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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 31, 1917)
THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA. IXTEEN MILITARY CITIES TO BE BUILT IN RECORD-BREAKING TIE Homos to Accommodate 600,000 Soldiers of the National Army Must Be Ready by September 1 Each Cantonment Is to Have 1,000 Houses, With a Population of 40,000 Men Food Needed for Army. Washington. Sixteen great nilllinry cities, which when completed will house about 40,000 men each unci tlicro nre not more than 100 cities In the entire United States of greater populntlon are now In process of construction. These cities are the can tonments In which the first American selective draft army, of between f00, 000 nnd COO.OOO men, will rerelvo their preliminary training In this country, prior to their transfer overseas to the allied battle fronts In France. The contractors to whom the contrncta have been let for the building "over night," so to speak, of these 10 nnny cities, are already hard at work, and they must finish their Jobs by Septem ber 1. That the war department will suc ceed In making good nnd that each of iheso new cities will bo ready on schedule time for the more thnn 110,000 drnft men who will be ordered to them for training, Is the belief of every offi cer In the army. Army olllcers and reg ular army enlisted men, wjjh several thousand civilian employees added, will bring the populntlon of each can tonment to about 40,000 men, necessl luting a building problem Involving the construction of nbout 1,000 houses, ill of them of considerable size, In the space of a few weeks. The average ground area covered by each canton ment will be between 1.B00 nnd 2,000 acres, nnd the maintenance of the lt5 cities Is expected to entail an expendi ture which In one year will probably total moro than $120,000,000. To feed the soldiers nlonc, who will bo trained In these cantonments, will require in one year more than 2,000, 000 bushels of wheat, more than 84, 000,000 pounds of fresh beef, and 42, 000,000 pounds of fresh pork. The milk needed will total In a year more than 10,500,000 gallons, and there will bo needed probably 2,500,000 bushels of Irish potatoes, over ai!5,Q(K) bushels of onions, nnd over 275,000,000 pounds of other vegetables, such as cabbage, spinach, turnips, etc. In addition to nil this food for man nre the oats, hay and other feed which will Do needed by tho more than 100,000 horses nnd mules which will be em ployed nt tho cantonments. Location of tho Cities. Tho 10 army cities will bo located near Ayer, Mass.; Yaphnnlc, h'. I.; Wrlghtstown, N. J.; Annapolis Junc tion, Md.; Petersburg, Vn.; Columbia, S. 0.; Atlantn, Gil; Chllllcothc, O.; Louisville, Ky.; Battle Creek, Mich.; Des Moines, la.; Fort Riley, Kan."; Fort Sam Houston, Tox. ; Hockford, 111.; Little Itock, Ark., and American Lake, Wash. What the emergency means which, faced tho war department following the passage of tho sclectlvu draft law and the announcement by I'rcsldcnt Wilson that he -would call to the col ors the Wrst 500,000 men of conscrip tion age on September 1, can be under stood, as was pointed out by an olllccr of the quartermaster corps, by keep ing In mind what happens in the ordi nary run of affalrH during tho con struction of the average living house. Tho architect takes his time over the plans, there Is plenty of time to look nbout for a contractor, nnd much time Is wnsted waiting for materials. "Compare," says u war department memorandum, "this everyday experi ence with the government's task of providing In nbout twelve weeks bar racks for about 000,000 men, with wa ter supplies, plumbing and heating Equipments, hospitals, storehouses, sta bles, and shops In locations where there was nothing at the time the slto was selected but meadow and grovo. What private citizen would expect to move Into n house on September 1 on which not a stroke of work had been dono on June It" Ench cantonment will bo n city of orderly and properly laid out streets and blocks, with complete sewerage and electric lighting systems, railroad yards, wnter lines nnd tiro depart meats, garbage. Incinerators, nnd hun dreds of other conveniences necessary In