Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-07-27 | Page 61 | Army Motor Train is Teaching Lesson

ARMY MOl Til 15 TEACHING LESSON i Military Trip Across Continent Conti-nent Proves of Scientific Value. tank trucks, one pnginoer shop trick and one searchlight truck. Techiuc;il personnel from tho mot "r transport corps, engineer corps, medical corps, field art illery and air sen ice arc making mak-ing the journey. 1 According to Brigadier Oeneral ChaJ-lea P. Drake, chief of, tho motor Ira n.sport corps, the purposes" of the long trip will ho fourfold: To provide service and performance per-formance tests 01 various types "f avmy motor equipment. To eolU'ei data. ti he used in connect ion with thu technical tech-nical training of the personnel of "thti M. T. "., and to provide ;ni opportunity oppor-tunity for extensive tM udy in lei rain observation. To demonstrate the pi;ie-tieabiliiy pi;ie-tieabiliiy of long-distance 0 n 1 ntercia 1 motor truck transportation, and to point out the necessity of governmental appropriations appro-priations to assist in the continuous improvement im-provement of all t h rough enn nee ting The etoch-maldng transcont inental trip of two complete motor tra nsport corps companies of war strength, consisting con-sisting of forty-two army trucks, which started from Washington, July 7, is receiving re-ceiving an enthusiastic welcome at all points along the Lincoln highway, which will be followed over almost the entire journey. .The trucks are scheduled to arrive in San Francfsco September 1. Detailed road maps of each state to be traversed and national highway maps were supplied by tho Nat iomil T-ouring bureau of the B. F. Goodrich .Rubber company. This first Atlantic -to-Pacific military trip will lie a significant illustration of the tremendous possibilities of highway , transportation. Furthermore, it will demonstrate the practicability of longdistance- freight haulage and tho urgent necessity of linking up interstate highway high-way routes and presenting the people with a unified system of national roads. The army truck train comprises the following: Five -passenger cars, thirty-five thirty-five trucks, all army types; two ambulances, am-bulances, six motorcycles, two tank-trucks, tank-trucks, two kitchen trailers, two water- routes in the United States. And- to provide an opportunity for procuring "recruits "re-cruits for thu motor transport service. Kxtensive study n terrain is brring crried on by officers of th.j enginoer-ing enginoer-ing corps and air service who have 1een assigned to m;ike ihe trip, and ntiich data of great value to vocational schools established by the motor transport corps in the training of the commissioned end enlisted personnel will be s. cured. Dlily reports will be sent in to thu war lie-partment lie-partment of the individual prrfornvpico of each vehicle., and also enqineering'Ye-porls enqineering'Ye-porls relativo to the eondit ion of tho highway, nature and strength of bridges, locations of grades and recommendations for improvements. The convoy is under command of Colonel A. Owen Sea man of the general gen-eral staff, who will have charge as far as Salt Bake. Utah, at which point Gen- J eral Drake will t;ike personal command. i Service stations and branches of Jhe Goodrich company, whose equipment,' is on a number of ihe passenger cars and trucks of the army motor train, -jli n-nder expert tire service along Mho route from coast to coast, where Mhe , occasion demands. u