The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-09-11
(By Associated Pressl

AMERICAN PORT, Western France,
Sept. 11.-There is the crash and bang
of a great cannonade, like a battery of
trench mortars in action. But this is
not the cannonade of the battle front
one hears here, but another kind OF
cannonade, almost as fierce and ear
splitting, of trip-hammers. giant sledg-
es and electric rivetters In the gigantic
construction camp which has suddenly
sprung into existence here.
Standing In the vast workshops.
about the dimensions Of the capitol In
Washington, with the throb OF a great
work going on inside and miles OF &C
tivity stretching away outside in rail-
way yards, warehouses, docks and
camps, one feels this Ia after all quite
as essential a part in the winning Of
the war as the struggle going on fur
ther forward. for here is the very
fountain head of material for winning
the war. There are great 800 MILL
metre cannon like the Pinch mons
tiers on American battleships. with all
their ponderous mountings and trucks.
huge cotton locomotives which are
turned out with the incredible speed
of six to ten day, exceeding the out
put of the great establishments IN
America, and fiat cars, freight cars,
box cars, tank cars, and all the other
forms of railway TRANSFORMATION turned
out by scores and hundreds daily as a
baker turns out cakes from his ovens.
What has been most onishing to
the European observer Is that all this
vast storehouse Of American energy
and production could be created in a
few months out OF practically nothing.
Last fall the site OF this present plant
was a vast marsh with the sea water
over 1t at high tide. 1t was necessary
first to raise the level Of the ground
five to nine feet. This was huge
undertaking in itself. When it was
done, instead of marsh with the sea
tapping it, the astonished townspeople
saw high and level plane adjacent to
the city. with big ocean piers begin
ming to stretch out seward for the
incoming migration Of American men
and materials. Soon thereafter rose
like magic the huge buildings to carry
on the infinite diversity Of activities
of this hive of war industry.
1,4O0 Men at Work.
Under the escort of Baron Dornes,
one of the chief French officials con-
nected with the institution, The Asso-
ciated Press correspondent had an OPP
portunity today to see the huge enter
prise In full swing. 1t was like going
through the Bethlehem or Carnegie
works. with the same roar of produc-
ton on a giant scale. with furnaces
glowing, hammers and riveters beat
ing. and armies of workmen enlisted
American soldiers in their blue jeans
and overalls--in their many branches
Of work. Inside the main building was
like being inside the Pennsylvania
station in New York, enlarged several
times over.
There are 1.400 men at work here"
explained the Baron. "all Of them
skilled American mechanics enlisted
as soldiers, working in three shifts
continuously for "a hours
To the left big trench mortars,
weighing hundred tons each we're be.
ing picked up by the giant fingers OF
derrick and landed on their train
Of trucks ready to be moved forward
to the front. To the right another
huge crane was bodily picking up a
locomotive and passing it around to
its proper place. These locomotives
come from the United States in part
packed in crates. Looking at the long
rows of these giant crates, they
seemed to be streets Of cottages or
shacks, and one wondered how they
could ever be brought across the
ocean with all the shifts and storing
between docks.
We watched one Of these locomo-
tives as 1t was taken from it's seven
giant boxes. and gradually grew into
a massive engine. Soon thereafter
this locomotive was moving through
the yards on its own steam, and soon
after that 1t was on its way to re-equip
the State Railway of France, which
Is one of the vital links Of the war
game. First Of all the American dou- !
BILE track road up to the front was
equipped. and then the French state
took its turn, for they are all |,
a part Of the network of feeders for |
the allied war service.