Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-09-11
MATERIALS AS TROOPS MOVE ON ARE
ALL PICKED UP N SALVAGED.

machines for making over the many
branches of ordnance.
Hundreds of women were sorting
the uniforms and underclothing just
come from the salvage process. There
were some 100000 blouses. on these
towering shelves. and as many more
of all the other articles Of soldier
wear. They were in bundles, looking
very fresh and clean, quite like the
stock of a well-equipped clothing
establishment. The women were ar
ranging the garments in three classes:
Class A.-Garments in good order,
practically the same as new. to be
sent back to the front as part of the
supply for fighting troops.
Class B.-Garments partly worn
out, but fully repaired to be sem to
the base ports or the coast, for labor
troops and stevedores.
Class C.-Garments much worn but
in a fair state of preservation, to be
sent to prison camps for German pris-
oners.
This was significant of what the
German prisoners were getting; not
the best, to be sure, and not the same
goods as u own men, but worn
goods in q fair state of preservation.
1t seemed to be an answer to the out
cry that the German prisoners were
getting the same as our men.
OAS OOOAQ lOAlDm me IdEGS OL lie
huge stacks of hob-nail army shoes
from the time they arrived, covered
with the mud and CRIME of the
trenches and the battlefield, through
process after process of d~isinfection,
cleaning. repairing, grading, until
they finally emerged in stocks of sub-
stantial footwear. Like the garments,
these were classed to go book to the
fighting troops. or to the s~tevedores
or to the German prisoners.
1t was h same with the infinite
variety of army equipment going
through the salvage process, rubber
boots, saddles, brides. stirrups. All
of 1t was on a prodigious scale, SO, 900
garments a day; 1000 pairs of rubber
boots a day at the army price of sass
a pair. The salvage of all kinds of
rubber articles was 80 per cent, or
almost a complete saving of every
thing received.
More than a million dollars worth
of clothing was saved last month. and
the magnitude of the work as a whole
can be judged from these figures or
the output. Shoes ~$S25.120; clothing.
$1,3o7,026; harness n leather.
$57 1900; rubber, 800, 900; canvas and
webbing, $4,000.
There are some curious things
gathered up in this litter of the camps
and battlefelds; for example, three
4 IA 1OONtiGs I4iAOhEh DOOho III
magazines are left behind to stock
several libraries. Pictures and
knick-knacks with which the tents are
decorated before the rush comes. are
abundant. Family pictures and be-
longings of n personal character are
carefully preserved in little bags to be
returned to their owner or his family
IL that is possible.
Besides restoring articles for use,
every scrap OF wool cloth. leather,
metal. hat-bands. is saved to be turn
ed into some other form of useful ar
ticles or Is sold. The sale of junk, tin
cans and scraps last month Melted
IS, 400 francs.
The women workers are chiefly
French and Belgian. many of them
refugees from the invaded districts,
so that the work has this further
useful end for some 1000 women.
They get from 6 to 7 francs a day,
working from 7 to 1880 and from
1870 to 6. The wages paid last month
were 711,400 rancs But all the cost
of wages and new material was less
than ten per cent of the value of
the articles produced for army uses
totaling $500. 900 for the month
a tribute 10 the ingenuity which has
produced this unique establishment
of war economy.