The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-09-16
AMERICAN INDUSTRY
ASTONISHES FRENCH
To-day a Forest, Tomorrow a Building,
the Next Day Workshop-That
Illustrates the Rate of Our
Speed Abroad.


the next day a workshop.
This is the way the astonished French |
people describe how the Americans have
suddenly constructed huge establish
ment here, turning what was pine for
est into warehouses and then turning
these into vast and busy centers for the
huge mass of army supplies on the way
to the front.
Gievres is a sort of halfway point,
midway between the coast and the firing
line, and is the central supply depot OF
the intermediate zone. Here things are
sorted and arranged as they come pell-
nell from the ocean ports, in vast mis-
celaneous masses Just out Of the holds
Of steamers, food, guns, clothing, barhed
wire, medicine, carrier pigeons, retriger-
ated beef, rolling kitchens and all the
conglomeration Of supplies needed by al
million men. Everything must be in or
der before it goes forward TO the advance
zone, where the fighting is going on, and
this is where the order is brought out Of
the seeming chaos in this tidal-wave OF
army goods sweeping in from America.
The Gievres depot has been laid in an
elongated diamond shape, and compared
to a baseball diamond, it is seven miles
from the home plate to second base, and
two miles across from first to third base.
Within this enormous diaISond are 80
huge warehouses and scores of other
buildings, some of them of mprecedent
ed magnitude. One of these is a re-
| frigerating plant rivalling those in the
Chicago meat district. When we went
into it to-day it had over 100000
pounds of frozen beef-enough to feed
! 100000 men 20 days.
This is only one detail Of the vast de-
| pot Of the interK- date zone with its
miles of buildings and yards stacked
with soldiers food, soldiers clothing,
ammunition and ordnance stores of all
kinds, medical supplies, soldiers libraries
| furnished by the American Library asso-
citation, and all the Y NJ G. a. supplies
sent TO it's countless branches, for every
thing for the army is centered here be-
| fore it goes forward to the men.
! The yards are on the same vast scale
as the warehouses, with stocks OF coal
half mile long and so feet high-a com
forting assurance for the warmth of the
| troops next winter-and miles of baled
| hay for artillery horses. Shovels and
wheelbarrows were piled up like noun
\ tain haystacks The well boring ma
chinery filling one park made il look like
a Pennsylvania oil region Another
park had camouflage material Another
had stacks Of building paper for sheath.
ing barracks
Pontoons and bridges and all the ma
terial for crossing rivers viii come along
in due time, for il was pointed out that
this will be needed to cross the Rhine"
Along one side Of the depot 500 cars
were bringing in this huge stock Of war
material Just as it came from the ships,
and on the other side 800 cars were tax
ing away TO the advance zone after II
has passed through the processes Of ar
rangement- each train a standard train
with fixed space for each article Of the
soldiers food ration, each article OF cloth
ing, ordnance, and all the requirements
along the fighting front which have to
be kept up day after day with unfailing
regularity,
| With the commandant Of the depot,
the Associated Press correspondent made
tour over the plant, some 20 miles by
automobile through the maze Of activity
and vast material resources. At one
point a remount station begun three
DAYS ago was well along toward compile.
ton. and it viii soon be one Of the main
supplies for horses.
One whole depot was devoted to the
new devices for gas attacks, defensive
and offensive, with great stocks OF gas
masks and the gas itself, and quantities
Of phosphorus and dsinfectants to sprin-
kle in trenches and camps after the dead
" mustard gas has been in the air.
Medical supplies require 10 entire
/ buildings for cots, filters, mattresses
oxygen tanks and the great stocks OF
hospital and medical supplies.
The signal service has two large build
ings and much open storage with huge
stocks of telegraph and telephone wire
for the army communication system
which now spreads all over France.
The warehouses for food, clothing and
all quartermasteris supplies extend along
frontage of several miles, all the build
ings uniform, 500 by so feet. Uniforms
clothing, -four and what are called sack
. goods are kept under cover in the ware
: houses but much of the stock in crates
{ boxes and barrels Is stacked along tbs
t depot streets for miles.
The one item of gasoline is huge
. thing, owing to the part motor Traction
takes in warfare. In one month ON
army uses 100000 gallons, or an aver
] age of five gallons man for an army O
. 100000 men This means steady
! movement of 10000 barrels month
To step into the army refrigerator OF
\ a hot midsummer day is rather a move
, experience The thermometer was abou
: 30 as we went through the yards, but a.
: the colonel opened door Of the big re
frigerating plant we were struck with a.
, Arctic chill of five below zero-a drop 0
I g5 degrees as we crossed the threshold
I Inside, the workmen were bundled i
! fur coats, wrapped around their ears
! The floors were slippery with frost an,
! the long ammonia pipes above drippe
! frosted icicles like stalactites in cave
!, Frost an inch deep covered the burla.
coverings Of the big sides and quarter
Of beef, and the beef itself was froze1
az solid as stone.
Many Of the workers in this place ar
! from the big packing houses OF Chicago
Besides more than 100000 pounds o
: frozenE meat always on hand there
I oleomargarine, butter, lard and all kind
of fats. II is arranged like a ship wit
|. ater-tight compartments, except tina
4 these are cold compartments, so tina
the freezing is carried only to thos
! compartments required. No ice is uset
as the freezing process is carried out b
!. the forcing Of ammonia through pipes q
: high pressure.
l. The German prisoners stockade wa
I not far beyond, Here some 1000 Ger
I mans are housed and fed while they tax