The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-04-17

camps In France, and this camp is
as good and better than most OF them
ri the present time" writes Captain
Bruce l.. GilfIlan, surgeon OF the
25th regiment OF engineers ffoTr
Brest.
.eWhile we could lick The Huns.
re can not control the weather" he
says, and that ii rains taero nearly
every day.
ut looks now Ike there isn't a
chance OF our outfit getting back to
the United States much before
August 1, il then" he continues,
ssbut every man Is anxious to so to-
morrow. France is great country,
but after roaming over it for seven
teen or eighteen months you get fed
M and that hankering to see the
United States is strong
transports arriving in Brest har-
Dor are hardly taking enough time to
turn around before they leave the
port again for the States loaded
down with precious human cargo"
says the Pontanezen blackboard. the
newspaper organ OF the American
camp at Brest Pontanezen is the
name OF the camp.
The Men aiinlIan is With.
"Camp Now Cleared to Handle
$4,000 men every "a Hours is one
of the headlines in the paper which
DR.. Gilfllan encloses in his letter.
Concerning the regiment of which
Dr.. Gilfllan is surgeon, The Duck
board says in long article:
There are few II any OF the great
engineering projects of the A Z. F.
wherein the 25th engineers have not
played their part. From October,
1917, when the first two companies
Of the regiment sailed from the
States in response to the needs Ct
the then few thousands OF American
soldiers in France, for men who
could get things In readiness for the
vast host that was to co nc, to Janu-
airy of the present year, 18th officers
and men could be found hald at work
wherever the American army had
been, was or was likely to be.
The 25th did not win the war, but,
composed as 1t was, of mature
skilled artisans, men OF every con-
ceivable trade and profession who
voluntarily quit their jobs and offer
ed the best there was in them to
Uncle Sam in his hour of need,
coming from every state in the union,
from Alaska, Hawaii, Philippines,
Cuba, Porto Rica, South America
and the canal zone, they know why
they were here, asked no questions,
but yielded results that viii not be
forgotten by those who know the his
tory of Americas part in this world
struggle.
They Always Were Ready.
Piers and docks, railroads and
equipment, harbor and transportation
improvements, hospitals, bakeries,
barracks and warehouses at Bor-
deaux, Brest, St Nazatre, La
Rochelle and Rochefort bespeak
their earlier activities. These were
needed Tout Suite. Then came the
great storage project at st. Sulpice;
the enormous engineer and storage
depot at Gieyres with it's 200 miles
of sidetracks and large warehouses;
the largest storage depot In the world
at Montoi; the immense Advane zone
depot and distribution plant at Is-sur-
Tile through whose yards and ware
houses radiated the qua1termaster
supplies for the entire front, includ-
ing the war bread from the largest
bakery In the world; four 1000 bed
hospital units, motor park and camps
for army school at Langres; the
motor transport plant at Verneuil;
the first air depot at Colombey-les-
Bellies and second bombardment aer-
drome at Rosieres, the vast storage,
warehouse and distribution project at
Camp Montierchaume with its 400
miles Of sidetraek and 200 huge
warehouses for quartermaster ord
nance, medical and signal supplies,
and the seven camps for the housing
Of the 10000 troops needed to main
tain the camp at Hausimont and the
hospitals at Neufchateau, Chateau
roux and Mars.
Holidays Were Forgotten.
With all this work requiring the