The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-02-22
SOMETHING DOING
EVERY EVENING
Army Life at Brest is Busy Elk
istence for Soldiers Of
Camp Pontan-
ezz0n.
BEST HOSPITAL. THERE
Permanent Garrison Of 1900 Men
While Translents Number
About 45,ooo
Troope.
BEST HOSPITAL THERE
lBy Lowell Mellett. United Press
Staff Correspondent

.lBy Lowell Mellett. United Press
Staff Correspondent
copyright 1919 by the United Press.l
BREST, Feb. 22-Camp PCntanez-
zen, where most of the honeWard
American troops are stationed while
awaiting transportation is big In
stitution.
The camp today contains q permar
nent garrison of 1900 which will be
reduced when the camp 1t completed,
renderi carpenters and engineers
unnecessary. The transients number
As 900, which is the maximum that
can be handled-in fact, strains the
facilities.
When completed, the camp will ac-
commodate ninety thousand comfort
ably. The completed institution will
be divided into sixteen areas, each
having It's own kitchen, entertain
ment hall, recreation grounds and Y.
M. c. A. hut. There are now ten
amusement halls, varying from big
tents to substantial buildings large
enough to be used for dances.
There is an entertainment of some
kind tnAa ieast one hall every hight
sometimes more than one. Minstrel
shows by clever colored troops are
the most popular. Last night the
correspondent saw one OF these.
Some of the dancers ought to be on
the professional stage and there was
Jazz music that would have done
credit to Broadway's celebrated res
taurants.
Aside from entertainment the SOL
diers' time is occupied in construc-
ton work, particularly transforming
mud roads into macadamized streets.
This Is nearly finished and the motor
trucks find good going In most OF the
places around the camp.
The billeting officers also utilize as
much of the transient labor as pos
sible in improving the billeting areas
under their charge, for there is con-
tinual billeting competition, whereby
the winners get a weeks leave once
a month, the same as the winners In
the kitchen contests.
The health of the permanent gar
rison and the transients is carefully
supervised. The camp hospital con-
aims 2,340 beds though third are
unoccupied. 1t Is capable OF expan-
sion If necessary.
TT is the best equipped hospital
in the A. e. F." according to Major
George II. Burke, who is in charge
of IT and who might be expected to
protest If he were inadequately sup
piled with essentials. On the other
hand he maintains he has everything
that can be expected in a camp hos
pital The hospital consists of big
stone barracks building which con.
talns the operating rooms and dozens
Of frame ward buildings. The stan
includes 104 Red Cross nurses. 1t
was different in the days of the pneu.
monia and influenza epidemic last
fall when there were only thirty.
seven nurses.
"The only reason we didn't have
more nurses is that they were not
to be had" said Major Burke. "The
war cleaned out the American sup,
ply of nurses. We got all we could
In addition we combed out the mer
in camp, finding many for temporary
duty"
The major spoke glowing1y of the
way the nurses worked during the
epidemic, saying they never thought
of sleeping and sometimes worked
twenty-four to thirty-s1 hours
straight"
Blanche Jones, head nurse. whom
Major Burke described as "the great
est woman in the A e. F.,' has beer
recommended for congressional recog
milton.