tho llfo of nny well-organized mod urn settlement. In tho construction of the Pannmn canal tho government's expenditure amounted to nbout $40,000,000 n yeur, and for tho cantonments probably as much will be expended In four months, Just about one mouth ago tho olllclals on whoso shoulders was placed tho burden of making the cantonments ready on time, started to solve the problem. Involved in tho task was first of nil tho selection of tho 10 sites, tho scientific planning and laying out of tho 10 cities, the purchase and the assembling of the materials, the draw lug up of the contracts and tho signing up of tho contractors. Also there was tho mobilization of the thousands of carpenters, mechanics ami other labor ers, skilled and unskilled, nnd bun dreds of other matters, some big, oth crs small, nnd nil of which hud to bo nettled in the shortest possible time. Job Measured In Carloads. To construct ench cantonment woro required about 4,000 carloads of inn tcrlals. As soon na tho site was deter mined upon, n sanitary engineer, a city planner, nnd an army officer reprwient Inn,' tho wnr department proceeded to tlio place- selected and started tho work going. They were followed by tho contracting engineer, who holds a major's commission, and under whose supervision the city Is now being built. An Idea of the size of this Job may be gained at a glance at the material estimate for a typical cantonment. Lumber Is the big Item, some 20,000, 000 feet or 1,825 carloads being the re quirement, itooflug nails alone will fill one modern freight ear. Crushed stone for the roads will make 812 carloads. Mere are somo of the other Items: 28,000 squares of rooting, 00 cars; 20 carloads of nails and hardware; 20 carloads plumbing; 102 carloads of tanks, beaters, stoves, ranges, piping, electrical materials, refrigerators, and the like; railroad materials for five miles of track, divided Into 30 car loads of tics and other timber, 20 air loads of spikes, rails, fishplates, etc., and 114 carloads of ballast; 10 car loads of electric light poles, wires, In sulators, etc. Materials for 12,000 cubic yards of concrete will make 70 car loads of cement, .'(50 carloads of stone and 175 carloads of sand. The men of the cantonments will sleep In double-deck bunks. This means there will be 37,000 separate bunks, each with Its mattress. To transport the mattresses, 125 cars will be required, afid the bunks will take 02 more. Water and' sewer lines will make 05 carloads each, and 100 car loads of hospital equipment will be necessary. Three carloads of screens are also Included In the estimate, as are 20 carloads of construction tools. Where water cannot be obtained from already utilized sources wells must be driven or reservoirs construct ed. The problem of sewage dlsposnl will be met by connecting cantonment sewage mains to already existing sew age systems where possible, or by building reduction stations where nec- ssary. Provide Rifle Ranges. Areas of the cantonments will vary ylth the topography, (lie minimum be ing from 1,500 to 2.000 acres. In addi tion to the city Itself, parade grounds, maneuvering spaces and rifle ranges must he provided. Knelt cantonment will contain close to 1,000 buildings, the typical company barracks being a two-story structure, built of wooden frame, covered with matched boards. Itoofs will be well cov ered with prepared roofing. They will bo well ventilated with Hues, lighted by electricity, heated In tho North by steam nnd In tho South by stoves. Each will have a kitchen and mess hall. Col. I. W. Llttell of tho quartermas ter's department of the army, who is In charge of the work of building the cantonments, made public the fee sys tem of the cantonment contracts. The fees vary from 10 per cent on small .ontracts of $100,000 or less to 0 per cent on contracts of more than $3,500,- 000, with n final upset limit of $250, 000. Tho fees In all cases cover both prollt and overhead expense. They were fixed upon by the department acting with the assistance of the emer gency construction committee of the general munitions board and other civilian advisers. "In deciding on the cantonment con tracts we have had to consider tlireo main points of