l headquarters, have been transferred
to the headquarters of the services of supplies at Tours under a
commanding General responsible to the Commander-in-Chief for supply of
the armies. The Chief Quartermaster, Chief Surgeon, Chief Signal
Officer, Chief of Ordnance, Chief of Air Service, Chief of Chemical
Warfare, the general purchasing agent in all that pertains to questions
of procurement and supply, the Provost Marshal General in the maintenance
of order in general, the Director General of Transportation in all that
affects such matters, and the Chief Engineer in all matters of
administration and supply, are subordinate to the Commanding General of
the Service of Supply, who, assisted by a staff especially organized for
the purpose, is charged with the administrative co-ordination of all
these services.

The transportation department under the Service of Supply directs the
operation, maintenance, and construction of railways, the operation of
terminals, the unloading of ships, and transportation of material to
warehouses or to the front. Its functions make necessary the most
intimate relationship between our organization and that of the French,
with the practical result that our transportation department has been
able to improve materially the operations of railways generally.
Constantly laboring under a shortage of rolling stock, the transportation
department has nevertheless been able by efficient management to meet
every emergency.

The Engineer Corps is charged with all construction, including light
railways and roads. It has planned and constructed the many projects
required, the most important of which are the new wharves at Bordeaux and
Nantes, and the immense storage depots at La Pallice, Mointoir, and
Glevres, besides innumerable hospitals and barracks in various ports of
France. These projects have all been carried on by phases, keeping pace
with our needs. The Forestry Service under the Engineer Corps has cut
the greater part of the timber and railway ties required.

To meet the shortage of supplies from America, due to lack of shipping,
the representatives of the different supply departments were constantly
in search of available material and supplies in Europe. In order to
co-ordinate these purchases and to prevent competition between our
departments, a general purchasing agency was created early in our
experience to co-ordinate our purchases and, if possible, induce our
allies to apply the prin