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Show j OUR BOYS WELL CARED FOR the typical American soldier that I brought in my memory from France . j lat April la that of a aturdy. op- X stnndlns. clear-eyed youth, "fit." as in l old uncle of mine used to' say. "to fiflXV, his weight In wildcats." T ( By FRANCES ROGERS Of tha Vigilantes. Parents and friends need not fear that tha bodily wants of their boys in Franca are not well provided for. Six months ago, before our array machine got Into full swing, there was just cause for complaint, but. so far aa my many opportunities for observation glva me a right to speak, conditions are now generally satisfactory. Many times I have shared tha soldiers' mess and have never failed to get a good meal. There are no frills about the service, naturally, but all ths essentials are there wholesome food, ample In quantity and" well cooked. The former shortage of clothing and blankets Is now remedied; our boys are well clad by day and hy night. Hospital conditions, which last fall were far from satisfactory, are vastly Improved. Now a aick or wounded boy can count on being treated In a well equipped hospital by the best American surgeons and nurses. I chanced to be at an "evacuation hospital" hos-pital" somewhere In Franca the day Archie Roosevelt was brought to It with a leg and an arm badly smashed. 80 well prepared waa ths hospital to meet Just such an emergency that his temperature never rose a single degree above tha normal. , Tha simple, regular, outdoor Ufa has dona wonders for the health of the boys. Their cheats broaden, their cheeks grow ruddy, their muscles har- 1 den, their eyes brighten, they gain In weight Doee my boy look very fat?" asked the mother of a boy I had aeen ! a few weeks befora. "He write me 1 ha haa put on twenty pounds. "No." I I answered, "he wasn't fat at all.( He is now Just the fine, big, husky lad that nature always Intended him to be. I Spring cams early In Prance this 1 year: by thf middle of January the soldiers were out In tha fields with their bats and balls. 8ome of the Y. M. C. A. huta are equipped for basket-ball basket-ball and all tha large camps have I trained T. M. C. A. athletic directors. Every encouragement Is given to box-Ing. box-Ing. Now that summer has come I am certain the boys are refreshing themselves In the little winding rivers that are ao plentiful in France. In my opinion, most of our soldiers In France I am not speaking of those ; In tha actual fighting line are now j living under conditions better for their general health than those under which ! theyivedat home. Thepi?ture of 1 |