practically equal im portance," Colonel Llttell said. "The first has been tho absolute necessity of speed, the second, proper construc tion, Including sanitation and commu nication and transportation facilities; tho third, economy., Taking nil three Into consideration and also the fact that time will not permit the comple tion of drawings and specifications which would bo necessnry In order to ask for competitive bids before the work must bo started, tho quartermas ter's corps, acting In conjunction with the emergency construction committee. decided to make contracts on the per centago or 'cost plus' bnsls, at the same time using all possible safeguards In the shape of guarantees from the contractors as to their capacity and In tegrity. "The profit system has been decided on only after weeks of study to find a basis for the fees which would nssuro the country of the highest grade of work from the contractors and a tho same time prevent extravnganco through the payment of excessive prof- Its. It Is a pleasuro to pass tribute to tho loyalty and patriotism of tho great majority of contractors who have come here to discuss the question jvlth us. With n few exctptlons, they have ac quiesced willingly in our contention that tho profits must be kept down to tho lowest lovel consistent with high grade work. Somo firms hive offered to do tho work on u cost basis, but we have considered this an unwise policy both economically and national-. The utmost speed and, efficiency must be developed in these and future build ing Jobs for tho govirnmeut, and tho acceptance of offers of free service might easily disrupt thu high-grade contracting firms best qualified to do the work cffoctlvely, "On all amounts between $535,714.. 20 and $3,000,000, which, will probably cover the majority of tho important contracts, the fee, including tho coil tractor's overhead profit, will bo 7 per cent." There Is probably no more Interest ing fenture of tho great cantonment problem than the subsistence of Mm soldiers. 11. M Cottrell, agriculturist: of the farm development bureau of Memphis, was asked by the Little Itock Bonrd of Commerce to cstlmnte the amount of food supplies which will bo mieded at one cniitonineiif! Mr. Cot troll Is one of the recognized ngrlcui tural experts of the South, and his con clusions nre made with authority. Mr. Cottrell took as his unit, In compiling his figures, the army division of 28, 500 officers nnd men. "Army rations," snys Mr. Cottrell, "vary somewhat with tho opportunity to secure the different foods. In a per manent cantonment like that to be es tablished at Little Itock (which Is sim ilar to all the others In the country) the allowance per man will approxi mate four and a half bushels of wheat and one nnd a half bushels of corn per yenr. The dally rations per man will average one-half pound of beef, one fourth pound of pork, one-fourth pound of mutton or gout meat, one-half pint of fresh milk If It can be obtained at a reasonable price, one and one-fourth ounces of butter, and two and one-half pounds of vegetables, Including twelvo ounces of Irish potatoes and one ounco of onions. "One division of men will need at at least 7,000 mules and horses. Each horse and mule will be allowed dally fourteen pounds of grain and ten pounds of liny. Three-fourths of the grain ration will be oats and one fourth corn If the price and supply make this practicable." To feed a division of American se lective draft troops Mr. Cottrell esti mates the following as the amount of food needed: J28,i0 bushels of wheat. 42,750 bushels of corn. HG,i)& bushels of Irish potatoes. . 20,?2O bushels of onions. 