Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-11-12
WAR MAKES FRENCH
SOLDIER GROW TALL
Back to Natural Mode of Liv-
ing, Fighters of France
Thrive Healthfully.
THOUSANDS LIVE IN CAVES


French Front, Oct. lin all the
villages, numbering between thirty
and forty, captured during the En-
tente offensive on the Somme, sup
ply columns minglc in what looks
like confusion, but this is more ap-
parent than real, for everything
works With the utmost precision and
order
So soon as a position Vas acen
taken The supply depots move up and
arrangements for feeding the men
composing the first, second and third
lines are made with rxtrao' lmary
rapidly In the comha;art lines
themselves the movements Of the
troops are naturally hidden IRON
view. Every man is ca'ed uNon to
dig himself in and in a very lew hours
even on field OF battle such as that
extending north and south of the
Somme over length of forty miles
and a depth Of perhaps ten, scarcely
a human being can be seen,
Efficient System.
Behind the lines distributed over an
area probably fifty miles square, are
parks OF vehicles and provision and
ammunition depots, These are all
connected by dozens of lines OF light
narrow-gaugc railroads. laid with UNI
believeable rapidly and interesting
the fields in every direction Horses
are tcthered in thousands waiting to
be attached at any moment to We
hicles OF every sort used to dispatch
supplies to any part OF the line. Along
the roads, most OF which have been
specially cut even while the she'll
4 fire was still heavy, in order to re-
lieve the main national routes usually
reserved for the heavy motorlorries
and staff motor cars, conveys of cars
ranging from the small donkey cart
to the large supply wagon with a
team OF four horses continually move
to or from the fighting line. Junior
j officers, many of whom in private
life occupy high positions in business
seem to have adapted themselves
swiftly to the new life so different
from their regular occupation Al
every intersection one OF them is
posted to direct the traffic, and they
do so with all the efficiency of the
members Of city police traffic squad
| Never during his sojourn with the
French armies has the correspondent
OF The Associated Press observed
any serious congestion.
| Occasionally German long-rangt
/ gun will tear great holes in the road:
in the endeavor to prevent reinforce
ments coming up or the approach o.
ammunition columns. At once large
squads of men supposed to be en-
joying rest from the rigors OF tht
front line are put to work to I'll
the gaps with fresh macadam anc
huge steam rollers appear from every
where to level the surface. Their
other men come on with tar pail
and brushes and coat the surface t.
prevent the rising OF dust as mucl
as possible.
The houses of the recaptured vii
lagos, when they are still standing
are largely in ruin, but most OF then
are repaired and utilized as stable:
i for horses. Some OF the cellars have
not suffered from bombardment ane
frequently squads OF men are billettet
there. As a rule, however, the mer
in the rear of the fighting lines are
compelled to build or excavate theii
own habitations. Generally they pre-
fer to dig them out of the slopes o.
the hills and often they are so in
geniously constructed that only or
near approach can they be seen. Tens
OF thousands thus live in caves, where
they sleep on bundles OF straw spread
on the ground. During the two years
OF war they have learned to make
themselves very comfortable undei
these conditions so different from
those OF their ordinary lives. All til,
men look in splendid condition, ant
the army doctors report very small
percentage of sickness among them.
Anyone who has lived with tn,
French in times OF peace, at once
remarks that the soldiers seem tc
have increased both in stature AM
strength during the war, The men o
the nation appear to thrive since the,
have returned almost to primitive
conditions and been deprived of thu
comforts to which they had become
accustomed.