Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-10-06
Special Correspondence of The Star.
SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE.

September 25, 1915
TT is currently said that there are
six wonders of the s. o. S.. which
is a mighty stretch of France be-
come American for temporary
purposes.
I could count twelve but all agree
that this is Wonder No. THE multi
plication of loaves.
1t Is the miracle of Gen. Rogers of
the Quartermaster Corps. and Col
Ball. Ut strikes all imaginations in a
land where all the other loaves are
small. dry, brown and tough, dealt out
like jewelry on a daily ticket. Our
boys in France enjoy the greatest
mechanical bakeries in the world.
brand-new and producing unlimited
American white bread like cake, as
French folks say.
To be more exact, the United States
Army has just built bakeries of enor-
nous capacity in France. probably
the most complete military bakeries
in the world, They are also the
largest single bakeries in the world,
civilian or military
One of them has a floor space of
$4,000 square feet. in two enormous
buildings of 240 feet by $50 feet each.
IN addition to power houses and cold
storage space for yeast. They con-
tain the most perfected mechanical
bakery machinery devised: and each
machine is operated by it's own mo-
tor. with electric power generated by
its own electric plant, which power
plant is a duplicate or twin plant
Each twin is capable of running the
entire bakery and furnishing all the
lights necessary for the vicinity. As
fact, 1t has power enough to fur
nish all the electricity that would be
required by city of $4,000 inhabi-
tants.
Col. William G. Ball, it should be
said In common justice. originated the
idea of having mechanical bakeries in
the U. S. Army. He presented it to
his supertors. Gen. Rogers presented
the completed plan to Gen. Pershing,
and the idea was approved and the
project realized. Col. Ball selected
the machinery and followed every de-
tail of the work through. from the
choice of the ground in France to the
completion of the plant. The En-
gAeer Corps constructed the build
Mgs. etc. to house the machinery, and
the personnel for running the bakeries
comes entirely from the Quartermas-
ter Corps bakery companies
1t is marvellous arrangement of
machines and ovens, into which you
almost pour flour at one end and
run the loaves into freight cars at
f nress ethtr 1T of ndeed war
selection Col. Ball went to England
and obtained consent of the British
war office to subordinate their own
res reserve ,Ss demands for for similar plants
Army. Three of these large large giants Giants
have been provided for and three
smaller similar plants having fewer
mechanical devices. They are 'smalr'
because the capacity of each is only
about 10000 pounds of bread per day.
1t is really wonder Gin a land OF
restrictions) to see the white, luscious
daily cake" of millions of American
soldiers coming as it were, from
labor. in a valley which six months
ago was empty fields.
The great" bakery produces the
same quantity of bread, approximate
ly.. WHICH it would require $500 men
there are only $50 men about the
place. They are lost in the vast plant.
which seems to do the daily miracle
Of producing without human effort
daily. 1t never stops. The person.
mel works in three eight-hOu shifts
OF eighty men each. and the plant is
kent going twenty-fOur hours per
day.
Gen Rogers has been liberal to
correspondents He permitted me to
visit aud describe the mechanical
bakeries. and to converse with Gen
Hall. The whole affair was built un-
dor Gen. Rogers direction. He has