SOLDIERS WORK IN THE RAIN
Correspondent Describes Trip to Ostend —Finds Roads Once Badly Torn by Shells Almost as Good as New.
American Press Headquarters, British Front.—We had an impressive illustration today of the accomplishments of the engineers in this war when we drove into Ostend.
The chief of the American mission at Belgian headquarters had warned us dramatically against an attempt to make the trip. At least three days would be required, he said. The roads were torn up by shells and mines and congested with troops. Yesterday a light car had taken twelve hours to make twenty miles. But we started out and had as smooth a road as any boulevard in the middle West for the entire distance. There were several places where we had to make detours through villages, and as the dozens of bridges across the canal near Ostend were all blown up we had to drive on about five miles to a temporary bridge. We averaged about thirty miles an hour.
Soldiers Work in Rain. 