The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-09-19


,-(Correspondence of The Associ-
ated Press)-Today a forest, to-
morrow building the next day a
workshop.
This is the way the astonished
French people describe how the
Americans have suddenly con-
structcd a hugh establishments here,
turning what was Tsne forest into
warehouses and then turning these
into vast and busy centers for the
hugh mass OF army supplies on the
wav to the front,
Gievres is sort OF halfway
point, midway between the coast
and the firing line, and is the cen
tral supply depot of the inter
mediate zone. Here things are
sorted and arranged as they come
pcll'mel from the ocean ports. in
vast miscellaneous masses just out
Of the holds of steamers, food, guns,
clothing. barbcd wire. medicine,
carrier pigeons, refrigerated beef,
rolling kitchens, and all the con-
glomoration Of SUPPLIES needed by a
million men. Everything must be
in order before it goes forward to
the advance zone where the fight
ing is goinng on. and this is where
the order is brought ont OF the
seeming chaos in this tidal-wave OF
army goods sweeping in from
America
The Gievres depot has been laid
in an elongated diamond-shapc, and
compared TO a baseball diamond. 1t
is seven miles from the home plate
to second base. and two miles across
from first to third base. Within
this enormous diamond are eighty
hugh warehouses and scores of
other buildings, some of them OF
unprecedented mangitude. One of
these is a refrigerating plant rival
ling those in the Chicago meat
district. When we went into it to-
day it had over 100000 pounds OF
frozen beef-cnough to feed 1000
600 men twenty days.
This is only one detail of the vast
depot of the intermediate zone with
its miles of buildings and yards
stacked with soldiers food, soldiers
clothing, ammunition and ordnance
stores of all kinds, medical supplies,
soldiers libraries furnished by the
American Library Association, and
all the Y. NJ. c. A. supplies sent
to its countless branches, for every
thing for the army is centered here
before it goes forward to the men.
The yards are on the same vast
scale as the warehouses, with stocks
of coal half mile long and eighty
feet high--a comforting assurance
for the warmth OF the troops next
winter-and miles OF baled hay for
artillery horses. Shovels and wheel |
barrows were piled up like mountain
The well-boring ma
chinery filling one park made it
look like a Pennsylvania oil region.
Another park had camouiIage
material. Another had stacks OF
building paper for sheathing bar
racks.
Pontoons and bridges and all the
material for crossing rivers will come
along in due time, for it was pointed
out that this will be needed to Gross
he Rhine" i
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 taking it
away to the advance zone after it
has passed through the processes OF
arrangement-each train a standard
rain with a fixed space for each
article of the soldiers food ration,
each article of clothing ordnance,
and all the requirements along the
fighting front which have to be
kept up day after day with unfail-
ing regularity.
With the commandant OF the
depot The Associated Press cor
respondent made a tour over the
plant, some 20 miles by automobile
through the maze of activity and
vast material resources. At one
1oint a remount station begun three
lays ago was well along toward com,
)letion. and it will soon be one OF
he main supplies for horses.
Many of the workers in this place
IRE from the big packing houses OF
Chicago. Besides more than mill
ion pounds of frozen meat always
on hand there is olemargarine,
,utter. lard and all kind of fats. 1t
5 arranged like a ship with water
light compartments. except that !
hese are cold compartments, so