Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-17
FRENCH BUILD TOWN !
Underground At FRONT
Dozens Of Divisions Of Troops Sleep
in Comfort and Safety in
New Dugouts.

FRENCH FRONT, July lo-Dozens OF
divisions of the French army now sleep
underground in comparative comfort. even
in the front lines. when the Germans are
hurting tens of thousands OF shells on the
ground above them. thanks to the work OF
the companies of excaSators formed since
the beginning OF the war. The men CHOSEN
to construct these shelters. which nave
preserved many thousands OF lives. are
soldiers whose age varies between forty
five and ffty and who would have been
unfit TO take part in the active operations
of modern battles. where quickness OF
movement and lithcness OF limb are aoso-
lutte necessities No matter what the ma
ture OF the soil whether hard rock. quick
sand chalk marShy land, THESE Feter-
ans have overcome all the dimcultles an
have succeeded in constructing forfnioaoie
bomb-proof shelters all along the line OF
the front from the North sea to the SWISS
frontier. until at the present moment any
fighting unit arriving at almost any part
of the line finds habitable dugout await
ing il.
The correspondent OF the Associated
Press has and been inside dozens OF
these s,lbterranean cities-for such they
may be ter1ned-at many places. ana even
where all the natural conditions are dlll-
cult has found the shelters comrnodlous,
well drained and well ventilated In sonio
cases a battalion finds accommodation IN
a single shelter. and each man lodeed IN "
Il provided with a simple bed. consisting
of a wire netting foundation supported by
wooden tlprights on this the soldier lays
his regulation bundle of straw, and GOV.
cr-ng himself with his army blanket ana
yreatcoat can sleep With freedom from
anxiety as to any bombardment in prog
ress outside. The shelters are provided
generally with electric light or acetylene
lamps sanitary conveniences; ana IN some
cases with complete shower baths
First-aid posts and dressing stations.
with all modern surgical appliances.
are also to hand, so that the surgeon
| attached to the unit may attend I'M
mediately to any wounded men brought
h.a battlefield.
| So well are the shelters protected
/ from the view of the enemy that. al
! though in many instances the unoer-
! ground lodging covers an area OF s.oo0
! square yards, not once in the course OF
the past year has one OF them been
destroyed by the enemy's fire. They
have many exits, the plan being 10
! provide one for each section or quarter
! company. So that in case one ehS
should be hit and blocked the men in
4 side may escaps through another OPEN
/ Ing.
At the beginning of the war the SOL
diers actually in the fighting line made
| their own shelters. which were just
holes dug in the ground and covered
with tree trunks and earth and afford
! ing very little protection. besides taxi
! ing up much of the time OF the SOL
diers and costing very much labor and
money for transporting the necessary
| timber.
| 1t was then decided to utilize the
| older classes of the reserve OF the ter
ritorial army who had been called to
! the colors and who. despite their pre-
| yious military training, had been found
unable TO bear the strain OF campaign.
ing. Several companies Of them were
| formed and they were first given the
| task of constructing shelters In the
| Somme district and around Verdun.
Their officers were chosen from the en-
gineer corps and from men who in civil
| life were engaged in similar undertake
ings, such as builders and miners. Most
| of the men Were peasants used to
digging in the fields and their work
| was very satisfactory, but this kind OF
| excavating work was different. and
they suffered considerably from the
unusual motion of having to throw the
earth upward, or wheeling II in bar
rows up steep inclines.
| One of the officers overcarne this try
ing difficulty by inventing an apparatus
for carrying loosened earth or rock
to the surface by use of electric power
BY this arrangement two men can do
the work formerly done by ten. When
the earth has reached the surface II
falls into barrows and is wheeled away
along the level and distributed about
in such a manner as not to attract the
attention ef the enemy's airmen. al
ways flying about the lines to observe
what is going on in the opposing po-
| sition.
| Special army sawmills have been
| started to provide the props and plank
| ing for the shelters and everything il
done at minimum cost
The veterans so employed have sus-
| tanned losses when working in exposed
| positions, but no danger appears to
! daunt them. and they continue their
1 job as though they were working in
the fields at home They have adapted
themselves to the use OF the most mod
ern tools, and although the great ma
jority of them had no previous expert
ence with electric drills and borers they
now use them as well as practiced
| miners