Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-12-05
GETTING SUPPLIES
TO FIGHTING MEN
Thousands Of Men and Elabor.
etc Equipment Required to
Move and Store Them.

American Port, Southwestern France.
(by mail.)-Eighteen big steamships
OF 5000 to 5000 tons each were unload-
ing American army goods at the rate
OF 10000 tons a day along the three
miles of American docks here today.
activity. Crowds of enlisted men as
sisted at the matches and manipulated
the giant cranes as big steel motor
trucks We're lifted out bodily, along
with parts Of locomotives and railway
cars. and all the miscellaneous freight
OF an army, while ar army of negro
~stevedores kept the steady stream of
goods moving back to the nearby ware
houses and trains.
Iaklng care of this avalanche OF
army goods coming from America, is
quite as much of a problem as taking
care OF the arriving troops. Here one
obtains an idea of the mammoth pro-
portions OF the equipment which the
Americans have been compelled to set
up Tor this branch of the expedition.
Coming from a northern port, a sue
cession of big American establishments
was seen at every port along the wes-
tern coast. At one port were IA Ameri-
can docks or berths, at another port
eight, at a third four, another three.
Here at this main port are l6 American
c each with 1000 feet of frontage.
These 40 docks at the five main ports
represent a dock frontage Of about 10
miles. capable OF unloading 10000 tons
OF army goods every day. or an average
OF about so pounds per man for every
n serving in France.
And yet. great as this present equip
ment is. 1t represents only about a third
or the vast installation which is moving
steadily forward to completion in order
to meet the needs of an army of several.
million men. The basis of calculation
for this huge work is so pounds per
day per man-this being an average
covering the whole range of military
supplies, individual and general. food.
clothing. ammunition, guns, n all
other army requirements.
Reaches Big Total.
On this established basis Of so pounds
per day per man. an army of 1000, 900
men requires so, 900, 900 pounds of goods
daily. or %, 900 tons. But as the Ameri-
can army in Europe has long exceeded
the 100000 mark. the scale OF prepara-
ton must be far in excess of this $4,000
tons a day. reaching not far from the
gigantic total of 100, 900 tons daily, to
be unloaded from ships. stored in ware
houses and trains. and started on its
way to the men at the front. 1t is this
colossal daily requirement which stirs
into intense activity these miles on
miles of American docks where shifts
OF soldier workmen. working night and
day. are loading scores of steamships.
Seven miles back from the water
front there Is another huge American
installation where goods from the ships
are stored on their way to the front.
1t is gigantic. like everything in this
vast military influx. and when we Wis
tied 1t today the 147th warehouse had
just then been completed. Each ware
house is 500 feet long and together they
stretch along four miles of front.
In the neighboring camp were 1000
negro troops and laborers engaged in
the warehouse work. An American
railway system connects the waterfront
directly with this storage plant and
.tncessant streams Of army goods keep
moving forward to the warehouse
plant. The whole place fairly throbs
with animation. and besides the enor-
NOUS industry there is the hustle and
activity of countless camps with their
khaki tents dotting the fields for miles
along the railway.
Altogether. on the water front and
receiving plant. the working force in
Guides $4,000 engineer troops, 1000
stevedores. 5000 civilian laborers, 1000
German prisoners and 1000 infantry. in
all 10000 men carrying on the Ameri-
can activities at this one port.