The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-05-17
FOOD Waste Big
| IN French ARMY
Meat, Bread and Rice Are Be-
ing Thrown Away, Says
Correspondent.
HAS SKILLED DENTISTS
Soldiers Buy Wine and Champagne
but No Rum-l50.000 Miles of
Wire on Frontier.
HAS SKILLED DENTISTS

Paris. April 27.-The Washington
Herald correspondent with the foreign
legation. writing on April IS. says:
Il have been trying to figure out
how much wire has been used for en-
tanglements along the whole western
front. 1t certainly may be averaged
at ten times the length Of the
| trenches, and three times as much for
the criss-crossing: so that IL the whole
front is put at 500 miles land it is
probably nearly 5000, ii would mean
$4,000 miles. There are from three to
| eight lines Of defense. Taking five
as an average. we have $4,000 miles,
and IL the Germans use as much. 1t
| means 100000 miles of wire. The
stakes used for supporting the wire
are about as far apart as they are
high.
The number Of trees used up is
enormous, for not only must these
| stakes be found but beams for
trenches. shelters and fires. Our Sec
ton (nominally so men. generally ten
,, below that number) uses about two
| trees a day for the kitchen. At first
trees were cut down without any care.
| with us to direct the cutting.
Some of the things about the war
that would not occur to the ordinary
thinker are that there are thousands
of men on the firing line, who have
been there for months and never fired
| shot or seen an enemy.
Wartime Dentistry.
We have skilled dentists to look after
our teeth. l was supposed to go to
one yesterday by appointment for a Sec
ond visit, but failed to go. When i went
| today he could not attend to me. being
too busy with appointments. but gave
me a date for May and 4. As regards
tooth-pulling. there Is no trouble: II can
but skilled treatment has to be arranged
! for. as in a city.
We can buy wines. including cham
payne. very cheaply. but no rum or
spirits can be bought. We can get
| liter of good wine Il 81 pints) for 10
cents and bottle of champagne for 50
cents.
we have six days on the firing line.
six days rest at Cuiry-les-Chaudardes
| lin the rear, then six days in the re-
serve trenches. six days more rest Al
Curry again, then the same all over
again. When at rest We have practi-
cally a barracks life. We have to stay
in the village and cannot go to the next
village or two (only half a mile and
mile away without permission.
We do exercise--drillins and ma
neuvers-just as In barracks. This was
not SO at the beginning. when We had
to make defenses: but for the last two
months it has been a regular barracks
life. Even in the first lines and the re-
serve lines there is not much work now
| adays. The last time l was on the re-
serve lines all l had to do was one
hours work In getting rations for the
u a,-I @ttNxr he
| rest of the time l could sit in the sun
| and write.
There is NO drill in the reserve
| trenches, and only one section on guard
| for the whole company. On the firing
\ line everyone is on guard. In both these
trenches there is danger of being shelled.
SO that one Is always under a great ten
sion.
AT Cuiry-les- Chaudardes We are, not
absolutely safe. as 1t is not out Of range.
The enemy shelled Chaudardes. the next
village, half a mile away. three days
ago, and killed and wounded lii. They
! have continued Smelling since. but have
not heard the result.
Too Much Rice.
I'VE get SO much food that there is
| terrible amount of waste. i have seen
pounds of meat thrown away in our sec
| ton alone. because men did not need 1t.
| Aud bread. good bread. almost white. is
wasted wholesale. Each man gets two
pounds a day, and few Of us eat more
| than one; the rest is wasted, except for
a small portion that can be put into the
soup.
Rice is served out almost every day.
and no one ever touches 1t. The other
day Bob Scanlon arrived and announced
that his company had had a vegetable
that day that We had not eaten for
long while. Every one tried to guess
what it could be. and every one failed.
SO Bob had to tell US 1t was rice and
we had to confess We had not touched it
for months, although each section re-
ceives fifteen pounds for a meal. gen.
orally once. sometimes twice. q day.
Every man has received at least one
pair Of shoes month.
Life has become a summer vacation
spent in the woods. when We are at rest.
Nothing to do except to eat and sleep
in the sun. We do not have to worry
about food; the kitchen sees to that. A
little work now and then. getting wood
for the kitchen or improving the big
trenches between the lines Is welcomed.
Sometimes we have some target shooting
really most enjoyable.