Imperial Valley press., 1918-07-30

, Camp kearncy, July 23.--Economi
caly the Fortieth Division Reclama
ton Department, lately become the
conservation and reclamation division
of the Quartcrmaster Department
here, has grown to a personnel OF
nearly 400 and orders received re-
Gently provide for the virtual doub'
ling of this force. Nearly 90 of the
employese are women, some of them
wives or mothers of soldiers sta
toned here.
The division is built on the principle
that nothing be thrown away and
that the same repairs that would be
made by consumers in civil life bs
made in military life to restore sup
pIIese and equipment to a state of
usefulness.
What cannot be repaired is divert
ed to some other use or sold. For in
stance the tent in which the divisions
Headquarters are housed has side
walls made from scrap canvas, parts
of old tents that in former times
would have been disposed of at per-
haps a small fraction of their value
to the army.
The men who work in the reclama-
ton shops are enlisted in the army,
mainly detailed from other services
because of special knowledge. This
will be different, however, when the
organizations provided for in recent
orders are put into effect. New ta-
bles of organization, providing for the
formation of special units to carry
on the divisions activities, have been
received, and officers expect soon to
commence this work.
The divisions shoe shop repairs
about $50 pairs of shoes day. 1t is
not unusual to see more than 1000
pairs there awaiting repair The shop
has been quite crowded, but recently
was enlarged. Twenty men worked
there until the enlargement; now the
shoe shop quota has not been filled.
II probably will be 40 or more men.
Each pair Of shoes received is tagged
with the name OF the owner and his
organization, so thtat each gets back
to its proper user after repairs.
Shoes which cannot be repaired are
cut apart TO provide pieces for re-
pairing others, and those too far gone
to be available even for this use are
sold as scrap leather, after all the
metal parts have been removed.
Much the same procedure is followed
in the tailor shop, where repairable
garments are repaired and pressed,
the non-repairable are used to make
patches for the others, and those fit
for nothing else are classified and sold
as waste. All sorts of cloth material
reaches the division for repair. A Po-
lish volunteer soldier, a tailor by
trade, recently spent several days re-
pairing worn flags. Boxing gloves
and other athletic equipment often are
turned in for repair. Women run
most Of the sewing machines in the
tailor shop. Each machine there and
in the shoe shop, which is equipped
with modern paraphernalia through
out, is operated by its own electric
motor. A steam pressing machine is
used in this shop.
Much of the clothing repaired is
that turned in by soldiers who have
received new garments. After this is
repaired and pressed, it is sized and
tied in bundles ready for reissue.
The division print shop is under the
charge Of the Reclamation Section,
and there envelopes are cut apart and
scratch pads made from their backs.
This is the only print shop the cor
respondent ever saw where there was
no waste paper on the floor. An aver
age of 225 forms month are printed
in this shop, though it has only one
medium-sized press.
In a large new warehouse, devoted
/ to the uses of the reclamationists
when it was seen that their depart
ment had outgrowR the few small
buildings with which it was supplied
at first, were rows of sewing ma
chinese, each operated by a woman
Packed all about the structure were
piles of clothing, fresh from the laun
dry and awaiting repair. Most Of th'
work done on the class of clothing
reaching this warehouse is Of lnino
nature, such as sewing on buttons o
stitching small rips. An average 0
| 100 pieces of clothing is repaire
there daily
The women take good deal o
pride in their work. One gray-haire
worker, who wore a service pin, sale