France
July 17/17

Dear Mother

I received your letter of June 17th last night and the one of the 24th tonight, but no other canadian mail. I guess all the girls have gone back on me as it is some time since I have had any mail from them. I saw by the Canadian Gazette tonight that we got an awful whaling on June 27th which was a surprise to me, of course all those damned foreigners did it I suppose There will be some awful times when we get back if they do not treat us as they should and I hope the time will be soon too. Andrew Infister must have come out here pretty quick and I do not see why he needs any more money than anybody else for he will get just the same as all the rest of us, of course I would not kick about a dollar or so once in a while. We are not shy on Canadian papers out here so nearly everybody gets them and there are a couple of papers that are sent around to all our huts about Canadian news outside of war news and that we get a day or so after it happens. There was a letter from Gordon in the last one Aunt Mabel sent me but that is one of [?] she forwarded but I have not written to him yet. Yes that cake came & it sure was dandy and the boys enjoyed it. We have just settled down in another camp and it is a nice one too and have got thing fixed up dandy too. We each put 5 Francs (one Dollar) in a fund each pay day towards our canteen for our hut & everything we get in our parcels are put there for the use of all so we have some pretty good feeds. Goods are dearer here than in Canada I believe especially if we buy them from the French stores but the Y.M.C.A. is quite a bit cheaper so we patronize them all the time when possible. It makes me sore to see articles in the papers running down the Y for they do lots of good work out here. I have had many a nice cup of tea or coffee at all hours of the night after we came in from a trip up the line when we were wet & cold, and I have every praise for their work as well as the entertainments they give us. I will try to give you a few of the prices out hear bread, not to be sold to trips:.15/loaf, tin mile .32 & over; tomatoes tin .52; and all sorts of canned fruits are a way up too but we can get 50 players cigarettes fro about .25 & that will go up before long I think as everything seems to go up every month or so, an dif this war last much longer we will have to get a raise in wages to make both ends meet. I admit that i have not written many letters lately as I have been on the [?] but feel quite a bit better today than I have done for five or six weeks because I have quite eating anything but bread & a bit of pudding hoping this finds you all well love to all

your loving son

Gordon