Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family
Title
Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family
Creator
Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958
Identifier
WWP23143
Date
1927 September 4
Description
Letter from Jon Bouman to his family.
Source
Gift of William C. and Evelina Suhler
Subject
Germany--History--1918-1933
Correspondence
Transatlantic flights
Contributor
Rachel Dark
Denise Montgomery
Language
English
Requires
PROOFREADING
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
Sunday evening
Dearest;
As you said you would need some more money, I am sending you my own cheque for pound 20; I hope this will be sufficient for the time being; let me know. In the present circumstances I don’t quite know where I am, financially.
I am delighted to hear you are all having such a happy holiday; that’s one worry off my mind, anyhow. I can just picture you nicely among the heather. The blackberries ought to be coming along too.
Did you get an acknowledgement from Pynchon & Co for a dividend warrant for pound 1.6.8 I sent them? I asked for it to be acknowledged to No, 10.
We have about given up the German fliers as non-starters; Lochner has come back from Cologne and another man back from Dessau where they have been watching for them to start which they never did. That was nervous work too, as they had various false alarms at say 4 o’clock in the morning – extremely unpleased!
Enderis is now in Munich with a party of American journalists out on a spree; they are supposed to be “studying” things which only means unlimited booze. Really I have found myself sitting in my evening clothes among these joy riders, eating rare viands and drinking fine wines for which somebody else paid and listening to their frothy talk, and why this thusness? It all means nothing in the end. Herewith picture of the mayor of N.Y &c. I challenge you to show me anything more vulgar than that outfit. The German burgomaster’s wife looks more like a lady, anyway.
Inside is a tube ticket (small) and a bus ticket (large) Bill may be interested in.
New York has suddenly wanted a weekly financial letter of 300 words and John is the man to write it. It’s really absurd for anyone not familiar with the German economic situation to attempt such a thing which should be done by an expert but apparently any sort of tosh is good enough nowadays and I’ve had a shot at it today.
You say “you would like living in Berlin when they do such nice things” but let me tell you that in the last three months 50000 people have had themselves de-loused at the de-lousing stations in this city. They think nothing of that – east of Berlin the Slav begins, and he is lousy. Think of it – 50000 people! It’s a strange mixture at this gateway of the East; there are two columns in the telephone book who specialize in the destruction of bugs! I wouldn’t know where to look for one in London!
Then again, in certain places a printed request asks you “please do not take the paper away”. It would never occur to anyone in England to steal rolls of W.C. paper, but that sort of petty thieving is quite prevalent. That’s what they are; highly civilized in some ways, ever marvelously clever, and semi-barbarians in other respects.
Have you noticed a very bright star somewhere in the east at night? It is Jupiter; I looked at him through a large telescope a man hired out in one of the streets. Magnified him to the size of a threepenny bit, beautifully clear, with four moons, plainly visible. Price, tuppence.
I had the evening off today from 530 so had my walk Tiergarten way again. I don’t care much about it late at night because a man last week was knocked down by footpads and robbed of his week’s pay. Discretion is better than valour in this case!
Love to all,
Jac.
Dearest;
As you said you would need some more money, I am sending you my own cheque for pound 20; I hope this will be sufficient for the time being; let me know. In the present circumstances I don’t quite know where I am, financially.
I am delighted to hear you are all having such a happy holiday; that’s one worry off my mind, anyhow. I can just picture you nicely among the heather. The blackberries ought to be coming along too.
Did you get an acknowledgement from Pynchon & Co for a dividend warrant for pound 1.6.8 I sent them? I asked for it to be acknowledged to No, 10.
We have about given up the German fliers as non-starters; Lochner has come back from Cologne and another man back from Dessau where they have been watching for them to start which they never did. That was nervous work too, as they had various false alarms at say 4 o’clock in the morning – extremely unpleased!
Enderis is now in Munich with a party of American journalists out on a spree; they are supposed to be “studying” things which only means unlimited booze. Really I have found myself sitting in my evening clothes among these joy riders, eating rare viands and drinking fine wines for which somebody else paid and listening to their frothy talk, and why this thusness? It all means nothing in the end. Herewith picture of the mayor of N.Y &c. I challenge you to show me anything more vulgar than that outfit. The German burgomaster’s wife looks more like a lady, anyway.
Inside is a tube ticket (small) and a bus ticket (large) Bill may be interested in.
New York has suddenly wanted a weekly financial letter of 300 words and John is the man to write it. It’s really absurd for anyone not familiar with the German economic situation to attempt such a thing which should be done by an expert but apparently any sort of tosh is good enough nowadays and I’ve had a shot at it today.
You say “you would like living in Berlin when they do such nice things” but let me tell you that in the last three months 50000 people have had themselves de-loused at the de-lousing stations in this city. They think nothing of that – east of Berlin the Slav begins, and he is lousy. Think of it – 50000 people! It’s a strange mixture at this gateway of the East; there are two columns in the telephone book who specialize in the destruction of bugs! I wouldn’t know where to look for one in London!
Then again, in certain places a printed request asks you “please do not take the paper away”. It would never occur to anyone in England to steal rolls of W.C. paper, but that sort of petty thieving is quite prevalent. That’s what they are; highly civilized in some ways, ever marvelously clever, and semi-barbarians in other respects.
Have you noticed a very bright star somewhere in the east at night? It is Jupiter; I looked at him through a large telescope a man hired out in one of the streets. Magnified him to the size of a threepenny bit, beautifully clear, with four moons, plainly visible. Price, tuppence.
I had the evening off today from 530 so had my walk Tiergarten way again. I don’t care much about it late at night because a man last week was knocked down by footpads and robbed of his week’s pay. Discretion is better than valour in this case!
Love to all,
Jac.
Original Format
Letter
To
Bouman Family
Files
Collection
Citation
Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958, “Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family,” 1927 September 4, WWP23143, Jon Anthony Bouman Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.