Manchester Democrat., 1919-02-26
INTERESTING letter
FROM R. c. KEAGY
MANCHESTER BOY IN "Y' WORK
IN FRANCE WRITES OF HIS
BOYS IN THE ARMY
OBSERVES, THINGS OF INTEREST
Trip Through Rural France Described
in Letter. Find Highways
in Fine Condition.


his son, Rev. r. C. Keagy wrote at
Neveres, France, on January oath,
and which tells in an interesting way
Of the work he is now doing among the
soldiers In France. Following are
extracts from Rev. Keagy's letter.
This has been wonderful week.
full of new experiences and special
privileges. I came down to the city
of Nevers Tuesday morning and have
been with Lee, Major Stull. senior
chaplain of the intermediate district
Rabbi Enelow OF Temple Emanuel OF
New York, and Chaplain Jones Of the
Salvation Army. have been speak
ing from one to three times day and
have enjoyed every minuteaof the trip.
Most of the trip has been by motor
through the heart OF France. Major
Stlll has the use of a Cadillac and
a driver and yesterday we drove near
ly 200 miles to Bourge. where an an
cient and one OF the most beautiful
cathedrals in France stands and where
we had dinner with a greup of Of
ficers who had rented fine old home
of twenty rooms and which was sever
al hundred years old. Then we went
on to Gievres pronounced Jew where
the A. e. F. has been maintained by
ordnance headquarters and about
which Irwin Cobb has written in the
Saturday Evening Post. had the
privilege of dining last night with Col.
Summers and his staff, which includ-
ed Major Cole, in an old fashioned
building. the dining room having
formerly been used as stable, 1t
had been whitewashed . dozen times,
ia cement floor laid and the seiSctric
table light had been made by a Germ
an prisoner out OF tin cans and paint
ed glass. 1t was this group of men
who handled all OF the stores which
came from the port centers through
Grievres and on to the American
armies. spoke at two hints last
night, and at 10 o'clock started back
to Nevere, a distance of $50 miles.
A slight furry OF snow threatened a
storm, but the stars were shining
when we finally rolled into this town
at 1880 this morning, 4 WAS so cold
and the room was SO cold that I lay
in bed for an hour trying to get
warm before l finally got to sleep,
Except in Paris the hotels are not
heated, and the beds are naturally
like ice. l slept in my underwear,
H.; txva nf
socks and in addition to the pienti-
full supply of bed clothing Input on
top of 1t all my overcoat, and about
three this morning got to ossleep. We
leave here at 2:3O tomorrow morning
and reach Paris about 100 or 500
o'clock. will be in Paris most Of
next week, but wish that could des-
cribe the drive yesterday Through rnr-
al France, through its villages and
past it's beautiful green meadows and
through long rows Of trees which
line the almost perfect roadways
The driver was making 50 miles an
hour a great deal of the time. and
with. comfort to US.
II started this letter before lunch,
and 1t is now nearly FIVE. am to
speak again this evening, and have
just attended q conference Of chap
lains, X. Of c., Y. M. c. A., Jewish
Welfare and Salvation Army workers
which was held at Maj. Stull's Office.
This is going to be perfectly cork
ing idea, and because of my previous
relation with the Laymen's movement,
Lee feels that am needed to help
keep the thing going during these
pioneer days. Eventually, it will be
directed by some Of the greatest men
in America, but just now some Of us
who are not great are having the
privilege Of helping introduce the
idea.
"It is cold today, like late Novemb-
er. There is skim Of ice on the
water and heavy frost each morning.
but no snow and no zero weather
like you have at home, although it
gets cold and 1 feel it. l wish had
two or three more sweaters. I'll
ask Major for one,
Il wish | could tell you about this
town. Its old cathedral which fea-
lures three distinct types OF archi-
lecture was begun in the
thirteenth century And right across
the square is an ancient castle in
which was Matched the plot which re-
suited in the massacre OF st. Bar
tholomew's day. The winding, twist
ing streets are narrow and 'hilly, with
sidewalks less than two feet wide.
Some Of the stores are turreted;
practically every building in France
is built as a haliow square with gate
ways leading from the street to the
rear of the building. Every night
in Paris and everywhere else steel or
heavy wooden shutters are hung in
front of the windows. Since the
earliest days Of civil wars and feudal
fiebsing, France has sought protec-
ton against its enemies.
"At Gievers we saw miles and miles
of camp life: thousands of engineers
who have been and are still build
ing railway cars for freightage; real
American locomotives pulling long
trains which are supplying the army
of occupation up in Germany. We
saw the prison camp which contains
the men who have gone wrong in the
American Expeditionary Forces, only