Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1918-05-10
Three Towns Behind the Lines
in France Hold Great
Stores.
BAKERY SYSTEM A FEATURE
Forty Shipments Of White Bread Made
DalIy-AiI Facilities Being En-
Iaroed-One Town 10 Stor-
AGE Center.

Behind the American Front In
France.-Less spectacular than the
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 a
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 1t.
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
Tor convenience sake In three towns
or cities situated respectively at the
three corners Of an Obtuse triangle,
and near enough to the training camps
and front SO that supplies can reach
the furthest points in "a hours.
Bakery 10 Great Industry.
No link In the chain between "a port
In France" and the American front In.
perhaps, more interesting than the bak.
cries.
The supplying Of the American
troops In France with white bread has
become q 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
to scores Of thousands of pounds, and
entire shiploads Of flour are arriving
weekly and are being stored away in
warehouses with capacity Of millions
OF pounds as a reserve against the
arrival Of still more troops.
The American army first took DOS
session Of a huge bakery in q central
French city, formerly operated by a
German. and having q capacity for
storing 1.5O0, 100 pounds of flour. in ad-
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 innd-
eQuate. SO they went outside Of the
city and leased from the French q tract
OF land consisting Of several thousand
acres, upon which the conventional mill
itary wooden shacks soon sprang up
and where there Is room for an in
definite number of additional field bak-
cries as the need may arise.
By the time the city bakery had
reached Its capacity the shacks were
fully equipped with the very latest In
baking machinery.
Spur tracks have been constructed
out to the field from the city, and over
them carloads of bread leave each
morning and afternoon for the training
camps and the front.
Each baking company has for some
time been exceeding the limit Of 10000
pounds a day and has been turning
out from $1,000 to $4,000 pounds. The
men. 101 to a company. work In two r.
hour shifts. Their product, chiefly
great. round. hard-crusted loaves, con-
stitutes about forty separate shipments
that are made daily-by train. motor
truck and horse-drawn vehicles.
The bread Is supplemented BY bis