17,654,'jT.O pounds of fresh veRetnbles, othor than Irish potatoos and onions, E,201,2W) uounris of frosh beef. 2,C0O,C2S pounds of pork. 2,A00,G25 pounds of mutton or 'goat meat. CfiO.OOO Ridlons of frrsh mlllc. Z2,2ao pounds of butter. ri7,KW) dozens of eKgs. 91,250 pounds of chicken. For the animals required by one di vision there will be needed annually 838,400 bushels of oats, 150,000 bushels of corn and 12,775 tons of tiny. "With average yields," Mr. Cottrell continues, "It will take the crop from 11,000 ncres of wheat, 10,000 acres of corn, 37,000 ncres of oats, 10,000 acres of hay, 2,000 ncres of Irish potatoes, 140 acres of onions, and probably 1,000 acres of green truck, such as spinach, turnips, mustard, cabbage, and like crops. It will also require 10,000 fat cattle weighing over 1,000 pounds each, 17,000 fat hogs, and 50,000 fnt young sheep und goats. It will tnko 8,000 cows to supply the butter and 1,700 cows to produce the fresh milk; 7,000 hens will be needed to lay tho eggs, 25,000 chickens to supply the meat needed for hospital extras. A Problem for the Farmer. "It will take from 1,000 to 1,500 men and ivs many mules to raise the field and garden crops consumed directly by the soldiers. It will take 030,000 bush els of grain to feed and fatten tho cat tle, hogs and sheep, besides pasture and cottonseed meal. It will take 1,- 130,000 pounds of grain to feed the hens and raise and fatten the chick ens. To raise the grain for tho live stock and the poultry und to care for the animals and to market will require the labor of 1,200 to 1,500 men. It will take 1,500 tons of silage to fatten the cattle, sheep and goats nnd 27,000 tons' to food the cows that furnish the milk and butter a total of 42,000 tons." In order to snfeguurd the morals of tho young men who will form the greater part of the populntlon of these camp cities tho secretary of war has appointed n commission on training camp activities, the chairman of which is Raymond It. Fosdick. Associated with Mr. Fosdick are Thomas J. IIow ells, Lee F. Ilnumer, Joseph Lee, Mul colmn L. McBrlde, John It. Mott, now In Russia with the Hoot mission; Charles P. Nelll, Joseph 13. Raycroft and MnJ. Palmer E. Pierce of the regu lar nrmy. The duties of this commit tee, which will have representatives nt all the cantonments In the country, will be the proper organization of tho social nnd recreational facilities of each community In or near which Is located one of tho government canton mcnts. SHE'S "BEST GIRL SCOUT" Miss Elennure Putzkt of Washington, seventeen years old, wiuner of 25 merit badges for superiority In various activ ities of tho Girl Scouts, was present ed with a gold eaglet by Mrs. Wood row Wilson recently. This was tho first time a Girl Scout lias over been awarded tho highest honor in the or ganization. Miss UMitzkl is a member of the graduating cinss of the Wash ington high school, Is u good cook, nn expert swimmer and a leader In the various activities of her organization. WMT 1 r?'M. i After an auxiliary of the Red Cross has secured a permanent place of meet ing and has equipped It us a workroom, the next thing to do Is to determine Just what kind of work the auxiliary will undertake to do. If It Is decided to make surglcul dressings and hospi tal supplies, It must be remembered that these Include ninny different things which must be made according to very definite specifications and up to certain set standards. Most hospi tal and surgical supplies are the prod uct of needlework ami the sewing ma chine. They Include pajamas, bath robes, sheets, pillow cases, different sorts of bandages, compresses, gauze rolls, wipes or sponges, nnd gauze drains. The auxiliary should organize n class In the preparation of surglcnl dressings and employ a qualified in structor to teach the correct methods for making all surgical dressing. Members of the class, having taken the course, will be In position to Instruct others and supervise the work of vol unteers. A portion of the money received for membership fees may be used for pay ing for the services of nn Instructor. In many communities women In .suffi ciently good circumstances have taken the course at their own expense, nnd nfterwnrd donated their services, In structing clnsses In the work of mak ing surglcnl dressings. Upon comple tion of tho course n certificate Is issued to those who pass the examination qualifying them to become Instructors, nnd a card certifying to this is Issued by tho bureau of nursing service. The SIMPLE DRESSES bureau furnishes also a circular of In formation concerning, the conduct of classes and their examination. Fur ther nnd full information concerning the course in the preparation of sur gical dressings nnd the formation of classes will be furnished upon applica