New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1917-10-03
is not unacquainted with details Of con

is not unacquainted with details of con-
struction or Of management 81 con-
struction work under reat stress. He
Twas with the, Northern Pacific and Great
lNorthern railroads, and handled, all the
way from Saint Paul to the Pacific.
Northwest, some of the big work Of those
roads. He was the ideal man to rush
thru the vast job here Of preparing Camp
Dodge for the population of nearly
10000 troops.
1t Will Take Some Food.
It is estimated that it will require
100 cars Of food daily to supply the
men. Add to this the grain and forage
that will be required for the horses and
mules and some idea can be had of the
immensely Of the undertaking. All
purchases Of food will be made in bulk
thru the quartermaster's department
and doubtless it will devolve upon the
large commission houses to furnish the
supply required. These firms will have
to scour the country for foodstuffs.
This additional effort in conjunction
with their regular trade will draw heavily
upon the food products of the central
west.
Much Money and Many Workmen.4
When the vast undertaking is COM
pleted it will have cost the government
about five million dollars. Work be-
gan about July ! and since that time a
daily average of $500 men has been
employed. Since the beginning Of the
work the pay roll has been about $4,000.
a day. 1t required 1000 cars of material
and for the furnishing and equipment
for the men it required hundreds of cars
additional. All of the freight has been
handled directly by the Interurban line
which put in five miles of side tracks to
make it possible to handle the business.
The freight business was all handled
after the workmen had been taken away
at the close Of the day. The Interurban
company expended $150,0OO in adj
ditional preparation to handle the bust
ness and is now planning to double track
the road leading into Des Moines. In
order to make it possible to get to Camp
Dodge at all seasons of the year the city
OF Des Moines is expanding $4,000
in paving Beaver avenue and the board
of supervisors of Polk county is planning
to expend $250,00O in completing the
paving from the city limits to the grounds,
something like five miles.
No Labor Troubles.
Among so many men gathered from
all parts of the country it would nat.
urally be supposed that there are some
disturbers and agitators. present, but
such is not the case Everything moved
along without friction. The men realize
that this is no ordinary job. They are
working for their country. The car
penters receive sixty-two and one-half
cents per hour, and II hours constitute
a days work. That makes $6.87 ~
per day. When they work Sundays
and holidays they receive double wages.
or $13.75. Common, unshlled labor
receives $685. per day and teamsters
$3.50. The work at the Cantonment
stripped Des Moines of all available,
labor and this resulted in tieing up mcst,.
of the improvements contemplated early
in the season. Paving contractors have
found it impossible to get the help re-
quired and the street car company failed
to carry out. the terms of it's franchise
because of the labor stringency. Govern
ment agents from the arsenal at Rock
Island are here to offer work to every
available man Who will be out of job
upon the completion OF the work here. J.
Private contractors are also making !
vigorous efforts to procure men,. 4
Health and Morals Safeguarded.
The government takes great care of
its men. The first lesson given tie
recruit when he makes his appearance
is how to take care of himself. He is
taught the value of personal cleanl:-
ness. The shower bath is exalted and !
his personal appearance is given much
prominence. He is told how to- eat. )
A good many people think they know
this already, but the average soldier !
gets some expert information along
this line. He is urged not to oyer-eat,
to masticate his food properly and to