The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1919-07-15
JOHN 3. SETTLER WRITES
INTERESTING LETTER

boarding With a German Family
Says He is Enjoying Life.-No
Immediate Prospect Of Com
ing Home.
Russian Prisoner of War Camp
Crossen (Ober}, Germany.
June II, 1919.
Dear Garry:
June the 6 proved to be my lucky
day. received six letters, including
one from you, and an issue of ''The
Observer. You know ''The Oh
server is just about as welcome over
here as letter from home. You can
we'll imagine I spent glorious time
reading my mail that morning. l
have just finished letter to Daisy
and if you two should happen to
compare the two you may find that
they are quite alike, for I about ex-
hausted my supply of "hot air" in
her letter. And you know it requires
too much energy to generate fresh
supply. 1 ought not to have sealed
Daisy's letter. However, I shall try
not to make too great variance in
my statement of facts. That is the
disadvantage of writing letters to two
people who live so close together
they can check up on you so easily.
AS you see from the heading of
this letter, I have changed by board
ing place again. This makes the 4th
camp that I have been assigned to.
Am beginr ing to feel like a regular
hobo. But I imagine that am at this
camp now for 'skeeps"-and will be
right here when Gabriel toots his
horn. I have been sent here to re-
lieve the medical officer on duty
with the U. S. troops at this camp,
who has wife Cucky boy) and two
kiddies waiting and longing to see
him back in Illinois. His wife has
been in poor health for some time,
and he has been trying to get re-
Ieved for a long time. We finished
the work ON tuberculosis in the
camps this last week, and it has fall
en- to my lot to do the 'Good Samar-
itan" act. See, what luck being an
old bachelor brings me? Any way
my lot could have been worse.
struck this camp Friday night, June
18th, lucky 13) consequently 1
haven't been here long enough to
find out much about the camp. But
my first impressions have been favor
able. The camp itself is one of the
best I've seen-but, perhaps l should
not boast of that, for the very fact
that it is one of the best camps in
Germany may prove to be my Jonah.
AS soon as prisoners are repatriated
from this camp, other prisoners from
camps that are not as good as this
one, are sent here to take their
places. AS result, although we are
constantly sending few home, we
never bring the number in this camp
under four thousand. Then, too, that
may mean that this will be one Of the
last camps to close up. Pleasant
thoughts! You see after putting
my hands to the plough" never like
TO turn back always like to be in
for the fnish.-Somehow those in au-
thority guessed as much and it looks
very much just now, that they are
going to accommodate me.
! While passing through Berlin the
other day Red Cross representa-
tive told me that he had just been
requested to put in requisition for
three months provisions for the Rus
sian prisoners Rigth there my vision
of getting home some time this sum-
mer faded into oblivion. Anyway
if I have to spend my summer vaca-
ton over here would rather spend
it in this little Burg" than any other
place I've been since I struck Ger
many. "Sour grapes" eh? Well, not
exactly. True, Crossen is only a
small town, has a population of about
six thousand. I believe; but it is one
of the prettiest towns I've seen IN
Germany. Then, too, it is situated
on the Oder river, and the surround
ing country is beautiful. l shall
have something besides monotonous
sand hills to look upon these" nice,
long evenings. I didn't know there
were as many sand hills on the earth
as I have seen here in Germany. No
wonder German who can hardly
make out living over here can 60
ox,op Tn Cod,o nouptrxy ap6 hv adont.