The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-17
Automobiles in War
 Carry X-Ray Outfit

| With war automobiles" already in use ] by Mexicans, and Uncle Sam wide awake to their utility, actual warfare below the l Rio Grande would bring about a real test of the two wheeler in the field. Brig. Gen. George P. Scriven of Wash ington, D. C., declares that the motor cycle is as valuable in the army as an airship and much more practicable; cheaper and faster than the horse: excel lent for delivery of telegraph messages
 and could be used to advantage in gen.
 eral field work.
 For som etime the test of motorcvcles for use in connection with field artillery
 has been conducted at Fort Riley, Kan. A number of motorcycles are also used by
 the second division of the reorganjzed
 army while srltioned at Galveston and
 Texas City, Tex. After several tests. in
 which every available means of communi- cation between the different regiments
 was used, the second division decided
 upon the motorcycle as the most efficient
 One Of the tests made in this connection
 was the delivering of an order from tue
 division headquarters to the brigade com-
 manders. The distance was about five
 miles. Wireless instruments were pro-
 vided and the messages were sent in this
 way; another message was sent by tele-
 phone over ground wires which had been
 laid; an orderly mounted on a horse car-
 ried an order; the message was relayed
 by wigwagging it to the brigade com
 manders. But none of these messages
 reached the destination as quickly as the
 one carried by an orderly mounted on a
 motorcycle
 A motorcycle corps is being organized
 in Nashville, Tenn, by Lieut.. A. J..
 Bright, who saw service in the Philip
 pines. Lieutenant Bright says that the
 total strength of the corps will be about
 100, and that they will be prepared to go
 to the border if ordered to do so.
 Many and varied tests have been made
 both in this country and in Europe, as
 to the speed, economy reliability and
 praticabilty of the two-wheeer for army
 use, and as a result of these tests, mo-
 torcycle squadrons have been added to
 many of the army posts. But up to this time the use of the two-wheeler in actual battle has been very limited.
 Gen Francisco Villa, the Mexican rebel leader. has adopted motorcycles for the use of his army managers. Villa real izes that quick messenger service often decides a battle, and he says that with the four motorcycles now In use, he is able to keep in closer touch with the various divisions of his army Then too, he finds that the motorcycle is not so easily brought down on the battlefield as ia a horse.
 A band of motorcycle dispatch riders has proven of material service to the Ulster volunteers. To this squadron be- longs one woman rider-Miss P Kings borough-who was the first woman to volunteer her services to the Ulster cause.
 At the time of the Balkan trouble in 1912 two large moving picture concerns supplied their representatives with rno- torcycles, by the aid of which they were able to get very complete picture of the activities. The cameras were mounted on | the front of the machines and as the tide of battle shifted, the operators were en- abed to change their positions quickly, and thus get the best possible view. About tHs time also, was the motor- cycle first used for transporting an X-ray
 outfit on the battle field A dynamo, coils and all other apparatus necessary for operating an X-ray can be easily carried | on the two-wheeler belt can be at tached on the motorcycle motor and ry-
 namo and electric current produced This l power will produce the X-ray which may | be used by physicians for examining per- | sons injured on the battlefield
 | With these exceptions there has been
 no opportunity to prove the real worth of the single-tracker in actual warfare. But the troops that are awaiting de- velopments in Mexico practically all are supplied with motorcycle squadron A test of the value of the two-wheeler
 on military hikes has also been made by the Ohio National Guard. A number of
 members of the guard made motorcyce trip from Columbus to Camp Perry Each rider carried tentage and complete equp- | ment on his machine
 Recently a detachment of motorcyclists