Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-02-07
SOLDIERS DENoUNcE
CONDITIONS FOUND
AT BREST. FRANCE

-Four Volunteers at the First Gas
regiment. writing to the Mex York
Herald from Caan Mills. under date
Of February 4. have the following 70
say denounclng the conditions st Brest-
France
Ne would like 10 say word about
Bres camp The latest report ii that
IL is . No i camp, and that 4 Is sol
dier's own fault II he gets his feet
muddy. etc, Our putfit VAS there
twenty one days, 30 We had an oppor
tunity ID see he camp from top to bot
tom
Ia the hrst place. for homecoming
troops II IS regular death trap. Com
Blatant troops encountered worse con-
ditions there than they had up on the
line.
N La the second place, an outfit has
absolutely no time Of It's own ID bet
ter conditions Of protect themselves
While there An ousflt IL worked
every minute 81 me time Il II AZ the
camp
We were sent upon arrival theFe,4
To texts. These tents were pitched ID
fields where the mud b nearly foot
deep. seventy five per cent 81 the
tents leaked like sieve After walk
ing over i mile for mess We returned
to prepare for sleep Our blankets
and sheiter-half we're ali we had To-
sleep upon Some OF us went ont IN
the dark and cut pine branches IN or
der to keep Us on the ground and out
of the mud and water But there was
camp order against Il These trees
Il seems. belonged to the French, and
so We mustn't touch them The q Nj
had plenty of mattress covers and
cork 10 fiji them. but We wefe forced
To sleep upon the ground as described
for nine days
The morning after our arrival 500
men we're ordered to the docks for de-
tail work. These we're called at half
past four q M The balance Of the out
nj WAS SEN To various parts Of the
campso work FOR the 319th Engineers.
Raining steady ali the time No boots
oF slicker hats Plenty at the ware
house, as numerous details for the q.
M. proved French civilians seemed
TO have plenty of United States boots
and equipment Some Of us wanted to-
buy boots and hats for protection.
These were for sale al the commits
Bary for twenty-six francs $5 But
there was an order from the camp
commander to the effect that no enlist
I'd man be sold anything
There We were wet ali The time.
no place to dry our clothes and no pro-
lection from the mud or rain. After
ten days OF sHeh treatment, working
night and day W msFed TO barracks
whsre We had stoves. but here It was
well-nigh impossible 70 obtain fuel
Had 10 have an order from the camp
officer to get an armful Of tree limbs
Ne were In barracks for ten days,
working all the time, and were given
to understand that If We demonstrated
we would be held there from thirty to-
ninety days longer Naturally an out
at which has spent year In France
ten months Of that time tn line work
IS not anxious to stay longer
The fear or God was put In the
heart 81 every man of us on our long
march TO the docks not man cracked
4 smile or said word II was like q
funeral procession instead OF q bunch
Of men who were going back 10 Gods
country This Is the story Of our out
1T al Brest camp. and II you can take
the word of permanent troops there II
Ii the story of every outfit that has
come through there. A word about
the other sanitary conditions Latrinss
right up against mess halls and cook
houses notably al No. II kitchen
We would certainly be glad to have,
sou condense this Letter getting out
the essential parts Of Ii, and put II be-
fore the public
a word about the discharge of SOL
eiers. Can the government afford to
send man home with Just d mon h Y
pay bonus man who has no clothes
and NIL have to buy them no job to.
jump Wight in on and his living to pay
for UNTIL he gets a job? Or q married
man with children what will he do
We understood whe we enlisted
that we were sacrificing To-: that.
our families would sacrifice more But
why unnecessary sacrifices Will not.
the men sent home this way be 4 ter
rible drag on their community until.
they get located at work -