tion by addressing Durenu of Nursing Service, American Red Cross, Washington, D. O. A good many weeks before thoy will be needed, simple dresses for school wear next fall, make their appearance. Those for tho younger girls, JuBt pre- Reduclno Waistline. While these nre the days of the Venus de Mllo waists, still there are somo women with wnlsts that need re ducing. A good exercise for tho pur pose Is as follows : Placing tho bunds on'the hips, bend the trunk forward and strctcli the arms down until tho fingertips touch tho floor. Exhale as you bend down, and inhale as you straighten up. Repeat this exerclso four or five times dully. Wide Belts of Ribbon. Wide ribbons can hardly bo too wide, Indeed wldo enough to form tho belt, which reaches from the waist to bust und goes under the arms. Vivid greens and pinks and reds often assert them selves somewhero In a young girl's toilette. Such ribbons also border skirts. A Pinked Sport Hat. Worn with u suit of beige Jersey was a smart little sports cloche madu entirely of row after row of pinked white broadcloth with navy silk show ing through the pinked edge. A tiny hluu silk bow finished thu crown front. CM WE DO? IB sonted, uro very plain and present nbout the minimum In the word of making. Rut they arc smartly cut, and have a few riew nnd noteworthy points In their make-up. One of these early models for fall Is pictured here, and It Is suited to any of the familiar wool materials, or to heavy cottons. It Is cut In one piece, with two single box plaits at the back and nt tho. front. A short sash of the material of tho dress is fastened at each side under one of the front qlnlts, brought to the buck, and looped over. The sleeves nro long, and Inrge nt tho top, and the skirt is cut with nn outward Hare. It Is somewhat long er than knee length, und without trim ming of nny kind. The dress buttons nt the front and lias a short "V" shaped opening tit the throat. It is shown with n white pique collar, as plain ns the dress, but collars of thin ner materials, like organdie or dimity, finished with very narrow crocheted edging, might be substituted for pique. In the Interest of prepnredness n va riety of cnslly hnndlcd collars for the schoolgirl nre to be furnished with a few substantial dresses; for frcsli nnd pretty collars contribute daintiness and something of variety to the school girl's dress. Tow that everyone is asked to- help to conserve wool, It is not out of place to suggest that wool dresses that huvo been dlscnrded by grown-up mem bers of the family should be hnuded down to the younger girls and remod eled Into schooldresses nnd frocks for everyday wear. Even though there Is FOR SCHOOL WEAR. no need to economize, so far as tin family Is concerned, it is patriotic t mnke use of discarded woolen dressei In some way. If they are not necdei at home, no one will hnvo to go far tc find a place where they can be used to the best advantage. Some women hoard clothes and other belongings which they cannot use, rather thnn to give them away. This Is always stupid, but Just now It Is considerably worso than stupid. A Touch of Color. Wash blouses showing trimming con trast often give the homo dressmaker ideas for color combinations that lift a blouse out of tho ordinary. An ex pensive blouse seen recently wns u sky-blue hondJfiirphlnf It nnn All tUn seams wero hemstitched. Its decoration was a mil about 4 inches wide of whl to down the front, a snllor collar and turned-back llnrlng cuffs of whlto organdie. The collar had two rows of narrow lace, ono on the edge, one n hulf-Inch Inside. The front frill was run Into horizontal short tucks from tho point of tho collnr to th belt, and tho edges left freo forme tie ruf fles edged with n borderli. .f Valen ciennes lace tho samo width as the col lar. Tho cults had two rows of creamy vnl spaced like the collar. A Student of Publicity. "There Is u Unto and a place for ev erything." "Yes," answered Senator Sorghum sadly; "and It's rather unfortunnto that ono of tho most rellnblo ways to attain publicity Is to say something at tho wrong time in the wrong pluco." ' -- i i i w Druggist's Experience Willi Kidney Medicine I have handled nnd Bold Dr. Kilmer' Bwanip-Root