The Washington times., 1917-04-21
HAWAII ORGANIZES
TRACTOR. REGIMENT
Will Compose First HorseTess
Unit of Heavy Field ArtiI-
lery In Army.

Under the caption, THE Caterpillar
as a Military Aid" the Army and
Navy News of San Francisco prints
| in its April issue an article written
by c. P. Holt, one OF the pioneers in
| the development OF the idea which
made possible the now famous Brit
ish "tanks" which have proved Of
such great value in the British opera
| tions in France.
"Originally designed as a tractor
for farm use," says Mr.. Holt, "the
caterpillar has since the outbreak of
| the European war assumed vast i'm
portance in military operations, and
| IT is this latter use undoubtedly that
will most interest army and navy
readers.
"Curiously enough, lone OF the first
important uses to which the caterpil-
lar was put demonstrated its poten-
tial value for military operations. The
use referred to was the hauling OF
supplies and material for the building
of the Los Angeles aqueduct, in
which great engineering achievement
twenty-seven caterpillars were en-
ployed. The caterpillars, displacing
horses and mules for hauling over
the trackless .Nojave Desert, reduced
the cost from 90 cents to IS cents a
ton mile and Effected an important
saving in the construction Of the
aqueduct-
Proves Worth In War.
at was not many weeks after the
hostilities in Europe had begun be-
fore reports began to come to this
country of the important part that
tractors were assuming in the mill
tary operations OF the nations at war.
Every one of the nations engaged In
the great struggle, further reports
developed, had requisitioned for MILL
tary uses all of the farm tractors that
could be secured. These were put
to various uses, principally the haul
ing OF mammoth siege guns and sup
plies. Able at first to work under
fairly favorable conditions, these
tractors, as the war progressed, were
obliged to haul their loads where
roads were lacking, over abandoned
trenches, in and out OF shell craters,
and across country that had been
flooded by the elements or the enemy,
or made well-nigh impossible by the
construction of barriers, pitfalls ana
barbed-wire entanglements. 1t was
when conditions like these were en-
countered that one tractor stood out
prominently above all Others In It's
ability to work under the most Sc
we're conditions. That one tractor was
the caterpillar, BenpJamin Holt's
great invention.
"Prior to this actual use of the cater
pillar by the United States army, ex
haustive tests had been conducted at
Fort Sill, Okla These tests were |
undertaken with the idea of determin- |
ing to what extent a tractor of this |
type could be used to replace the six |
teen horses that make up the two
teams OF a section OF heavy battery. |
"All who witnessed these demon |
strations were greatly impressed by |
the ease and efficiency with which the |
caterpillar handled its heavy trailers.
The requirements OF these tests were |
probably as severe as any that would |
be demanded by war service, but /
through them all the tractor showed |
itself capable OF doing the work OF /
two eight-horse teams, not only over
all terrain practicable for animal trac-
tion, but also in places where such |
traction could not be used"
Taken to Santo Domingo.
Another caterpiller has been put to
an interesting use in Santo Domingo.
Before the opening of the Panama
Exposition in San Diego,
Cal, at the beginning Of 1915, this
an 1S-horsepower model.
was sent there as part OF the Holt ex-
hibit. All during the year the tractor
gave daily demonstrations OF plowing
and climbing a 45 per cent incline. II
was also used in a number of demon
strRtions in connection with the
United States Marine Corps stationed
at that paint, the marines finding It
adapted to the handling OF
their light guns So interesting did
this line OF work prove to be that the
1S' at the close OF the first year of
the exposition when the Holt exhibit
was removed. was left with the ma
rines to continue their experiments
along the lines OF using tractors for
power.
Then came the call for the marines
to go to Santo Domingo and the IS'
was loaded on board ship and taken
along. This tractor was used in Santo
Domingo for hauling supplies. and ac-
cording to reports received from them
gave entire satisfaction.
'Still more interesting Is a use to