Show U. U US U.S. S. S B BUILT RAIL LINES IN FRANCE BIG FACTOR w Standard St d rd Gauge Roads C Carry rry Guns and Supplies Supplies Supplies' Supplies Supplies' Sup Sup- plies plies' Up to Lines r By Henry G. G Wales Wales Wales- international Inte News Service Staff Correspondent Correspondent Cor Cor- respondent WITH THE AMERICAN A ARMY IN They called FRANCE March 18 They They James s J J. i Hill Bill an empire builder be because because be- be I be-I c cause cause u e his railroads built built- the tile great N Northwest but over over here officers a and d men call a certain general engineer an empire breaker because the they I believe belleve that the railroads railroad he ho Is constructing ire arO are destined to aid materially in shattering shat- shat the German junker dream of World i empire It is not permitted to describe too tood d closely just what railroad building the Americans are doing but a network of strategic lines has been laid down own and andis andis andis 1 is being extended This is the fruit of what England and France learned j in the past three and a half years ears I namely that motor trucks may be a substitute for railways s but they can cannot cannot can can- II not replace them then We Ye are putting down standard gauge tracks everywhere everywhere every every- I I where UP to a certain point where the thet t i tracks become narrow gauge and motor trucks ar are being treated as auxiliaries I The system obviates reloading as the material is sent within sound of the I. I guns without transshipment The railroads rail rail- I roads are well ballasted and the bridges soundly built so that the lines can handle regular sized American freight cars cars instead of only the dinky continental the J used on systems French engineers say that the American Ameri American Amer Amer- i ican an railroads are well enough built to accommodate the gigantic artillery which are mounted upon trucks never l leaving heaving the rails ralls The guns are fired as athey they rest upon the trucks Our rail rail- says Rays ayS will not require rebuilding to tomake J make make- 1 ko them stronger x as they are con con- care of of the heaviest eructed to take care traffic One of the big q questions of modern Warfare vv is transportation transportation- getting getting supplies supplies supplies sup sup- plies and munitions munitions- to the the front front and and Americans are working with that principle prin- prin ciple in mind American engineers follow the th theory the tIfe- eory e- e ory that the enemy guns may rip up the e for a shor short distance but that they that they are unlikely to shatter en entirely entirely entirely en- en the right of way as experience has shown that even terrific bombardments bombardments bombard bombard- ments do not obliterate trenches for n a long distance The Americans figure also that it Is almost as easy to replace standardized lines as the n narrow gauge The standardized stand- stand gauge lines can handle twice the the traffic of the narrow harrow narrow gauge gauge systems J Jems ems a and besides es eliminate reshipment I |