The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-03-18
MAKES STATEMENT

MAKES STATEMENT
 The secretary said to the correspon- dent:
 "These days have been worth my +,;n across the Atlantic in the in- formation and encouragement which they have given me. have seen only the effort in two ports, only the re- ceiving depot of the great war plant " hich we are. constructing. But have seen enough to convince me that we now have an organization which will meet the problem with it's increasing volume of demand, of coupling up the ports of embarkation at home Wtn the ports of debarkation in France.
 q find that the written reports have given me an inadequate idea or the difficulties, which the enemy said we could not overcome, and which we are overcoming. After her long and stout hearted defense, France could spare us little material or labor for our pur- poses, except by ill-advised diversions from her own organization. She could offer us land on which to raise our structures and the right of way fer our communications.
 TRIBUTE TO MEN
 q should like to pay a tribute 10 the men who began last summer and fall to bring into being the blue prints of great conception, which row is advanced enough to yield con- victions of success to any observer and tribute to our engineers and experts from civil life in all branches who have continued to arrive to serve with the officers of the regular engineers in command of an increasing army of workers. all doing their part
 They come from pioneering peo- pie and they have brought to France a pioneering energy. They have turned E:aT shes into docks, facing water way s which they will dredge, sent out a spur of railway track and built ware houses and the necessary supplement tary plants for a system which will dispatch along the lines of communi- cation to the front food, clothes, guns, ammunition and all the enormous amount of complicated war material which the resources of our country can supply, to be transported by ships which we are building.
 THRILLED AS CITIZEN We owe it to their devotion and efficiency that the troops in action shall not want the means for strik- ing blows I wish that every American could see this work as I saw it. I ceased to be an official while I thrilled as citizen with pride and satisfac- ton over the ever increasing force which we shall bring to the aid of the allied armies in France"
 Twelve thousand men are laboring on this great development and the un- dertakings related to it in the vicinity. such as warehousing depots, barracks Tor troops, hospitals, rest camps and railway buildings. It is like engineer ing a great American port except that the merchandise Is all American, not foreign crate or case being found among the masses of supplies being transshipped for the American front Secretary Baker spent sometime in the improvised shipyard. where Amer
 jeans are building lighters so that ships may be unloaded from both sides at the same time. He went into the kitchens providing the food for men mostly negroes. belonging to steve I acre regiments. The members of the party agreed that the meat stews and
 bread were much better than could be | obtained in Paris
 JUST ONE COMPLAINT Secretary Baker stopped frequently tc talk with private soldiers. His impress sion and tnat of all the civilian mem. bers of the party was that the men arc well housed and fed and want to get or