New Britain herald., 1917-08-24
UNDERGROUND CITY
 HAVEN TO SOLDIERS
Poilus Sleep and Rest Safe From
 Death and Harm

French Front, July 16.-(Corro- } spondence. )-Dozens of divisions of the French army now sleep under ground in comparative comfort, even fin tho front lines when the Germans are hurling tens of thousands of shells on the ground above them, thanks to the work of the companies of excavators formed since the be- ginning of tho war. The men chosen Ito construct these shelters, which Ehave preserved so many thousands of Hives, arc soldiers whose age varies between 46 and 50 and who would Ehave been unfit to take part in the iactive operations of modern battles, where qutckness of movement and flitheness of limb are absolute neces- sities. No matter what the nature of the soil, whether hard rock quick , ,and, chalk or marshy land, these veterans have overcome all the difi- 'culties and have succeeded in con- structing formidabl bomb-proof shell tiers all along the line of the front from the North Sea to the Swiss from ttier until at the present moment any lighting unit arriving at almost any tpart of the line finds habitable dug out awaiting it.
 The correspondent of The Asso- ciated Press has seen and been inside dozens of these subterranean cities for such they may be termed-at many places, and even where all the natural conditions are difficult, has found the shelters commodious we'll drained and well-ventilated. In some cases a battalion finds accommoda- ton in a single shelter. and each man lodged in it is provided with a. simple bed consisting of a wire-net- ting foundation supported by wooden uprights. On this the soldier lays his regulation bundle of straw and, covering himself with his army and greatcoat, can sleep with freedom from anxiety as to any bonn hardment in progress outside. The shelters are provided generally with electric light qr acetylene lamps, sanitary conven- fences and, in some cases, with com- plete shower baths.
 First aid posts and dressing sta- tions with all modern surgical ap- pliances are also to hand, so that the surgeon attached to the unit may attend imm ediately to any wounded men brought in from the nearby battlefield.
 Some 5000 Square Yards in Area.
 sSo well are the shelters protected from the view of the enemy that al- though in many instances the under ground lodging covers an area of B. 900 square yards. not once in the course of the past year has one of i them been destroyed by the enemy's fire. They have many exits, the plan 1 being to provide one for each section or quarter company so that in case one exit should be hit and blocked, the men inside may escape through another opening.
 At the beginning of the war the soldiers actually in the fighting line made their own shelters. which were just holes dug in the ground and covered with tree trunks and earth and affording very little protection, besides taking up much of the time of the soldiers and costing very much labor and money for transporting the necessary timber.
 It was then decided to utilize the older classes of the reserve of the territorial army who had been called to the colors and who, despite their previous military training, had been found unable to bear strain Of cam- paingning Several companies of them were formed and they were first given the task of constructing shelters in the Somme district and around Ver- dun. Their officers were chosen from the engineer corps and from men who in civil life were engaged in sim liar undertakings such as builders and miners Most of the men were peas ants used to digging in the fields and their work was very satisfactory, but this kind of excavating work was different and they suffered consider lbly from the unusual motion of hav- ing to throw the earth upward. or wheeling it in harrows up steep in- clines.
 One of the officers overcome this trying difficulty by inventing an ap- paratus for carrying loosened earth or rock to the surface by use of electric power By this arrangement two men ran do the work formerly done by ten. When the earth has reached the surface 1t falls into barrows and Is wheeled away along the level and distributed about in such a manner as not to attract the attenton of the enemy's airmen always flying