Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-09-07
French SLEEP
.PEACEFULLYA AS
SHELLS BURST
Underground DormitorieS Prove
Immune to Devastation
of Teuton Guns.

FRENCH FRONT. July lr.-lCDT"e-
spOndenCe dozens OF divisions OF
the French army 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 10
tnC work oc the companies Of eXca-
vatUTs fOrmoI since the beginning Of
the war The men chosen to con
stTuct these shelters. WIFI. lave pre-
g rved so many thousands Of lives,
are soldiers those age varies between
H. and % and who would have been
unfit to take part in the active oper.
atoms OF modern battles, where quick
ness OF movement and lithen"ss Of
limb areG absolute necessities. No
matter what the nature Of the soil,
whether lard rock, auckland. chalk
OF marshy? lands, these veterans have
overcome all the difficulties and have
succeeded in constructing formidable
bomb-prOofr shelters all along the line
of the front from the North Sea 10
the Swiss frontier until at the pres
ent moment any fighinS unit arriving
at almost any part OF the line finds
a habitable dug-out awaiting It.
The correspondent of the Associated
! Press has seen and been inside dozens
of these subterranean Cities-fOr such
they may be termed-at many places,
and, even where all the natural condi
tons are difficult. has found the shell
tiers commodious. we'll drained and
we'll ventilated. In some cases a bat
TALON finds accommodations in sin
gle shelter, and each man lodged in II
it provided with simple ped con,
sisting of a wire netting foundation
supported by wooden upright5. On
this die soldier lays his regulation
bundle of straw and, covering him.
self with his army blanket and great
coat, can sleep with freedom from
anxiety as to any bombardment in
progress outside. The shelters are
provided generally with electric light
or acetylene lamps. sanitary conVen'
fences and, in some cases, with com
plpte shower baths.
First aid posts and dressing sta
tons VITA all modern surgical ap'
i,l.c are also at hand, so that the
surgeon attached to the unit may at
IL, l,lmCdiately to any wounded men
..,uent in from the nearby battle
led
/. So well are the shelters pr0tecteu
from the view OF the enemy that, al
though in many instances the under
ground lodging covers an area If D.
UGO square yards, not once in the
course of the past year has one OF
them been destroyed by. the enemy
fire. They have exits, the plan bGIng
10 provide one for each section or
quarter company, so that IN case one
exit should be hit and blocked, the
mCn inside may escape through an
ether opening.
1t the beginning Of the war the sol
diers actually in the fighting llna
made their own shelters, which were
Just holes dug in the ground anc COW
cred with tree trunks and earth and
affording very little protection, be-
sides taking up mucn of the time OF
the soldiers and costing very much
labor and money for transporting the
Necessary timber.
1t was then decided to utilize tho
older classes of the reserve OF the
territorial army who had been called
to the colors and who, despite their
previous military training, had oee2
found unable to bear the strain OF
campaigning. 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 engineer corps aud
from men who in civil life we're en-
gagged in similar undertakings, sucn
as builders and miners. Most OF the
men we're peasants nsed to digging
in the fields and their work was very
satisfactory, but this kind of excaVat
ing work was different and they sui
fered considerably from the unusual
motion of having to throw the dirt
upward, or wheeling 1t in barrows up
steep inclines.
One of the officers overcame this
trying difficulty by inventinS an ap-
paratus for carrying loosened earth
and rock to the surface by use OF cleo
trio power. By this arrangement two
men can do the work formerly done
by 10. When the earth has reached
the surface it falls into barrows and
is wheeled away along the level and
distributed about in such a manner
as not to attract the attention of the
enemy's airmen always flying about
the lines to observe what is going
on IN the opposing position.
The veterans 50 employed have sus
tanned losses when working in ex.
posed positions, but no danger APP
pears to daunt them and they con-
tinue their job as though they were
working in the fields at home. They
have adapted themselves to the use
of the most modern tools, and al
though the great majority of them
had no previous experience of cleo
trio drills and borers they now use
Thorn wall nropficnd