Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-04-30
LIEUTENANT SOON TO BE HOME,
SAYS COMPLAINTS OF SOLDIERS
ARE RECEIVED TOO SERIOUSLY

] l.. OIulIu-
wounded at Chateau-Thierry on
Aug. I, will return home in few
days.
He arrived with the One Hun
dred and Tmrty-n&nth infantry,
Thirty-f1fth division, at Newport
News on Friday. He is--a son of
H. c. Smith, clerk at the Modern
Woodmen head Office Another son,
Sterling Smith, who was with the
Canadian forces, is expected to be
invaded home soon. He is at a
hospital at Orphington, England,
at the present time.
Lieutenant H C. Smith received
promotion from second lieutenant
to first lieutenant the day he was
wounded. He had been overseas
nearly a. year and a half In a let
ter just received by his father, he
American soldiers are treated in
France, wrHing from st. Nazaire:
at has been said that the only
satisfied soldier was soldier who
would hesitate at no opportunity
to voice his disapproval of all
things civil or military, whether or
not they in any way affected his
own life. If so, this great army of
liberty is the most satisfied army
in history.
Just now 1 happened to glance
casually over a European edition
of one of our American dailies, and
my eye was caught by a column
long complaint originating from
some Kansas doughboy, and re-
garding certain embarkation camps
at Brest, St Nazaire and Bordeaux
If one would believe this young
American, one would picture these
camps as either miniature or en-
Engagements of the stock yards at
ST Louis, Kansas City or Chicago,
wherein American soldiers were
herded into and out of white
washed pens, and were fed with
pitch fork, bat
"A certain division has been. in
this camp now for eight days, and
in that eight days the men of that
division have done an average of
not over four hours work per man.
There is a rule in this camp that
there is to be no washing of cloth
ing by soldiers, procedure which
in no way tends towards a lack of
cleanliness, since the plan is to is
sue clean clothes in place of the
dirty ones, and there is no dearth
of clean clothes. This noon 1 Wis
tied a mess hall capable of feeding
$500 enlisted men at one time-a
mess hall large enough to accom-
modate this number of men under
dotted at frequent intervals by elecA
trio lights, and one which would
shed all the rains of France and all
the tears of the calamity howlers at
home were they to descend upon ii
at once in one mad torrent. l saw
these men file past the table in this
hall in five lines. / saw them stand
ing at tables under this roof and
eating their MONDAY meal, and
saw them emerge and wash their
mess kits in great watts of boiling
water, fed from jets of live steam, |
and all of this was under roof.
at rained here today, and there :
was mud, much mud. But the only !
time that the men OF this camp !
were compelled to be out in this |
=
to go to the mess halls, a period OF |
not more than ten minutes. And |
hey formed On sidewalks land /
on sidewalks, and at no
line were they compelled to walk |
in the mud.
81 care not Where you would go !
N this camp, nor by what route |
you would care to go, there is /,
sidewalk going there and by that |
route
Last night attended a perform
lnce given by a theatrical company
made up of members of an east
srn division. This show is playing
1 one week stand here, and the ad-
mission is-nOthing. Its perform
lnces are given in an auditorium
seating two thousand men, and at
every performance the auditorium
S filled. The show is billed as
Revue and that is what
t is. If you would close your
Eyes and listen to the orchestra
,ou could easily imagine yourself
n any one of Keith's houses, and
With them open it is as easily
that you are in the land
# the doughbOy's dreams, for l will
Jack the female impersonatOrs of
his show company against the
arrest of the fair. And yet last
light had l been otherwise in
lined 1 could have attended band
concert in another auditorium,
nd American movies at half a dOz
n others.
Truly the way of the soldier is
lard. They take your coolies away
rom you here, and to ensure this
hey have frequent inspections.
hey insist that your clothes be
.ept clean while here, and so they
ssue overall suits to be worn over
he uniform during the day. Thdy .
insist on personal cleanliness,
which entails frequent baths in
warm rooms and under hot show
rs, and you must even forego the