Bisbee daily review., 1919-06-29


 The story with which l will attempt to entertain the readers of The Re view this week is the story of the three large authorization camps and ports of Brest, St Nazaire, and Bor. deaux.
 Very little is known about these camps in this country and as there was little of the front line romance in connection with them, there has been little publicity given them by the newspapers, and yet they consti- ute the most important link in the A. E. F. chain, next to the operation of the front line troops.
 It probably has never occurred to the average person just what machin- cry was put in action when you bang ed your knuckles on the door of the largest hotel in the A. E. F. with visions rushing through your mind of mud paved rues, ever damp rooms, continued downpours and harsh treat ment by bellhops, clerks and otber necessary evils of Americas greatest authorization camp.
 But the dope" on your train, if you are lucky enough to be one of those coming home, is wired ahead telling who and how big you are On your arrival at Kermour track in Brest, an officer calls up the billet ing office at the entrance to your camp telling him when you will ar rive so that when you step out of the train at the entrance to this big hostelry known as Camp Pontanezen your rooms will be ready. While you are gloading and emptyin your mess kit at the docks and are tramping your way over the famous Brest road, your transient home is being staked out for you. When you reach your area you are issued enough blankets to bring your total to five, one candle for every six men and enough fuel to keep the shivers from following you to bed. You are told that you will not sail tomorrow and that it rains every day. The Bill letting Officer checks you "in", moves you about camp, assigns you to kitch- ems and checks you out when the great day comes. Its guides escort you to your billets and take you to the docks on your departure.
 Was Different Story Early in War
 In the good old days when we ar rived at Brest from the States this camp consisted of many tents with out floors, no stoves, duckboards, mattresses or hunks, with many leaky barrack buildings. considerable, mud and "beaucoup" high morale. In these days the need for materials was great but requisitioning was slow and unreliable and there developed among the men on the job as a means of re- lieving the situation, a sort of second story instinct which brought home the materials and put them to work bettering living conditions in this big hotel After Nov. 11th supplies be- gan to loosen up and the camp at Pontanezen soon became a respecta- ble place to live in, that is in com parison to the places that the return ing soldier had been used to during his stay in other parts of France.
 During last month 150,000 men en- joyed the advantages of this big ho- tel and it's a real mans job to billet, feed and prepare for authorization to the States this number of men in 30 days time.
 By reason of the fact that our Pres ident saw fit to land at the port of Brest it is probably the best known of any port in France so that some of the American activities there may be of interest.
 Why Brest Was Chosen
 The question was often asked by visiting senators and prominent citi- Zens who came to Brest as to why Brest was selected as a port for the landing of American troops in France when the conditions there were so unfriendly Before Nov. 11th there were two compelling reasons, the first it was the safest port from the standpoint of submarine warfare; {; second, it was the only port of France that would admit large conveys of American soldiers, sometimes as many as 65,000 men in one day, and it was one of the few ports of the that would admit the Leviathan. Therefore, all the natural advantag- es of the terrain around Brest had to be brought into submission by ar