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Show BREST BOASTS UNIQUE PAPER Started by Doughboys and Has Grown to Be Prosperous Pros-perous Publication. By CROSSLEY DAVIES. (Copyright, 1919, by the Chicago Tribune Co.) BREST, Franco, Aus. 30. Thousands of people in America have seen copies of the Pontanefcen Duekboard. It has been sent to them by their boys at Brest:. They have read it because It told them what the boys were doing in ' camp. But taey did not know the story behind be-hind the paper. There is a story behind every paper. It is, as a rule, the one story that paper never tells. It is a newspaper tradition not to talk shop in their own columns. Yet there are some stories that justify a breach of the tradition. tra-dition. The story of the Duekboard is one of them. In the editorial of the first number the staff expressed the hope that the journal would "be one of those things which go to make a greater and a better bet-ter camp." The editor happily describes a newspaper as "the American way of coordinating the activities of a large number of American citizens living in a community." The paper started because two men saw its need and, having finished the job of organizing the billeting arrangements arrange-ments of the camp, wanted to do more than merely automatic work. The start was not without its touch of drama. It was 6 o'clock in the morning. Lieutenant Nell R. Allen of the Kighth infantry had just finished a niglu's work. The billeting stunt was completed. So he walked across to the tent which housed Sergeant Ernest W. Jorgensen of the same regiment. The sergeant had been working with him on the billeting scheme. The lieutenant woke up the sergeant. ser-geant. Almost before he knew whether he was asleep or awake the sergeant had this question fired at him: "What do you think of starting a newspaper?" Jorgensen is a newspaper man. Need I teli you his answer? That afternoon they set to work. Brest boasts a fine newspaper office one of the finest in the provinces of France. The two Americans used all their tact and rather more than all then-French then-French to persuade the editorial staff to let them use the office. The first number came out with a name. Instead of a title it had a big question mark and a woodcut showing a stork bringing a baby to a soldier under un-der the heading 'Name the baby." That woodcut had been done with a penknife. A prize was offered for the best title. Hence its present name. Nothing cnuld have been happier. When the camp was in the making its most striking feature j was the constant stream of men carrying carry-ing duekboard s on their backs passing up the road from Brest. Its present comfort is largely due to its duekboard paths. The first issue had to be printed on a flatbed press. It took all day to print the 4000 copies. The paper had also to 1 pass the French censor. Until it had I the censorship stamp on it the 3rench J would not allow them to print it. It : looked like being a long job. Hapi-Uy the censor was kind. Ho passed the proofs at once. Lieutenant Allen and Lieutenant Karl H. Schilling, who is also of the Eighth Infantry, put up the money or the first issue. Lieutenant Schilling is circulation manager. "When the paper was ready they went out on the streets, n nd sold it. They sold out. They have sold out ever since. But that is not their gre nttst triumph. They went round to the French tradesmen and got them to advertise. Any one who knows how little the French advertise will understand what that means. The only trouble was that Ihey succeeded too well. .More advertisements advertise-ments fame in than they wanted. So they put up the price. Still they came in. Finally they were forced to refuse them. Had the?.' been out to make money they cmjld have made a lot. Hut their ma in object was to give the best they j could at cost. Some amazing problems arose. The French type cases, for example, do not contain "ws." The American typesetters had to carry "ws" in their pockets. Now for the service side of the journal. jour-nal. Every welfare organization has free space, either in the form of stories or advertisements. "Th;s offer is made so that the men of Hi is district may have as much chance as possible to make the hours pleasant while they are n waiting to board ship." That is the way thoy put it. And they act up to this spirit all through. |