The demands for maps and printing steadily increased until the base printing plant grew to have a working force of 35 officers and 750 men. From July 15 until September 15, 1918, the plant worked continuously 24 hours a day to turn out the work required. By this time the shop had 10 rotary lithographic presses, 4 linotype machines, and several job presses, printing each month an average of over 1,200,000 lithographic impressions and 500,000 sheets of printed matter. In November the plant turned out 1,900,000 lithographic impressions and over 1,000,000 sheets of type work.
To supplement the base printing plant we had at each army headquarters an advanced printing shop to supply maps when they were needed within a few hours. At the base printing plant we had a department for making relief maps, which work had been done for us previously by the French Government.
The equipment for military map making was enriched during this period by an invention of Maj. James N. Bagley, United States Engineers, called the aerial cartograph, or map camera. The Bagley camera's three lenses at the height of 5,000 feet could photograph a strip of territory 3½ miles wide.
MILITARY BRIDGES.
The science of building military bridges is an old one. When war with Germany was declared the United States had developed its heavy ponton equipment, which was standard in design and yet which had changed but little since the Civil War. As soon as we formally took the step to send troops against Germany the Engineers ordered great quantities of this equipment and by the latter part of 1917 had plenty of it ready to go overseas. Our deliveries to France, however, were hindered by the shortage in ocean tonnage, particularly after we had begun to use every available ship for the transport of men.
TRUCKS LOADED WITH PILING EN ROUTE TO FRENCH RAILWAY YARDS NEAR BRUYERS, FRANCE.
PILE DRIVING FOR FOOTBRIDGE BY ENGINEERS IN FRANCE.
