Evening star., 1918-02-24
j. S. BASE INFRAN(,E
GREATLY ENLARGED
Mighty Changes Wrought at
Port Where Troops and Sup
plies Are Landed.
FACILITIES ABOUT DOUBLE

little moro than six months have wrought
q mighty change in the base at which,
last juno, tho first division Of American
troops landed to so into training for their
fight with the Germans. The docks have
been and are being enlarged, storage ware
houses have been and arc being built. the
harbor has been dredged out to accom-
modate more and larger ships and tho
railroad facilities have been nearly dou-
bled and are being increased day by day.
Tho enlargement Of the port has created
a somewhat anomalous situation. for,
whereas up to about the end OF last year
than supplies SO that it was sometimes
feared it would be necessary to draw tenn
porarily on the French for their support
the base is now IN the position Of being
able to handle more tonnage than Is at
present coming to it either in the form
of supply or troop ships.
The capacity of the port would however.
be almost reached with the completion OF
the docks and storehouseS now under con-
strUction if it were not for far-reaching
engineering plans that arc under way.
Authorities Solve Problem.
The American authorities early fore
saw that even comprehensive dock en-
4argements would inevitably result in
congestion and confusion If some outlet
were not arranged for the increasing
tupplies expected to arrive when they
are needed, and which even increased
storage space could not be expected to
accommodate. The problem resolved itself
ento one of transportation. Therefore.
While the railroad tracks at the port it
Te,f are vastly more numerous than they
We're six months ago, the American en-
gineers have conceived a plan whereby
a vast tract of land three or four miles
tack of the port has been taken over.
and is being developed coincidently with
9e port itself.
On each side Of a huge basin into
which ships can il necessary be towed
and unloaded, dozens of parallel spur
tracks are being laid. They will serve
,, dual purpose. for cars either can be
filled from harges and vessels brought
into the basin. or cars loaded at the
port itself can quickly and easily be
hauled to the spurs and there made up
into trains.
The Americans already have taken
over on lease from the French certain
lines of railroad which will be fed from
the yards of the port and of its COM
Elementary station in the rear. They
are increasing constantly the efficiency
and capacity of the port itself by help
ing the French to economize in dock
and transportation space.
Duplicate Work Of the British.
The American plan. which envisages
caring for vastly more volume then the
port would normally accommodate,
even with the enlargement of docks and
storehouses, is not original with them.
but Is more or less copy of what the
English have done at another port
where they have increased the daily
output of merchandise from about 200
cars or less to more than 700. This they
have been able to do by laying out huge
yards to the rear of the actual port to
avoid congestion and to facilitate max
ing up trains
The steady development of the Amer
fcan port has made it necessary to re-
arrange the manner in which the work
Is done Last July a comparatively
small branch of the Quartermasters
department was amply able to superin-
tend and manage. the unloading and
distribution of supplies. Today the
work has grown SO that it has had to
De intrusted to railway transporta-
tion department that is growing in size
every week and which now merely
turns over to the quartermaster, as it
does to the engineering, the aviation
ana al the other departments, such ma
terlal as belongs to each.
TO keep pace with the increasing
volume OF supplies a huge force Of
Workmen has been found necessary
Two regiments of colored soldiers
numoerlng 5000 men. and most of them
husky stevedores and Iongshoremen
from New York and southern ports
In times of peace. now do the bulk
OF the unloading from the ships and
the reloading of the trains.
German Prisoners at Work.
A not inconsiderable force of German
prisoners of war. with whom the
negroes especially seem to enjoy fra
ternizing. are at work about the docks
from early morning until evening.
Every able-bodied male citizen of the
port. and many not So able bodied. in
addition to all the women who care to
work. have found employment, and, Of
course, at wages that were hitherto un-
known: The city may be said to be
IN the heyday of its prosperity.
The somewhat chaotic conditions that
naturally prevailed when thousands
upon thousands of newcomers hooded
into the city from the boats in late
June have subsided. Those stationed
permanently in the port gradually have
settled down in the few hotels and
with many private families The Of
ncers have established messes for
themselves. at which they can avail
themselves of American food, ana the
men who are not quartered In the
town itself live at the original camp
where Cen Sibert and his first division
stayed until it was time to GO to the