Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1918-09-21

1 tons -and leave the rest behind,
books, extra clothes, Shoes, etc. The
men arrive from America with an I'M
due amount of clothing; it is trim
med down at the first training camp;
again it is trimmed down as they go
to the front, and each new trimmer
of thousands of men means another
huge stock for salvage.
In the main building, a quarter Of
a mile long, there was the roar Of a
vast and diversified industry, with
over 1000 women workers and a
thousand men, with long batteries of
sewing machines, shoe machines, rub
il her and harness machines such as
one sees in the great factory dis
tricts; with the same huge installation
Q. engines, boilers, disinfecing plants,
laundries; and the whir of big metal
machines for making over the many
branches of ordnance.
| Hundreds of women were sorting
the uniforms and undertaking just
come from the salvage processes.
There were some 100000 blouses, on
these towering shelves, and as many
more of all the other articles of SOL
der wear. They were in bundles,
/ looking very fresh and clean, quite
Hike the stock Of we'll equipped
/ clothing establishment The women
were arranging the garments in three
classes:
Glass A-Garments in good order,
practically the same as. new, to be
sent back to the front as part of the
supply for fighting troops.
Class B-Garments partly worn out
but fully repaired, to be sent to the
base ports on the coast, for labor
| troops and stevedores
Glass CH-Garments much worn but
in a fair state of preservation, to be
sent to prison camps for German
prisoners.
! This was significant of what tho
German prisoners were getting; not
the best, to be sure, and not the same
/ goods as our own men, but worn goods
in fair state of preservation. 1t
seemed to be an answer to the out
cry that the German prisoners were
getting the same as our men.
/ One could follow the stages of the
huge stacks of hob-nail army shoes
from the time they arrived, covered
with the mud and CRIME of the tren-
dhes and the battlefield, through pro-
cess after process of distinction.
cleaning, repairing, grading, until
they finally emerged in stocks of
substantial footwear. Like the gar
ments, these. We're classed to go back
to the fighting troops, or to the steve
dores, or to the German prisoners.
i 1T was the same with the infinite
variety or army equipment going
] through the salvage process, rubber
boots and .artics, shelter tents, har.
ness for artillery, saddles, brides.
stlrrups. All of it was ON a prodigi-
Gus scale, $4,000 garments a day:
/ 1000 pairs of rubber boots a day at
the army price of $2.65 a pair. The
salvage of all kinds of rubber articles
was SO per cent, or almost a CON-
pfete saving of everything received.
More than a million dollars worth
OF clothing was saved last month.
and the magnitude of the work as a
whole can be judged from these
figures of the output: Shoes $685.
100; clothing, $1,3O7 ops; harness and
leather, $4,000; rubber, 100000; can.
vass and webbing, $4,000
\ There are some curious things
gathered up in this litter of the
camps and battlefelds; for example.
three fireless cookers. Enough books
and magazines are left behind to
| stock several libraries. Pictures and
knlcknacks with which the tents are
decorated before the rush comes, are
abundant. Family pictures and be-
longings of personal character are
carefully preserved in little bags to
be returned to their owner or his
family if that is possible.
Besides restoring articles for use,
every scrap of wool cloth. leather.
metal, hat bands, is saved to be tum-
ed into some other form OF useful
article, or is sold. The sale Of junk.
tin cans and scraps last month netted
1900 francs.
The womer workers are chiefly
French and Belgian, many of them
refugees from the invaded districts.
so that the work has this further
useful end for some 1000 women.
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