TRAINING UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 37, 7 November 1917, Page 8

TRAINING UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES

THE GBE3T OAMPS IN AMERICA. "Sixteen brand new American cities— that is what the system of cantonments for the National Army really means, says a writer in the American .Review of Beviews." "Three mouths ago the sited of all sixteen were farm and wood lands, rolling prairie,'oak openings, pine barrens, or desert—in no sense urban, The cantonments are distributed in various States, but regard has in all oases been paid to climatic conditions, with the result that the majority of the "soldier cities" are situated in the Southern States. The ,'argest cantonment in Camp Devens, in Massachusetts. Here provision has been made for the training of 49,000 soldiof* and officers. Camp Devens comprises 1600 buildings in all, has 25 miles of sewers, 13 miles of water mains, and 20 miles of highway —to say nothing of electric light and other municipal conveniences. The general arrangements are apparently designed on a different plan to those of l\ew Zealand camps. The size of the cantonment reservations varies from 3000 to 7000 acres. "The general plan is a huge circle, ellipse, or horse-shoe, with the barracks on the outer rim, the officers quarters and administration buildings within, and the unoccupied area reserved for a drill field." The infantry are quartered in standardised "company barracks," framed with wood, sheathed with matched siding, and covered with prepared roofing. Each barracks houses 200 men; the ground floor occupies an Area of 43ft. x Hflft., in which are the messrooms, kitchen, lavatories, and phoTvcr-haths. The won sleep on th© second floor in individual cots or bunks. In addition to providing generously for his "bovs in khaki" as far as thftir physical well-being is concerned, Uncle Sam provides wholesome recreations for tho play hours in the shapa of baseball, tennis, and water sports. It is only in the nature of things American to learn that some fresh re' cords in the "hustling" line were established during the building of these cantonments. for instance, at Camp Travis (at Tort Sn.m Houston,. Texas) and also at Camp Taylor (Louisville), a standard barracks building (43ft. x-140ft., two stories lngli) was pnt no it is calmly asserted, in an hour and a half!