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Show V -n vA v? .-:' . l, ':.-.-?. fiw W "v ' ' "' .. :;,. ffi ty'",y"sM itV',, ., dmi. ! -2 a: rv. j 1 H" s Prk 'x j' . "I f 3 4 V M x i 1 f?;";-KTO , Three-fourths il jfe4k'.' N'XX Owners Will 4. XV IqJ k lXxfex, Offer Cars 2'Ps i! X VX Jfeit7 b"-.' ( to Uncle Sam 4?SX 1 W?! ik if Needed to Move Armies MlMl mfdi. m and SuPPHes' Clares Auto ' WfMM mmmk- Club Head-Border Test Ifflll ' ';pipT?M V lXifl Proves Them More Reliable aW41W) -l-teklrl Than Railways, -ait: fe ? 'rT&Ss5 ulik ti t 0fAT sri i'fiK a A., v ' 4' ""ahO i4..i,ii'!----,m jtaaj ea rww r-y.. . v v t,j";aT"' " Trsm zi' J H ; r , s 1 r.f? jv The mobilized eutos would be America's best defense next to the regular ' " ? , s v " v ' sF jf army, asserts Charles M. Hayes. This was tested on the Mexican border kX" s s v " , , , T , . , ' . , 1-i.uj- r. . k is-'-'1' x . ' conditions the motor car Is serviceable. It I would favor equipping smalr cars when two regxments were d.spatched from Eagle Pass to San Antonio , , i . . will ford streams hub deep and combat with a coupling apparatus that would en- with full equipment in motor trucks. y l ' ' eDOW ani mud' sand and blIls a JSSeJ able them to make trailers. . The famous 3' s 4s- tenacity that makes it essentially a fight- German "soup kitchen," which might find By CHARLES M. HAYES. Illinois regiment of 1.S00 men, when r '' , if tZ X ing mans first aid. a modified use in our own commissary, . t, ,.. cruifed to war strength, actually leave Chi- r . Cfi ? ' . So much for the transportation phase. would be admirably-adapted to "trailing." yrSVl XrXu-fare 8rrIve at th?U' destinatioQ- a K 5,' it4xVV I believe that in a month's time organiza- The magnificent performances of the lrHl , TTl thousand or more miles distant, by any , f x J", Afx V C " ?f;?KV tion could be so effected that the centers of motor ambulances of the American Eed TV S 7 commandeered automo- uronab- , ? a V- x 't V ' ' united by two constantly moving streams of attestatiou that the qualities of American a S" biles which really put a 1 thlnk that tbe movinS of SUCD troops f j . r Jk j k v ' v I"? iui motor vehicles carrying men and supplies cars, like the nature of American spirit, f stop to the triumphant CU'd be eected b"a systematized use of f J V' - " it f ' to the scene of activities and returning for cannot be surpassed. There are hundreds J'S4Jl o tue onrusMng 8 utomobiI that would land them at the tC ' fOv lw A,",,-?V ,$ other consignment. , of thousands of other American young Germans it the Marne No railroad sys- Pmt of mobihzatlon as quickly if not, in- U. , 5 V ' Vr fe" o' - It would be arduous work. The man at men just as eager to serve and just as ca- tem in the world 'could ' have moved troops P"ly-" railroad fadU- f v ; " ,1 the heel would sleep UDder the pable of Performance who will-if the ne- aud supplies as rapidlv as they were tles had been employed. I make this calcu- L "O " A X sVf. . about as frequently as the man in the cessity arises-take American ambulances, needed by Cas'tellneaux when the kaiser's 10" 'llc'"de their supplies of any and r ' V j A'A 77 fVA, A ' He would tow what it is to bo armored cars and ammunition trucks into lions reached the banks of the stream ZZZZ an aiet0 lJ JX- n W A - "t- Under &S th6 chauffeurs ln Eur0 the lnfera0 of battle- that has given its name to one of history's ,them an e,5clent flghtlnS unlt after tf 4 ' V ' - f I - V'i" bave been Under lnfaDtry and artI1Iery fire We bave 3'5(X)'000 autos- Bnd faclU" decisive battles Today every warring na- am,a1' " "Ytto I ' " 'X ' in a thousand capacities. But he would be ties for manufacturing 1,000,000 more an- tion in Europe has contributed the last Tue actual traveling speed of motor car .J 2 i f S. , 7$ actuated by the sterUng American patriot- nually. Wherever the Europeans have available motor car to move troops, convey transportation would not be as great, per- JJr yj'.' &' " V Ism which readily flares into flame as soon found the automobile useful, we shall make ammunition and meet the thousand and haPS. as that of troop trains. But their V? " t as our shores or institutions are menaced. lt useful. The car owner will step Into one exigencies of transportation that war- Performance would be more consistent. By ' 'i" x -' " The motor car would not be a competi- the breach with a ready offer of his ma- fare inevilablv entails that I mean to say that there would be no 4 v - ? : tor of the railroads, but rather an auxiliary chine. The motor car organizations through- 1 ' The "minute man" of the nest Ameri- iovlnf U bli"d ,sidicgs for h"s-and t ' a i ' theret' out the country, with their knowledge of can war will be the skilled driver of auto- '-together, no confusion that JTF0t lv $?? t ' A ' J The automobile at the battle