Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-25
'LUMBERMEN
TRICK HUNS
Worlds Biggest Regiment
Turned Out 5000 s.
Words a Day

regiment in the world, made up of
lumbermen and foresters. fooled
the Germans and saved ammunition
dumps and big saw mills from the
Hun bombers, is told by Percival
Sheldon ,Ridsdale, secretary of the
American Forestry Association, of
Washington, D. c., and a former
Wilkes-Barre newspaper man, who
recently returned from three
month tour of France, Belgium and
England investigating the forest
losses of those countries. The as
sociation has planned to aid in the
reforestation of those countries, also
of Italy.
The biggest mills operated by the
Twentieth Regiment" says Mr.
Ridsdale, was at Eclaron. in the
dumps and as the plant was run all
day and all night, being electrically
lighted, it made a very good target
The mills were bombed several
times., but none of the workers was
injured nor was much damage done,
and finally a real American trick
resulted in so misleading the Ger
man bombers that the danger was
entirely overcome. This trick was
ICNlSIN ny -hdJOl SpSAlNSlb wiz iCeil-
izing that the electrically lighted
mill was bright target for the Ger
man bombers, ran electric wires
into the heavy woods for a distance
of one-third of a mile from the mill
and installed a number of electric
lights on. the trees Whenever an
alarm of an air raid came, the lights
of the mill were eXtinguished and
the lights among the trees one third
of a mile from the mill were lighted
by switching on the current and
were kept blazing while sae Ger
mans wasted bombs on them and
inflicted damage only on some of the
trees.
Other mills up along the fight
ing front were also bombed fire.
quently but without serious dam
age"
Continuing his statement about
some of the wonders accomplished
by his regiment of lumbermen and
foresters during the war, Mr.. Ribs
dale writes in the American Forestry
Magazine:
The regiment was composed of
40 companies of approximately $50
men each, divided into 4 battalions
and having connected with it SO
engineer service companies or labor
troops. 1t was organized originally
TO contain As companies, but the
49th was added in France, being
composed of members of the New
. England Saw Mill Unit who had
spent almost two years in cutting
in the Scotch forests. Three Of
ticers and 80 men volunteered as a
nucleus of this company the full
complement was secured by getting
men from other organizations.
''FTha aloiaf of
regiment was in the Nosges section
with Epinsl as headquarters. At
Eclaron in the forests of Argonne
was the largest single installation, a
mill capable of shipping, as it did,
an average of five thousand ties a
day. This mill furnished duck
boards, bridge timbers, piles and
poles, etc, for the first and second
armies.
The amount of wood required
by an army for fuel, in winter es-
pecially, is not appreciated by the
civilian. For instance, at the time
the armistice was signed, Lieut.. Col
\. S. Peck, assisted by Maj. Joseph
Kittridge, Jr., some twenty lieuten-
ants and twenty sergeants of the
goth. had charge of 900 quarter
master troops, all colored, cutting
fire wood for the First and Second
American Armies, at the fighting
front, with headquarters at Chau-
. mont. These men managed to Sc
cure and maintain a daily produc-
ton of about 5000 cords of wood
a day, which supplied fuel for ap=
proximately 100000 troops.
AT the time the armistice was
signed the regiment had eighty-one
lumber mills in operation and
twelve more being installed
The 7th Battalion, which was
placed at the disposal of the French
Government, manufactured entirely
free of cost to the French Govern
ment the following quantities of
4.468,00 board feet of lumber;
l99,S08 standard gage ties; 191, ,6O4
narrow gage ties; 127,475 poles and
props; 54,647 stores of fuelwood.
This is enough to build 665 bar
racks; 1875 miles of railroad. 1896
miles of telephone line on the basis
that half the road material was
po'es; and warm a detachment of
500 French infantry $50 years
ON account of war speculation,
the price of timber in France had
more than doubled since the begin
ming of the war In the Jura. tim
Der which before the war brought
SIG per thousand feet on the stump
sold for from s32 to S45 per thou
sand board feet,
1t was owing to the assistance of
Lieut.. Col. Joubaire, chairman of
The French committee having
"harge of the purchase or leasing
Of private forests, that the A. f. F..
was able to purchase private forests
at even less than the current market
rate. Col. Joubaire unquestionably
saved the United State more than
S1,000.000 because of his skill in
treating with private owners"
BIRD BUILDS SEVERAL NESTS
Some birds get very nervous ard
become much excited if you APP
proach their nests and among them
is the black throated green warbler,
says the American Forestry Associa-
ton, of Washington, which is con-
ducting the national bird-house
building contest for school children.
Another thing about this bird is that
it frequently builds several nests.
Whether this is because it changed
its mind after building the first one
and decided to select a better loca-
ton or with the deliberate purpose
of deceiving any intruders who
might come alorg is not known. The
bird is very beautifully colored, the
top of its head and the region nearly
down to the shoulders being a yell
low green, the back olive green, the
throat and breast jet black ard the
under parts white with some yellow
in them at times.