The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1919-03-14
BILLY SMITH WRITES
FROM lover THERE"
Has Visited Famous European Cities
And Enjoys His Work-Will Not
Get Home Very Soon

Dear Brother:-I hoped l would be
home by this time as l suppose you
know my company is in the States
now, but Uncle Sam must think am
too good a soldier to let loose of for
I am in a regiment now that landed
in France about the time the armis-
tice was signed. So you had better
not try to keep the home fires burning
till I get home or you may have a
fuel famine. I am at the Port of Saint
Nazaire now doing construction work
I suppose you have read about the
great work the S. o. S. has done over
here. Well, have had charge of some
of the biggest jobs here. At one time
I had 300 German prisoners and $50
soldiers working under me. was
recommended for a commission but it
was a little too late in getting into
headquarters so I expect I will receive
a commission in the officers reserve
corps. At present I am in charge of
a big warehouse under construction
on a big dock here that the American
engineers have built 1t is 1400 feet
long and so feet wide. 1t will be fin
ished in about two weeks after it was
started If you get the Saturday
Evening Post and read what the S. o.
S. is doing you will find an account of
it there. I sure would like to have
gone to the front but good mechanic
had about as much chance to get out
as a SNOWFALL in h.
1t is all for the best though, as here
my services are worth something
every day and up there l might have
stepped in front of a fast one the
first time up. was on furlough to
Nice and Monte Carlo and had good
time. God seems to have endowed
Nice and all the villages in that vi
cinity with all the natural character
istics to make it beautiful. 1t is sit
uated at the mouth of river that
flows down from the snow-clad Alps
and empties into the MEDITERRANEAN
sea. You can be sitting in Nice in
your shirt sleeves and not 20 miles
away you can see the snow-clad Alps.
The rock there is of a volcanic nature
and it surely has many brilliant colors.
1t is here that the rich people have
their winter homes and a man surely
had a chance here to mingle the beau
tiful things in architecture with ma
lures own work and the blending of
the two make sight that you never
can forget.
There is one thing I admire about
the French-they believe in trying to
make things look beautiful. They fig
ure that if thing is worth doing at all
it is worth doing well.
On our journey to Nice we travelled
on a French omnibus, what we call
local in the States. 1t took US about
48 hours to go about 400 miles. The
train was crowded and we had to stand
up most of the way. The only place
we could find was the vestibule, and
even there we were not safe for every
place we made a stop some one would
want in, so we decided to see how
many nationalities we could pick up
on our journey. We had about all the
different kinds of soldiers in the
world Russians, Italians, French, Eng
lish, Canadian, Algerian, Serbian, in
the vestibule, with their packs. The
French cars are different than those
in the States; they are all cut up
into compartments with an isle down
the side. Sometimes we ride in box
car that is labeled "S horses or 40
men,"
I sent you a picture of bunch of
fish I caught, did you get it? The
Frenchman who took me out said I
sure was one bon pecher as I caught
about three to his one.
I have been recommended for mas
ter engineer, which ranks about the
same as a lieutenant.
Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you about
the way the government treated US on
our furlough. They put us up in some
of the best hotels in Nice and Monte
Carlo. My room had four beds in it
with hot and cold water and bath.
Cur window faced the blue Mediter-
ranian and it seemed like heaven COM
pared to what we have been accus-
toned to for the past Is months. It
did not seem real at first TO sleep be-
tween nice white sheets with pillow
to rest your head on, and get up in
the morning and wash in warm water.
That is one thing about the French
people, no matter how poor they are,
they will have a good bed to sleep in.
All of our meals were served at the
hotel and we certainly got good eats
with plenty of good fruit, such as
oranges, apples and figs I surely