DIY History | Transcribe | World War I Diaries and Letters | Robert Morriss Browning correspondence to Karl S. Hoffman, 1920-1924 | 1921-05-28 Bob Browning to Karl Hoffman Page 2

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Robert Morriss Browning correspondence to Karl S. Hoffman, 1920-1924

1921-05-28 Bob Browning to Karl Hoffman Page 2

It is also very instructive to count the packages and bundles that the ladies bring back from Coblens and Cologne, if you happen to come back on the same train.  The duty calls are also illuminating, especially if a married couple happen to drop in while you are there and the two ladies start telling of their last trips to Paris or London.  Then sometimes you get this, "Come up to my place tonight for a game of bridge.  My wife is coming back tomorrow."  ("Straws show which way" etc.) 
Right now we are putting out a heavy line of duty.  All through April we were on our way to the rifle range about sunrise, that is the Third Battalion was.  We finished record practice May 3.  I was luckier this year than last and made Expert Rifleman with a few points to spare, incidentally having high score among the officers so far.  Just after we came off the range the French started preparations to invade the Ruhr valley and were worried about the railways so our battalion got the job of guarding tracks used for bringing up the French army.  We had fifty or sixty miles of track for each company so that we officers were fairly active in keeping our eyes on what each little detachment was doing.  The detail lasted just ten days but it was a welcome little change from garrison duty.  Since we came back the Second Battalion has been firing record practice and I have been going out to score for them, or rather to take charge of the pits for them, so I still have to get up just after I go to bed.  On top of that we catch guard every six days and in between times we are trying to get the company in shape for combat firing and the proficiency test.  That is some job for we recently got a big detachment from a guard company and the men from that organization never had any particular training in musketry.  At least most of them never had any, although we drew one sergeant who enlisted for the first time in 1882, and was a captain in the National Army.  He's our First Sergeant now. Knows more about soldiers than anybody I've ever seen.  He can tell what a "gold Brick" or "John" will do a week before the soldier thinks of it himself, or rather before he does it, for most of these breaches of discipline develop without thought on the part of the offenders.
I haven't been anywhere out of the American area since January when I spent a few days in Paris and Nice.  A few days wasn't all I spent.  Nice is a wonderful place to spend the winter and a million dollars.  It must be about as bad as New York.  Prices seem outrageous to one who is used to living in Germany.  Here a dollar is about sixty marks, and will buy an excellent meal except in the classiest restaurants.  An ordinary table d'hote in a good (not flashy) place will set you back twenty or thirty marks. Out in places where there are no American troops one can get a good breakfast or lunch for twelve or fifteen marks.  A bottle of good champagne can be bought for a dollar if you know where to buy it.  In a high class restaurant it costs from a dollar and a half to four dollars, depending upon the label.  I don't like it much. Here an orange costs three marks.  In Nice, where they grow, they cost about a quarter apiece.
I suppose you folks back home think it's all settled now that Germany signed the reparations agreement.  Don't let them kid you.  I'll bet my pile that Germany will never redeem all those bonds without bloodshed.  If Germany were to go Bolshevik all that it would take to restore order and a monarchy would be for one of the war heroes to organize a division or so and declare war on France.  At least that is my impression.  The hatred of the Germans for the French is something one can't imagine unless one happens to know how the French hate the Germans.  That is the only other hate I know that approaches it.  You read of Germany being absolutely broke and all that. Their air transportation companies are subsidized so that they carry passengers almost as cheap as the railways do.  They have planes on which lunch is served during the flight. They are head and shoulders above every other country in Europe in aviation and their twenty-passenger planes are built so that they can be turned into bombing planes almost overnight.  I haven't seen these myself but I expect to fly from Berlin to Stockholm on my next leave, and then I'll tell you more about it.
In the meantime I see that Congress is trying to cut the Army down again.  An army is a useless expense in time of peace just the same as a fire insurance policy is a luxury unless your building gets on fire, with this exception, the insurance policy doesn't prevent fire while an adequate army does tend to preserve the peace.

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It is also very instructive to count the packages and bundles that the ladies bring back from Coblens and Cologne, if you happen to come back on the same train. The duty calls are also illuminating, especially if a married couple happen to drop in while you are there and the two ladies start telling of their last trips to Paris or London. Then sometimes you get this, "Come up to my place tonight for a game of bridge. My wife is coming back tomorrow." ("Straws show which way" etc.) Right now we are putting out a heavy line of duty. All through April we were on our way to the rifle range about sunrise, that is the Third Battalion was. We finished record practice May 3. I was luckier this year than last and made Expert Rifleman with a few points to spare, incidentally having high score among the officers so far. Just after we came off the range the French started preparations to invade the Ruhr valley and were worried about the railways so our battalion got the job of guarding tracks used for bringing up the French army. We had fifty or sixty miles of track for each company so that we officers were fairly active in keeping our eyes on what each little detachment was doing. The detail lasted just ten days but it was a welcome little change from garrison duty. Since we came back the Second Battalion has been firing record practice and I have been going out to score for them, or rather to take charge of the pits for them, so I still have to get up just after I go to bed. On top of that we catch guard every six days and in between times we are trying to get the company in shape for combat firing and the proficiency test. That is some job for we recently got a big detachment from a guard company and the men from that organization never had any particular training in musketry. At least most of them never had any, although we drew one sergeant who enlisted for the first time in 1882, and was a captain in the National Army. He's our First Sergeant now. Knows more about soldiers than anybody I've ever seen. He can tell what a "gold Brick" or "John" will do a week before the soldier thinks of it himself, or rather before he does it, for most of these breaches of discipline develop without thought on the part of the offenders. I haven't been anywhere out of the American area since January when I spent a few days in Paris and Nice. A few days wasn't all I spent. Nice is a wonderful place to spend the winter and a million dollars. It must be about as bad as New York. Prices seem outrageous to one who is used to living in Germany. Here a dollar is about sixty marks, and will buy an excellent meal except in the classiest restaurants. An ordinary table d'hote in a good (not flashy) place will set you back twenty or thirty marks. Out in places where there are no American troops one can get a good breakfast or lunch for twelve or fifteen marks. A bottle of good champagne can be bought for a dollar if you know where to buy it. In a high class restaurant it costs from a dollar and a half to four dollars, depending upon the label. I don't like it much. Here an orange costs three marks. In Nice, where they grow, they cost about a quarter apiece. I suppose you folks back home think it's all settled now that Germany signed the reparations agreement. Don't let them kid you. I'll bet my pile that Germany will never redeem all those bonds without bloodshed. If Germany were to go Bolshevik all that it would take to restore order and a monarchy would be for one of the war heroes to organize a division or so and declare war on France. At least that is my impression. The hatred of the Germans for the French is something one can't imagine unless one happens to know how the French hate the Germans. That is the only other hate I know that approaches it. You read of Germany being absolutely broke and all that. Their air transportation companies are subsidized so that they carry passengers almost as cheap as the railways do. They have planes on which lunch is served during the flight. They are head and shoulders above every other country in Europe in aviation and their twenty-passenger planes are built so that they can be turned into bombing planes almost overnight. I haven't seen these myself but I expect to fly from Berlin to Stockholm on my next leave, and then I'll tell you more about it. In the meantime I see that Congress is trying to cut the Army down again. An army is a useless expense in time of peace just the same as a fire insurance policy is a luxury unless your building gets on fire, with this exception, the insurance policy doesn't prevent fire while an adequate army does tend to preserve the peace.