We were encouraged alike by the splendid support of the officers and the warm-hearted and eager response of the men as they broke into prolonged applause.  The General in command attended one meeting and pledged us his support for our whole program for the men.  He had already cooperated with us most generously on the Canal Zone, in the Philippines, and in Mexico.  Three colonels presided at three successive meetings, and gave the work their strong moral support.  Three bands were furnished in two days.  The official backing of the authorities placed the stamp of approval on the whole moral effort for the welfare of the men.  In no other army in Europe that we have seen have the officers taken such a keen interest in the highest welfare of the troops, or offered such constant and efficient cooperation with every effort to surround the men with the best moral influences.

After the meeting, the regimental parade and the strenuous physical drill of the morning, the Colonel called for a short break, and the men gathered to learn some popular songs.  Major Roosevelt assembled his battalion, and Archie Roosevelt enthusiastically led the men in singing Julia Ward Howe’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and the modern soldier songs of the war.

After nine hours of hard drill, the men swung cheerfully down the hillside into the village street.  Now they have lined up, and with ravenous appetites are waiting for the evening meal.  We are almost as hungry as they, and are glad to share the meal with them.  Here on the table are huge piles of good home-made bread.  It is almost the first white bread we have seen after months of brown war bread in England and France.  Here are heaping plates of good pork and beans, tinned salmon, plenty of fried potatoes, and piping hot coffee.  This is followed by a delicious pudding, as good as the men would have had in their own homes.  Well fed, well clothed, well equipped, sleeping under Uncle Sam’s warm blankets, on comfortable “Gold Medal” cots, our boys are well cared for.

In another village, at the close of the day, the Colonel commanding two battalions of the infantry called the men together in the open square of the market place, and after a band concert invited us to address the troops on the moral issues of the war.  The next day almost the same program was repeated, and at noon in an open field on a grassy hillside the Major of another battalion marched out his men for a similar lecture.  Every commanding officer seemed eager to arrange for meetings, to summon the men, and to back up the messages given to them.  Not only have General Pershing, General Sibert, and the Colonels commanding the various regiments, met us half way in every plan for the welfare of the troops; but they have taken the initiative in insisting that every provision should be made for the physical, mental, and moral occupation and safeguarding of the men.