FRB - The Pop Valve, Journal publié par les soldats américains installés à Vauzelles, près de Nevers (Nièvre), item 2

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Page 2. THE POP-VALVE April 26, 1919.

THE POP-VALVE

Published by and for

The 19TH GRAND DIVISION TRANSPORTATION CORPS

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES

Camp Stephenson - Nevers (Nièvre), France.

MAJOR C.E. LESTER, ENGRS., U.S.A.

Commanding the Grand Division.

Editor-in-Chief...........Mr. Engr. John J. Rule, Hqrs.

Associate Editor........

Art Editor...................Sgt. Lee R. Gummersell, Hqrs.

Business Mgr. & Treas........Sgt. J.S. Winfrey, "119".

COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES

Headquarters Det..................Sgt. Larry Gill.

Band No.5. A.S.C.....................Mr. Engr. Thos. McFarlane.

Medical Det..............................Pvt. 1/cl. N.A. Feidler.

Company 109...........................Corp. George Harris.

Company 110...........................Corp. Leon H.A. Weaver.

Company 116...........................Sgt. J.A. Keshlear.

Company 117...........................Sgt. R.E. Beauchamp.

Company 118...........................Corp. D.C. Sperry.

Company 119...........................Pvt. 1/cl. R.B. Loomis.

Company 120...........................Pvt. 1/cl. J. McC. Frazier.

Company 121...........................Pvt. W.H. Morrow.

P.W.E. Co. 240..........................Corp. Ben Cherenson.

Mech. Trades School...............Pvt. 1/cl. R.A. Johnson.

SATURDAY APRIL 26, 1919.

Weekly Circulation..................2500 Copies.

GOODBYE "ISSUE"

HELLO "POP-VALVE"

HELLO GANG: Wha'da'ya think about us

now? Class, ain't it? Gee! We feel like a

brand new Second Lieutenant wearing his

Sam Browne and other trimmings for the

first time in public. Here's how it all

happened. About a month ago, when we

revived Lieut. "Bill" Todd's SALVAGE, we

did'nt figure on losing any sleep over the

job, but the dope kept coming in so fast

that we had to run six pages to get it all

out. The market boomed so strong that

we ran the old mimeograph hot and used

up all the surplus paper in camp. Then

we had to start figuring. Major Lester

and several other officers started inquir-

ing if we could'nt make it a Camp paper

and this required more thinking. The

next step was to get hold of Master Engi-

neer Otto Hehn who speaks several different

kinds of French and "wiggles" his shoul-

ders like a native, and send him to Nevers

to find a nice, agreeable printer who'd

turn out our weekly mess and take a

chance on getting his money. We really

did'nt expect Otto to do very much, but

we were totally unprepared for the little

"gold mine" he dragged in. In fact, it

knocked us cold and kept us awake all

night, figuring.

It seems that after visiting every type-

shop in Nevers, Otto staggered into the

print emporium of Fortin et Cie and discov-

ered Sergeant "Jim" Savery and Sergeant

Ablitzer of the MARTIAN, weekly paper

of Mars Hospital Center, at work on their

next issue. "Jim" is Editor in Chief

while "Zerr" decorates the paper, using

the same trademark that he used on the

Brooklyn Eagle. After "parleying" with

them and the proprietors of the shop,

Hehn returned with the news that the

coast was clear and that we could go right

at it. Right here we want to "tell the

World" that the MARTIAN is one nifty

little weekly and the members of it's Staff

are not only clever fellows but likewise

"good scouts". They've given us a lot

of good advice and volunteered their

assistance to us at a time when "a fellow

needs a friend." To say we're grateful is

altogether too mild.

When we had it all doped out, our fig-

ures were submitted to Captain Huff and to

Major Lester who gave their immediate

approval. Captain Huff and Headquarters

Det. agreed to give up their controlling

interest and Major Lester adopted us in

the name of the Camp. So here we are

- Officially Yours.

Personally, we give up the little Head-

quarters budget with considerable regret.

It was a lot of fun and we could go out

and watch the stuff "happen"; this

means a new organization and depending

on everybody for our copy. The old staff

of the ISSUE had some wonderful parties

and leaving them is like leaving home to

go out into the cruel-l-l world. However,

they're still with us; and as much inter-

ested in the success of the new venture

as they were in the old one and we can

always count on every one of them for a

lift.

The policies of the POP-VALVE will be

the same as were those of the ISSUE.

We want to see the funny side of the

Army game; we want to publish stuff that

will help you see it too, and we want

your help in getting the stuff. We're for

the Square-Deal all the time whether we're

on the receiving or the sending end; we're

"foreninst" the 18th Amendment and

everything that smells like it. We want

everybody in the Camp to feel that it's

their paper and to contribute to it's

columns. Each company has a represent-

ative on the Staff and he is to get your

stuff and turn it in. If you write, draw

or manufacture anything that will look

fairly good in print, bring it on; we want

it, need it, and in fact must have it or

there wont be any paper to print. You

need'nt worry about the kind of paper or

the quality of the writing; hand it in, in

the best possible shape and we'll dope it

out somehow. The paper is gotten out

by enlisted men for the enlisted men and

naturally, we're interested chiefly in them,

but of course we are going to give some

space to the officers. Camp Stephenson has

"beaucoup" officers who are good officers

and "good fellows" too. They are offi-
cers who are interested in the men and in

whom the men are interested, so it

would'nt be square to leave them out.

