The Tomahawk., 1918-10-17
Work Of S. 0. S. in France Ex-
GELS All History Of Mil
i.ary Feats.
QUICK SERVICE IS The rule
Army Uses 100000 Pounds Of RefrIg-
Grated and Fresh Beef Each Day
Immense Supplies Needed to
Feed Yanks-Works Like
Machine.
BY CHARLES N. WHEELER.

In the =. ~. -. 0eCtOT, EduCc." AA0
matter of feeding the army in France
is an epic story. It Is truly Of heroic
proportions. #. d. -.>'.
Just now it requires about 1900, 900
pounds of refrigerated and fresh beef
to feed the army in France each day,
besides the hundreds Of thousands OF
pounds of bacon, mutton, ham. corned
beef, canned salmon, and dried and
picked meats and fish. More than 20O,-
coo cans of tomatoes, corn and peas
help to make up one days rations.
Something like 100000 cans of jam,
5000 cans of peaches. 5000 jars Of
pickles., 5000 bottles of catsup, car
loads Of canned lobster and other sea
foods, more than 1000 boxes of choco-
late, fresh white bread made Of Amer
lean -four and all the boys want, even
the good old corn bread served hot, be-;
sides the immense quantities Of pota-
toes, beans, prunes, coffee. sugar, milk,
pepper, salt, vinegar, cinnamon, sirup.
and about everything found IN q well,
stocked farmers pantry In the United
States are laid before the American
army in France every day-and 1t IL
all there right on the dot.
= = Works Like a Machine.
It is there in every section of France.
from Scissors and Toul to Marseilles
and from the Swiss border to the Bay
of Biscay. All France is? great In
dustrial place and there is hardly q
spot in the whole country, including
the sections under heavy shell fire,
where the s. o. s. is not standing at
attention when the dinner bell rings.
Meantime, men and munitions. and
all manner of supplies are moving up
to the front continuously, and the
fighters are coming back for a little
rest. The Machinery works smoothly
and efficiently. There are side lines
Of great interest. One Of these is the
travelling bathroom. An outfit that re-
ouires only three trucks Is now sent up
to the lines to greet the boys as they
come out Of the trenches and give
them a fine scrubbing. Each outfit
will wash 500 boys an hour. Ill.,.
Meantime the 8. o. s. is filling orders
from the front. It may be few thou
sand infantry, an artillery regiment
or several such regiments, machine
gun companies, and SO on through the
list. They are delivered Immediately.
The wounded have to be brought
back to the hospitals. The trains and
ambulances are ready and they move
like clockwork-except that getting
back from the flrst-aid stations at times
is not quite as slow as clock. The
wounded are sent to all corners OF
France and the big machine works on
almost faultlessly. ....aae.., Do
Whole armies Of the mobile sections
now are transported quickly from Sec
tor to sector. It Is up to the s. O.. s.
to see that all this equipment is pro-
vided. ,....
Salvage Work important
The s. O. S. besides doing an enor-
nous business in the manufacturing
line, conducts large salvage plant. or
plants, into which flows steady
stream of battlefield wreckage. In the
clothing branch Of the work alone they
are saving the taxpayers back home
$3,5OOOOO a month. More important
than the money saving is the saving of
tonnage. III .-.
At one station mammoth American
locomotives are assembled "while you
wait" Six Of these leviathans are put
together every day and are doing their
bit the next day.
It was found advisable to operate a
special train for American military
Inen between two widely separated
points in France. As soon as the neces-
sfty presented itself the train was in
stalled. It is called the american
Special" It Is manned by Pullman car
porters-negro boys who have had
long training on the de luxe trains back
home. They are rated as first class
wagon men here. American railway
conductors have been assigned to this
train, or trains, one running each way
every "a hours
OF one thing the mothers back home
may be thoroughly assured, and that is
that not one of their boys wants for a
single thing in the way Of subsistence
and medical and surgical attention. No
army ever took the field better pro-
vided. And while the appropriations are
being passed around 1t Is not out Of
place to observe that the subsistence
division Of the war department at
Washington is entitled to a decoration
for the efficiency it has achieved.
Something over 100000 enlisted men
and about $4,000 women comprise the
''help" In the s. o. s. organization. A
large number Of officers, Of course, are
required for the supervising positions,
but practically all Of the workers are
men I'm khaki who have been termed
the ammunition passers."
Employs Army Of Women.
OF the $4,000 women in the work
most OF them are French women. A
two-fold aim Is achieved in the utiliza-
ton Of these women. A large per-
centage Of them would be charges