Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-11-06
AUTOMATIC 1Rt# NEW DEVICE our
 IN BIG FIGHTING
Has Been Developed "Over Theer" By the Ingenious
 American Troopers. '.

American Regulating Base, Ad- vance Zone, France, Oct. 20 Cores pondence Of The Associated Press.)- The automatic train" is one of the strange devices which has sprung out of the war, and there is nothing quite like 1t in the whole range of railway transportation. It has been developed by the American military authorities here as one of the necessities of keep ing up an automatic daily supply of food, forage anG all requirements to every unit of the American expedi- tionary Force in France. To do this with unvarying regularity each day, so that every man in every division stretching over a vast area along 300 miles of front, would have his daily needs supplies was huge problem. v The only solution was to secure ab- solute uniformity, or standardiza- tion of trains by which the makeup would be automatic day after day. And out of this has come the "auto- matic train' of the American army, which is one of the wonders of Amer can organization.
 Watching the makeup of the "au- tomatic trains" as they go forward to the American divisions on the fight ing front, is like watching some gig antic jig-saw puzzle, for there is the same fitting together of confused parts(, until at last all the pieces form completed whole of fifteen of these s0-called "automatic trains' 50 cars to train. each train moving off to one of the American divisions.
 Here at small interiar village of the American Advance Force is the center from which the automatic trains move out daily. The place is we'll forward in the advance zone, just far enough away from the fighting to be out of reach of hostile raids and yet near enough to permit the supplies to move forward with the greatest facility.
 It was a sleepy village last Oct Ober with 1000 inhabitants, today it is a center of intense activity, with and American working force of 22,- 0O0eleven times the population a year ago-with 72 miles of yard trackage, 45 enormous warehouses. and railways radiating to severy point of the long front held wholly or in part by American troops.
 Last month 32,000 cars were nov ed. or over 100 day in this stupen- dOus stream of supplies going for ward to the fighting forces.
 Colonel lHilgard,s Commanding, Of ficer, and Captain Bigger, regulat- ing officer explained the details of these automatic trains, and later there was an opportunity to see the trains assembled like parts in a huge puzzle and started on their way to the front The basis on which the automatic trains are made up is as follows:
 ? cars of refrigerated fresh beef.
 cars of fresh bread
 cars of food comprised in the soldiers ration.
 4 cars of fuel for cooking: N
 II cars of forage for horses.
 car of gasoline, mineral oil and lubricants for motors.
 l car for mail and packages.
 These are the fixed and practical fly inyariable elements of each au- tOmatic train. the same wants of clothing. ammunition, medical sup plies, etc, as it may be in the midst of the fighting or further back in a calIner section. These varying ele- ments are added to each train, ac- cording to the needs of the division
 Thus, 15 trains go out daily in 15 directions, each train having some 50 to 35 cars in the fixed and auto matic makeup, and some 15 or 20 cars with the varying elements of ammunition, medical supplies cloth ing, etc, dependent on the proximity to the fighting.