The daily progressive-miner., 1917-08-17
HOW MEN ARE
 SHELTERED ON
 THE FRENCH FRONT
The Men of FOrty-Five To Fifty Are Kept at Work Preparing
 Comforts
(AssoeiGted Prdas)

l ed Press Correspondent) Dozens of divisions of the French army now sleep underground in comparative comfort, even in the front lines when the Germans are hurling tens of thous. ands of shells on the ground above them, thanks to the work of tho con- panies of excavators formed since the beginning of the war. The men chos- en to construct these shelters, which have preserved so many thousands of lives, are soldiers whose age varies bteween forty.five and fifty. and who would have been unfit to take part in the active operations of modern bat. ties. where quickness of movement and litheness of limb are absolute necessities. No matter what tho na- ture of the soil, whether hard rock, quicksand chalk or marshy land. these veterans have overcome all the difficulties and have succeeded in con- st ructing formidable bomb-proof shelters all along the line of the front from the North Sea to the Swiss from tier until at the present moment any part of the line finds habitable dug out awaiting it.
 The correspondent of the Associat- ed Press has seen and been inside of dozens of these subterranean cities for such they may be termed-at nanny places, and, even where all tho natural conditions are difiicult. has found the shelters comodious, well. drained and well-ventilated. nI some cases a battalion finds accommodations in singel shelter, and each man lods- ed in it is provided with simple bod consisting of wire-netting foundat. ion supported by wooden uprights. On this the soldier lays his regulation bundle of straw and, covering himself with his army blanket and sreatcoat, can sleep with freedom from anxiety as to any bombardment in progress outside. The shelters are provided generally with electric light or ace tylene lamps, sanitary conveniences, and in some cases with complete shower-baths. First aid posts and dressing stat. ions with all modern surgical applian. ces are also to hand. SO that tho sur. geon attached to the unit may at. tend immediately to any wounded men brough In from the nearby bat. tle-field.
 So well are the shelters protected from the view of the enemy that, sl. though in many instances the under. ground lodging covers an area of 3.eoo square yards. not once in the course of the past year has one of them been destroyed by the enemy's nre. They have many exits. the plan being to pro. vide one for each section or quarter company. so that in case ono exit should be hit and blocked, the men in. side may escape through another op. ening.
 At the beginning of the war tho sol diers actually in the fighting line made their own shelters, which were iust holes dug in the ground and covered with tree-trunks and earth and afford. ing very little protection, besides tat. ing up much of the time of the soldiers and costing very much labor and mon. ey for transporting the necessary tim. Der.
 It was then decided to utilixa the older classes of the reserve of the ter ritorial army who had been called to the colors and who. despite their ore, Vious military training. had been found unable to bear tho strain of campaign ing. Several companies of them wer. formed and they were given the tasl or constructing shelters in the Somme district and around Verdun. Their of hcers were chosen from the enxinee, corps and from men who in civil lif1 were engaged in similar undertakins, such as builders and miners. Mos, or the men were peasants used t< digging in the fields and their wor, was very satisfactory. but this kint or excavating work was different ant they suffered considerably from th. unusual motion of having to throw the earth upward. or wheeling k if oarrows up steep inclinSs..s !; h
 One of the onicers overcome thi, trying difficulty by iaventing sn su
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