The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-02-21

A Californian with the United States
troops writes from somewhere in
France"
Dear -: It Is two weeks since
I wrote you. I have been delaying
the last few days, expecting to hear
from you by the next mail" The
bulk of the "next mail" arrived two
or three, days ago, but driblets have
been coming through daily since.
There's another due tonight and
, here's hoping. All told I've sent you
five letters since arriving here-don't
know how many arrived.
Also I have been rather busy OF
late. I have been assisting in the pro-
motion Of an epochal event-the first
American boxing tournament held IN
France. It took place Saturday night
in strange little theater on crooked
rue in a nearby city before an audi
ence of 500 Americans-soldiers, sail
ors, marines and civilian employees Of
the A. E. F.-and 200 French, mostly
women. The feminine sex are great
fight fans over here.
All the American sports have been
tried out over here already. Baseball
created interest, but football was q
sensation.
It was while I was on a ticket-sell-
ing tour for the fights that got my
greatest insight into what is going on
over here.
Base In the Making.
have seen a New York skyscraper
climb toward the infinite, story
day; I saw square rods Of concrete
poured into forms that nodded dam
which impounded lake and reclaim
ed the fifth Of a state; have seen
new railroads fell their way across
deserts and mountains and rivers.
saw the Panama Canal "before they
turned the water in the cut" More
spectacular these, possibly, but no
more impressive than an American
military base" in the making. And Ger.
tainly no buster.
On certain day a few-a.svery few
months ago an American general
stood on a certain spot and, shifting,
pointing finger said:
1ucIC WILL DC AdAAAOtAu JcA VS. sAAN
there docks, and there a rest camp
and that building over there will be q
base hospital"
And from that certain spot today
one looks and sees what very soon
will be yards and docks and camps |
and a hospital:
In one direction string Of low
wooden buildings stretch as far as
vision. They are ten abreast. -Four
hundred and forty Of these buildings.
each capable of housing sixty men.
Twenty-six thousand troops they will /
accommodate. And within an hour's
march are five other such camps
A highway parallels the waterfront
and 1t was on this that the American
general stood the day he swept his
finger in the circle and conceived the
that are becoming real
tiles so rapidly. A town was within
the sweep Of his arm. It is being re-
moved. Houses a century old are he.
ing RACED. The space is needed for
-rackage.
On the other side Of the road the
locks are going in. bikes are being .
)uilt a quarter Of a mile from shore
Ind dredges and hydraulic pumps are
banking silt behind them: as..
Work Against Time. .
The work must be done by a stated
late. 1t is labor against time. Troops |
re coming. Material is coming. AM
is coming. And this must be
eady for them. The job contains the
uintessence of haste-methOdic in
ense, intelligent, efficient. Here are
working thousands Americans,
'rench and Whitehead German pris-
ners, unsmiling, slothful, stolid, each :
ang with it's poilu guard, invariably
mall in comparison both to his
harges and the long rifle he carries,
upermounted with it's 24-inch bayo
ct.
A construction locomotive passes
18th a trainload of rails. American
EEL The engineer is in khaki and :
e wears thesred and white hatband
the engineers.
Further along is a big, four-story s
one building that was a schoolhouse
hen Washington was inaugurated IT
ands with all the dignity of it's age
twenty acres of groomed forest and
wn. But now it radiates wooden ex-
nsions, extending anonymously be-
cath the limbs of the chestnuts. Open
aces hold barracks. A famous cha
au on an adjoining estate is being
ted as officers quarters. This is a
Use hospital-one Of many. Its ca
lcity will be nearly four thousand
,undod ond SioIy-thrao raoirnnntc