Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-11-16
BRIT|sHW0RKI
. o. TRANSPORT !
IS STAGGERING
Problems Almost Beyond Con-
Ception Had to Be Solved.
BUILD MILES OF new ROADS
Scarcity Of Shipping and Long Voyages
Vastly Increase the Difficulties
Amazing Statistics on the Subject
Have Just Become Available-Traf-
tic Is Now Tripled.

rave JUST Become aiiaDie-fr RAT
tic Is Now Tripled.
The problem Of transportation which
Great Britain has had 10 solve during
the war is almost beyond conception.
Not much has been said about II. he
cause il has been necessary for rea-
sons of caution to suppress infOrma-
ton. Only quite recently have any Of
the amazing statistics of the subject
become available.
Britain has been required not only
TO build and equip its armies since the
war began and TO transport them 20
the fighting areas in widely separated
parts Of the world. but also 10 provide
ocean transportation for most OF the
requirements of its allies; for Italy.
for France. for the army Of the Orient.
for the MesOpotamian expedition. for
East md West Africa III bring troops
from the dominions and crown col
onicS to move supplies from all parts
Of the world 10 the fighting areas
where they were needed. and Ia insure
that the people NJ thu British Isles
and France should have food and the
other accessories of life.
Such data as'are now available rep
resent the highest authority on the
subject and may he taken ~ ALSO
lltclv accurate. hut they IN not deal
with anything Ike the entire scope oil
transportation operations. The fig
UreS. however. on the movement of off
GERS, soldiers and strictly military sup
rlies and equipment. although they
represent only q part ~ the trans
portation task. arc simply astonishing.
Transported 2,6s6,00o in w Years.
Ii Is learned. for example. that down
70 the end ~ 1915. 100000 officers. 2-
hS6.O00 men and $4,000 horses had
been transported overseas. This in
cludeS traffic across the channel to
France and all the other movements IF
troops. including the Mediterranean
eXpeditionary force and the move
nentS of Indian and colonial soldiers.
ng%gregating several hundreds Of thou
sands and requiring very long voyages.
During this same period the move
Tent Of supplies rO feed AMI euHip
these forces naturally required Il much
greater tuuuaCc. Thus the supplies
sent out To- rance only included "SS.-
600 tons Of food AMI J23.uoo tons ~
forage. Along with these Went $4,000
tons ~ fuel and $4,000 tons uf medical
stores. Likewise there were moved 10
France 17.33SoOD gallons of petrol and
$4,000 gallons of oil. Mails consti-
tute one Of the liz items. no less than
4o1 900 mail bags and 1900 tons Of
parcels being moved.
Stores shipped ont to the army in
cludcd among the chief items $4,000
tons Of engineering materials. $4,000
ton Of ordnance. $1,000 tons of cloth
ing. 10000 tons Of saudhugS. 2T.GOO
tons Of ~entrenching and camp equip
ment. 1900 tons of barbed wire. H.
O00 tons of tents and as much more IF
cunteen stores; also Immense quanli-
ties Of saddlery ana harness supplies.
Traffic Is Now Tripled.
Let it be repeated that these figures
are for the first seventeen months OF
the war, that Is. down 20 the close of
1915. Since that time the wars opera
ti,nS have increased vastly. so that to-
day the average movement ~ military
neceSSarieS. including soldiers, Is prob.
ably three times as much per diem rs
IT was during the period covered nv
these figures. The task with which
naval transport L. now required TO
deal is the greater not only in proper
tioa as the tonnage has increased. but
~ reason of the constantly diminish
in- number of ships available.
In a recent period NJ -four months
the tonnage landed IN French ports for
the use Of the British forces increased
by more than 10 per cent. all Of which
required u he removed after It's mr.
rival III the ports M donotS M 10 the
forces al the front. Not only must MI
this material be moved across the
Channel and then taken 10 the forces
or TO depots. but is also required 90 he
gathered together from all parts Of the
United Kingdom and. indeed. from MI
parts Of the world before II could be
started across the Channel.
Several hundred miles Of railway
have been laid IN the Sinai desert
under the direction NJ European engi-
necrS with the help NJ native Egyptian
labor. For the Mesopotamian and
East African railway construction
both supplies and labor have.heen pro
cured chiefly from India. The average
tonnage moving weekly over the mill
tary railways in Mesopotamia alone
now reaches far into five figures. In
the last six months the traffic over the
Sinai line from Fl Kantari eastward
has been multiplied by three. i
French Railways Equipped.
Nowhere ave railways been So es-
sential as military aux,liaries as in
France. ~StupendouS stores of all
kinds of provisions have been kept in
France from the beginning. The pro-
vision If depOts has been In charge of
a stores branch, which is now in The
railroad and roads division of the war
office. All kinds Of railroad material.
rails. ties, bridge building materials,