Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1916-08-03

sort hannaned to a bunch of New York taxicab
drivers who were shipped out to handle a train
made up of a certain uniform make OF trucks
They got so miles into Mexico, and then declueo
that they did not like the country at all. Ihey
agreed that the United. States government was
foolish to go in at all.
Their spokesman went to the captain ana IN
formed him that they had decided to go back. They
did not like the food, the water was not iced ana
there was no beer in the godforsaken place.
Whereupon the captain gave orders to the sergeant
of his guard. The n~oncommissioned ot1cer IN
formed the drivers that the first OF them VINO
turned back to Columbu would be Systematically
shot up.
The drivers protested that they were American
citizens and wanted their rights. The sergeant
listened unmoved as he drew up his squad into a
convenient place for the shooting. The drivers
finally concluded that they were too far away to
consult their attorneys, and the train proceeded to
Namiquipa.
Camping out away from a garrisoned town, the
truck trains take the same formation that was
used by the e~migrant trains when they were forced
to guard against Indian attacks at night. The
trucks are distributed in a circle, with the captains
runabout, the cook truck and the ammunition truck
in the center. Placed in this formation, the truck
train is in a difficult position for a bandit band to
rush.
No doubt, many q band has been watching those
valuable trains of food and ammunition, longing
to pounce upon them, but they refrained. A we'll
ordered truck train could get into battle formation
in a few minutes, and the Springfield rifles would
be covering every point of attack very effectively.
A quarter of q million dollars in gold was
shipped in with one train, guarded by so picked
marksmen. Bandit bands, knowing Of this, prob
ably longed to rush it, but they did not make the
attempt. At night, in its proper formation, with
its outposts alert, the well-conducted train should
be impossible to surprise. But civilian drivers are
hard to convince of the necessity for remaining
alert. They will lock their ammunition in the tool
boxes and, while they are painfully s~olicitous OF
the mechanism of their trucks, they have no re
gard for the mechanism Of the Springfield rifles
which are issued to them.
They have no respect for shoulder straps. A
typical incident was one near Espia. The trucf
train drew into the place hot and dusty. The news
was spread that there was q real swimming hole
20 feet deep in the place.
Soldier guards and civilian drivers made a dasl
for 1t. AS they neared it they heard a delicious
s~plashing, but q sentry halted them. "Sorry, boys,
he said, "but there's an officer bathing there now
and the orders are that nobody is allowed In til
he gets through"
A big extaxicab driver from New York proceed
ed to peel off his army uniform. In another min
ute he Owed into the pool with a mighty splash
He came to the surface and grinned cheerfully q
the indignant expression Of the second Lieutenant
outraged at the fact that his privacy had been dis
turbed, apparently by the enlisted man.
"Oh, that's all right shouted the auto drivei
81 don't mind IL you are q little bit dirty. Come o
in. The water is fine"
But one of these days the truck train will be sys
tematiZed. The drivers will all be enlisted mel
There will be a fixed rate of speed, and the truck
will all be up to determined specifications.
When the truck train is perfected, the mule trai
will go. Also, the pride of the cavalry will b
trailed in the gasoline-scented dust of the aut
truck train.