The evening times., 1898-06-23
MACHINERY FOR WAR.

If massed in one body our engineer
troops to invade Cuba would constitute
the most unique army, ancient or modern.
ever enlisted. Should we have grand re-
view Of troops after the surrender of
Spain. the sight of this force marching
under full equipment would be strongly
suggestive of an inventors and manufac-
turers' parade. Among the interesting
machines to go to Cuba with the engineers
will be several by means of which earth
works-hitherto thrown up by the armies
of men armed with shovels and spades
will be turned out of the soil as fast as
a long team Of horses can travel. A team
of six heavy draught animals hitched TO
one of these giant plows will take of
several feet of surface earth a one scoop,
the depth depending upon the angle of
the blade. One of these in a single night.
by making several trips over the same
line. will be capable of throwing up a
trench sufficient to protect whole army.
while several following one another might
accomplish the same work in few hours.
These machines. when completed by the
Pennsylvania firm to supply them, Will
resemble giant road plOws, with blades
cOncave rather than fiat, and turned to
a sharp cutting angle like that of a hoe.
These same machines will be used III Gu
ba for the rapid perfection of military
roads into Havana and other strategic
points. a
The interior tharoughfares Of the ISL
and will be in an impossible condi-
tion throughout the dreaded rainy sea-
son, and rapid movement of troops
will. of course. be impossible. unless a
smooth surface Of stone is substituted
for that of liquid mud. With the pro-
lection of artillery. the road engineers.
under the direction of Gen. Roy
Stone, detailed from the Agricultural
Departments office OF road inquiry to
the stan of Gen. Miles. will hurry
their equipment in advance of the in
vading line. First will come the giant
plows. scraping away the mud and
leaving a level surface. followed by a
train of vehicles for rapid distribution
of crushed and ground stone. Then
will follow heavy rollers, with self
contained equipment for propulsion.
The engines Of these latter will be util-
ized stationary power at night for
opei ing the giant machines for crush
ing stone. Huge chunks of stone will be
chewed up and emitted by these with thu
ease of a coffee mill grinding coffee. The
rapidity with which one of these militia
ry roads Will be built Will depend upon
the speed necessary. Very little time
would have to be expended for the
building of a highway needed tempo
rarily but for one passage of troops;
whereas a road needed for repeated
movements would have to be laid with
much greater care. The distributing
carts to follow the road machines af-
ter having been loaded at the stone
supplies. will be giant dump-carts. with
two large wheels. two forward trucks
and a wide mouth in the back, which
may be opened according to the depth
of stone to be spread As the stone
escapes from the cart it will be lev
eled by means of a steel scraper at
tached to the tailboard. This road
equipment will also be utilized for the
rapid construction of railways TO be
built between places of landing and
interior points of rendezvous or at
tack.