Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-11-20
LIBERATED PEOPLE
JOYOUSLY WELCOME
AMERICAN ARMY
u. S. Troops Near the Belgian
Border Find Roads Choked
With Helmets of Huns.
FOE is NOT DISORGANIZED

With the American Army OF occupa-
t;ou Nov. 20.-Wcl into Belgium and
within a few hours march OF the Ger
man frontier ON the south, Malor-( 'cn.
Joseph L. Dickman 5 army gathered II
self Yesterday for another Jump INTO
evacuated territory.
In accordance with plan. the maj ch
has been halted for a short tune. whlic
Tho heavier artillery, supply service and
Other elements can bc brought up How
over Cen Dickmans headquarters were
moved ON To Longuyon last night and
corps and division commanders made
similar advances.
As the Germans wit hdraw, the con
centration of the Army OF occupation
Is increased, and not for a moment has
vigilance been relaxed All possible ad-
vantage is carefully taken and the forces
are So ,cpl0vcd that the peaceful march
nipbt easily. in the presence of the enemy,
be converted into a hostile operation
The second dav of the advance served
to confirm the belief at the American
HEADQUARTERS, however, that there was no
thought of trcachery III the MINDS ot the
German general staff. and that the terms
of the arinistice will bc faithfully carried
out.
There have been n few isolated cases
where surrendered materials have heen
damaged but II is not thought Sueh Dam
agc was wrought under orders OF German
commanders. The surrender Of damaged
airplancs 1T the airdromc in IcllanCourt
Is regarded as a case where lndivldu2l
ayiators determined to put their machines
ont Of commission rather than have them
fall into The hands Of an enemy, much -
a cqyalrylnan would shoot a favorltc
Ix,-., ~, ,-+tx-., l1rrt from a like late.
Enormous stores Of ammunition and
many guns left at Ionguy-on were little
impaired and the machine shops there
had not been damaged The electrical
machinery in the shops was fully wired
and the tools were ct the hcst.
VAST sToHrS TAkE~.
The railway yards IT Montmedv and
othrr places along the Inc that served
the Germans as one ot their main arteries
ofIconmunlcation during their last stand
aahir,st the allied advance were filled with
locomotives and cars ready for use. whIlc
urcai quantities al general stores not men-
toned in the terms Of the armistlcc had
been abandoned 10 he AlhCs.
ndamaged stores left behind on every
road over which the Americans advancoi
bear evidence az the great retreat,
At Nlrton was found a great salvage
dunn. where tons of clothing. gas masks
and helmets had bccn thrown hy the
German troops. who had no further use
for them
AIroad near It. Ledger, over which
the correspondcnt drove just behind the
graduating armies, was 50 thIckly covered
with big iron German helmets that ~
times they nterfered with the operations
d his automobile.
No nISORDERIY RETREAT.
However. II WIS not the litter of battle
field thar one saw. or even that ul dis
ordd drls retreat under FIRE II was merely
the evidence Of the passing Of tired,
diShrar;cucd foe. who was gong home
The country generally presented =
strong contrast to that fought over for
sn many wears The Americans campci
today IN towns. most II which bear nd
trace az warfare Here and there was
one which showed evidence cf the fighting
at the time the French attempted To check
the German march through Belgium
In most Of the towns every house was in
tact Among the exceptions are Long
guybn and Mon,medv where few tom
buildings tell ol French and American
air ralds and aerial photographs of whose
scars have long been on file at American
headquarters.
The roads over which the Americans
travelled are in excellent condition. due
to their distance back Of the former Ger.
man lines and the limited use made by
The enemy Of motor trucks This. coupec
with the almost constant work upon the
roads by the Germans. kept them in :
condition almost equal to those Of France
before the war The retreating army
left on the roads dozens of steam rollers