The Washington times., 1917-10-18


with military encsmpments, there 10
much curiosity among those who
have not yet visited q eantonment
as to what the new soldIer-citiss
look like, and how the man are cared
for.
And what will the camps be like
when the men reach the other side7
There Is no answer for II. exc.ptinx
to point to those which the allied
armies have already erected for their
men. The American army will have
homing places there which probably
VIII not diner by much from those
OF the French and English troops.
Camps Substantially Built.
There's q greater substantiality to
a military camp than most civilians
imagine. II is generously planned,
even when 1t is known to be only
temporary. and when It is necessarily
raised by the soldiers themselves.
The. English call their engineers "pio-
neers," but these. as our own engi-
neers, aid only when the camp Is to
be permanent and somewhat eIabo-
rate. The soldiers tend to their own
tents when It IL merely q matter Of
bivouacking.
The tent is not to be sneered at
either. 1t IL a mighty important pro-
lection against wind and weather. So
much so that the line Of tents 10 al
ways carefully erected parallel with
the direction Of the prevailing winds.
A wooden floor is provided for each
tent IL there is to be a stop of a week
or more, for the dampness OF the bare
ground would be almost unbearsbls.
These floors in those regions OF
France where wood 10 now scarce are
carried from camp to camp by the
quartermaster trucks.
Screens for Storms.
In many camps circular wind
screens surrounded by o ditch arr I"
be found a. . 2rotsction against
storms.
These screens are built By driving
In piles which project upward to q
height OF three feet, the. piles being
connected by ropes OF straw or grass.
Against these ropes branches and the
like. are piled so AZ 10 mako wall,
held in place firmly by the building
Of 4 LAYER Of earth at the foot Of the
row. II long poles are obtainable
panels from seven to eight feet can be
tied together and supported by ths
poles as q protection against the
wind.
English officers tell Of finding these
contraptions In German camps as high
sometimes as twenty or thirty feet
and looking for all the world Ike
golf bunkers.
Wind Screens ~ Camp Huts.
Camp huts are most easily made by
fitting two such wind screens against
each other, the angle at the ridge
about 90 degrees.
On an average the height Of the
ridge from the ground Is feet
inches, and the interior VIII have .
breadth of 10 feet 5 inches, or room
enough for two rows OF cots and an
aIsIe between a yard In width.
Boards are laid on the poles and COW
cred as a rule with tar paper. one
gable end is closed; the other Is pro-
vided with a door.
Draining bitches are dug all around
the hut to keep It dry, while eartn
is heaped about the bottom to keep
out the draft.
twenty feet long, meant to accomo'
date twenty men, though they rarely
run over thirty or thirty-hve rect In
length.
All Cots Of Straw.
The cots may be built at the sans
time as the huts themselves; they are
60, in fact, in the German army, II
prisoners reports may be taken with
out dispute.
In the Austrian army, again, these
huts are invariably built In circular
shape, though OF the same straw ma
teriaI. The French prefer to carry tr
wooden planks and build OF wood
even for summer camps.
Winter hunts, again, are OF varioui
types. but their construction is much
the same as that of the ordinary hut
with the exception that stronger
beams and heavy, sloping roofing are
employed.
The latter is especially necessary
because a layer OF earth usually over
lies the wooden or straw lattice, and
the snow that comes to lie on 1t mus
have a slope to coast down to th'
ground lest 1t make the whole thing
overbearingly heavy.
Winter Huts In Excavations.
Winter huts they prefer to build In
excavations, sinking them not NOR:
than two and one-half feet on suitable
beams. For heat there is an iror
stove or an improvised one built. Of
bricks, cement or even of turf. II
stovepiping Is lacking, old vegetable
and meat cans are fashioned into
single Joined pipe. The heavy earther
roofs are needed as a protectiof
against shrapnel and shell fire.
Instead OF huts, the English hav'
had some practice at building rough
| barracks with vertical side walls