Evening star., 1919-01-12

also. of which Marlborough Is justly
proud. Most of the men in the labor
battalions which have worked" the
port were before the war unskilled
laborers. They will leave the army
when rehabilitation takes place as
skilled men, thanks to the training
their Jobs at Marlborough have given
them. Many OF them are expected to
stay at Richborough to become part
or the ports civilian population in
peace time.
AT present Marlborough ia ex-
clusively military port. Even the
train ferry and barge crews are
khaki clad. Every scrap Of work in
building and operating the port has
been done by military labor. At a
time when there was the utmost diff
Guilty in obtaining skilled labor, un-
skilled and semi-skilled men were
recruited for Marlborough and train-
cd in schools OF instruction by expe-
rienccd officers and n. c. O's. Men
who were mobiiiZed as unskilled VIII
be demooilized at marlborough as
skilled motor launch drivers, divers,
crane drivers, riyeters and survey.
ors' assistants, to cite only a few of
the training classes which have been
operated. Evening classes and uni
Versity lecture courses are also avail
able at Marlborough for soldiers.
One officer is detailed to look after
the social welfare of the men. Box-
ing has been great feature. Inter~
camp foot ball matches are frequent,
and well known teams from other
parts Of the south of England have
played with the Marlborough team.
Good movie halls. a lecture hall and
a Y. NJ G. A. are well patronized.
Care is taken with the feeding of
the men. One of the best known ca
terers in England has been charged
with 1t. He was enlisted and given
commission for the sole purpose OF
feeding Marlborough. AS a result
scarborough claims to be the best
fed section of the British army.
The fact must not be lost sight Of.
however. that the entire purpose of
Marlborough was to hustle army ma
terials across the channel. It's cross
channel barge service and lately its
cross channel train-ferry service
these constitute the reasons for Rich
borough's existence.
This morning I saw the ferry come
In from Calais. She came toward the
wharf at slow speed, and in the
narrow space available turned easily
with her twin screws and approached
the stage stern first. Her deck lay
far out Of sight down in her hull.
easily maneuvred to the wharf and
a lifting bridge was lowered to her
stern by electrical machinery. Rail-
way lines on the landing stage made
an exact COuHeCllOu lHOSe Oh ueE
deck, so there was formed a continu-
Gus track.
X x
There was no delay for adjustments
the bridge is fitted at the outer end
with an iron loop, and when 1t is
lowered this incloses a stout pin at
the stern of the boat, which is thus
fixed in exactly the right position.
The advantage Of an adjustable
bridge of this kind means, of course,
that the ferry can be loaded at any
stage of the tide. On siding close
by were two trains laden with troop
supplies and consisting of wagons
which had come from all parts of the
country. The engines backed the
trains across the bridge onto the
deck rails. On deck the wagons were
secured by means of chains attached
to ring bolts. The moment the
were uncoupled, the bridge was raised
and the ferry was ready to go out
for France again--a quarter of an
hour after she had come in.
There was no hurry necessary this
morning. but 1t is fact that when
hurry was necessary during the Ger
man offensive of last spring. ferries
were unloaded, loaded. took in oil fuel
and began another crossing, all In
tWenty-one minutes.
A committee, composed of three of
the most famous civil engineering ex-
perts In England. has thoroughly ex-
amined the port and it's possibilities.
AS war undertaking, they found
that it's work had been of great ma
tional value and had been performed
without extravaganza or waste Of
public money. Although they have
pointed out that the port can never be
a deep-water port, it Is expected to
have large peace-time value in the
development Of the Kent coal fields.
The greatest names in the British
railway and harbor world have been
associated with Richborough. 1t was
begun under the supervision of Mai
Gen. A. S. Collard. c. b.. c. " O., and
Brig. Gen. A. s. Cooper. c. M. G., gen.
eral manager of the Nigeria railway.
The present commahdant is Brig. Gen.
A. j. Allen Williams, C. M. c., chief
agent and engineer for the Hongkong
harbor works contractors. With Rich
borough should also be mentioned the
names Of great railway men like Sir
Guy Granet. Sir Sam Fay. j. Percy
Clarke. late general manager of the
Buenos Aires Great Southern railway,
and Oliver r. H. Bury, late general
manager of the Great Northern rail-
way.
Copyright, 1918. by Edward Marshall.)