From the News

Dated: February 7, 1918

The system of bathhouses established for keeping the men clean was rather elaborate. Every three weeks the troops underwent a thorough cleaning. Reaching bathhouses their uniforms were sterilized and they were provided with fresh underwear. By this method vermin generally regarded as dreaded germ carriers were eliminated. Some 16 thousand women were engaged at the bathing stations in sterilizing uniforms. There was a general absence of malarial diseases on the Western front. The few cases discovered from time to time were confined for the most part to soldiers from the southern climates. Trench fever was more prevalent than other diseases. There were times when 100,000 men suffering from trench fever were confined to hospitals.