The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-12-17
ksafed BY Correspondents { he More
Spectacular Than Building oI
Panama Canal.
BOXING MAKES Hi
Thousands Gather 20 Witness Game
or Football Between tScEuncnts
ProrrsdS for RcEimcptai Mess
FNIrd
Bv II. w. ROSS.
A Californian With the United states
Forces in frTSnCC.

NENLE YOU 1 ia 11 EESE -"' N@
tho last few days. expecting 90 bear
from you by the next mail" The
ouik OF the next mali arrived two
or three days aso. but drtblets have
been coming through daily since
There another due tonight and
here's hoping All told I've sent Won
4ve letters since arriving here-dou't
know how many arrived.
Also I have been rather busy Of
late. ! have been assisting iH the
promotion Of au epoeha' event-the
first American boxing tournament
held f. France. Il tooh place Sattr
dsw night in a stvsnFa little theateF
on a crooked rue in a nearby city
before An audience Of 500 Americans
-eoidiers, sailors, marines and civil
tan employees II the A = F--ard 200
French. mostly The feminine
seq are great fight ana over here
There wss "A special train from the
nearby engineering and military
ps srd permission from the vari-
Gus cosn nnanders for the man to aay
cut after if:s6 2. M, at which hour
ordinarily all but FIVE per cent OF the
srer must he In.
The lightweight cha Yaptonshfp a.
ere Pacific coast was st eta ke-5.o00
miles away STANLEY Burns. claimant
OF the lightweight cham pionShip Of
California and r r tyclent plight
fng') Fuelet, champ Of the North
svest who both are members of the
regiment, put on the principal 20 Il
swaS for only SIX rounds. n ifuelet
ans ANa- S..E.~zr &n~8wEau EYyf "a
f~wertyrround nght has been arrang-
ed for thrse or -four weeks hence
and the argument ought 70 he de
Anttslv settled. There is no linit or
che fights here and no reform ele
xnent AT the fight fans ought to
Sosn the army and come on. over. u
has great possibilities.
All the American sports have been
tried out over here already. BsBe-
ball created Interest, but football was
% sensation. The French heard of
The inter-regiulentaI games ard now
n big exhibition game has bean ar
ranged between the two best teams
m this part Of the country n a
guarantee has been given by the
French promoters 70 clear 1900 francs
fer the reg'mentai mess fund OF the
winning organization. The play only
eoccer ovs here.
II was while I was on 8 ticket-sellinR
tom for the fights thai I got my
ST aatest insight into what is going on
over here. Ordinarily q soldier
doesn't see much. He stays close 70
his regiment, gets but a few hours %
liberty each day and overnight passes
eeidom. he doesn't get far from his
station. Hut / worked III a radius OF
several miles from what is rapidly
becoming an American base"
have seen a New York s~kyHCraper
Climb toward tine infinite, a story a
gay; I saw square o of concrete
siouTed into forms that moulded Il dam
WHICH i~npounded a. Lake end reclaim
ed she hsth Of a state. have seen
new railroads fell their way across des
erts and mountains II rivers. ! ssw
she Panama canal before they turned
the water IN The cut" More spectacu.
Lar these. possibly. but no more I'm
pressive than In American military
sase' in the making. And certainly
" buster
On a certain day a few very few
months & an American genera
stood on q certain spot and, shtftine
Fl pointing finger. said:
There vii be railroad yards. and
There docks. and there Il rest am
and that building over there win b
t. haze hospital"
And from that certain spot TO-DAY
ore looks AND sees what very soon viii
be yards ard docks and camps and
hospital.
In one direction q string Of low
wooden buildings stretch as far al
SiE~on. They are ten abreast. Fout
hundred ana fr~ty ~ these buildings
each capable ~ housing sixty men
T~snty-sIx theu nd troops they VII
sccer7~o45'. And within an hour.
march are Ava other such camps,
Merely n rest camp" it IL explalnet
row. Troops vlil remain there u few
hours or a,fe. days between boat an,
train, on their way TO the front."
A highway parallels the waterfron
end 81 was on his tina the America
general stood the cay A@ swept hi
nnwsr IN thu civo'o IN conceived IN
improvements that are becoming real
ttfeR 50 rapidly. A town was vTtthii
tho sweep os h!s arm. II IS being re
moved Houses a century CID are be
saE rared THE space is needed 70
~trnrkaga.
On the other side IF the road ~,
docks are going In. bikes are betn'
ou!lt a quarter Of q mile from shor
and orsdgers and hydraulic pumps ar
banking silt behind them. One ion,
stretch is ready fer the flooring an
the b~uIkhesds. Half a dozen pile
drivers are saortins scores of SIX
Pert timber :n~en-Swedes mostly. from
the forests Of California and wiscou
sin, civilian employees are r~rinnliri
piles, squarlng tifnbsrs. laying plank
ms Further along men Of the Amer
team en- z1neering regiments are con
Gnuing the alike. A steam shovel T.
renewing a hilI. three yards at = bite
! This sob resern bleE Catun.
The work must be done hyr q state
date. II lie labor against time Troqp
ara coming. Material ip coming. Am
fnunition Is coming md this must d
ready for them. The 5cb contains tn
vuintessercs CT kRste-methodtcsL. in
tense, Intelligent efficient Here ar
working thousands--Araerican- Frencl
and white-clsd German pri&u7er2 stH
smiling. sIothfuA stolid. each 1aui
WITH It's roilu guard. iusGr!ab'v. sna
in o partsen both ~ his charges ar.
tAe long rife re carries. F~upermounte'
with It's twenty=four-4 zeh Aayenet-
A construction locomotive parse
With a trsinioad Of rails. Amertca'
steel! THE engineer ts in khali and a
wears the red and Waite hatband O
The engineers
Further along tn 4 big. fnur-@trr'
stone building that w7s n sehoo'hous
when washtngfou was i~rRUgurated Z
etsnds with all the dignity ~ it's t~,
In twenty acres Of sroomed forest am
fawr. But NOW II radiateS wooden ex
tensions. extending incntaruaNsiv he