The New York herald., 1922-06-18
Already Half Rebuilt, in Two
Years 1t Will Be Like 1t
Was In 1914.
OLD HOUSES REPRODUCED
Stricken Area of Belgium Is
Fast Regaining Its Pre-
War Aspect.

q correspondent of the Times. Having
known It before, and Immediately after
the war. and again in 1919. and being
aware Of the appalling difficulties which
hac confronted the Belgian Government
in the work of reconstruction. was anx-
:ous to see for myself how things were
getting on. Therefore explored. In the
agreeable company Of Belgian gentle
nan who was not only one Of tho best
imaginable authorities on the subject OF
reconstruction, but had served through
cut the war with the British army In
these very parts, the country lying and
adjacent to the following route: Court
raj, Menin, Colmes. Hill 60. Ypres, Pope
r:rghe KENNEL, Zonnebeke. Moorslede.
Roulers, Staden, Dixmude, Furnes, Nieu-
port and Ostend.
1t is no exaggeration to say that
was utterly amazed by what / saw. AZ
my last visit one had driven hour after
hour through a wilderness Of shell holes
and rank grass from village which
had been entirely blotted Off the face
CT the earth to a town of which the few
walls left standing averaged perhaps
feet in height, and one had found tho
pioneers of the returning population Nv
ing miserably in Nissen huts and sQualid
shanties. To-day the shell holes are tho
exception they have been filled IN with
the spade and plowed over with motor
crltivators, and where there used to be
the foul and rugged wilderness arc now
clean and level fields.
At the time of the armistice there
were 100000 acres OF land which had
been laid waste / should doubt II there
were now twentieth Of this area not
under cultivation. The crops have been
as good as, or better than. ever. Only 1t
the edge 70 the former inundated area
remember noticing in the past q slight
change of color in the stalks. And yet
we used to think that the land would
need years to recover from the salt
water
Generally speaking. and apart from
the absence of any living or unrtddled
tree. there is practically nothing about
the landscape to suggest that 1t has ever
| been devastated at all. A few tanks
remain stranded where they were: one
| passes little dumps OF wire and shells
and an abundance OF concrete pill boxes
sinking lopsidedly into the mud. But
until noon, when the daily destruction OF
ammunition begins and the boom OF
muffled explosions comes from afar. II
would be easy. throughout most OF che
battle area, to forget altogether the
dreadful years which filled the air with
tumult and drenched the very soil be-
meath our feet with blood.
The cemeteries, with their endless
rows of wooden crosses, bring back re-
membrance with a shock. OF these I
visited all within reach and was de-
lighted to find then. uniformly we'll kept
In all the British cemeteries U think)
there were British ex-soldiers at work.
tending the turf and planting nor did
our arrival affect in any way their
steady toll 1t is pleasant to think how
beautiful these cemeteries will become
when, in the course Of years, they are
compassed about with shady trees.
A new feature of the landscape since
two years ago Is the springing up OF
farms. One sees them everywhere, with
their bright red roofs and spacious
barns. Some of them are q great inn
provement on the old buildings. But II
IS for the most part. only in the case
of the farms that the people have taken
advantage of the rebuilding to bring
their houses up to date. AS a rule they
have simply put them back exactly 40
they were before. How they have Sue
ceeded in doing so without the old plans
| is very remarkable. But, so far az
know, there Is not a crooked street In q
town which is to be made straight or
a seventeenth century gable which Is
not being reproduced exactly In the old
bricks
Thus Ypres. about which there has
been bitter controversy. is already half
rebuilt. In year from now 1t will be
indistinguishable. so far as tho mass of
streets is concerned. from the Ypres Of
August, 1914. Only 5000 arc absent
of the 1880 inhabitants OF before the
war. Here, as In all the other towns,
there Is a wonderful buzz of activity,
Look where you will. It is nothing but
houses going up. The church OF st.
Pierre is finished to the top Of the
walls. There are many large converts
in full working order. Before long there
will be a proper water supply
AS for the Cloth Hall, 1t must not be
supposed, from recently published photo
graphs showing the tower enveloped In
scaffolding, that anything In the nature
of restoration is going on. All that 10
happening is that the ruins are being
made safe. The wall on the west side
of the tower, indeed, which used to lean
perilously' outwards towards the Grand
Place. has not only been put upright.
but has been built up level so as to
enable several of the original statues
to be restored to their inches.
To The east of the tower, all that has
been done is to clear out the interior of
the building and arrange In It groups Of
statues and other carved stones origin
ally belonging to the Hall. The effect
! Is very good, and II is impossible to see
! any better way of dealing with the
ruins. But I still remain to be con-
WINGED of the propriety Of placing. at
! the end of all this mass OF perished
beauty, two hideous German howitzers
and two field guns. The idea is obvious
but l am sure that In due course Il
4 will be seen TO be inartistic.
The Cathedral OF ST. Martin has SIM
ilary been cleared and the columns Of
| the nave have been re-erected TO 4
| Height of ten feet, with stones which
| formerly belonged to them. Very little
more remains to be done but turfing and
! fencing to complete in worthy manner
this marvellous collection OF monuments
! Of Che war. The Grand Palace itself
Is rapidly resuming It's pre-war aspect,
and, In spite of local pig-headedness.
believe that the Belgian Government
will succeed in preventing its desecration
! by such atrocities of private srchi-
lecture AS defle some OF the streets OF
| Louvain.
At Nieuport. where a year ago there
was nothing but wooden huts. a quarter
OF the houses are rebuilt. What is even
more astounding Is that the thirteenth
century cathedral is rp again as before.
! and has even stained glass In some of
| Zee windows Tho Towc~ NJ "a Top,pfa va