BIGGEST REGIMENT BECOMES BIGGER 



FROM the original plan for the largest regiment in 

 the world, the Twentieth Engineers (Forest), has 

 undergone expansion which materially augments 

 its superiority of numbers. At the outset the War De- 

 partment provided for the formation of a regiment of 19 

 battalions and a total strength of approximately 17,000 

 officers and men. The beginning of the new year found 

 this plan extended to include three additional battalions 

 which will bring the muster roll close to 20,000. 



The three battalions which have been added are made 

 up of road and bridge builders. The necessity for or- 

 ganized forces of this character is as great as the need 

 for foresters and woodsmen. The new battalions will 

 provide the allied troops with engineers and construc- 

 tion men experienced in road and bridge building and 

 repair work. These men will devote their time to the 

 maintenance and repair of existing roads and bridges and 

 construct such others as are required for military pur- 

 poses. They will work in co-operation with the ten bat- 

 talions of foresters and woodsmen and the nine bat- 

 talions of laborers contemplated in the original plans for 

 the Twentieth. 



Rapid progress is being made in the organization of the 

 regiment. The first and second battalions went across the 

 ocean in the autumn and are now in the forests of the 

 French war zone. The third and fourth battalions were 

 completely organized in mid-December. Before January 

 1 the fifth and sixth battalions were also ready for service 

 and work was proceeding on the organizing of the 

 seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth battalions. 



The operations of the soldiers engaged in forest and 

 lumbering operations for the armies of the United States 

 and the Allied Nations are by no means confined to the 

 forests and lumber camps of the French war zone. There 

 has been brisk recruiting for the organization of the 

 Spruce Production Division of the Signal Corps. The 

 duties of this division are to get out spruce and fir for 

 airplane stock, in connection with the plans of the War 

 Department to construct 22,000 flying machines for im- 

 mediate use. The production of this lumber in the 

 Northwest has been hampered by the agitation and ac- 

 tivities of the I. W. W. in the lumber camps. It was to 

 overcome this handicap that the Spruce Production Di- 

 vision was organized. 



At the turn of the year it was announced that 10,000 

 soldiers were being sent into the northwestern woods 

 with this division. The men have volunteered from 

 western encampments of the National Army, from other 

 services and from civil life. Their operations have al- 

 ready resulted in speeding up the production of airplane 

 lumber. A monthly output of fifteen million board feet 

 of spruce is required to meet the extra needs for the 

 aircraft production program. 



In connection with the needs of the French forests for 

 immediate attention it is announced that the United 

 States will ship large quantities of young trees to France 

 for transplanting. The havoc wrought by long-continued 



warfare has been such as to imperil the future of the 

 forests in the war zone. The foresters who have gone 

 over with the American Forest Regiments are paying 

 close attention to the need for checking destruction, as 

 far as military operations will allow. In cutting timber 

 for the army lumber camps the foresters are undertak- 

 ing to save as much as possible of the best growth, with 

 a view to perpetuation of the national timber supply. 

 This conservation, however, will not repair the damage 

 already done and reforestation is being undertaken on a 

 large scale. One of the first announcements in this line 

 is to the effect that a million and a half French prune 

 trees are to be shipped immediately to France to re- 

 habilitate fields and orchards devastated by the Germans 

 in some of their "strategic retreats." The trees selected 

 are two years old and it is understood that other ship- 

 ments will follow the original 1,500,000. 



In sending these trees to France, California is indulging 

 in a pretty bit of sentiment as well as giving practical con- 

 tribution to the French people. The original prune trees 

 in California imported from France and in thus sending 

 some of the offspring of the early importations the Pa- 

 cific Slope is restoring the trees to their native soil. The 

 first importations to this country were in 1856. Since that 

 time the prune orchards of California have spread steadily 

 until they now cover an area of close to 100.000 acres, 

 with an annual crop yield of over ten million dollars. 



A letter just received from an officer of the Tenth 

 Engineers (Forest), in the French war zone tells of the 

 regiment's need for sweaters and other supplementary 

 articles of clothing. "Up to date," the letter says, "the 

 weather over here has been very mild, with scarcely any 

 freezing, and the men have therefore been very comfort- 

 able. We are, however, quartered in tents heated by 

 'Sibley' stoves, and probably will be all winter. There- 

 fore, anything like sweaters, scarfs, or wristlets will be 

 appreciated, even in the tents. 



"I have about a hundred men operating on a large es- 

 tate, and so far we are getting excellent results. The 

 personnel of this detachment and, as you probably know, 

 of the whole Tenth Regiment, is very high. The men 

 have cleaned out a large barn and made a Y. M. C. A. 

 out of it, or as they call it, a 'Ladies' Rest Room.' They 

 have hired a piano, and as several of the men play the pi- 

 ano and other musical instruments, this will help to make 

 cheerful many of the long winter evenings." 



The United States Forest Service has issued a bulletin 

 declaring that there is an emergency need for all the 

 sweaters that can be made, for the two Forest regiments. 

 Sweaters and other knitted articles in considerable num- 

 bers have already been sent forward but the demands 

 are in excess of the supply. Contributions to the Lum- 

 ber and Forest Regiments Relief Funds are urgently 

 needed for the purchase of wool and other phases of 

 providing for men of the regiments. Remittances may 

 be made to the American Forestry Association, Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 



