The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-08-28
RETURNED OFFICER
IMPRESSED BY ROADS
EUROPEAN GOOD ROADS DE-
CLARED MODEL FOR AMERI-
CAN CONSTRUCTION

Va SAAS NAAAF FCi OAOy, 10 NASiCihS P01
ents here en- route to Camp Lewis
next month after spending more thar
q year in France and Germany with
the A. E. F. The lieutenant is such
handsome, well set up, and fine ap-
pearlng young man, and his uniform
becomes him so well that. he is likely
to be snatched up and married tc
some American girl before he knows
it, as have nealy all the other returned
heroes. The lieutenant modestly dis
claims any such plans, but goes so far
as to admit that the French girls,
tho well dressed and attractive, are
not nearly so likeable Ito say nothing
of loveable) as the Americans.
81 don't believe" said he, "it is
necessary any longer for the returned
men to describe the French girls.
There are plenty of samples in this
country that have come across as war
brides.'
While across the lieutenant was at
tached to the 77th Field artillery and
was connected with the artillery school
at Saumur until last December. Since
that time he has been with the army
of occupation in Germany in various
small towns with Occasional leaves to
Cologne and other cities.
After his discharge, Lt..Bessee will
go back into the type of engineering
in which he was engaged before he
went to war. He was formerly con-
nected with the federal office of pub
lie roads and he may return to that
or go into the highway work in Mon
tana.
Speaking of his experiences across
the water, 1t. Bessee told many inter
esting things, and his opinions which
are formed conservatively and given
diffidently are well worth considering.
He did not enjoy the teaching part of
his experience and tried hard to
escape but could not get released.
There were some 1000 in the school,
and the boys displayed wonderful in
terest and application until the armis-
tice was signed. At Saumur he was in
touch with seven Idaho men.
In regard to comparing the French
and the Germans, the officer said: "I
did not succeed in acquiring any
French, but I got SO that l could talk
German fairly well. I liked dealing
with the Germans much better than
/ did with the French. / am sure not
a man in the A. E. F. has good word
to say for the French They would
rob a man blind every time they could.
They are very tight in their dealings,
and they count every centime. All
of the men would rather stay in Ger
many than in France.
Il don't think there is much choice
between the German and French small
towns so far as cleanliness is con-
'cerned. None of them know anything
about sanitation. They howled in
Germany when we came along and
cleaned up their towns. The French
are frightfully dirty. Paris is only
clean on the streets that the tourists
see. On the back streets there is
as much filth as in the little towns,
and that is plenty.
"The men billited in the German
homes were well treated. They got to
know the families well d~liked them
people they were billeted with in |
France.
In regard to the attitude of the SOL
diers to the league of nations 1t.
Bessee said: "There wasn't a great
deal of heavyweight thinking among
the boys. Their chief topic of con-
versation was When do we eat and
when do we go homer But think
that the general sentiment is not
friendly towards it at ALL Most of the
boys felt that when France England
and the United States entered into
treaty to protect France in case of en-
by Germany, even the
makers of the league did not have
much faith in it, as a preventer of
wars and they felt it could not be a
very valuable document if the trainers
Of it took step at the beginning that
it. That treaty spilled the
beans. 1t makes every one feel that
it wouldn't be safe to have any too
much confidence in the proposition.
mo one thinks the French wonder
Jul people now. When the boys went
over they had Frenchmen up on a
PEDESTAL. But that's all over now.
eff ever go back into the service
I'd rather go as top sergeant than :
Is a commissioned man. I would be \
making more money in the end, and ;
would have better time and have f
more interesting work to do.
"In regard to welfare work there is Q
10 question that the Salvation army
made the big hit with all the A. E. F. !
orces.l I don't know whether it was
What they actually did for the boys or
he spirit they did it in, but the boys
re certainly in love with that organi- /
alton. I think the mistake of the '
Z. M. G! A. made was in making r
SO much better than they t
ould possibly fulfil They ought to q
ave known that they could never do '
or the boys over there what they told q
hem over here they would do for {
hem at the front. Army men knew
well that these wonderful c
hings could not be done and I believe F
hat the Y. M. G. A. should have q
nown even if they didn't. They had t
o business soliciting such huge sums
f money on the strength of promises {
f performances which it was their
uty to find out in advance they could
OF put over. What they told the boys
n this side they would do for them v
cad like a fairy story, and that's all f
(Continued ON page a. "