3 A
Army Motor Corps Helped
To Win the European War
4 -
Starting With One Truck in 1903 Motor Equipment
Numbered 204,691 When the Armistice Was Sign
ed With Germany in November Last Year.
THE OMAHA SUNDAY EEE: MARCH 9, 1919.
,i.iHil I 1TTT I I I I I I ilWi ii in , -
ByLT. CHARLES W. BERRY.
Motor Tnuupnrt Corpa, V. 8. A.
Every stream ha a source,
which axiom may possess no spe
cial interest save for the purpose of
establishing a starting point. The
fountain head of the motor trans
port corps was localized in 1903.
, when authorization for the pro
curement of one Oldsmobile was
granted by the War department
From that time until 1911 motor
transportation for the army was un
der limited consideration, a few offi-
cial reports being rendered covering
' the utility, practicability, etc., of
power driven vehicles for military
uses, but judged by procurement
and standardization the results were
negligible. True it is that a small
stock of machines, widely diversi
fied as to make and tvoe. was oro-
cured and tested under service con
ditions, but the conclusion may be
asserted that the methods of army
transportation up to 1911 had no
pronounced deviation from those
, obtaining from the early days of the
republic man, boat, rail, and, last
but by no means lcat, the curse
absorbing army mule.
When the Villa punitive exoedi-
tiori had its first roll call, the motor
truck took its position and an-
swered "Here." At that time the
government possessed less than 100
machines the exact figures are 89
and of this about 20 were on duty
in our foreign territory. The de
mand for trucks became imperative
and emergency orders prevailed. To
meet the situation, a tram was
hired andthis, carrying only the
chassis of trucks and a hastily se
cured civilian personnel tor com
, pany organization, was driven at ex
. press speed and first right of way
from a Great Lake city on the north
to the Mexican border. Upon ar
rival, escort wagon bodies were
fastened to the chassis 27 thus
equipped constituting a unit the
appropriate civilian personnel was
. assigned, a competent officer placed
in command and the convoy started
south with its toad under orders to
make contact in shortest possible
time 'with our American forces then
' far below the horizon in the sun
baked, cacti-studded terrain of Mex
ico.
Competent Officers.
In command of these companies
, were officers spec-ally selected,
clearheaded, fearless men; men of
the tractor and not the pusl e' type,
and every one made the delivery.
These officers, with few exceptions
have retained their identity w;th the
motor transport service to the ores
ent day. General Drake, now chief
of the corps, was commandine of
ficer of one of these companies: Col
onel Furlow, now deputy chief, was
also a company commander aud the
officer who brought the emergency
train from Cleveland to the border,
Colonel Seaman, now executive of
ficer, was supply officer and narticu
larly active in h:s services along the
entire border. Colonel Orton. came
to the service from civil life in 191?.
his selection as chief of service di-
vision being based upon his techni
cal experience as engineer, organi-
" zer. writer and instructor. For many
years he was den of the college of
engineering, Ohio Mate university.
, i First Ships Take Trucks.
'When, in April, 1917, the ronpress
of the United States placed the lives,
fortunes, and sacred honor of its
charge the American peon e on
the altar of liberty the fiel 1 of ac
tivity which attached to the motor
transport service became 'of stu
pendous size. On June 14, 917, the
first convoy of five ships, under the
protection of the navy, sailed with
American forces, and its total mo
tor equipment was 128 Packard one-and-a-half-ton
new chassis, two Ca
dillac touring cars, three motorcy
cles, and four Nash quads. The Ca
dillacs, Nash quads, and two of the
motorcycles belonged to the ma
rines. One of the Packards became'
damaged and was used for its spare
parts. Therefore, 127 Packard
chassis and one motorcycle con
stituted the equipment of the mo
tor transport service, but with lim
ited spare parts, miscellaneous sup
plies, no oil or gasoline. The ar
rival df the second American convoy
brought the quota of the Cadillac
touring cars Uf) to 30, but there were
no spare parts, and the batteries had
been packed dry. Operation, how
ever, was effected. Rope makes a
fair substitute for the standard tire,
but such use is observed to be high
ly conducive to remarks carrying
more fece than elegance. 4
"For God's Sake, Hurry!"