front un- roads and routes, will bend every energy mobiles The inability of our railroad svs- wou,d dlsPaten men without their camp- U a- - doubtedly stirs the imagination more read- toward assisting the transfer of troops r . . inS equipment or food supolies. none of the ilv than the Plodding truck on the dutsv or , t if The mobilized eutos would be America's best defense next to the regular army, asserts Charles M. Hayes. This was tested on the Mexican border when two regiments were dispatched from Eagle Pass to San Antonio with full equipment in motor trucks. y By CHARLES M. HAYES. fVHM1 HE utility of tbe motor sfbf "M" ear in modern warfare "V f "A '7 V rieeds no defender. It W 1 Nvas Frauce's countless TV J ( commandeered automo- Jt if Ju biles wllicb really Put a JSFxJf' stop t0 the triumphant Gi-"VittP sweep of the onrushing Germans at the Marne. No railroad system sys-tem in the world could have moved troops and supplies as rapidly as they were needed by Castellneaux when the kaiser's legions reached the banks of the stream that has given its name to one of history's decisive battles. Today every warring nation na-tion in Europe has contributed tbe last available motor car to move troops, convey ammunition and meet the thousand and one exigencies of transportation that warfare war-fare inevitably entails. The "minute man" of the next American Ameri-can war will be the skilled driver of automobiles. auto-mobiles. The inability of our railroad systems sys-tems to move even comparatively small bodies of troops with requisite speed and dispatch is notorious. The part that the American automobile owners Will play in the eveut of hostilities will be notable. For years before the European war I have been an interested student of the motor car's tactical value in warfare. America's far-flung far-flung boundaries suggest possibilities for the motor car. even greater perhaps than Europe. For the Tinted States is truly a country of "magnificent distances." Indeed, the distances dis-tances have been so great, as witness the panish-Amei'lcan war and the more recent mobilization of troops at the Mexican boundary, boun-dary, (hut the ratii'oads have given us some very sorry performances. The campaign cam-paign ior.good motoring roads and tbe construction con-struction of the so-called national "highways" "high-ways" have furnished the railroads with un ab'.e ally in tli? quick transportation of men and munitions in time of war. Motor Trains More Sure Than Railroads. The menace of a possible aliiance of certain cer-tain powers against us su.L'csts the possibility possi-bility of our having to mobilize troops at several points contemporaneously. It is a truism to state that railroad facilities would not be equally good at all points wher? men and supplies were needed. I have niiundant foundation in fact, too, for the statement that the mobilizing of resulnrs, national guardsmen and vast numbers of olunteers would impose an enormous burden bur-den upon the railroad, which would cause euillos confusion and delay. TV." suggests the question: Could r.n Illinois regiment of 1.S00 teen, when recruited re-cruited to war strength, actually leave Chicago Chi-cago and arrive at their destination, a thousand or more miles distant, by any agency readily available other than the railroads? I think that the moving of such troops could be effected by-a systematized use of automobiles that would land them at the point of mobilization as quickly if not, indeed, in-deed, more speedily as if railroad facilities facili-ties had been employed. I make this calculation calcu-lation to include their supplies of any and all natures and ammunition adequate to make them an efficient fighting unit after arrival. The actual traveling speed of motor car transportation would not be as great, perhaps, per-haps, as that of troop trains. But their performance would be more consistent. By that I mean to say that there would be no stopping on blind sidings for hours and even days together, no confusion that would dispatch men without their camping camp-ing equipment or food supplies, none of the peculiar confusion that even so systematically systemat-ically organized a thing as a railroad line falls, into, under the stress of urgent haste. Test Drive By Regiments on Border. As a pertinent illustration I cite the removing re-moving of the First and Second Kansas regiments from Eagle Pass to San Antonio, a distance of about ISO miles, by motor trucks in two days during the distribution of troops along the border. Had there been urgent necessity for baste the trip could have been made no doubt in a day. A troop train could have made it in even less time, but it is notoriously true that many bodies of troops have been kept waiting days and weeks for the necessary facilities. The machines