WITH THE A. E. F. IN FRANCE
The area occupied by this base section was reported to be about 30,000 square miles, in which were twelve American base hospitals and eight camp hospitals with a total capacity of 60,000 beds. During the progress of the war the base hospitals near Bordeaux contained many sick and wounded brought back from the front in hospital trains.
For many months there was at all times a large number of American soldiers in this section, probably never less than 50,000. Before the armistice 10,000 American motor trucks were continually operating in the area, with an army of engineers to keep the roads in repair. In normal times Bordeaux is said to have 265,000 inhabitants but during the war its population increased to 400,000.
Our Workers, a man and his wife, arrived in Bordeaux on June 7, 1918. After several days' search they found a furnished apartment, occupying the entire second story of a building, on a main street of the city at 187 rue Fondaudège. A large sunny front room was used for a reading and writing room, in the rear of which was an office which served for distribution work. On Sundays these two rooms could be thrown together for services. There was a small reception hall used for a practitioner's office and in the back of the apartment were a bedchamber and kitchen utilized as living quarters by the Workers.
The General in command of this base section received our Workers cordially and ordered a notice of the rooms posted on the bulletin boards of all military organizations under his jurisdiction. Notices were also placed in various centers about the camps. In one case a young officer asked for a dozen to
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