Evening star., 1919-02-24
WASHINGTON GIRLS
ACTIVE IN FRANCE
Misses Frances Noyes and
Frances Carpenter Helping
Entertain Doughboys.
BUSY SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

BUSY SEVEN DAYS A WEEK
wv K. Towers, a Y NJ c. A. CORE
spondent. sent this article about pa
triotic Washington girls in France to
The Starr
NICE, January 22-Miss Frances
Noyes of Washington. d. C. is help
ing to make the Jetty Casino, at
Nice. in the French Riviera, one of
the most comfortable and popular
clubs for the American soldier. 1t is
the center of activities for the 1000
doughboys constantly on leave here.
Miss Noyes shares the task, with
score of other American Red Tria-
angle women, of being hostess to the
American soldier at play. The dough-
boy is entitled to ten days leave
every four months-though until re-
, Gently the Army was rather too oc-
i'cupied to let him have it. The govern
ment furnishes him with transporta-
tion and sees to ii that he is put up
at firSt-clasS hotel with board and
room paid.
Having settled himself in his hotel
the soldier turns to the Casino as a
means of getting his bearings and to
find life and entertainment. So sue
cessfully is the Nice Casino being
conducted by the Y. M. c. A. that its
big rooms are always well filled and
the activities within and radiating
from it occupy the time of the men
SO fully that they find little inclina-
tion to stray into mischief.
Boys Arrive Girl Hungry.
To find a motherly American woman
to welcome him and an attractive
American girl to whom he may talk
is what the doughboy seems to ap-
preciate most. He arrives girl hun
gry-American girl hungry. He wants
to be with women of his own kind
whether to remind him of mother.
sister or sweetheart. He dances with
them in the evening and with the
Army nurses who are also in Nice on
leave. He visits with them in the big
lounging rooms; he chats with them
across the counters where he buys his
smokes and his candy, and the sand
wiches and coffee or hot chocolate
with which he fills the space between
meals.
These women, most of whom lived
|
hours in the service of the soldier.
They are at the canteen counters at
in the morning and until noon are
busily engaged in ministering to the
perpetual appetite of the soldier. The
canteens are open again from 2 in
the afternoon until close to supper,
and from in the evening until II.
Time Well Taken Up.
pri~
an spends all of her time at the can
teen. but pretty much all her time
from in the morning until midnight,
seven days in the week, is spent in the
casino. When not behind the cenceen
counters the women are talking with
the soldiers, and the demands on their
time and attention are constant
At the evening dances, since French
residents are not admitted, girls are
at a premium and each Y. NJ. c. A.
girl is almost certain to have a score
of men about her.
Christmas morning brought an ex-
ample of the spirit with which these
women serve the soldier. The day be-
fore Christmas was crowded with
preparations added to the regular
work, then in the afternoon with the
entertainment of a thousand French
games and a dance that lasted till past
midnight. Word came that a train
bringing enlisted men on leave would
arrive at the station about 3 in the
morning. These women rested in their
clothes for two hoArs, met that train
and distributed chocolate, cookies and
cigarettes to several hundred weary
doughboys, giving them a Christmas
welcome they will never forget
Billiard Tables Busy
American women preside over the
library where there are plenty of
American books and magazines. Here.
too, are ample facilities for writing
and for games. The billiard tables
are always busy.
A glance at the bulletin board be-
side the information desk in the lobby
gives an idea of the scope of the ac-
tivities radiating from this center.
Nice Golf Club are open to soldiers
and that the Y. NJ. c. A. has clubs
to loan; there is a notice of the ten
mis- courts with racquets, balls and
shoes furnished. The announcement
of base ball game is posted. Checks
may be cashed at the business office.
There is a warning to don coats or
sweaters to avoid taking cold as the
sun drops about 4.
A variety of trips are offered. One,
by automobile, is to Monte Carlo,
Mention and the Italian border. return
ing by the Grand Corniche road along
the top of the cliffs bordering the
sea: another to Cannes, George du
Loup, Grasse and Antilles. Or trips
may be made to some points by tram
car.
There is a bicycle trip to Monte
Carlo with wheels available. And
there are a variety of walking trips
to spots in and about Nice, as. for in
stance, to the fashionable suburb of
Cin1iez, with it's fine villas, its Roman
arenas and other ruins of the city
founded by Caesar.
The bulletin board also gives notice
of free vaudeville and motion pic
lures nightly in the theater of the
casino, of the dances, the stunt games
and all the rest.
Similar Work at Cannes.
Similar work is being done at
Cannes. another leave area center.
twenty-five miles west of Nice, where
Frances Aretta Carpenter, daughter
of Frank G. Carpenter. 1928 Connec-
ticut avenue, Washington, d. c., is
among the Y. NJ c. A. workers. The
center there is the new Municipal Ca
sino, which has also been taken over,
and is even finer than the Jetty Ca
sino at Nice. Cannes has fair claim
to her title, Pearl of the Riviera,
and the soldiers on leave there are
situated in one of the most beautiful
spots in France.
NEW RULE FOR ARMY TAXIs.
Important Notifications in Service
4. nGo.,s - vYYo ebirorfnp