The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-20
FIGHT IN EUROPE
Is A GASOLINE WAR
Strife Of Nations Being Decided
by Motor Ma
chimes.
QUAD TRICKS ARE BEST

Any uncertainty about the great fight IN
Europe being gasoene war was COM
pletely removed by Irwin :. Cobb's recent
interview with Lord Kitchener. in which
the English army head inquired auxiously
about the German supplies ~ gasoleue.
Germanys supply OF gasolcue is neces-
sarily imported FOR there are no natural
ell wells in that country. BenZol,
substitute for gasolene cannot be made in
large enough quantities. Englands pres
ent mastery OF the seas precludes the
possibility OF receiving fresh supplies Of
gasolenc from America. except through
Holland and the Scandinavian countries.
and these sources are being rigidly super
vised as far as possible hy the fleets OF
the Allies. Russias oil fields will naturally
be conserved for the use Of the Cars
subjects, unless Turkey can succeed in
her campaign against Batum. And the
very fact that Germany persuaded the
Turks to enter the war ~ this point IL
additional evidence Of the supreme Inn
por;drCe of "A gaso.eue supply In q war
Nagrd under modern conditions.
How fast the world is moving H. we'll
indicated by the trend q recent wirs
The British Boer War ga South Africa
Witnessed TN" Introduction OF motor trucks
ON small scale. although 'h' automobile
was very much OF a. experiment iu those
daNs The recent PelNau wHrs eupha-
sized the desirabulty Of motors along a
battle front extending upward OF loU miles
The present war leaves no doubt what>u-
ever ABOUT the absolute necessity fer
motor trucks .Id AUTOMOBILES.
Tho horse j.. already secondary in I'M
portancc u modern warfare. his chief
uses being for cavalry and for hauling
artillery ammunition and supply wa ~,
, &c. Nh,u motor trucks cannot bo OH
taIu,d. tude- the rig r. OF war horses
ii" '0 immense numbers. The South
African war. with less than 5oo,ooo SOL
di,rs employed, killed Over 400. 00u horses
on the British side alone. or roughly
one horse for each man. In the Euro
penn war there are about l5.oo,ooo SOL
. IL, - under AIMS. one shoulders "a
/ thlnk II the mortality IN horses II the
| British experience i'm South Africa H.
repeated
| 1t is begging the question to say that
| European war conditions are not a. Sc
we're on horses as the Transvaal. Sher-
mans definition of war Is as true now
as Il was in iS61-lS65. Witness, for eS-
ample. the following passage from a lot
| ter written 10y a German army ONO er
in Belgium our i'll fed horses are drop
ping 10 tn" ground IN an arpail!ng man
| ner exhausted with tho strain which
! they have mad 20 undergo"
Further confirmation is affO'ded by
/ the iuSisteut demand from Europe for
motor trucks, automobiles and gasoleuc.
Horses. too. are being purchased by tho
tens of thousands, mainly for the use
Of the cav airy. But the most anxious
Inquiries are for motor trucks The
chief demand, however. is for quad
! trucks. which because they drive, brake
and steer ON all four Gcels can oper-
ate on the actual firing line over the
toughest kind OF country, In places even
whore horses cannot pull a load
The United States army is rapidly adding
puads T. its transport service. Armored
quads and ordinary supply wagon quad,
ar" going into service every month.
some have suggested a system OF sub
sidy for army type quad trucks such as
obtains In Europe. which would enable
ruclc sam To provide AGAINST the con-
tugency OF war into which We might
br plunged tt ANY time during the pres
cnf disturbance abroad. And Il must
not hc forgotten that every horse killed
i'm Europe and every horse exported from
America makes II just that much NOR,
certain that =" ncNt war. too, must
needs he a gisoirne war