New-York tribune., 1919-05-04
23d Engineers at Work

de garc the French military estab-
lishment had set a military official
to cooperate on the movement of
French military trains. The Amer
leans also placed with the chefs de
gare railway transport officers
whose duty it was to see to it that
American trains were expedited.
General Pershing's order that
there always should be in France
ninety days supplies of all kinds
for the army and that forty-five
days supplies be kept at the base
ports, thirty days supplies in inter-
mediate storage and fifteen days
supplies in the combat zones or adj
vanced section meant that for the
contemplated army of 100000
some 100000 tons of material
would have to be kept in storage.
This meant the building of great
storage depots and great railroad
yards in connection with them.
Some of the big storage dcpots
had capacity of 100000 square
feet of covered storage and S,000,-
600 square feet of uncovered stor-
age, with trackage at each of $50 to
200 miles.
Base storage was established at
Monitor, st. sulpice, ST. Luce,
Nantes, Donges, ST. Pardon, st.
Loubes Miramas, Blayo Furt and
Aigrefeuille, while intermediate
storage depots were built at Gievres,
Montierchaume and Nevers. The
depots for advanced storage were at
Is-sur-Tilles, Liffol lie Grand and
Tavaux. Donges, Mehun, Issoudin,
Les Cors and ST. Loubes were am
munition depots.
Typical of the great size and
capacity Of these storage depots are
those at Gievres and Montier-
chaume, at each of which the plans
called for 100000 square feet Of
covered area and 10,000000 square
feet of uncovered area, with track
age of upward of 200 miles at each.
The Gievres yard was six miles long.
The principal advanced storage de-
pot at Is-surTilh was second in
size and Importance only to those
which have been described.
Supplies were forwarded from de-
pot to depot as required, or in some
cases were sent from base storage
to the advanced storage. From the
advanced storage depots supplies
were railroaded to the regulating
stations. These stations consisted
of fifteen or twenty tracks, with
very little covered storage. They
were the sorting stations, from
which each division or unit received
its train with the proper quantities
of varied supplies.
From the regulating stations the
trains were sent to 120 different
rail heads, which were the ends Of
the standard railroad haul. From
each of these rail heads the supplies
were taken over the light railways
running directly to various units, or,
if the army was advancing, from the
light railways by motor truck to the
units. This was the end Of the inn
portant system which began with
the American coast thousands Of
miles away.
To end the war the American
high command was planning to
throw 100000 French and Anleri-
cans on the 363-mile front held BY
the French and Americans. That
would be at the rate Of 1900 men
a mile, which, in military science, is
regarded as the saturating point.
These would be supplied from six
regulating stations at regular inter-
vals, each station supplying an aver
age Of twenty rail heads.
All of this tremendous equipment
is now in France. 1t represents ex-
penditures of hundreds of millions
of dollars. 1t was put there by Lib
erty bonds in part, and will be paid
for by Victory notes.
Millions of dollars have been
blown into the air. For the money
which has gone into smoke there is
no salvage. But for the railroad
equipment in France there Is a
future. The French will buy it. the
port improvements, the railroad inn
provements, the terminals, the roll
ing stock and the locomotives. while
others of the Allies have made Of
ters for equipment and rolling stock.
SO the salvage ard the gain to the
United States from this vast couip-
ment will be large. Liberty notes
will finish the payments for these
materials and their sale will In part
reimburse the nation.
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