The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1915-06-30
NEVADA. WEDNESDAY. JUNE 80, 1915
MILITARY AUTOS COMING
OVER LINCOLN HIGHWAY
War Department Watching With In
terest Experimental Run of
Northwestern Academy.

The whole world knows of the
formed by motor cars in the Euro
war department and military men
everywhere have observed with
great interest the part played by the
automobile in military maneuvers in
the United States during the last
few years.
But never, in any country, has q
number of military motor cars beer
called upon to travel so many miles
continuously as will be traversed b,
the squadron of the Northwestern
Military and Naval Academy of Lake
Geneva. Wisconsin. The tour start
ed from Chicago June 10, with Sar
Francisco as its destination.
Some years ago Col. r. p. David
son, head of Northwestern Acade
my, began building up the automo
bile corps of the institution, by the
acquisition of a Cadillac car, which
was fitted out with rapid fire gun
The corps now has eight cars, al
Cadillacs, five of which are eight
cylinder chassis.
Regular army officers will be Will
the party to make extended reports
of the results during and after the
trip. Reports to Washington viii
cover the observations made and
conclusions reached with regard tt
the cars performances under condi
tons approximating military nece
5ity. There will be about SO me
in the party, 40 of them cadets a
Tie academy.
The expedition is under command
of Col. Davidson, who has designed
much of the equipment which the
cars carry, and who recently super
yised the building and equipment oi
wireless and military cars for the
government of Guatemala. He wa.
in 1897 the designer of the frs
gun battery ever mounted on an au
tomobile and has devoted consider
able time and study to the wireless
telegraph as used in connection with
motor cars.
The column includes an officers
reconnaissance car, equipped with
special Ross military rifles, mar
tables and instruments for making
road and contour maps, a dictatinf
machine. a periscope for observat
ions from behind walls or other de
fenses. altitude indicators, range ant
elevation finders, in fact, every in
strument helpful in making a recon
Nuisance report.
A wireless car has a telescopi,
mast mounted on the running boart
anu Is equipped with a special elec
trio generator capable of producin,
current of 10 volts. A SECOND
car carries in addition to its wireless
outfit, a Colt automatic and pow
erful electric searchlight with hello
graph shutters.
The field kitchen and the hospita
are mounted on eight-cylinder chas
sis of 145-inch wheel base. Cookinf
is done by means of fireless cook
er, operated by electricity; there Ii
also a general kitchen equipment
Special operating tables, surgica
instruments and an X-Ray apparat
us make up the equipment of the
hospital car.
A complete armor of bullet-prooi
steel, with openings for rifle fire, IL
provided for another car, which alsc
mounts colt automatic rapid firer
This car carries a simple rope and
windlass arrangement which would
be found useful in actual warfare In
extricating the car from a ditch, ol
dragging 1t up a steep embankment
Another car is designated as q
quartermasters' car, carrying a colt
automatic type gun, while there is
one balloon destroyer armed with a
Colt rapid firer.
The balloon destroyer is a hero oil
The Glidden tour of 1910, and by this
time has had close to $4,000 miles
of hard road travel and field work
during different army maneuvers.
The corps will follow the route OF
the Lincoln Highway for the greater
part of the distance between Chi.
cago and the coast. A side run will
be made to Rock Island, ILL.,, for 6
visit to the United States arsenal.
The column is routed through
Des Moines. Omaha, Ogden, Sal
Lake City, Ely, Austin and Fallon tc
Reno, Sacramento, thence soutl
through Yosemite National Park
San Diego; then to Los Angeles and
San Francisco. Most of the ma.
chimes will be placed on exhibition
1t the Exposition.
Much interest is being shown by
many of the cities and towns on the
route, and escorts and all courte
sizes have been youchsafed the mill
tary men. Camps will be mad,
along the route and military disci
pine will be enforced
The results of this long tour may
have much to do with deciding the
war department attitude on ths
use of the military automobile Other
than the truck type. Washington
will receive daily reorts, detailing
each days run, incidents and de
velopments.