New-York tribune., 1920-08-15
Arnav's Division
Ut Construction
To BE Disbanded
Plans for It's Merger With
Qual'termasscr Generals
Department Are In Hands
of Chief CT That Bureau

The construction division Of the War
Department ono Of tho emergency cre-
ations of the war. is shout to pass out
OF existence rs separate Institution.
Plane for it's merger with the quarter
masver ger .el's Department.. rom
which 1t wss made a. the 5eginning
Of the wa, arc now III the hands Of the
NGartermsstcr general.
Fighting divisions. now mustered out
o1 the service, viii retain their identity
eng after their personnel is forgotten.
thell victorious battles in France viii
he their monuments. The construction
division of the Nar Department also
Kill be reme mbered, end its memorials
are built in concrete steel, stone and
any unit in Americas lighting machine
than that Of the construction division.
Jnere always had been construc-
uon bureau n the cuartormaster gen
.rAts department. But when the United
Stats entered the war in 1917 the
small force was found entirely made
4cats 70 meet the heavy tasks which
Wera TO c'me with the raising. drilling
ana eGulN9ing of large army.
der General |. ". Litteli, the con-
structicn division set about building
within 4 few months thirty-two cam
'onments, sixteen for the National
Army and sixteen for The National
Guard. each with z capacity of 10000
men and 10000 animals. The expe-
ditioH with wh'ch this enormous task
"a accomplished is a well known
So y. Since their erection and
s. 50 SO some have been sold,
SOM rave tuNN .razed. while the army
has Dolghs . National Army cam
ronmcnes fe- future use, probably in
correction >.-h the new army
SIX OF 5he largest terminals and
warehouses ~ ne United States were
prlt- " the construction division. The
Varehonse IN Brooklyn, known as the
Brooklyn army supply base, Is the
LARGEST individual warehouse in the
World. Others, still in use, stand at
Boston, Philadelphia. Norfolk, Charles
ION, New Orleans and Newark The
latter, known as the Newark port ter
ml.ol. was built in the quickest time
and under the most adverse conditions
on record for any similar piece Of CON
s-ructIon N tho country
In addition 70 the warehouses an6
terminals, interior s,orehouses for the
army, in varying sizes, have been built
IN nearly every city Of the United
States. In all, 500 acres Of storage
facilities were constructed, ana, to IL
lustrate the size Of the work, if all the
storage houses were in one building,
one block square. the building would
stand more than q mile high.
One Thousand miles of railway was
built in the United states alone. a.
the work of the construction division
of the American Exneditionary Force
"a branch Of the ore here--is not
taken INTO consideration. " ater supply
FOR 100000 soldiers, civilians and la
borers at the camps was lad and sue
cessfully operated. 1t is interesting
to note that the records of the surgeon
generals Office show that not a single
man became i'll from the effects of bad
water distributed by these army sys-
tens
During the war 100 officers in the
United States supervised the work Of
the construction DIVISION and employed
under them were 10000 laborers and
thousands of soldiers and civilian en-
plcyees.
Wren the expeditionary forces began
TO land in France and CONSTITUENCIES
work became necessary abroad, officers
and men VINO had dor, much work here
under General Lift ] re sent over.
Their leaving cut tie ho-re forces Ito
the bone" and q brand Nev job of re-
cruiting the division 20 strength ana
training new men was put in the hands
% Rrigadier General R. C. Marshall
r.. He remained at the had of Tho
division during the remainder Of the
war. and will hand over w1at is left of
MS unit when the merger with the
Quar- 5ernaster Generals Department Is
ON, ~ . q W sh1rr-cn Event inr Star