The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-09-03

clad men just embarked from Amer ican transports and now on the way to their first camp, packed the streets from curb to curb and stretched away for miles. It was four miles and up hill most of the way-through city, suburbs, and country lanes, from the sea-front to the great reception camp located outside the town, one of the largest camps in the world and capa- ble of caring for the population of 8 metropolitan city, Hour after hour from 6 this morning until late this afternoon the steady tramp of march ing thousands had been going on, for this steady stream is the army of 36,- 900 just carried on thirteen America n transports, making the record debark- ment from ship to camp within twelve hours.
 With Major x, the engineer officer of the camp, we skirted alongside this | moving stream, from the landing to the camp, and had an opportunity of seeing each stage in the huge move ment up to the time the tired march CTS pitched their shelter tents on the soaked grounds and crawled inside to sleep, Stirring as 1t was to sec these men come to swell the million men in the American ranks, yet there was a 1 grimness and grayness to the scene i suggesting the stern reality of war. A steady downpour swept across the ranks and the men were dripping as they trudged through the rain soaked mud. They were at route step, with out the regularity of parading troops, and each man carried beside his rifle, all his belongings on his back, 70 fbs. of tent, blankets, clothing. shoes and all the miscellaneous equipment of a soldier headed for the front. Their last camp was in the well-equipped cantonments in the United States, where they slept on cots and had a semblance of modern comfort. Now they were on the war-swept soil of France and had seen the last of cots and comforts. It was their first ] glimpse of real war conditions, and anyone who says its cheerful shuts his eyes to the grimness of war.
 There are more troops arriving '' said the Major as he led the way, t'than the total strength of the United States army a short time ago." And with such an influx we have to pro- vide a very elastic camp, capable of immediate expansion from a thousand up to a. hundred thousand men"
 The Major was well qualified to ex- plain the magnitude of the work, for he had been chief constructing engin- ger of the New York subway system had planned and built a good part of the system, and had made the pop ulation figures on which subway con- struction was based.
 ITO get an idea of the camp" he said, "compare 1t with Central Park We have 2,50O acres here, Central Park has 800 acres Why, the entire area of New York city on Manhattan Island Is only 41,000 acres"
 On both sides of the road, for mile after mile as we sped along in an ar my car, a city of tents was arising and there was the hum and hustle of camp activity on vast scale. This morning all the ground had been stubble-field from the newly cut wheat and bar. ley. But now every available foot was being laid off by the army en- gineers, working with tripods and in struments like a party of surveyors Tented streets and avenues, headquar- ters tents, mess kcithen and hospita tents, and vast parks for supplies and artillery and horses, were rising in the fields and spreading for forty square miles over this huge enclosure.
 We never take a field of growing grain,' said the Major, "but as fast as the grain Is cut we take over the i, fields. and with harvest time well ad kvanced this entire farming section will
 soon be turned into an American camp"
 In one of the fields where we stop
 ped to see the men, two battalions O 800 men each, just marched in an( r were preparing to pitch their tents l The great stretch of ploughed ground : just cleared of grain, was rain soaked t and the storm had set in for the night The men stood ready. each with hal l of a shelter tent, to drive the stake : and lash 1t against the elements, ant then crawl in. It seemed an endles l wait for all the formalities of layini out the camp with engineering exact ness. yet all of this was essential t = the smooth running of such a larg = concern. At last the stakes were driv
 en and soon the great field was dot
 ted with thousands of little khak mounds. about as high as a man waist, called pup tents by the sol dfers probably because they look lik D dog houses. Under the tent there
 just room for two lying down. and l the ground ia soaked as it is tonigh
 the rubber poncho keeps out some c
 the water and kindly nature and tn
 iron of youth must do the rest.
 This was only ona typical camp c
 the hundreds lining the roads fo
 miles In this vast reception caml
 Field Kitchens and water carts wer
 wheeling up to all the camps as tn
 tents went up. Filtered water
 brought in hogsheads and each com
 T1and has its apportioned lot of hogs
 heads. Later on there will be sp1en
 did system of water mains for tn
 whole camp. But here are the mer
 and d water system is not installed 1
 day. So instead of waiting for Z
 inch mains. the primitive hogshead
 filling the gaps. Each man carrie
 his emergency ration for three day
 Some Of them were nibbling it befor D climbing into their pup tents. but mos of them waited for the smoking fiei
 klt6heh 10 get lht6 acton Wlth
 cooks, serving out hot coffee and he t soup and meat. The item of feedin
 an army with precision is in itself
 gigantic task,
 n We served 1.S00.000 meals la:
 mohth," said Major T,' or 600,e0o ai t my rations of three meals to the rf
 tion.'
 $ And besides a1i the feeding and wS II terihg and sanitation there is the in IL meHss paper work of such an oi a- s6Hizatioh. There eFs 125 sspafa ofsa hiza tions in the ss hbh Eaaia i'll