Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family
Title
Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family
Creator
Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958
Identifier
WWP23073
Date
1919 October 21
Description
Letter from Jon Bouman to his family.
Source
Gift of William C. and Evelina Suhler
Subject
Correspondence
Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920)
Contributor
Rachel Dark
Denise Montgomery
Language
English
Provenance
Evelina Suhler is the granddaughter of Jon Anthony Bouman and inherited the family collection of his letters from the years of World War I. She and her husband gave the letters to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum in 2013.
Text
13 Place de la Bourse
Paris Oct. 21
Dearest,
Your letters of the 18th and the 20th arrived on the same day – today, one in the morning, and the other one just now; 8:30 pm.
Of course I would have been only too glad to do anything I could for Mrs. Bacon, knowing her kindness to you and the children; you may assure her of that, and if she wants any information about admission to the Sorbonne (if that is her idea) tell her to have no hesitation about asking me.
Your first letter made me pray she might arrive on a Friday when I would have time to look after her properly, but as Roberts might be back next week, it would have been a tight fit otherwise. I could of course have fixed her up at a hotel all right. But travelling is not to be recommended except to people who can stand it; I hear it is still excessively uncomfortable with all sorts of unforeseen delays etc. As for luggage, except what you carry, it seems it is awful, the confusion here. A package for Roberts has been lying at St. Lazare for days; our messenger goes daily, but when he finds he would have 2 hours to stand in a queue, he funks it and comes back. I would have certainly advised Mrs. Bacon to insure her luggage, apart from hand luggage. Everybody complains about it, and curses the government which owns this line!
Just had a note from Frank G. who had been on a little excursion to Jersey, where he found the franc so depreciated that he ran out of funds and now wanted some money quickly! Which of course I have sent him.
I am glad you got your coal; that is a precious possession. The poor devils in Austria are worst off for fuel, according to our Vienna man, who thinks there is going to be very severe suffering there.
No other news today. With much love, dearest
Always thine, Jack
Paris Oct. 21
Dearest,
Your letters of the 18th and the 20th arrived on the same day – today, one in the morning, and the other one just now; 8:30 pm.
Of course I would have been only too glad to do anything I could for Mrs. Bacon, knowing her kindness to you and the children; you may assure her of that, and if she wants any information about admission to the Sorbonne (if that is her idea) tell her to have no hesitation about asking me.
Your first letter made me pray she might arrive on a Friday when I would have time to look after her properly, but as Roberts might be back next week, it would have been a tight fit otherwise. I could of course have fixed her up at a hotel all right. But travelling is not to be recommended except to people who can stand it; I hear it is still excessively uncomfortable with all sorts of unforeseen delays etc. As for luggage, except what you carry, it seems it is awful, the confusion here. A package for Roberts has been lying at St. Lazare for days; our messenger goes daily, but when he finds he would have 2 hours to stand in a queue, he funks it and comes back. I would have certainly advised Mrs. Bacon to insure her luggage, apart from hand luggage. Everybody complains about it, and curses the government which owns this line!
Just had a note from Frank G. who had been on a little excursion to Jersey, where he found the franc so depreciated that he ran out of funds and now wanted some money quickly! Which of course I have sent him.
I am glad you got your coal; that is a precious possession. The poor devils in Austria are worst off for fuel, according to our Vienna man, who thinks there is going to be very severe suffering there.
No other news today. With much love, dearest
Always thine, Jack
Original Format
Letter
To
Bouman Family
Files
Collection
Citation
Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958, “Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family,” 1919 October 21, WWP23073, Jon Anthony Bouman Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.