Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-05-20
EAGER TO BE
ON WAY HOME
PVT. LEANDER RINGLE DE-
CLARES MEN HOT OVER
PROHIBITION
Says French Not Quite SO Friendly
Towards Americans NOw-Expects
To Be Home By July 4th-Eggs
$1.10 Dozen
April 20, 1919.

L
April 20, 1919.
Dear Father,
| Pvt. Leander Ringle, son of Mr. and
Mrs. John Ringle of this city, has
written most interesting letter to his
father, in which he refers to many
things of particular interest to the
Aemrican people at the present time
He is eagerly waiting for embarkation
and says he believes he will be home
by July 4th. His letter follows:
On Paris Highway
| You undoubtedly know from my
other letters that we are located in
a billet on the Paris Highway near
the village of Carbon Blanc, which is
located about eight miles from Bor-
deaux. Every village in France is
built the same, all having two-story,
dirty and weatherworn buildings con-
structed of soft sandstone. The
| streets are narrow, merely alley-ways.
There is no evidence of progress of
any kind. In all my travels from viii
lage to village | have not seen build
| ing constructed in the last twenty-five
years. Nothing is grown but grapes
and the farming implements used by
peasants and land owners alike are of
crrdeSt kind. Instead of using plows,
the soil is turned by men using a hoe
like tool which has two long blades;
it is a slow and man-killing method.
All the tools are handmade, such as
saws, axes and shovelS. 1t is surpris-
ing that these conditions should exist
in a country so old as France and es-
pecially in villages so near the sea-
port, Bordeaux. ! had occasion to go
| through several machine shops and
foundries where | found the same con-
ditiOns existing. Modern methods are
unknown and most of the work being
done by hand.
| Transportation is done by two
wheeled carts drawn by a horse, an
OK, or burro Even heavy loads are
drawn in this method. Four wheeled
| wagons, such as we have in the states,
are rare sight here. The reason for
| this is that heavy tax must be paid
| for the use of the wagons. What sur
priSeS me more than anything else is
the French railroads. AS compared to
the American railroads the engines
and cars are merely toys. The engines
are very light, while the freight cars,
which are called wagons, are very
small. The average carrying capacity
being 10000 lbs. Most of the cars are
open gondolas with single trucks and
perishable goods are covered with a
piece of canvas.
Time i'm Plenty
There is one thing the French seem
to have plenty Of and that is time
No matter what they undertake to do,
they are very slow. You even notice
it in their banking methods. Last
week 1 went to Bordeaux with a mem
Der of our company, who wished to
have a draft cashed. Altho, there was
only one person ahead of us, it took
a good half hour to get the money
The person ahead of us was French
woman, who could speak English, and
she told me that the French were so
slow in everything they did She
claimed that on a busy day. it would
take about two hours to get a check
cashed. 1t seems that they have more
time than money. That such old and
obsolete methods of doing business
carrying on trade, and farming, should
exist in a country as old as France is
certainly surprising, especially since
one has been led to believe through
lreading periodicals and magazines
that France was such a progressive
lnatiOn.
: l had always been told that the
social conditions in France were not
, of the best, but little had I dreamed
that the conditions existing here would
be tolerated by the government of q
civilized nation. The standard which
governs the relation of men and wo-
, men is so low over here that it has
become a menace to the health of the
, American soldiers. To improve condi-
: tions the policing of cities is done en-.
/ tirely by American military police.
The friendly feeling the French
! people had for the Americans, seems
to have been lost now that the wal
has been won. Fights between the
t American soldiers and French civil
: ians are becoming more frequent every
{ day. The desire to get back home is
getting on the nerves of the American
soldiers and they are beginning to dis
like the French people more every day
The long looked for warm anC
sunny days have finally arrived. Will
{ | it has come the cuckoo bird whose
5 cuckoo wakes one up mornings at fiv,
: o'clock.
t Easter No Different
Today is Easter Sunday and such /;
beautiful day. One of those days tn,
: women of the states long for to parad,
in their newly bought 'togs." But il
this country, Easter is the same a.
4 other days, the streets being just a.
] deserted as on week days.
AS you know, the French religion i
ninety per cent Catholic, but even OF
Easter, you do not see the peopl
lfiocking to church A Frenchman toll
me that the war has been a severe Sc
back to religion, and the people do no
go to church as they did previous t
the war. My idea is that socialism
| is getting quite a hold among tn
French, just as il is among the Ameri
lean soldiers. Their enforced sta,
over here to police up France ha
made them discontented and the,
blame congress for keeping them here
There is another matter that i
freely discussed. The question of pro
hibition being forced on the countr
during the soldiers absence, is locke
upon with disapproval by the bi
majority over here. Prohibition slack
ers, is what they call the men VIII
voted away their personal libert
rights while millions were gone to wal
On account of this being Easter Sun
day. we had two boiled eggs for break
fast The luxury" was bought wit
money from the company's mess funC
The fund amounts to $4,000 and tn
company ordered il spent within tn
next five weeks, another indication tha
we will leave soon.
Uncle Sam does not furnish us wit
butter, jam or milk, so l, as well a
several others, buy butter, jam an
milk. We have to do this or else es
our bread dry and drink black coffe
without sugar. The butter costs abot
zoe per h.; jam about 40c per piI