used would have to be volunteered or commandeered, if I have not utterly misgauged the character of car owners all over the nation, the privately owned touring cars, runabouts and limousines limou-sines would be cheerfully donated to the government for war service. It is inconceivable incon-ceivable that the necessary wear and tear upon the car should act as a deterrent to surrendering it into the keeping of t'ncle Sam. Any such scruples would stand forth only as isolated examples of conspicuous meanness of spirit. The car owners of the country will rally loyally. Tbe machines would in many instances require substantial body alterations. The coupe and limousine bodies would be replaced re-placed by the more utilitarian box bodies for trors and supplies. The armored car which. I shall discuss a little later would require this change. But so high has be- Million and Three-fourths Owners Will Offer Cars to Uncle Sam R. Caton Woodviile in the Illustrated London News immortalized the lightning dash of the Scots Greys and Black Watch to the relief of an assaulted trench, but rapid as was this movement it could not transport trans-port troops with half the celerity of a division of motor cars. come the standard of motor car manufacture manufac-ture that any car you might select from a crowded street and equip with a machine gun, a munitions body or half a dozen lusty fighting men could be depended upon to conquer almost any conceivable combination combina-tion of hills, mud, sand or rocky going. The car itself is efficient. It has proved its worth. The reproach of certain European carmakers that American cars are apparently appar-ently built with power enough for crosscountry cross-country steeple chases or mountain climbing climb-ing would become something to exult over. The driver would have to be a more thorough mechanician than the average owner really is. Consider the fearful futility fu-tility of a "stalled" automobile in the face of the urgent necessity of conveying its load of soldiers, guns or ammunition at some point along the battle front. The motor clubs of the country are already making mak-ing tentative plans for the instruction of volunteer drivers in the event of war. The chauffeurs' unions in all the large citk'S would proffer their services readily. The patriotism of the auto owners would not pee the organizers of motor troop and supply sup-ply trains emharassed for lack of vehicles. The first urgent need, accordingly, would he mobilizing cars and putting them into the hands ..f experienced drivers, men who have been coached in the specki! exactions of warfare and who could be depended upon if Needed to Move Armies and Supplies, Declares Auto Club Head Border Test Proves Them More Reliable Than Railways to keep their own unit moving. The second sec-ond step would be the maintenance of the highways in the best possible condition. The number of cars requisite to transport trans-port a war strength regiment to the scene of mobilization, or from thence to tbe battle bat-tle line, would no doubt be somewhat In excess ex-cess of 200 cars. The number of cars required for one or two divisions would be correspondingly greater. The wear upon the roads would be speedily felt, unless a system could be perfected per-fected to make farmers and other dwellers along the highways volunteer road overseers. over-seers. A farmer with a split log drag, assuming as-suming charge of one mile of the roadway, would be the menus of keeping it in condition condi-tion to bear the passage of thousands of vehicles ve-hicles weekly. Can Ford Streams and Climb Hills. An army officer might be detailed to supervise su-pervise the maintaining of the roads and the protecting of bridges. The dragging of mud roads and the filling in of depressions in graveled and macadamized thoroughfares would reduce tbe wear upon the truck trains and increase their speed. The cooperation co-operation of the farmer and the rural dweller, as a measure of patriotism, would be secured readily enough. In any weather and under any climatic conditions the motor car is serviceable. It will ford streams hub deep and combat snow and mud, sand and hills with a dogged tenacity that makes it essentially a fighting fight-ing man's first aid. So much for the transportation phase. I believe that in a month's time organization organiza-tion could be so effected that the centers of production and the battle front would be united by two constantly moving streams of motor vehicles carrying men and supplies to the scene of activities and returning for other consignment. It would be arduous work. The man at the wheel would sleep under the open sky about as frequently as the man in the trenches. He would know what it is to be under fire, just as the chauffeurs in Europe have been under infantry and artillery