The Cordova daily times. [volume] (Cordova, Alaska) 1914-1947, 1918-10-23
HOW AMERICA
SUPPLIES HER
ARMY ABROAD


France. Oct. Eighteen big steam
ships of 5000 to 5000 tons each we're
unloading American army goods at the
rate of 10000 tons a day along the
three miles of American docks here
today. The spectacle was a stirring
scene of activity. Crowds OF enlisted
men assisted at the matches and man
ipulated the giant cranes as big steel
motor trucks were lifted bodily. along
with parts Of locomotives and railway
cars, and all the miscellaneous freight
of an army, while an army OF negro
stevedores kept the steady stream of
goods moving back to the nearby
warehouses and trains
Taking care of this avalanche OF
army goods coming from America is
quite as much Of problem as taking
care of the arriving troops. Here one
obtains an idea of the mammoth pro
| portions OF the equipment which the
Americans have been compelled to set
up for this branch of the expedition
Coming from northern port. a sue.
cession of big American establish
mentS was seen at every port along
the western coast. At one port were
j fourteen American docks or berths,
al another port eight at a third four,
another three. Here at this main
port are sixteen American docks each
with a thousand feet of frontage
These fOrty-tiSe docks at the five
main ports represent a dock frontaga
of about ten miles, capable OF unload
! ing 10000 tons of army goods every
day, or an average OF about fifty
pounds per man for every one serving
il France
/ And yet, great as this present equip
ment is. it represents only about a
/ third OF the vast installation which
/ is moving steadily forward to compile.
! ton in order to meet the needs OF an
army o. several million men. The
basis OF calculation FOR this huge work
is % pounds per day per man this
! being an average covering the whole
range OF military supplies individual
and general food, clothing, ammuni-
ton, guns. and all other army re-
| quirCments.
On this established basis of fifty
pounds per day per man. an army of
million men requires 50,O00,000
pounds of goods daily or $4,000 tons.
! tut in
has long exceeded the million mark,
the scale of preparation must be far
in excess of this $4,000 tons a day,
reaching not far from the gigantic
loaded from ships. stored in ware
houses and trains, and started on its
way to the men at the front. II is
this colossal daily requirement which
stirs into intense activity these miles
on miles of American docks where
three shifts of soldier workment, work
ing night and day, are unloading
scores of steamships.
! Seven miles back from the water
front there is another huge American
installation where goods from these
ships are stored on their way to the
front. 1t is gigantic, like everything
! in this vast military influx, and when
we visited it today the l47th ware
house had just then been completed.
Each warehouse is 500 feet long and
together they stretch along four miles
of front.
In the aeighboring camp were 1000
negro troops and laborers engaged in
the warehouse work An American
railway system connects the water
! front directly with this storage plant
and incessant streams OF army goods
keep moving forward to the warehouse
plant. The whole place fairly throbs
with animation. and besides the enor-
nous industry there is the hustle and
! activity of countless camps with their
! khaki tents dOtting the fields for
miles along the railway.
Altogether, on the water front and
receiving plant, the working force in
cludes 1900 engineer troops, 1000
stevedores. 5000 civilian laborers,
/ 1000 German prisoners and 1000 in
fantry in all 10000 men carrying on
the American activities at this one
port.