~ with the army. The Colonies in
charge treat the divisional secretary
as a brother and do everything for
him." reported Mr.. Johnson. Walk
ing along the corridor of the school
there, who should l run into but G. W.
Perkins. Jr., carrying three cans of
beans. for what purpose, / know not.
We made date TO meet at the Y. NJ.
c. A. after dinner inasmuch as he was
tied up that afternoon.
Back of the chateau is natural
amphitheatre. At the bottom of this
the army electricians have strung
lights, and that evening a band from
a neighboring camp provided an ex-
cellent concert while, lying out in the
grass or sitting in chairs, the fellows
smoked and enjoyed the music. The
whole atmosphere was more like SEN
Tor singing in college than anything
else.
THE French people of the town are
working hand and glove with the Y.
NJ. c. A. Some of the girls living
there put in regular hours at the can
teen. and while they work there they
teach the men French At the band
concert mentioned a great many of the
better class of French in the village
were present and it turned into de-
lightful social evening. Such rela-
tions not only help teach the enlisted
men French but give them more real
insight into French life than could be
obtained in any other way
From k. he went to H., for
merly a little port which the Yankees
have transformed into a little Pitts
burg" with American engineers as
sembling Baldwin locomotives and real
American freight cars to be put on the
two hundred miles of American track
they have laid Here the Americans
were erecting $50 warehouses of sheet
steel with cement floors.
On the edge of the town was
barbedwire stockade in which were
900 German prisoners, guarded BIZ q
company of invalided British soldiers.
OF the prisoners, Mr. Johnson said:
You've no doubt seen pictures of
them in their dingy green suits with
numbers on their backs. For me that
noon they had a most savory-smelling
stew of meat, peas, potatoes and car
rots. also American white bread. In
the yard are three little shops-a tall
or's, a shoemaker's and one other. One
of the prisoners is a portrait painter
and is at present doing the pictures
of the British officers of the camp. 1t
was also most interesting TO see that
these prisoners had concrete foored
shower baths and the best of medical
attention. Two companies of pris-
oners, under guard, had just been out
watching or participating in Rugby
football match. ! wish we could be
sure our own boys in German prison
camps had anything approaching sim
liar treatment"