Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1919-03-25

FeDruary 20, lJl5,
Dear Mother:
When the Doctor returned from hi
ten days leave, said, Doctor,
think I'll ask for week Off"
why don't you ask for ten days?'
he answered. you may as well take
all you can get"
So did, and the next day the chiel
Yeoman informed me that had got
my leave all right.
"For ten days?" / queried.
"oui" (You'll notice that we speak
great deal Of French)
well, why didn't / ask for fif.
teen?" / lamented.
"You probably wouldn't have got
any" he coldly informed me. You've
got a longer leave now than anyone
else has had around here"
AS usual it was raining nastily
when / took the train for Ia
Rochelle; 1t was raining when got
there, and II continued to rain up TO
the moment | got into the train. OF
course got into first class COM
partment; always do. II is worth
while taking chance on. had been
there about five minutes when a
guard (this is not a military term;
he is civilian railway employee)
hustled up. Are you an officer?"
he demanded. AS knew that II !
wasn't II would be me for an already
crowded second-class compartment.
why, there was nothing for me to do
but be an officer.
"Mais oui, monsieur" I assured
him. "Je auis GUS officer. Voici,
monsieur" and / handed him my
travelling orders, where the abbre-
Walton Of my rating stood out like
a million dollars. "Regardez." He
regarded. Then he thought he would
spring something on me. What is
your name?" he demanded.
Well, as it happened, ] knew what
my name was that evening, and did
not have to look at the paper. So Il
told him. and he seemed so disap-
pointed. Then after looking at my
ticket he reluctantly departed, but
with the air of being sure that there
was something wrong somewhere
only he didn't know where It was.
The compartment gradually filled.
There was a tall almost middle-aged
French lieutenant and his, we'll, wife.
i suppose. Had it been an American
officer shouldn't have to suppose; /
should have known that it wasn't.
They spoke only to each other. Then
there was a young French lieutenant
who spoke only twice to the sergeant
opposite him. Finally, there was a
French captain with a lame leg who
didn't speak to anybody. l didn't
speak to anybody either. Exclusive;
that's me all over, as Bill would have
written to his Dere Mable.
| must have slept more or less that
night, for / finally reused to stiff,
sore, grouchy consciousness shortly
before we arrived at Versailles.
There was thick scum of snow on
the ground, and more was whirling
dismally thru the air. About half
an hour later the train plowed slowly
into the Care Montparnasse.
Only one thing remained until Il
should be a free man; it was neces-
sary to register at Naval Headquar-
ters. ] took car which would put
me across the Seine at the Pont d
Alma where knew should find my
self in section of Paris ! had known
familiarly last August.
After registering and getting bread |
l learned the pleasant news
that Navy men no longer required |
passes to get to the front or elsewhere |
Register here" said the Marine SER
seant on duty, "and you can go any
where in France you please And
will say here, that many of our men
with ten days leave, or longer, have
10 gone, all over France, from Paris
% Metz, to Dijon, to Marseilles, Nice,
md back again. Nowhere in Paris or
elsewhere did | see a Navy Provost
guard. OF course there would be
lone in the interior towns. AS the
Army M, P,'s have no jurisdiction
'ver us lat least as long as we don't
make troubled We are free, free as
civilians, freer even, and for a few
lays can put our serfdom behind us.