The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-05-07
Three Towns Behind the Lines
in France Hold Great
Stores.
BAKERY SYSTEM A FEATURE
Forty Shipments of White Bread Made
DaiIy-AlI Facilities Being En-
Iarged-One Town Is Stor-
age Center.

I
continued arrival of American troops
and their occupation of definite front
sector, yet in its way quite as impor-
! tant for their success, has been the
steady development of the system of
keeping them in the myriad supplies
| they must have.
Keeping pace with the increasing
training camps there has grown up
storage, transportation and distribu-
ton system that not only accurately
and efficiently supplies the needs of
all our soldiers but is continually be-
ing enlarged against future needs.
Neither troops nor supplies can come
too fast for it.
The various functions Of the system
bakery, refrigerating plant, ware
houses for clothing, non-perishable
foods and similar supplies, and the
main distributing plant-are located
for convenience sake in three towns
or cities situated respectively at the
three corners of an obtuse triangle,
and front SO that supplies can reach
the furthest points in "a hours.
Bakery Is Great Industry.
No link in the chain between "a port
in France" and the American front is,
perhaps, more interesting than the bak-
cries.
The supplying Of the American
troops in France with white bread has
become great industry and is growing
all the time. The few bakers <Origi- |
nally here have grown into companies;
the relatively small daily quantity of |
bread turned out in July has increased I
to scores of thousands of pounds, and
weekly and are being stored away in
warehouses with capacity of millions
of pounds as reserve against the /
arrival of still more troops.
The American army first took pos
session of huge bakery in a central
French city, formerly operated by
German, and having a capacity for
storing 100000 pounds of flour, in adj
dition to a not inconsiderable daily
output of bread from its coke ovens.
Those making the arrangements
knew that the time would soon come
when the city bakery would be mad
equate, so they went outside of the
;ity and leased from the French tract
If land consisting of several thousand
lcres, upon which the conventional mil
tary wooden shacks soon Sprang up
md where there is room for an in
lefnite number of additional field bab-
,ries as the need may arise.
BY the time the city bakery had |
cached its capacity the shacks were s
ully equipped with the very latest in
'aking machinery.
Spur tracks have been constructed
ut to the field from the city, and over
hem carloads of bread leave each
lorning and afternoon for the training
amps and the front.
Forty Shipments Daily.
Each baking company has for some
me been exceeding the limit of 10000
ounds day and has been turning
ut from $4,000 to $4,000 pounds. The
len, 101 to a company, work in two II
our shifts. Their product, chiefly
reat, round, hard-crusted loaves, con-
flutes about forty separate shipments
lat are made daily-by train, motor
uck and hOrSe-drawn vehicles.
The bread is supplemented by bis
Its and rolls at breakfast and sup
II.
In the city itself the Americans
und one of the largest refrigerating
Id meat storage warehouses in
rance, and absorbed it last July,
ough it was then many times larger
an their needs. Its capacity is close
two million pounds, and while it
IS at times been nearly full, the sup
Y is never permitted to fall below
IL a million pounds. There are more
an 100000 pounds there now.
Direct railroad lines lead not only
ON the bakery and the refrigerating
ant to the camps but also from the
aports and the city.
Several miles westward, at the low
apex of the triangle, lies another
ench town which has been all but
Oily taken over by the Americans
a storage center. Here non-perish-
lie foodS-canned goods, salt, Sugar
d vegetables other than those bought
Ssh from the French peasants-are
red.
One of the largest buildings which
! Americans have taken over is de-
led to equipment. Here are stored
ny thousands of uniforms and ev-
: article of clothing from shoes and
IS to buttons and handkerchiefs.
e needs Of the troops is estimated
several pairs of shoes a year and
ee or four uniforms.
"2 Helmet der Kaiser"