Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-03-28

tASNS WI VIZ ilio tdNC ali't
newspaper owner. sums up his omlnen
on the progress made by America since
entering the war IL months ago. 1T IS tax
en- from the book published by the George
II: Doran company. entitled Lord North
cliffe's War Bools,')
Since l have been in the United
States|I arrived early in the month of
June-1 have seen the beginning Of the
growth Of a wal machlne unequaled in
the worlds history. The machine was
built in the American way. AS /
watched he process 1 was reminded
continually Of the method of building
the skyscrapers, whose roots are deep,
deep down in the rock that forms the
island OF which New York stands
In watching the building of a sky
scraper, the uniformed observer feels
that the thing will never begin. For
some time there is q blasting of rock,
crowds of men appear with strange ma
chimes, nothing much seems to happen.
Then. gradually but surely, 81 great steel
skeleton arises.
The progress does moi seem to be as
rapid a. it might be. until suddenly the
passer-by finds to his establishment that
the exterior walls Of the seventeenth
or thirtieth story are finished, the lower
stories being yet in skeleton form.
There is another delay. and 10! the sky
scraper suddenly finished, and housing
vi 1VpVO vi Ao1VOO ONo WOi
The American war machine was and
as l write, is still being built in the
same way.
RewiIderine to British.
From the staid British point OF view
the process was sometimes ~bewildering.
There were delays, %tolerances, repeti-
tons OF European war %blunders, criti-
mism and grave underestimatiOns.
Sometimes at the end of a long day n
looked back on the morning INC could
see no progress. But at the conclusion
of every six days there was not only
an advance. but sometimes a leap.
The great giant OF the west SUM
bered more or less uneasily for the first
two and a half years of the war, he
eventually woke with some unwilling
ness. Once awake with amazing celer-
ity he was out and about, up n do
ing. He swiftly eirded his armor and
fashioned the club that should end the
rule of despotism in Europe.
Lookers-on and critics here in the
United States We're astonished to find
that almost without public notice con
scription came into being. When 1t ar
rived, it worked as smoothly as though
it had been in use since the Declara-
ton of Independence. Again The giant
paused awhile and people began TO
wonder what he was doing, but mean
while the streets became filled with
NIldNl. IIle SteIil looking BUSINESS men
and professional beauties of photo
graphers' shops We're replaced by clean
visaged officers and nurses. The parks
We're busy from dawn to dark with men
in shirt sleeves at drill. Those trying
to make business appointments by
telephone found that SO-and-so had
gone to France or to an officers train
Ing camp at Plattsburg or elsewhere.
The war hourly became more and more
Il part of the visible public life.
My American home is some miles out
of New York city. When | took up my
residence there in June last there We're
no signs of war about me. / went to
Washington and returned after the
space of n few days. A vast camp, as
big az ours at Whitley. in Surrey APP
peared at my doors as though it had
grown by magic.
Cantonments Great Affairs.
This camp was not on the map, SO
cantonments that We're built with
lightning speed. OF these soldier cities
there are now 16 finished or nearly
SO. They are no mere camps. There
is q permanence about them that makes
it difficult to realize that they are
built in two score of days. A number
of them are being erected wisely In
the sunny and comparatively stormless
south, where the soldiers and more
especially the flying men will be in full
training during the whole winter.
Let me describe one of these cities in
the words of an English eyewitness, ono
of the 16 cities which will accommo-
date the first installment (650, 900 mem
gathered by CONSUMPTION. These cities
are tangible proof of the efficiency of
American methods of organization APP
piled to war making. We asked n OBJ
tanned permission to sec n of the
most rapidly finished. 1t happened to
be 1000 miles from New York. It did
not seem to concern those who ex
tended the very cordial invitation that
the journey was a long one; it is re-
garded here as we look upon the jour-
ney from London to Newcastle (abou,
200 miles) or London to Glasgow Qess
thar 800 miles).
Early in July there lay three miles
outside San Antonio, Tex. a stretch OF
ground covered with a difficult kind of
peared en- army of between 5000 and
10000 workmen of every known nation
ality. directed by young Americans OF
the Harvard and Yale type.
The 10000 arrived in every kind of
conveyance. in mule carts, farm wag-
ons. horse cabs. motors and huge mo-
tor vans. AT the end of the days work,
when the whistle had blown, the scene
resembled that of some eccentric elab-
orately staged cinematograph film.
Together with the army of 10000
men came many kinds of semi-auto-
matte machinery. The hard concrete
Dad in the United States are now
+. made by machinery with a thorough
ness and pernanence which should at
tract attention in Europe. In this
new town outside of San Antonio IL
miles of rail, % miles of road, 81 miles
of water pipe, 80 miles of were
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