The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-03-29
ON BIG JOY TRIP.
TOpekan in France Made a
Long Tour in Auto.
Charles w. Leech Stayed in the
Best Hotels.
WAS GREAT To SLEEP ON BEDS
He Visited Monte Carlo and
Famous Bath Houses.
Southern France Is Much Like
California.
WAS GREAT TO SLEEP ON BEDS

313th ammunition train, and the son |
of Frank Leech, marshal of the court |
of Topeka. has written a letter home |
to his family telling of an interesting !
trip taken by him and a few men from |
his company into southern France at
the expense of Uncle Sam. A few men |
were selected from various companies
to make the trip, travelling first class
and with nothing to do till tomor-
row." except see the country and en- |
joy ourselves. Leech's letter follows;
viii say to begin with, that Nice is
certainly a pretty city, and very old |
and historic city. The climate is very |
moderate and similar to that of Cali
fornia. They raise tropical fruits. IN |
Guiding oranges and lemons, but no |
grapefruit-at least / have not seen
any We have spent a very delightful
week down here-a great change from
regular army life. We are quartered
in one of the best hotels in the city.
and you can imagine US coming out OF
our quarters and stepping into mod
ern hotel with its Brussels carpets and
crawling in between white linen on
soft bed after eight months of concrete
floors and the soft sides of hard
boards. 1t was just like awaken
ing in Paradise-and 1 thought L was
there the first night 1 landed between
those sheets. l think I will have to
write a book when 1 get back to the
States about the millionaire soldiers /
for one week. We sure have lived like
millionaires.
Is wonderful City.
Nice is built on the coast. 1t has
wonderful palm trees and beautiful
flowers. The buildings are all of
white material with red tile roofs and
the mountains as a background, with
their green foliage. make very pretty
picture. Also the old city of Nice is
quite a city in itself, with its old
al1 oh hoe
which were built about the tenth CEN
utry. The buildings in old Nice are
from three to five stories high and the
streets are very narrow-not over
six or eight feet wide. One of the
interesting places close to this old city
is the street where they hold their
public market every day. One can
find here most anything he wishes to
buy. At present they have oranges
and lemons just ripening; and fresh
Vegeta bIes-ra dishes, onions and to-
matoes-in fact. everything that
grows in the garden, and some things
I never saw grow, so don't know what
TO call them
zone of the most attractive places
at this market is the flower row. Here
one can find any kind of a rose one
wants, as well as carnations, VioletS
and pansies. Flowers are about the
cheapest things they have and one
can buy a beautifuIbouquet of roses
for franc, or about eighteen cents
in real money. The oranges are very
high-three or four for a franc. APP
pies and pears are out of sight, good
ones bringing from five to seven
francs each, or about $1.25 to $3.50
American money.
Butter Is High.
Butter is $3.50 to s1.75 a pound.
Eggs are about the same per dozen
and beef brings from s. a pound up.
So you can see that living is rather
, high down here, as in all parts of
France But all our expenses are
paid-eXcept our sightseeing trips.
which we find quite expensive, but
such a chance only presents itself once
in n lifetime and l am sure taking ad-
vantage of it. AS this is one of the
very best leaves ever opened to the
American soldiers in France and more
especially at this time of the year.
e. Not only Nice. but the surrounding
country is wonderful and 1 have seen
it all-eVen well up into the Alps
We also had a chance to land a
foot on Italian soil and visited the lit
tie country of Morocco. which is I'M
der separate principality; also the
city of Monte Carlo, with its wonder
full casino and where the mountains
come right down to the water front,
making very beautiful picture. They
have one of the finest bath houses in
the world here.
Many Fine Mansions.
''All along the beach from Nice to
Mention are the mansions and palaces
of great noblemen of all nationalities,
where they come to spend the winter
months. At the city of Morocco is To-
Gated the princes palace and some
fine museums, including an ocean
oSraphic museum containing a valu-
able collection of deep sea specimens.
'All cities are built either up among
the rocks or on top of some of the
lower hills. with the mountains as a
background and as all the houses are
white with red tile roofs it makes a
remarkable picture. The Y. NJ. c. A.
here at Nice has rented for the use of
the enlisted men the casino which is
like palace and took five years hard
labor to build. 1t is located about
100 yards out in the ocean and is one
Of the finest buildings of its kind in
France. Here we find writing rooms
and amusements of all kinds and the
Y. NJ. c. A. serves us with hot choco-
late, coffee and sandwiches and stages
vaudeville for us afternoons and even
ings.
Il don't know what we will do when
We get back to the company again and
have to take the old steering wheel of
the Mach Quads.' I'm afraid this is
EoiI to spoil us for awhile but we
hope II won't be long until we are or
dered to some port of embarkation.
But if I thought we would get another
trip in four months as nice as the one
we have had this time. wouldn't
mind staying the other three months
As we are starting on our sixth month
or overseas service we will soon be
wearing gold service stripes
spent this afternoon at Vile
France, which has the finest harbor
in the world and visited some of Uncle
Sans submarine chasers. which were
quite interesting. They have a fleet
OF twenty-six in the harbor at Nice at
present. but they are cruising back to-
ward the States and expect to arrive
there sometime in April or May"