The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-09-04
IMMENSE CAMP
RECEIVES u. 5.
Fighters WHEN
They HIT FRANCE
Thirty-six Thousand Men
Are Taken in and Hous-
ed in One Day

American Port, Western France,
Aug. 0.-Correspondence of The
Associated Press.)-Long lines of
khah-clad men just debarked from
American transport and now on the
way to their first camp, packed the
streets from curb to curb and
stretched away for miles. 1t 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 out
side the town, one of the largest
camps in the world and capable of
caring for the population Of a met
ropolitad city. Hour after hour from
this morning until late this after
noon the steady tramp of marching
thousands had been going on, for this
steady stream Is the army of $4,000
just arrived and 10 American trans
ports making the record debarkment
from ship to camp within twelve
hours
With Major x, the engineer officer
Of the camp. we skirted alongside
this moving stream, from the land
ing to the camp, and had an oppor-
tunity of seeing each stage in the
huge movement UP to the time the
tired marchers pitched their shelter
tents on the soaked grounds and
crawled inside to sleep. Stirring as
1t was to see these men come to
swell the million men in the Amer
lean ranks, yet there was a. grimness
and grayness to the scene 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, without the regularity of par
aiding troops, and each man carried,
beside his rifle. all his belongings on
his back, 70 pounds to tent blank
cts, clothing, shoes. and all the mis-
cellaneous equipment of soldier
headed for the front, Their last
camp was in the well-eqiupped can
tonments in the United States, where
they slept on cots and had a SEM
blance of modern comfort. Now they
We're on the war-swept soil Of
France and had seen the last of cots
glimpse of real war conditions, and
anyone who says it cheerfully shuts
his eyes to the grimnesss of war.
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
provide very elastic camp, capable
camp, capable Of immediate expan-
sion from LOCO up to 100000 men,
The major was we'll qualified to
explain the magnitude of the work,
for he mad been chief constructing
engineer OF the New York subway
system, had planned and built good
part Of the system, and had made
the population figures on which sub
way construction was based.
ITO get an idea Of the camp" he
said, compare it with Central Park
We have $500 acres here, Central
Park has 500 acres. Why, the entire
area Of New York city on Manhattan
Island is only 41.000 acres"
Vast City of Tents
On both sides of the road, for mile
after mile as we sped along IN an
army car. a city of tents vas rising
and there was the hum and hustle
of camp activity on a vast scale.
This morning all the ground had
been srubble-field from the newly
cut wheat and barley. Pit every
available foot was being laid off py
the army engineers. working with
tripods and instruments like a party
4of surveyors. Tented streets and
avenues, headquarters tents, mess,
kitchen and hospital tents, and vast
parks for supplies and artillery and
horses, were rising in the fields and
spreading fer forty square mites
over this huge enclosure.
I've never take a field OF grow
ing grain" said the Major, but as
fast as the grain is cut wa take over