Milford chronicle., 1919-01-10
LETTER FROM OVERSEAS
Aix-Les-Baines, France.
Sunday, December 8, 1918.

that l have neglected to do it, Six
deem of US came down here from on
company about twelve hundred fro1
our Division. We were placed in bo
cars. forty of US to a car. Imagin
how comfortable we were that might
We arrived here the next morning
about 10 O'Clock.
1t was in this section that the Ro
mans erected some of their finest mon
uments, arches and buildings, many o
which still remain. It was through
here that the ancient warrior Hanniba
blasted his way through to the fertile
valleys OF France and Spain about
2S0 years before Christ. Napoleon
with his armies used this same road
to pass over the Alps and conquer
Italy When you consider that Han
nibal had to heat the rocks with fire,
then pour vinegar on them to break
them, and that the pass had TO be
wide enough for elephants. you can
not help but admire his wonderful
genius and courage.
In the museum here are many fine
examples Of ancient Roman arts. There
is one vase alone valued at 10000
francs. Some of the sculpture of an
cient times is also here. The building
itself was erected about 200 years B.
c. To describe the beauties of this
place is beyond the power of pen.
Yesterday l went up on the Cog !
Wheel railroad to the top of Mount !
Reward, about 5,100 feet high From |
here could see Mount Blanc, the I
highest mountain in Europe, and down
into Italy far away. From the Pa
vilion you could look down into the
valley, and like a picture there laid
view l cannot describe; the many
towns, woods, hills. the Lake $500 feet
deep, the farms, all could be seen for
miles and miles. Then a cloud drifted
by hundred feet below and shut it all
from view.
The late J. P. Morgan spent much of .
his time here, on account of using the l
mineral baths, which are among the =
worlds best. There is a street nam 9
ed after him outside the town. From =
my bedroom window | can look down -
on the Casino, now occupied by the :,
Y. NJ. c. A., but formerly one of Eu- :,
ropes celebrated sporting houses. y
Within it is a theatre as large as :,
kieth's in Philadelphia, for gambling y
Il was second only to Monte Carlo :,
Here it is said that H. X. Thaw lost !,
$4,000 francs one night. It is a beau =,
tlful building and well finished ~
throughout Uncle Sam pays about ~
$3.50 per day for each day 1 am here ~
but is is worth it. In the past this =,
was the gathering place for million -
aires the world over and | do not p,
blame them for coming here. -,
l suppose you will want to know =,
When | will come home Well, don't -
lnow myself, and that is the one =,
ming that discOurages me most. To 80
tay in this foreign land and drill in ~
ne cold would take the heart out of w.
nyone. -
am anxious to get back and try to ~.
make up what | have lost by the war. ~,
or there has been part OF my life an
TASTED, far worse than wasted, and 80.
% one realizes more than | the strug- 90,
lie IN front OF me, when | return rusty
my profession, and it will be hard ba
)r me TO compete with those who 20,
ave taken all the positions worth So,
nile. Many poor soldier boy who eov
as gone through indescribable suffer-
lg is going to return to find it almost lor
npossible to earn his bread and but
r IN his native land This is one
the horrible things about war. n
thousands suffer after it ends. 7 sup ~
lse you, too, sometimes become dis ..h
and [ think we all do at w.
mes. | used to think OF you on nv 20. 20.
ay up to the lines and will trv and y
scribe one Of these trips 10 you :
We were camped in a woods about D,-
e had to dig in the earth and always :
'ep ourselves hidden from observa- rro
IN by enemy planes, for if the Hun +
Gated our camp his artillery would
pe It of the map. Each night we r
1uld line up after supper and draw Cor
r midnight lunch. then load our of
les and march out in single file tor
rough the darkness. You pass out r
the woods across the field, and bear in
the right or left as the word is Raj
ssed back by the officer. In front n
casionally a shrapnel will burst Exl
erhead with a Crash -Bang!" You Con
IS around a dead horse as it looms
at your feet, dodge great shell T
les half filled with water. Then ket
word will come down the line, Sba
ook out for wire" and you walk T
ry carefully to avoid the loose barb Gro.
wire which you cannot see. You d
IS haf-flled shell hole with three T
tie wooden crosses. In it there laid and
rec of my fellow Engineers who
lde the supreme sacrifice for their O
lntry," and as l passed it 1 Won Mel
red if my trip was the last for me. ture
u pass on and come to a hedge. of
lwl down into the communicating II
'nch and follow 1t to the front line men
,nch After hrief ha!s, in which g.,
r officer would notify the machine tion
n officer that we were going out, so M
machine gunners would not take for
for Germans), you climbed over the duri
and out into No Mans Land The m
ound had been shot up so it sticks ON I
you feet and every once in while 81
Il had to pick it off. nro,
Suddenly, very light goes up and r,
i stand perfectly still, for if you p. \
we the Huns will certainly see you, II
d if they do you don't come back. Scal
e light lasts for about five seconds, ford
N goes out. As soon as it goes ID
you resume your work, never max crea
: any noise of any kind. All this KIM