fire in a thousand capacities. But he would be actuated by the sterling American patriot-Ism patriot-Ism which readily flares into flame as soon as our shores or institutions are menaced. The motor car would not be a competitor competi-tor of the railroads, but rather an auxiliary thereto. The automobile at the battle front undoubtedly un-doubtedly stirs the imagination more' readily read-ily than the plodding truck on the dutsy or muddy roads behind the first lines of trenches. The armored British "tank" no doubt marks the most formidable development develop-ment of the gas-driven vehicle as an ac-. ac-. tual fighting machine. Its exploits are too well known to require elaboration here. But suffice it to say that our American engineers engi-neers can build similar tanks on very short notice; that they can improve on the pioneer pio-neer models and bring to their aid the facilities fa-cilities of all the great automobile factories fac-tories In the country. Besides the. literal "traveling fort" that has accomplished such spectacular things along the Somme we find the motor car as a troop transporter, an ambulance, a searchlight search-light base, a motor field gun, a trundler of soup kitchens, an accessory of aeroplanes and a dispatch carrier. For tbe patrol of the always menaced Mexican border I would suggest subject to tbe developments of actual experiment a "flying squadron of light cars stripped to the chassis, mounting a rapid-fire one-pounder one-pounder or a machine gun, carrying its own supply of ammunition and manned by three or four men, a driver and the gun crew. From the second-hand cars available avail-able by the hundreds in all our large cities the government could equip thousands of them as soon as the one essential the guns themselves, which are woefully few and inadequate could be manufactured and supplied. The recoil would not Impair the efficiency effi-ciency of such a high-speed artillery unit, and its ability to go almost anywhere and under any circumstance of weather, grade or rough country would make it invaluable for patrol duty. I would favor equipping smalT cars with a coupling apparatus that would enable en-able them to make trailers. . The famous German "soup kitchen," which might find a modified use in our own commissary, would be admirably-adapted to "trailing." The magnificent performances of the motor ambulances of the American Eed Cross service at the French front is ample attestation that tbe qualities of American cars, like the nature of American spirit, cannot be surpassed. There are hundreds of thousands of other American young men just as eager to serve and just as capable ca-pable of performance who will If the necessity ne-cessity arises take American ambulances, armored cars and ammunition trucks into the Inferno of battle. We have 3,500,000 autos, and facilities facili-ties for manufacturing 1,000,000 more annually. an-nually. 'Wherever the Europeans have found the automobile useful, we shall make It useful. The car owner will step Into the breach with a ready offer of his machine. ma-chine. The motor car organizations through- ' out the country, with their knowledge of roads and routes, will bend every energy toward assisting the transfer of troops from point to point. As a reprensentative group a motor club with 4.500 members, will offer its cars, its facilities and its experience unreservedly. It will undertake to train drivers and to assist in the adapting of cars to the practb cal uses to which they would be put. J Half the Owners Would Offer Their Cars. It would strive to organize the farmers farm-ers to keep up the roads over which supply and troop trains would travel. It would strive to educate every man to be his own policeman tt) look after his car, ln case foreign agents became active In plotting destruction of our volunteer truck system. An appeal-to American patriotism would find half the nation's motor cars proffered by tomorrow morning. It wouldn't find guns to mount upon them, however, or trained men to transport That can hardly be regarded re-garded as adequate preparation. But American patriotism. American Ingenuity In-genuity and American wealth would put forth its best efforts toward rising to tbe situation. And the motor car, in its own allotted field of activity, would be next to the splendid little army that represents outfighting out-fighting strength at present the most efficient effi-cient weapon that ira'e Uncle Sam could grasp. It is. in a-measure, a short cut to efficiency. National pride and the precedent prece-dent of five wars without a defeat would be the spur toward a large and effective enlistment. Only after men and guns were available could the automobile owner add his little contribution to a cause itrtctral with national security. ICopyrisht, 1317, by J. Kcc'.cy.l |
