Imperial Valley press., 1917-05-09
SOLDIERS IN FRANCE
NOT ALWAYS FIGHTING
Soldiers Also Farm in France.
By Henry Wood.

Dy iiSiis 'oNN'
; Omitted Press Staff orrespondent)
With the French Armies, April II
(By mail)-The service of agriculture
lis now one of the regular branche:
of the French army.
1t is just as much an integral par
of the French military machine a:
whole as is the infantry, the cav
airy, the artillery, the engineers o.
aviation.
Military agriculture is one of the
latest developments of modern war
fare along with such things as gas
masks, the rehearsing of battles be-
fore they are fought and aerial tor
pedoes. While the present great Eu-
ropean conflict has demonstrated that
war must ever be destructive, and
possibly more destructive than ever
before, yet the constructive, conser-
ivative basis on which the French seek
to conduct it has developed numerous
possibilities for lessening and repair
ing the destructiveness.
In a general way. theAbject of this
service of agriculture is1.o keep the
farming in the entire war zone, ano
in the immediate vicinity OF
the front lines, up to its norma. and
n'aximum productiveness. 1t is now
as much the duty of every soldier III
the French army to help in these ag-
ricultural labors as it is to fight, while
the army as a whole contributes not
only the farm laborer, but also the
horses and even part Of the nipple
ments necessary.
The agricultural work to be done in
the war zone divides itself into three
general classes: First of all, the eX-
tending of enough help to the farm
ers still living in the zone to enable
them to plant and harvest their crops.
Secondly, nearer the front, where the
civil population has been obliged to to
flee entirely and where the farms are
completely abandoned, the army must
take over this ground and cultivate it
itself in precisely the same manner as
though the farmers themselves were
still there. Thirdly, as fast as French
soil is won back from the Germans
the Agricultural Service must under
take the restoring of this ground to
q state of fertility and the planting
Of it in crops at the earliest possible
ncment.
Every general commanding on the
French front is required to divide his
portion Of the war zone into sectors
each one comprising on an average ~
t. 25 villages or farming communl-
ties. In addition to the general Of
,ficers that are designated for the ad-
r1inistration of the agricultural serv-
ice, an under r-officer, who is chosen
because of his agricultural fitness, is
assigned to each sector, and remains
permanently in charge Of the agrlcul-
tural work there, regardless of where
his regiment may be moved after
wards.
In the meantime the prefect of eacn
department in the war zone Is re
ouired to make out a list of all ag-
ricultural work that needs to be done
together with the degree Of urgency
and place it at the disposition of the
military officer in charge Of each
sector. The prefect must also provide
the tools and the grain and seed fol-
sowing.
Entirely regardless Of whether the
troops stationed in a given sector are
there for repose or whether they arc
there for fighting, they must perform
tie agricultural labor that is waiting
to be done. Likewise when troops are
on the march, if they stop in any sec
tor, even for only two or three days
they must participate in farm labol
under way.
When the troops move Oh they leave
a report with the permanent military
agricultural officer in charge showing
last what they have done so that whel
the next troops come along they cai
t..ke up the work where the others lef
off.
/ One and only one ironclad rule ha
been adoped by the military authori
ties, and that is that under no cir
cumstances whatever must a militar
troop, whatever its size may be, pass
ihg through given sector where ther
, i; agricultural work to be done, leav
that sector without the work beln