The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1923-10-08
sOn1ahaIdeal
Place for
Army Depot
Hint at Politics in Move of
Corps Area Supply Station
to St. Louis From
Here.
Farm Center, City Asset

The intermediate depot of the
United States army, formerly located
in Omaha, has been closed more than
a year.
Exact reasons for stopping sales
through this depot have never been
made public. but it is rumored politics
was involved in the action.
The quartermaster depot had
charge of what was the central de-
partment before the origin of the
corps area system. Another of these
depots is at St. Paul, MINI.
The general intermediate depot for
the Seventh corps area is now To-
Gated at st. Louis, Mo-, on the east
ern boundary Of the area, which con-
tains Forts Omaha. Crook and Robin
son in Nebraska; Forts Leavenworth
and Riley in Kansas; Fort Des
Moines in Iowa; Fort Mead, s. D.,
and Fort Smelling, MINI.
Supplies State Militia.
The Seventh corps area has juris-
diction of the Army and Navy Gen.
eral hospital at Hot Springs, Ark.
and furnishes supplies. such as for
age, etc, for the National guard in
North Dakota. South Dakota, Mime
sofa, Nebraska. Iowa, Kansas, Mis-
J souri, and Arkansas.
At present all agricultural and
produce supplies bought throughout
the central west are shipped east to
st. Louis and as acquisitions come in
are shipped back over practically the
50 me pfif fn q MT
distribution.
The general intermediate office at
Chicago in the Sixth corps area at
present supplies a large part of the
demand made by the north section Of
the Seventh corps area. Purchasing
for the forts IN largely done in Chi
cago or ST. Louis.
Omaha lies in the center of an agri-
cultural district which has no super
ior in the United States. The city
could and has supplied the demand
around 1t in the line of commissary
equipment.
Warehouses Are Here.
The largest primary grain market
and second largest packing house
center in the United States are To-
Gated here. Omaha has large mill
tary warehouses on railroad tracks
and is a logical railroad center for
the distribution and gathering of sup
plies needed by all posts and stations
within the Seventh corps area.
Freight rates are less II practically
all forts in the area than from any
other commercial city of consequence.
= From Omaha to Fort Des Moines
the distance is about 14s miles. OF
this, 143 miles are government land
grant and therefore the freight rate
Is even lower than the government
leyee on other. stretches.
The city Is the center of the flour
milling district with practically un-
limited capacity. This would be real
lied in the event of necessary mobili-
zation in case of war.
Better Distribution Point.
1t would be easier to draw sup
plies to Omaha from the agricultural
district and distribute from here
than to necessitate transportation Of
supplies to st. Louis or Chicago, to
be distributed from those points.
Omaha has never been handicapped
by strikes or other disturbances in
the movement of freight, either in
coming or outgoing.
The reopening of the depot would
increase the activities of the area
and speed up acquisitions. which now
take from three to six weeks to be
received here for distribution through
the office of the Seventh corps quar-
termaster.
At present one of the former build
ings of the depot is being used to
house offices of other departments.