It early became apparent that
every cubic foot of ship space mus.t
be utilized for men and munitions,
rather than bulky material: and
even before that transatlantic call
for assistance, "For God's sake, hur
ry up," had reached the White
House trucks had been relegated to
th second t able, with mightv slight
chance of the meal being served on
time. Trucks were in demand "over
there," and it naturally became in
cumbent upon the motor service,
"A. E. F., France," to produce re
sults in the procurement line. Eu
rope was literally dragnetted from
the North Cape to Gibraltar for
everything in the motor line pos
sessing sufficient vitality to move,
gasp or stand an injection cf gasoline-
The resultant haul was aston
ishing in diversity of type, dissim
ilarity of species, general tendency
to crass cussedness and a grinning
disregard for the laws of nature or
man. ....
American genius and initiative
came in answer to tfje "S. O S." of
this situation. Shops of stupendous
size and unprecedented capacity
were provided, operated with a
highly-trained and specialized per
sonnel, and fully equipped with
wonder-working appliances and ma
chinery. The results were notable
and prompt in ' arriving. The "in
valids" were rebuilt, repaired or re?
suscitated in record-making periods.
As to efficiency in repair work, let
the following incident be- typirally
illustrative: Place, an overhaul
park to the south of Chateau-Thierry:
time, July 8, 1918; employes .
1,500 motor truck corps men: condi
tions obtaining, the American forc
es had been ordered into the lines,
due to the situation at the front-be-ini
particularly bad a. the French
needing aid. Speedy action was es-i
sential and trucks to transport the
Americans were ord red from the
overhaul park, and surprisingly
brief time limit set for readiness of
the trucks. In this park there were
about 600 trucks a tew convales
cent, but the majority in varying
stages of chronic dissolution or re'
lapse. At the expiration of the time
given 580 trucks were in condition
for use and lined up ready to move
They did move .the troops, 14,500
men, and on exact scneauie.
, iMany Different Makes. :' '"
Another matter for some consid
eration: The spare parts required
tor the diversified types mounted
to the respectacle figure of fiO.OOO
varieties, (approximately 4 000.0'Ji)
parts being carried in stock at all
times.) Each and every spare part
has its particular place and function
in the special machine, and he sub
stitution was impossible.
The different makes of American
and foreign passenger cars in actual
use by the A. fc.. f. at the iiigj
point of collection number apprbxi
mately 170 a very respectable
sliowng.
While the shipment of motor ve
hicles from America wa temnorar-
ily suspended, let it not be Inferred
that activity looking to. the supply
ing of personnel and material had
for onenstant slackened. In fact,
it musMje recorded that the auto
mobile industry of America had
crvstalVzed into one unit of unore
cedented efficiency, to which must
be credited to a major extent the
termination of the war. Their co-
operation and collaboration have
been perfect, and have enabled the
Motor Transport corps to sffective
ly meet the unprecedented demand
for trained men, for motor vehicles)
accessories, spare' parts, and many
other elements. This is as perrect
a sample of American loyalty as
the history of the war affords.
Establish Large Camps.
The Motor Transport corps estab
Tshed large camps, each devoted to
the purpose of meeting demands
from the battle front
The program as created and per
fected met the demands of the
erfTergency; is adapted automaticllv
to the present armistice, or-a com
plete peace; and yet perfectly adjust
able to a resumption of hostilities.
or to demands highly intensified
over those which have heretofore
been presented. As to materal shp-
ped to the A. E. F. from 'Vprii 4.
1917. to December 31. 1918. bv the
Motor Transport corps, the records
sow there were 110.911 veh'cles and
15.468 tons of spare parts. About
1.200 vehicles repose on the ocean
bed of the Atlantic.
The following table, compiled from
official sources, shows the number
of motor vehicles in use by the
American Expeditionary Force, as
of December 15, 1918:
Typa, - Total. F.rdt . American.
Motor truck.. ..8J.60 .. 49
Pnutngfr cart. 7.67S SI 18
Motorcycle! ....11.000 ( . S
Trailer 4.S0O 10
Bicycle! H.00 .. ..
