Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1918-08-27
Soldiers Debarked from Trans
port Fill Streets Of City as
They Pass on Way to Re-
Ception Camp,
EACH MAN CARRIES
EQUIPMENT ON BACK
Magnitude Of System Which
AbSorbS Hundreds of Thou
sands of Americans Aston
iSheSf a Real Armed Camp,

isr MORNING. IouFHAt r~~ttAL lGasEo WiRE1
/ American Port Western France
Aug 20 Long lines of khaki-cla6
men just debarked from American
( transports and now or the way to
their first camp. packed the streets
/ from curb to curb and stretched away
/ for miles. II was four miles ana IN
hill most of the way-through city,
suburbs and country lanes, from the
seafron' TO the great reception camp
located outside the town, one of thu
largest camps in the world and cap
lable OF caring for the population of a
I metropolitan city.
Hour after hour from this morn
ling until late this afternoon the stead,
tramp of marching thousands had
been going on. for this steady stream
I Is the army Of 36. 600 Just arrived on
! thirteen American transports, making
the record debarkation from ship to
camp within twelve hours.
Stern War Pictured
With Major y. the engineer of tho
camp we skirted alongside this mov.
ing stream, from the landing to the
camp and had opportunity Of seeing
each stage in the huge movement up
othe time the tired marchers pitch
ed their shelter tents on the soaked
grounds and crawled inside to sleep
stirring as il was to see these men
come to swell the million men in the
American ranks. yet there was grim.
mess and grayness to tho scene sug-
gesting 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 az route step
without the regularity OF paradiug
troops, and each man carried. beside
his rifle, all his belongings on his
back, seventy pounds Of tent, blankets,
clothing shoes and all the miscel-
laneous equipment Of a soldier head
cd for the front. Their last camp
was in the well-equipped cantonments
in the United States where they slept
on cots and had q semblance of mod
ern comfort. Now they were on the
war-swept soil of France and had
seen the last of cots and comforts II
was their first glimpse OF real waI
conditions, and anyone who says II Is
cheerful shuts his eyes TO the grim
ness of war.
Exceed Our Old Army.
"There are more troops arriving
said the major as he led the way
than the total strength OF the Unit
ed states army short time ago" And
with such an influx we have to pro
vide very elastic camp. capable OF
Immediate expansion from a thou
sand up to a hundred thousand men"
The major was we'll qualified to ex.
plain the magnitude Of the work. for
he had been chief constructing engi-
neer of the New York subway system
had planned and built n good part Of
the system and had made the popu
lation figures on which subway con-
struction was based.
Three Times Central Park.
'"ro get an idea OF the camp" ha
said Compare 1t with Central park,
! We have $500 acres here. Central
park has 500. Why the entire area
Of New York city on Manhattan island
! is only 1900 acres"
on both sides of the road. for mile
after mile we sped along in an army
car, city of tents was rising and
there was the kum and hustle ol
camp activity on vast scale. This
morning all the ground had been
stubble field from the newly cut whea
land barley But now every available
| foot was being laid off by the army
engineers, working with tripods and
instruments like a party of surveyors
Tented streets and avenues. head
quarters tents, mess. kitchen and hos
| pital tents, and vast parks for sup
plies and artillery and horses. wer'
rising in the fields and spreading fol
forty square miles over this huge en-
closure.
Grain First Harvested.
ttNUa vouoT. tnls q field of growing
grain" said the major, but as fast
ns the grain is cut we take over the
| fields and with harvest time well ad
yanced this entire farming section
will soon be turned into an Afaericau
camp"
| In one of the fields whore we stop
! ped to see theSmen two battal!ons Of
/ 500 men each, just marched in san6
we're preparing to pitch their tents
lust cleared OF grain, was rain-soaked
The great stretch of ploughed GROUND
| and the storm had set in for the night
The men stood ready, each with
half Of a shelter tens. to drive TIE
stakes and lash 1t against the Gle
ments, and then crawl in IL seemed
an endless wait for all the formalitie'
Of laying out the camp with engl-
neering exactness. yet all of this wa"
essential to the smooth running ol
such large concern.
Pun Tents Dot Field
At last the stakes were driven anG
soon the great field was dotted with
! thousands of little khaki mounds
about as high as a mans waist, called
"pup tents" by the soldiers. probably
because they look like dog houses
Under the tent there Is just room fo'
two lying down. and If the ground :
soaked as it is tonight the rubber
poncho keeps out some of the water
and kindly nature and the iron OF
youth must do the rest.
This was only one typical camp q.
the hundreds lining the roads for
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