for some time and have heard customers claim that it had pro- duced very satisfactory results in differ ent ailments of the kidneys, liver nnd! bladder. I have nothing but favorable reports nt hand and my personal opin ion Is that there is not anything on thej market that will equal Swamp-Root for discaco of the kidneys, liver nnd bladdor and I know of n physicinn who is a very strong believer in the merits of Swamp Root. Very truly yours, THE J. M. WATTS MERC. STORE,. J. M. WATTS. Sept. 20, 1910. Wnttsvillc, MUs. Prove Wbt Swamp-Root Will Do For You. Send ten cents to Dr, Kilmer & Co., Blngh'amton, N. Y., for a sample size bottle. It will convince anyone. You will also receive a booklet of valuable information, telling about the kidneys and bladder. When writing, be sure and) mention this paper. Regular fifty-cent, and one-dollar size bottles for sale at all1 drug stores. Adr. SEEK SAFE HAVEN ON FARMS Somo Rich Men Are Said to Be Paylngi Landowners to "Employ" Their Sons to Escape Draft Government agents have been nt work in Queens investigating the cases of several farmers In the Newtown, Flushing and Great Neck sections who aro reported to hnve accepted money to keep sons of wealthy men on their pnyrolls so ns to escape the drnft, says the New York Herald. The agents hnve obtained the names of young men. who registered ns farmers, but who, It Is said, have not been tilling the soil." Government officials have been told that farmers have been well paid by wealthy parents to "employ" the youths. According to reports that have been openly discussed In these sec tions nt least a dozen farmers hnvo men on their pnyrolls who do not know n grubhook from n cultivator.; These men, according to the story, are--supposed to report dally to the farm ers and to receive wages of $0 a week. Instead of working on the fnrm the--young men nre devoting their time to playing golf or driving about the Island In their motor cars. CUTICURA COMPLEXIONS Are Usually Remarkably Soft and) Clear Trial Free. Make Cutlcura Soap your every-daj-toilet Soap, and assist it now nnd thciji as needed by touches of Cutlcura Olntt meut to soften, soothe nnd heal. NotlH lng better to make the complexion, clear, scalp free from dandruff andi hands soft and white. Free sample each by mall with Book Address postcard, Cutlcura, Dept. Lj. Boston. Sold everywhere. Adv. On the Editor. A magazine editor of New YorU. prides himself on his knowledge o poetry nnd on his delicate critical sense of the same. His friends often. Joke him nbout this. A noted illustrator laid on the edh. tor's desk the other day a couplet that; ran : . "Help us save free conscience from, the paw Of hireling wolves whose gospel It their maw." The editor read the couplet, then, laughed heartily. - "Did you write this?" he said. "Bj George, it sounds like you. Better stick to the pencil, boy. Look nt that rhmye paw nnd maw. Why, It sounds likQ the S. O. S. call of kids In distress,. Paw and mnw 1 Geewllllklns 1" "I didn't write it," snid the'lllustrn. tor. "Oh, you didn't, eh? Who did' then?" "A duffer named Milton," said the Il lustrator. "John Milton, Ever hear of him? He .was the author of a little thing called 'Paradise Lost, I believe,, but these lines are cut out of n sonnet written to Cromwell In 1052. I " But tho editor hnd fainted dead, away. Pershing's Paymaster. In one of those out-of-the-way army posts where Uie outside worldt seems nil too remote, word that Gen eral Pershing was to lead an expedi tion to France set tho post buzzing: with gossip and spcculnUon, says the New York Evening Post. "Now that's something like," said' one officer. "I'd give anything to go wlth Pershing." "Why not write nnd tell him so 7"' suggested n young Heutennnt. "What I Me?" came the reply "Why, I'm only a pnymnster." "And n mighty good paymaster," In sisted tho other. And so n letter was duly forwarded to General Pershing by the pnymnster whovwontcd to serve under him la rrnnee. Two days Inter a telegraim arrived at the post for the pnymaster. Tt rend: "You're It. Pershing." It's not nil red tape In the army. Ono plows, another sows, who will reap no one knows. "If I was the drocer I d sell nothin' but Post Toasties 1 1? '4