April 21, 1919 to Mother.

Received your letter of April 2^nd with clippings today and enjoyed all the news. Kate seems to be quite “het up” on the suffrage question from all accounts. Rather imagine that Frank, while agreeing with her in principle, would probably enjoy life more if she paid a little less attention to suffrage and more to her husband and house. Which reminds me of a conversation that I had on Saturday with a married lady of mature years at M. Pellerin’s usual luncheon on the subject of the effect on women of the present generation of too much participation in sports and outside matters. She represented the conservative French point of view on the matter saying that she thought the “jeunes filles” of today had lost in grace through too much interest in matters outside their homes and that the young married women were no more the gracious mistresses of their homes that they had been formerly. Needless to say she was not at all in sympathy with suffrage. She is also of the type which is unable to comprehend how our American girls can go out everywhere unchaperoned with young men. That is a topic on which I’ve had many discussions with my French friends and they no more understand our point of view on this than we do theirs with regard to keeping girls very closely and the parents marrying them off without reference or not to whether they love each other.

Nothing of great interest with me this last week. Continue pretty busy and don’t see much likelihood of getting away from my present work before the fall. The A.E.F. is of course going home very fast but our service will have the job of cleaning up claims after they’ve gone and suppose we reserve officers will be held in this work until sufficient regular officers can be broken in on it. All of the officers now on duty with me are quite willing to stay in France several months longer except one and he is the only regular army officer in the bunch and therefore has the least chance of getting home early.

Today is, being Easter Monday, a national holiday in France and I’ve been able to do little business as a consequence for most of my work is with French people. It’s a beautiful spring day and think now the spring has come to stay. My office looks out over the Place de l’Etoile and the Arch de Triomphe and it’s all wonderfully pretty now with all the trees in their first spring dress.

Suppose Gov. Manning must now be in Paris but have no idea how to get in touch with him. Hope however to get hold of him some was and get around to see him and Mrs. Manning. The Congressional Committee on Military Affairs is now touring France and are due to be here next Sunday and Bert France and I want to see Sam Nicholls while here.

Love to all,

Carl