Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-11-01
Vast Warehouses
Near Front Piled
High With Supple

Correspondence Associated Press.l
American Regulating Base. Advance
Zone. France, Sept. 2S.-Warehouses
stretching over several square miles,
baied hay by the acre piled thirty feet
in height and other vast quantities OF
supplies needed to maintain the Amer
lean army mark this distributing CEN
ter as one of the points where one OBJ
tains an adequate idea of the ire
mendous push America is putting into
the war.
This vast accumulation of supplies is
necessary TO keep trainloads of food,
clothing. ammunition trucks. wagons.
wheelbarrows, medical stores and the
whole range of the army wants, NOV
ing forward in a huge daily traffic with
unvarying precision so that no dlvi-
sion, no matter what its losses in mate
rial. need suffer.
Each warehouse is hive of industry,
with the supplies moving out from one
side to the front and moving in from
the other side as the steady streams OF
supplies flow in from the American base
ports so that the fun quota always be
maintained here.
At one point machine guns were
being tested before going forward to
the front. This was in the machine
gun section of the ordnance park, with
a vast array of these deadly mechanical
devices. Squads of soldiers were max
ing the final tests and the rattle of
guns sounded like an early morning
skirmish on the firing line.
Almost as noisy as the machine guns
were the machines for baling hay which
stretched in long batteries like thresh-
ling machines, devouring the stacks of
loose hay and turning it out in COM
pact bundles for the artillery and
cavalry horses.
Farther on the balloon sheds were
turning out the big gas bags for use on
observation along the front. These are
assembled and packed and some Of the
parts are made here. Like everything
else the supply Of balloons must be
finally regulated here. depending on the
number lost or destroyed along the
front and the varying activities Of the
different sectors.
Nearby 1900 German prisoners were
at work piling fuel wood. 1t was hot
autumn day and the air was heavy and
gray with the dust of the immense
traffic going on. But the prisoners did
not seem to mind the creature discom-
| forts but bent to their work with will.
while American guards with rifles
ready stood at the summit of the huge
piles of wood to see there was no slack
| ing.
Another 700 German prisoners had
arrived the night before, so soon there
will be $500 of these workers handling
picks and shovels instead of rifles.
: This is headquarters also for the
salvage carried on at the front and for
the extensive system of sterilizing and
delousing. AS the vast debris of the
battlehelds is gathered up-broken
cannon and guns, ammunition, harness
tentage etc.--it comes back here in
huge masses to be assembled and for
warded to the big salvage station at
Tours.
| The sterilizing system also radiates
from here and while the actual work is
done at the front. yet the regulating is
all carried on here. with stacks OF
clothing. underclotsing. shoes, etc.
moving forward constantly to meet the
requirements of this systematic cleans
ing.
Gas attacks have developed the
greatest need for thorough cleansing
for often after one of these attacks
every stitch of clothing of the gas pa.
tients has to be destroyed and all the
blankets and equipment which have the
faintest trace of the deadly fumes and
this in turn calls for a complete re-
outfit of clothing and equipment of al
those exposed to the gas.