Dear Steve: France, Nov. 12, 1918

There is nothing to do but write letters and curse and I think I have done my full issue of the latter. Here I am where the odd five franc bill is of use to you and I can neither get paid nor can I get a cheque cashed and probably when I get back to my unit there will be a registered letter awaiting me and a Xmas pay as well. And the vexing part of it all is that the money will be of very little use to me up there for there is little or nothing to buy.

But that is usually my luck – when I am where no money can be spent I have 50 or 60 francs burning a hole in my pocket and when I get out like this to any special place where money counts, I have little or nothing.

We celebrated the discomfiture of the armstice last night and I hope that peace will ultimately be in the very near future. One’s day dreams are roseate with the promise of a return to civil life at a not distant date and one hopes such dreams are not premature or too long delayed.

We have some draftees here on the course and I guess at that some of them have seen a fair share of battle and line duty. The other day I sprang a funny one. I said to Halled, "They say that one volunteer is as good as two pressed men, now will you volunteer to help me carry in a certain piece of timber.", "No", he says and Edwards jumps up and offers to come and he is a draftee. Most of them are very good soldiers.

Well old man, there isn’t much to cheer one up around here unless it be the buoyant atmosphere of approaching peace and since "hope deferred maketh the heart sick" we are not giving way to any excessive ebullience – at least I’m not. But for all that we feel quite confident that the war will not require a very great amount of future time but how long will demobilization be in taking effect? That will soon be the burning question of the day.

I hope you are enjoying life and getting you work in good shape. Willie John said you had "break – down" with you Ford on Dungannon Fair Day. You will be quite and expert chauffeur by this time.

Remember me to old friends, and pardon any lack of detail.

Your brother,

Cannon