erman arms.
When once these armies arrived in numbers on the battle-line in France,
the realization of the inexhaustible man-power of America did more than
anything else to revive the spirit of the Allies and discourage the
enemy.

Infinitely more difficult than the problem of man-power were those of
training and supplies. As we have seen, these problems were complicated
by the decision to send abroad an effective fighting force, a decision
which completely changed the entire military situation. The original
plan of maintaining an army only in the United States, as a reserve,
permitted the questions of camps, supplies, equipment, munitions, and
training to be undertaken at comparative leisure. But if a large army was
to be placed in France by 1918, these problems must be solved immediately
and upon an emergency basis. Hence resulted the confusion and expense
which nearly led to the breakdown of the whole programme in the winter of
1917-18. The War Department faced a dilemma. If it waited until supplies
were ready, the period of training would be too short. On the other hand,
if it threw the new draft armies immediately into the camps, assuming
that the camps could be prepared, the troops would lack the wool uniforms
and blankets necessary for protection, as well as the equipment with
which to drill. The second alternative appeared the less dangerous, and
in September the first draft calls were made and by December the camps
were filled.[4]

[Footnote 4: The size of the army raised in 1917 demanded the building of
enormous cantonments. Within three months of the first drawings sixteen
complete cities of barracks had sprung up, each to accommodate 40,000
inhabitants. They had their officers' quarters, hospitals, sewage
systems, filter plants, and garbage incinerators, electric lighting
plants, libraries, theaters. By the 4th of September the National Army
cantonments were ready for 430,000 men, two-thirds of the first draft. A
single camp involved the expenditure of approximately $11,000,000. Camp
Grant, at Rockford, Illinois, included 1600 buildings with space for
45,000 men and 12,000 horses. The water, which before use was tested and
filtered, was supplied from six huge wells drilled 175 feet deep, carried
through 38 miles of water main, and stored in reservoir tanks holding
550,000 gallons. For lighting purposes there were 1450 miles of electric
wire, 1200 poles, 35,000 incandescent lamps. During the period of
const