El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-04-08


now operating across the border
and motorists will be Interested
in knowing that the organization
plan outlined In the article f., to
considerable extent. being fol-
lowed by the army mt the present
time.-Auto Editor
T7HE ARMY transportation prob
lem and the urgent need OF a
Il sufficient motor-truck equip
rent is discussed in n paper prepared
by Capt Gordon Johnston, United
States Army. OF the STAFF Of Maj. Gen.
Leonard Wood. for the Motorist. and
which viii appear I'm the current ISSUE
OF that publication. That the hour
ie al hand when the all-importance
Of motor transportation Tor mlhlary
purposes must be recognized IN TINS
country is the opinion Of capt john
Regarding that phase OF national
preparedness which concerns the
motor-propelled vehicle. Capt john
ston states;
~ am not an expert engineer Of any
sort but i do know "a little Of the
problem Of transportation which the
army has TO meet. And 90 Know IL
Us imperative that the automobile engi-
necrs and manufacturers get together
TO solve that problem 1t is impossi-
BILE for the automobile engineers TO
find the solution Of the problem until
they famiiiarize themselves with the
conditions under which their tntell-
gcuces must work. what their sob is,
what would be expected OF them and
what the difficulties are that they
VIII encounter"
Antiquatcd transportation
AT the present time he points out,
the transportation system in use by our
army is antiquated as measured by the
standards Of the hour, consisting as il
does for the most part Of teams drawn
by mules, with the result that the
radius OF activity and its ability 70
supply men on the firing line are eN-
Ceedingly limited.
I'VE must have" continued Capt.
Johnston. "a better transportation or
Eanization and better equipment which
OF course. means motor transDorta-
ton" After citing the enormity OF
he transportation problem Of the
European armies. which involves the
supply Of subsistence TO the men on
the firing line and of ammunition for
the artillery and other lighting arms
Capt Johnston states:
Standardization in Manufacture.
what I have been doing lately. try
ing TO do through n number Of manu-
Iacturers is to get them 70 standard
lzo and begin to calculate on units
BY a unit I mean this. We viii take
as the smallest subdivision OF the unit
one truck with its driver and helper,
and we viii say, conforming TO the
military idea, that five of these trucks
shall form a section and that two OF
these sections shall form platoon
and that three plato0ns shall form a
company. This company uses 50 cargo
Bearing trucks, I may say that the
cargo to be carried. ton and a half,
seems 20 be pretty close to the idea
for q division train, that is, 5000
pounds net cargo; for the simple rea-
son and the very vital reason that
when you depart from hard roads and
from good transportation conditions
and strike The rotten bridges that you
J."
the one and a half-ton truck YOU in
crease your obstacles and difficulties
very much. In other words. il is very
much better to keep up with 5000
pounds than IL is to stop on the road
with 1000 And with this unit goes fuel
cars and spare parts and supply cars
and cars for the officers in charge.
Vow, 10 my way Of thinking, tho
driver Of each one Of these trucks must
be OF the rank Of sergeant: he must be
a chauffeur. he must be a fair me.
chanic and be able to make the ordi-
nary repairs that come up in his rou-
tine work. The sergeant in charge OF
THIS section should be n man that is Of
little higher grade than the others
and have the executive ability to con-
irol them Then you come to a still
higher grade when you combine them
INTO platoons, companies and battalions
ana put officers IN charge with rank
corresponding TO their responsibility"
Wants Tests Made
Since NJ the present time there is a
way o. enforcing q Standardization OF
cars i'm this country, Capt Johnston
suggests that the only course TO be
pursued IL 70 purchase in open market
types OF cars which have been an
proved as satisfactory by tests of stock
cars.
That is" ne adds. 'to have the
equipment Of companies. battalions.
and so forth all OF one make and All