The price of the POP-VALVE will be

fifty centimes the copy, pqyable on deliv-

ery and any profits we gather in will go

back to the companies, to be expended in

the interests of the men. If the circula-

tion increases, the cost will go down and

we'll gladly shade the price when we

can do so. Each company orderly room

will be the news-stand, in charge of the

company representative and the paper

will be out every Saturday while we

remain in Nevers.

And now we'll lay off the WE stuff and

start to run something that looks like a

newspaper. Bonsoir Everybody.

LT. COL. GASKILL DECORATED

Camp Stephenson was honored on April 16,

with a visit from Lt Col. Gaskill, the General

Superintendent of Motive Power and the first

General Superintendent of the 19th Grand

Division T.C. Colonel Gaskill was accompanied

by Captain Lee who with him inspected the shops

and camp. Both visitors expressed their

approval of the splendid results being secured

in the shops and the progress being made in

improvement of the Camp. While it is under-

stood that the visit was an official one, it is

believed that the Colonel could'nt keep away

from his old home any longer.

It was certainly a pleasant surprise to find

the Colonel wearing the D.S.M., the news of

his being decorated had not reached this division,

although it had happened almost two weeks

previous to his visit. Maj. General Harbord

decorated Colonel Gaskill on April 3, at Tours

with the usual ceremony, a ceremony many of

the officers of the Camp would liked to have

witnessed, but the Colonel kept it a secret until

it was all over. The decoration is a recognition

of the results secured by Colonel Gaskill in the

shops at Nevers and at Tours in the capacity of

G. S. M. P. We offer to the Colonel, the

congratulations of the members of the Camp

who did not have the opportunity of doing so

personally, and assure him of our best wishes

for higher decorations.

RUSSIAN EXPEDITION LANDS!

So many rumors have been circulating around

camp about the Russian service volunteers,

many of them to the effect that they were back

in the United States, that the following extracts

from letters received from Lieutenant V.E.

Frincke by Major E.D. Hagerty will interest

everybody, and "que" down the birds who've

been regretting that they did'nt volunteer for

the Russian trip.

The first letter was written aboard H.M.S.

Stephen and gives a brief description of the

embarkation and events aboard the ship. Lieut.

Frincke states that icebergs several thousand

feet high were passed, that waves were contin-

ually coming over the ship which was conse-

quently covered with ice up to the crow's nest!

The weather was bitter cold and the watter

terribly rough; the only redeeming feature

was the reflection of the Northern Lights, a

really beautiful sight. Every allied nation is

represented among the ship's passengers, at

least two dozen different dialects being spoken,

a fact that is particularly noticeable at mess.

The second letter describes the landing:

"We are on our way to Suroka after landing

at Murmansk, which is some place. About 30

ships are frozen solid in the harbor's ice. Two

hundred houses, four warehouses and a few

barracks make up the town, and all these build-

ings are covered with ice and snow. The

Laplanders in their furs come right into town

on their reindeer drawn sleighs, three to five

reindeers being harnessed to each sleigh.

There is an abundance of dog teams imported

from Canada and all overland transportation is

mostly by dog teams, the railroad running but

one train a day. You can't imagine how I

have longed for your camera for the scenery

and new sights are wonderful; the deer, the

dog teams, the people, their quaint log houses,

dugouts and brush huts, the snow covered

hills, frozen lakes would all make splendid

pictures. Witnessed a wonderful display of

Northern Lights every night since we've been

in the Artic circle; they last until dawn and are

certainly a fine spectacle.

We take over the railroad from Suroka to the

front, and in the front we will have a little

fighting as well as hard work ahead of us. We

are the only Americans up here and the

natives are beginning to be very friendly with

us. Have been issued snow-shoes, ski's, ski-

sticks, snow glasses, windproofs, etc. Have a

very large pack. Snowshoed for a whole day

and was nearly dead that night. Went down a

hill on skis, one caught on the branch of a tree

and I took some spill, rolling over and over,

down a hill, for a hundred feet. The temper-

ature is twelve-below and getting colder all the

time.

Everything is very expensive up here. Smokes

are from 15 to 20 cents a cigarette and the

natives want 150 roubles for a pair of shoes or

gloves. Liquor is not obtainable, foodstuffs

cost about ten times what they do in France.

If you give a native woman a pack of cigar-

ettes she'll be your slave for life. Women and

vodka are courtmartial offenses for our fellows

and they are not allowed to sell anything to

the natives".

The address of the command in which the

fellows from this camp are with is: 168th

Company, Transportation Corps, N.R.E.F.,

U.S. Army, via London.