Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-02-27

wins any game in which he engages.
The study of that field of fire over the
Messlnes Ridge was a revelation to me
of the discipline of engineering The
patience displayed in reducing fifteen
miles in length and six miles in depth
to a scale that could be put on a field
accurately that when the order came
through in the morning to move forward
every man could find his path as surely
as If he were on Broad street under a
VOW OF electric lights, was indeed Won
derful. Each man had completely alb
sorbed the surroundings. He had taken
in all that the engineer had done and
was able to carry it out.
When | first went over I was aSSimned
to thes First Anzac Corps. Like Penn
sylvanians they are volunteers. They
are entirely independent of the British
war office. The parliament of Australia
consented to put men in this war with
the understanding that the commanding
general should make all appointments to
oiAce and he alone should decide who
should remain and who should go back.
Having prescribed these conditions, they
elected Lieutenant General Birdwood,
British officer of the Indian army, to
represent them, and, although he had
never been an Australian, he was so
loyal to his trust that the Commonwealth
Of Australia sent the best she had to be
represented in that fighting corps They
are the same kind of volunteers we are
in Pennsylvania, and they have gone in
with a determination to win. Their en-
gineering force has contributed to this
war what is known as the duck board -
which when the Canadians saw it named
it the bath mat" I asked why it was
called duck board" and they said it
, was because it did not keep them out of
the mud. The Canadians called it a
"bath mat because when you are on it
you don't take a bath. In Flanders the
ground is covered with about three feet
Of mud, and if you get off this duck
| board you are up to your knees in
stantly, and the Australians worked out
this scheme to enable them to go against
the GermanS irresistibly The BOARD
Is constructed of number of small strips
of wood, fourteen to fteen inches long,
and nailed to stringers; these are placed
one in front of another until there are
miles of it to walk on. Over that line
went to victory. 1t would have been i'm
possible to do it in any other way
| through the mud.
There are no trenches in that part of
FLANDERS. When you go to dig a trench
you are waist deep in water If it rains
only twice a day In Flanders it is con-
Sidered clear day. [ never wore wool
lens or wooden underwear in my life until
landed in Paris, and it was so cold that
l started to buy some. l bought three
suits of underwear and three pairs of
socks. When l asked the price, it was
$40 good American money. That shows
thu. Importance of equipping your soldier
with the socks, underwear, and the
sweaters he needs and realizing that the
government cannot meet that demand.
II your boy over there or going over
there, make sure he has an abundance
Of those, things, because without them
he will become 4 sure victim of pneu-
mona, When I visited the Johns Hop
kns unit 1 said to Howard Kelley, Ma
venereal troubles?' And he replied,
None, sir" said, DO you mean to
tell me that venereal diseases are I'M
known here? He said. Yes, sir; we
have none in the American army" I
then asked. well, what is it?" And he
replied, "All respiratory troubles, due to
wet feet Improperly clothed, improper
underwear, and all absolutely prevent
able" The American people should real
i7e it is necessary for them to furnish
these soldiers with the necessary cloth
ing, and that 1t is not government func-
tion-or, if it is, the government cannot
meet it-and every man must be equip
ped with these things
After left the Passchendaele front
and may | say just one moro thing about
it?-there is only one set of forts in
France which stood this bombardment
and they were built by Vauban in the