Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 97, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 March 1919 — Highway Improvement [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Highway Improvement

ARMY MOTORIST IN FRANCE

Peril* and Pitfall* Ara Described by Colonel Tyndall In Letter to Carl Q. Fl*h*r. “There will be a couple of million real ‘Road-Bposters’ back In the United States when the war Is over, as I think all of the men over here appreciate h6w good roads can be made- Invaluable. In my mind there is no doubt that the good roads of France saved her In two Instances.” Col. Robert H. Tyndall of the One Hundred and Fiftieth field artillery thus writes from “over there” to Chairman Carl G. Fisher of the A. A. A. touring board. It will be remembered that these two were closely associated several years ago in the transcontinental tour from Indianapolis to Sun Francisco, at which time much of the route of the Lincoln highway was decided upon. Colonel Tyndall is an inveterate road driver and has covered thousands of miles of good, bad, and Indifferent American highways. In his letter “home,” he goes on to say: “I have seen movements of troops made In the dark which would have been'impossible in any other country

than France. * Here the roadmakers have scientifically planted trees that absorb drainage on the side and at the same time shelter the highways so as to keep them just moist enough. In some instances you will find a tall poplar standing higher than the rest of the trees bordering the road, at every kilometer, so that you can readily measure distances with the eye. “One of the great things they do here is to repair a road and even make an entirely new surface without interfering with the stream of traffic. In one campaign we were in, over a thousand trucks passed my regiment, each carrying 22 soldiers. This was for re-enforcement on the flank and was done without the slightest confusion. One does not find here the little holes that cause so much trouble remaining in a road. The potted places are Immediately filled and drained, right up to the front line almost. “As far as being able to orient one’s self, I think from now on I can drive blindfolded any place in the United States, as most of my driving on the front has been at night, and the roads wind around considerably over here. I don’t have lights and neither do the trucks and other vehicles coming in opposite directions. We are not allowed to use the horn, as this Is the method. employed for a gas alarm. Sometimes I really wonder how we get through with it all, but it shows how a person can become accustomed to most any thing, and we train ourselves to see in the dark.”

Troops Being Transported in France.