The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-10-25
YANkS QUICKLY
TURN WILDERNESS
INTO WORKSHOP
AStOniShed at Rapidity.
With Which SammieS AC-
COmpIiSh Big Projects Near
Battle Front.

GIEVRES, Central France, Oct, %;
Correspondence OF the Associated
Press To-day a forest, tomorrow a
building, the next day a Workshop,
This Is the way the astontshed French
people describe how the Americans have
suddenly constructed a huge establish
ment here, turning what was a pine
forest into warehouses and then turn
ing these into vast and busy centers
for the huge mass OF army supplies on
the way to the front.
Gievres Is q sort of halfway point,
midway between the coast and the fir
ing line. and is the central supply de-
pot of tho intermediate zone. Here
things are sorted and arranged as they
come pell-mell from the ocean ports,
in vast miscellaneous masses, Just out
OF the holds of steamers; food, guns,
clothing, barbed wire. medicine, carrier
pig zee refrigerated beef. rolling kitch-
ems n all the conglomoratiOn Of sup
plies needed by a million men. Every
thing must be in order before II goes
forward to the advance zone where the
fighting Is going on, and this Is where
the order Is brought out OF the SEEM
ing chaos in this tidal wave Of army
goods sweeping in from America.
The Gievres depot has been laid in
an elongated diamond shape, and COM
pared to a baseball diamond, II Is seven
miles from the home plate to second
base, n two miles across from first to
third base. Within this enormous dia-
mond are so huge warehouses and
scores OF other buildings. some of them
Of unprecedented magnitude. One Of
these is a refrtgerating plant r~ivaling
those In the Chicago meat sdlstrict.
When we went into 1t today it had over
10, 900 900 pounds of frozen bcef-enough
to. feed 1000. 900 men 20 days.
This Is only one detail of the vast
| dannt Of tho iUtnrnnedinta VpOa with ira
miles of buildings and yards stacked
with soldiers food, soldiers clothing,
ammunition and ordnance stores Of all
kinds, medical supplies. soldiers libra
Ties, furnished by the American Library
association, and all the Y. NJ. c. A,
supplies sent to its countless branches,
for everything for the army is conferred
here before it goes forward to the men.
Yards on Vast Scale.
The yards are on the same vast scale
as the warehouses. with stacks of coal
half a mile long and 80 feet high-a
! comforting assurance for the warmth OF
! the troops next winter-and miles Of
baled hay For artillery horses. Shovels
and wheelbarrows were piled up like
mountain haystaCks. The w~el-boring
machinery, filling n park, made 1t
look like r Pennsylvania oil region, An
other park had ~camouflage material.
Another had stacks Of building paper
for sheathing barracks.
Pontoons and bridges and all the ma
terial for crossing rivers will come along
IN due time, for It was pointed out that
| this will be needed to cross the Rhine
Along one side OF the depot 500 cars
were bringing in this huge stock OF war
material Just as it came from the ships,
and on the other side 500 cars were TAX
| ing It away to the advance zone after
it has passed through the processes OF
arrangement-each train a standard
train with a fixed space for each article
of the soldiers food ration, each article
Of clothing, ordnance, and all the re-
quirements along the fighting front
which have to be kept up day after day
with unfailing regularity.
with the commandant Of the depot,
| the Associated Press correspondent
made a tour over the plant, some ~
| miles by automobile, through the maze
Of activity and vast material resources
| At one point q remount station, begun
three days ago, was well along toward
completion, and 1t will soon be n OF
the main supplies for horses.
One whole depot was devoted TO the
new devices for gas attacks, defensive
and offensive. with great stocks of gas
masks, and the gas itself, and guam
| titles Of phosphorus and disinfectants
to sprinkle in trenches and camps after
the deadly mustard gas has been in the
air.
Medical Supplies.
Medical supplies require 10 entire
| buildings for cots, filters. mattresses,
oxygen tanks the great stocks OF
hospital and medical supplies.
The signal service has two large
i h,,Ildipuo and much men storage. with