Total 81.S7S 0 H
Approximate value, 1171,000, OCt.
Total Number of Trucks,
Interest is attached to .he follow
ine statement, which is be'ieved to
be thoroughly accurate, as showing
the -motor transport corps equip
ment, less cancellations, ordered to
December 1, 1918:
Trocka.
Clasa AA, K-l ton IMM
Claa A, ltt-1 ton 18.2SS
Claaa B, S-6 ton 41.621
Claaa T, F. W. D 11.767
Totat 111,021
Passenger cara ' 18,87?
Motorcycle! It, 8 8 J
Bicycles , 11.408
Total vehicle ...101.684
According to the report of the sec
retary of war for the fiscal ' year
ended June 30, 1918, the motor
transport corps had Z.7UU omcers
and 77,000 men. Automobile equip
ment carried over for the year 1918
amounted to $353,000,000. The ap
propriations for motor transporta
tion for the same period were $886.-
000,000, of which the sum of $350,
000,000 had been expended or is
applicable to contracts remaining In
force. About $25,000,000 is con
sidered necessary tor repair shop
and equipment service program, and
$6,000,000 for demobilization and
liquidation of rermles left on hand.
The' equipment carried over into the
fiscal year 1920 represents the sum
of $732,000,000. Tnis repot t also
states that up to the date of its
rendition the followin.i hive been
completed for the army: 82,500
standardized and commercial types
of trucks; 16,000 .-intor cars;27.P0ll
motorcycles: 22,000 ticyries, and
a large number of trailers. The
motor transport corps had on hand
at this time the respectable halancc
of $501,698,824 from ppropriations.
Safety and Comfort
of Owner Considered
in New Westcott Six
A car owner's safety, comfort and
convenience are especially consid
ered in the construction of the
Westcott Six, according to Carl
Changstrom, president-of the Stan
dard Motor company, 2020 Farnam,
western distributors of the West
cott car.
No further investment of expen
sive auto accessories in order to
make the car 100 per cent perfect in
beauty or comfort is necessary for
the owner. In its class, the West
cott is noted to engender the com
pletness of appointment and perfec
tion of equipment. Every detail
from a tailored top with rear cur
tain of Gypsy type to outside orna
mental door handles feature the
completeness of the Westcott Six.
"As a high-class car, the Westcott
has been an attraction in Omaha,"
Mr Changstrom asserts.
Though practically a new car In
the middle-west, the car has gained '
expensive popularity.
Eim Paint. .
It used to be the fashion to recorrt--end
shellac as a satisfactory med
ium for painting rims. As a mat
ter of fact shellac has the fatal
characteristic of peeling off after
brief service. Graphite paint or
even ordinary paint is better for use
on the rims than sheila'
f
iSfaMost Beautiful Ca
1
St
vviytmnca . .
- . V
1 NX, vV
V
. .
If You
Ride in a
PAIGE
You Ride
in the
BES1V
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FHILE attending the
v Auto Show you are
invited to visit the head
quarters of the
Nebraska-Paige
Company
19th and Douglas Streets
Here, inour beautiful and
spacious Show Rooms, one can
xbetter view the graceful and
classy lines of the car chosen by
people who look to beauty,
comfort, reliability and utility
in a Motor Car.
The Paige is the safest Auto
mobile investment that can be
found on the. market today.
The extraordinary demand
for Paige Cars that now; con
fronts us is impressive proof, we
believe, that the Paige Policy to
give the greatest dollar-for-dol-lar
value on the market, has the
universal endorsement of the
- American public. The New
Series Paige Models ar6 striking
examples of this policy.
T For ten years now of manufacturing,
continuously expanded to meet demands,
we have permitted Paige Cars to carry
, our message and to confirm our Policies.
Paige'Design has stood for Beauty. Paige
V orkmanship has stood for Quality. The
Paige Name Plate has stood for .Character.
7 e are distributors for Paige Cars only,
an4 we will guarantee Real Paige Service x
to all Paige owners and dealers. '
7
- Nebraska-Paige Co.
R. M. Austin, Mgr.
Masonic Building, 19th and Douglas Sts. Omaha, Neb.
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