The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-09-20
MOTOR FORTS MADE IN AMERICA
Machines From Peoria, ILL.,, Hurdle
German Trenches.


Washington, Sept. 1S.-The British
tanks the armored motor cars used
in recent assaults on German trenches
in northern France so successfully as
to attract worldwide attention, were
built for the most part in Peoria, H.,
in the form OF caterpillar tractors de-
signed to meet some of the difficult
problems of modern farming. Except
for their armor, their machine guns
and their crews. thousands are in use
today in the United States in labor's
less heroic occupation than war
II. II. Baker, vice president of the
Holt Manufacturing company, explain
ed here today that it was machines
made by his company at Peoria that
had hurdled German trenches, walked
through forests and crawled over shell
craters in the face of intense gunfire.
I'VE have sold about 1000 caterpil-
lar tractors to the British govern
ment." he said. Some of our men at
Aldershot, England recently were
notified that the British intended to
arm some of the tractors and use them
for work other than the usual towing
OF big guns afV
Germany had some of these tract
ors before the war began. We have
sent some to France and some to Rus
sia. So far as | know up until their
recent appearance the tractors were
used only to tow big guns. under
stood that Germany used about 40 in
this work before Liege and recent
photographs show that the British are
using some of them now for the same
purpose.
These tractors can 90 ahead over
almost anything or through almost
anything. They can straddle a trench
go through a swamp, roll over logs,
or climb through shell craters like a
car of Juggernaut. 1t looks uncanny
to see them crawl along the ground
| just like huge caterpillar"
MIR. Baker said the tractors sent to
England weigh about $4,000 pounds
| each. develop 120 horse power and are
built of steel. The tractor crawls on
two belts. or steel rails, in short sec,
tions, operating over a cogged mech
| anism that actually lays them down
| with their belt attachment as the trac
tor moves ahead and picks them uI
again so that the car runs on its own
/ calf -nannn aaptfpnAMplts
| In the ordinary tractor about seven
feet Of belt and rails hug the ground
Mr.. Baker said that the machine
would bridge any trench not wider
than the length of track II laid on the
ground at one time. The "bow'
might hit the far side of the trench
far below the top and the stern" un
doubtedly would sink a little, but the
tenacity of the tractor, he declared
would enable II to climb out. He sur
gested that the British probably hat
heightened the track giving the trac
tors greater power to surmount oh
stacleG.
1t is understood the United State.
war department is experimenting will
armored tractors somewhat like thos,
now in use on the British battle line.
| London, Sept, 1S,-Credit for tn,
new travelling land forts which hav,
been used during the past few days Of
the British front. belong to two men
Lieut.. Col. T.. d. Swinton of the intel
ligence department of the genera
stan and Maj. Stern. Lieut.. Col. SWIM
ton viii be remembered as one of tn
officer "eye witnesses" who wrote nc
counts OF the early days around Ypre
for British newspapers. Mai. Ster
is business man. who has for som
time been In the employ of the 80,
ernment. The Daily Mail' describe
the news monsters as follows
"These low lying, dust colored tol
3 toises have no resemblance to moto
cars. They are In fact steel Ian
ships OF immense power and wonder
ful capacity. In practice they ca
= climb walls. push through dens
woods. cross trenches and maneuyc
in and out of craters One OF the mos
remarkable facts about them is IN
secrecy with which the making {
their thousands of parts was veiled 1
the midland town OF their birth. tn
I army likes them. but 1t Is not placin
4 too much reliance on what is for III
. present only an experiment"
DIR. w. Monimnrnnei. chirnnnhia