New-York tribune., 1918-10-07
Our War Farm in
France
By Wilbur Forrest

TNRANCE, Sept. 15.--An almost constant
roll of cannon fire, echong and
echoing against the hills, loud enough
and constant enough to be heard far out on
tho Atlantic; sausage balloons hanging
high enough in the sky to be seen a dozen
miles; the occasional sound and sight of an
aeroplane--this is the distant sound and
view of the American armys big and
unique "war farm" in action.
The armys "war farm" in picturesque
has been operating full tilt for just
nine weeks. saw it to day at long and
short range.
American folks who feel that they are
self-sacriicing when they eat mixed -four
bread and do several other things to con-
serve the nations food should hear of the
nine weeks record of the army "war farm"
on the coast. Here it is in part:
A whole trainload Of rye far shipped
to Paris for the manufacture Of yeast; five
hundred tons of hay, cut and stacked thou
sands of bushels Of potatoes harvested;
large quantities Of wheat and oats also
harvested; vegetables enough produced to
feed $4,000 men for a considerable period
and, among many other things, enough fod-
der on hand for some 5000 horses.
For the American armys war farm" is
in reality great artillery training camp,
and in addition to its farming has during
the past seven weeks sent 10000 highly
trained American artillerymen to the front,
and with them large number of cannon
to be added to our increasing supply
Of anti-German war thunder.
Every few weeks some five thousand
American doughboys and their officers har-
ness up the horses to the guns and say
goodby. They are off to the front. Within
few hours another five thousand. fresh
from home and not long off the Transports
file down the white roads and into the
war farm" Not long after the FINISHED
product" has gone the unfinished product"
is on the firing ranges, learning the ways
and means, the why's and .1herefores of
guns and shells which range from three to
six inches in size.
"YOu can't make an artilleryman over
night" said the forty-year-old West Point
colonel in charge to The Tribune to-day
$50 while they intrenching at the front
are retrenchng here"
AS the colonel spoke the practice guns
roaring somewhere on the nineteen
square miles Of the 'farm," and past the
colonels Office a long column of business
like looking artillery filed down the road
on its way back from the firing positions.
The guns were short-nosed 6-inch howit-
zers, which, with the smaller 3-inch weap-
ons at one stage of the course, the colonel
explained, put their noses in the air and
below out chorus that makes the country
tremble for miles around. All day long
and sometimes at night the guns practise
rolling, cheeping, jumping and "box" bar
RACES, and for that matter there is no kind
of barrage that the finished American artil-
leryman does not know in detail before he
folds up his gun, bitches up his horses and
tricks off to the front. The sausages "spot"
bodies of imaginary enemy troops on the
------- 'front.' every day, and the guns
"snipe" and smother them until the sau-
sages send down word that the execution has
been complete. There is an aeroplane on the
farm" which has its hands full many
hours day "spotting" imaginary enemy
batteries for the embryo gunners. Each
battery fires an average of 25o shells each
day. There are four guns to battery. A
few days ago seventy two batteries were
firing at once. few weeks of this inten-
sive training and another five thousand men
and their many guns are off for the front.
There are no idle hands or idle moments
on the army "war farm" Every man is
chating to be off to the front, whether his
job is shocking oats or pumping shells into
a 6inch cannon