Jackson County journal., 1918-11-01
How Millions of Men
In w ar are Moved, Fed

against the state unless afforded this
means of sustaining themselves.
Not the least serious of the problems
confronting the war department was
the question Of distribution of sup
plies in France. A million men might
be landed in French ports, together
with the necessary equipment, but how
under the heavens was this vast store
house to be transported to the interior
and on up to the lines, with the mani
fold eXactiOns that would have to be
met in doing it speedily and orderly
and with the French transportation
facilities already groaning under the
home load? The German staff agreed
it could not he done.
Right here seems a good place to
introduce Brig. Gen. Johnson Hagood.
He is chief of staff of the S. O. S.
He has served in the war department
with every chief of staff of the army
since the general staff was created by
congress. He is native of South
Carolina, nephew of the late Brig.
Gen. Johnson Hagood of the Confed-
crate army and one time governor of
South Carolina.
The present chief of staff attended
the university Of his home ;Jate from
1888 to 1891 and graduated from West
Point in 1896. He has served as per-
sonal aide to Generals Bell and Wood
General Hagood is one of the young
er generals of the army He is small
of stature, quick of action, and a hui
man dynamo. His mind works like
chain lightning.
"HOw did you do it," 1 asked him.
A flicker of a smile fitted across the
face of the West Pointer.
"We!l, we had to do it-a,d we did
it. That's all.
1t was a mere statement of fact.
There was no philosophy to 1t. Just
had to be done, and-was do le!
1T would be impossible f+r me to
tell you how this plan has bee, worked
out" he added. Moreover, I am not
permitted to give out interviews to
newspaper men. But in this case I
understand you haze been authorized
by General Pershing's Headquarters to
get an interview from me. SO will
try to tell you something about 1t.
Undeceiving Themselves
"In the first place, it is tie uggest
military undertaking in the history
Of the world. No military authority
ever laid so bold plan on this eirth !;
nothing that Alexander the Great
Julius Caesar or Napoleon ever
planned compares with it in scope or
daring. The Germans laughed at us
when we proposed it, and even those
of us of the old army who sat around
the war college wondering what we
would do in great war, never
dreamed the United States, the most
unmflitary nation on earth, could put
100000 men in France. To supply
such body of men from a base 1000
miles away, to organize them, to fight
'em, and to fight 'em as we'll as the
best soldiers in Europe today-is the
greatest military accomplishment Of
all times.
$50 far as my end of it is concerned
it is all matter Of team work. The
work is that Of the bureau chiefs.
You might compare me to the quarter
back of the team. I give the signals
and pass the ball, but they really do
the work, and they have done it ex-
ceedingly well. We are way ahead on
our program. We supply twice as
many men in France as the mast
optimistic of us had expected. And
at the present rate it will not be lo.g
before we will be supplying in France
an ermy four times as large as that
we had originally contemplated.
Gas to the character of the work.
we have had to build and repair rail-
roads. We have built permanent dock s
and Wharves at the ports, and some
OF these ports are more prosperous
now than they ever have been in
their history. We have constructed
aviation fields, repair shops, salvag~
plants, supply depots, hospitals, cold
storage plants, water supply, etc.
Rushing a New City.
1T is rather difficult for one to
visualize the proposition OF going ITO
an open field and constructing lOA)OO
bed hospital 1t means H. real;tv q