The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-31
LANDING $4,000
SOLDIERS A DAY
Busting Scenes at 2,500-Acre Camp
of U. s. Army in Western France
These Days.

AMERICAN PORT, Western France,
July 80, ASSOCIATED Press. LONG lines
of khaki-clad men just dobarked from
American transports and now on the
way to their first camp packed the
streets from curb to curb and stretched
away for miles. II was four miles and
mp hill most of the way-through city,
suburbs. and country lanes-from the
seafront to the great reception camp
outside the town, one of the largest
camps in the world and capable of ear
ing for the population of metropol-
tan city Hour after hour, from this
morning until late this afternoon. the
steady tramp of marching thousands
had been going on, for this steady
stream is the army of $4,000 just ar
rived on thirteen American transports,
making the4 record debarkation from
ship to camp within twelve hours.
A steady downpour swept across the
ranks and the men were dripping as
they trudged through the rain-soaked
mud. They were at route step, with
out the regularity of parading troops.
and each man carried, besides his rifle
all his belongings on his back, seventy
pounds of tents, blankets, clothing,
shoes and all the miscellaneous equip
ment of soldier headed for the front.
Their last camp was in the well equipped
environments in the United States,
where they slept on cots and had
semblanee of modern comfort Now
they were on the war-swept soil of
France and had seen the last of cots
aud comforts. 1t was their first glimpse
of real war conditions.
| "There are more troops arriving. :"
said Major X, the engineer officer in
charge of the camp, as he led the way,
than the total strength of the United
States Army a short time ago And
with such an influx we have to pro-
vide very elastic camp, capable of
immediate expansion from a thousand
up to a hundred thousand men,
The Major was well qualified to ex,
plain the magnitude of the work, for
he had been constructing engineer of
the New York. subway system, had
planned and built good part of the
system and had made the population
figures on which the subway construe-
ton was based.
To get an idea of the camp he
said, compare it with Central Park.
We have $500 acres here. Central Park
has 500 acres. Why, the entire area
of New York City on Manhattan Is
land is only 1900 acres.''
On both sides of the road, for mile
after mile as we sped along in an army
car, city of tents was rising. and
there was the hum and hustle of camp
activity on a vast scale. This morn
ing all the ground had been stubble-
/ field from the newly cut wheat and
barley. But now every available foot
was being laid off by the amy en-
gineers, working with tripods and in
struments like party of surveyors.
Tented streets and avenues, headauar-
ter tents. mess kitchen and hospital
tents, and vast parks for supplies and
artillery and horses, were rising in the
fields and spreading for forty square
miles over this huge inelosure
In one of the fields where we stopped
two battaGons of 500 men each marched
in and were preparing to pitch their
tents. The great stretch of plowed
ground, just cleared of grain. was rain
soaked, and the storm had set in for
the night. The men stood ready, each
with a half of shelter tent. to drive
the stakes and lash it against the ele-
ments, and then crawl in. 1t seemed
an endless wait for all the formalities of
| laying out the camp with an engineer
| ing exactness, yet all of this was es-
sential to the smooth running of such
a large concern.
At last the stakes were driven and
soon the great field was dotted with
thousands of little khaki mounds
about as high as a man s waist, called
pup tents. Under the tent there
i just room for two lying down, and
| il the ground is soaked as it is tonight.
the rubber poncho keeps out some of
the water and kindly nature and the
iron of youth must do the rest.
Field kitchens and water carts were
wheeling up to all the camps as the
tents went up. Filtered water is
brought in hogsheads and each com
mand has its apportioned lot of hogs
heads. Later on there will be a splen-
did system of water mains for the
whole camp. Each man carries his
emergency ration for three DAYS. Some
of them were nibbling it before climb
ing into their pup tents, but most of
them waited for the smoking field
kitchen TO get into action with its
cooks, serving out hot coffee and hot
soup and meat. The item of feeding
an army with precision is in itself a
gigantic task.
"'We served 100000 meals last
month" said Major X. cor 100000
army rations of three meals to the ra
ton.
And besides all the feeding and wa
tering and sanitation there is the i'm
mense paper work +" of such an or
ganization. There are 1913 separate or
CARNATIONS in the $4,000 men lust ar