Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-10-02
Gas Vehicles Supplant
Horses as Messenger
Bearers of General.
Special 10 Times RepUbljcgn

lamp Dodge, Oct s-Amone n.
many things that have been revo!u
tonI2ec by the war are stage tricks
II connection with war plays.
who has not seen the melodramatic
scene where the orderly falls uncon-
scioUs al the feet Of the general after
handing him the papers that save The
day. Preceding this thriller there was
the c!at;er OF horses hoots, first family
and then with the Increasing clearness
as the empty cocoanut shells are
pounded more vigorously on the sound
lae-board Of stage
AL this must be changed In place
OF th= gauoping horse there must be
the deafening sound OF the motorcycle
motor. cutouI open. IL need be, 10
heigaten the effect
Fer be i known that cou-iers and
orderlies no longer ride chargers. In
place Of the reins 1hey handle the
wheel or the hardlebars. Instead of
water for my horse" II IS gas or
In goaer."
Everyone who visits divisional head
quarters, Camp Dodge, where Major
General Plummer and his staff have
Offices, Is struck By the presence OF
the t-appearlrNy, alert good looking
young fellows with the yellow cords on
their hats. They are the orderlies Il
is an honor 10 be picked as an orderly
He is the pick of his company He IS
we'll versed in all military affairs. ne
is neat in his dress, courteous in his
answers. and a valuable man gener-
ally.
But the orderly doesn't use horse
as of old. A cavalry troop is assigned
10 divisional headquarters. Captain
John Quigley commanding. But this
cavalry is minus horses. It has motor
cycles and automobiles instead.
Most Of the motorcycles have the lit
tie side-cars. When an officer wants
to visit some part of the big camp and
is in a hurry, he jumps into one of
these side-Seats and the motorcycle
whisks him off to his destination in a
hurry. When General Plummer has
a message to deliver to colonel three
the message and beats it on the mo-
torcycle. And he keeps travelling until
he finds that colonel
This does not mean that the army
is without horses or that officers all
ride in autos. Officers at Camp Dodge,
especially the generals and colonies Of
the regular army. have their own pri-
yate mounts. And they think lot
Of them. The affection that grows up
between an officer and his horse can
not be described But now the gen
erals and the colonies use their horses
only for formal occasions. when they
want to review the troops or something
Of the sort.
One of the orderlies at Camp Dodge
is Sergeant Mahan. He was in the
United States army at the Boxer up
rising in China in 1896. He has been
in ana out or the army ever since. He
is proud Of being an orderly for Gem
eral Plummer. and he hopes some day
to carry a message right up to the
front line trench.
All officers of certain rank and posi-
ton are to be furnished automobiles
by the government. In the war de-
ficiency bill recently passed by con-
gress was an appropriation Of $4,000
900. which is for army touring cars
and motor trucks.
The story comes from France that
French and English officers are driving
about in $1,000 and $4,000 cars. This
might have caused our government to
raise the purchase price on touring
cars for 210 machines have been or
dered at $4,000 each. while 1000 cars
at $1,000 each will be bought for gen.
eral officers.
Major General Plummer, command
ant at Camp Dodge, and who is in the
"210" class Is driving about today In
a. very ordinary car. one that did not
cost more than $1,000. The other
autos furnished at headquarters are
of medium price. Camp Dodge Is very
democratic.
One can easily appreciate why horses
are not feasible when you consider that
the camp is three miles long and a
mile wide. One can easily travel five
or six miles finding one man. The
camp is now laid out in streets and
blocks. lust like city. The two main
thorouehfares are Main street, paved
with asphalt, and Des Moines avenue
an oiled street The cross-streets are
numbered and run from First to TWEEN.
tv-eiehth. altho later others will bt
added to the north.
The camp is so big that Des Moines
,t,,,.. are vins difficulty
| ing goods. AS one grocery man said
| 1t takes an hour for our truck to &c
there and five hours to deliver tn
goods. Laundries are having grea
| difficulty in delivering packages. be
cause the men are shifted SO much.