The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-10-30
WASTE Of EUROPEAN
bATTLEF|ELDS NOW
BEING MADE USE OF

French Front, Oct. 28.-The Abab-
ian Nights wizard who turned old
lamps into new was the veriest anna
teur compared with the modern
Frenchwoman through whose hands
passes the debris of the battlefield.
At the beginning of the war, partly
owing to the rapid movements of the
armies, waste was prevalent every
where. The correspondent of The
Associated Press, while marching with
the soldiers, then saw thousands OF
garments and articles of equipment
strewn over the fields and along the
roadsides where the troops had
fought. manoeuvered. advanced or re-
treated. Nobody thought of saving
the tens of thousands of dollars
worth Of discarded clothing and arms
thrown aside when rapid movement
was necessary. Overcoats, tunics,
shoes, sweaters, scarfs, cartridge
pouches, haversacks, belts, caps, wa
terproof sheets lay about the ground
in thousands.
Since that time the spirit of econo-
my - generally present with the
French people-has reasserted its au-
thority, and now everything that can
be salved is picked up and made use
full. Each of the armies ha sheen
provided with what is known as a re-
cuperation depot, whose duty it is to
examine and retrieve all that is pos
sible from the debris found on the
field of battle.
The correspondent visited one of
these depots at Orleans and there
found in operation a scheme of sal
wage which saves the French nation
many millions of dollars year. 1t is
run under the superintendent of of
ficers of the army reserve modified
at the opening of histilities and
chosen for their experience in COM
mercial affairs. Among them are
drawn from many trades. They
have at their disposal machines of the
latest model, mostly of American
origin, while the workers are drawn
from among the wives, widows and
children of soldiers, German prison
ers, and men of the oldest classes of
the French army.
Some idea of the extent of the
work done in this center alone may be
gathered from the wages paid to the
women and girls employed, which
amounted in the month of August to
approximately 100000. There are
at all times stored in the depot ar
ticles of military equipment to the
value of $10,0O0,o00. Every day in
summer an average of thirty motor
wagons full of debris from the bat
tlefields arrives and in winter this
number is increased to an average Of
forty-five wagons.
Thousands of odd shoes muddy and
worn and torn are sorted out into
pairs and then cleaned, repaired and
made ready to be issued again. Some
times they are in such a condition
that they cannot be used as SOL
diers' marching boots and then the
uppers are detached and refitted to
wooden soles forming clogs which
are much appreciated by the soldiers
dy trenches Odd pieces of leather
are stamped aout into buttons for the
prisoners uniforms.
More than 5000 women are en-
ployed in this depot alone.
A few figures as to the results OBJ
tanned in this depot will demonstrate
the economic value of the system
adopted. Two thousand cartridge
pouches are repaired on an average
every day at cost of about one cent
each, whereas new ones would cost
eighty cents each. BY the repair Of
soiled and torn sheep-skin packets a
profit of 81 500 daily is made The
mending of overcoats saves the Gov
eminent about $4,000 daily. With
pieces Of cloth cut from old uniforms
the women make 5000 pairs Of cloth
slippers daily, each pair worth forty
cents, while by piecing together old
shoes 500 pairs Of new ones are made
every day.