The record., 1917-10-11
AUTO ROADS IN
NATIONAL DEFENSE
Highways Near Coasts Of
Greatest Benefit.
CARRIERS FOR AMMUNITION

Roads to Be of Military Value Should
Be Constructed Everywhere That
Considerable Population, Agricultural
Manufacturing, Trading or Mining,
Has Its Habitation.
Numerous instances might be cited
to show the effect roads or their alb
sence had on campaigns in the civil
war, although their Importance was
infinitely less than now, when the au-
tomobile threatens to drive even the
world famous army mule into oblivion,
writes Major A. A. Fries, U. S. A., in
the New York World it is the auto
mobile, with Its speed and carrying
power, and the wonderful heXibility
of an army using it that make roads
so vitality important in war today. A
railroad must be provided with side
tracks, turntables and yards, which.
for huge business such as war, must
be very large and take time and great
quantities Of material in building. Not
SO with automobiles, where every foot
Of highway, unless in a deep cut or
FILL is Il side track where machines
may unload and turn around. Further
more, in dry weather almost any field
can be used for unloading and loading
the machines so as not to cOngest the
roads at the place where men and ma
terialS are needed.
The answer to the question where
roads should be constructed to be Of
military value is-everywhere that
considerable pOpulation-agri
manufacturing, trading or mining-eX-
lists. In any great war we shall have
to marshal all of our resources, just as
the European nations are doing at the
present time. Every product Of our
soil or factories will be called upon for
use, and roads will be required On
which to carry them to the places
where needed Fine roads along orr
coasts and land boundaries will be OF
the most i,nmetia ale bsteit and should
= az rae i-.at sire tis,
ar tie heaviest e..
.,rated traffic There are q
.--unUer OF roads proposed or actually
under cons guction that come under
this head. such are the Pacific high,
way, along or near the Pacific coast
from Seattle to San Diego; the Yellow
stone trail, along the northern bound
ary from the vicinity of the great lakes
to the Columbia river, and the Lincoln
highway across the north central part
of the United States
While highways intended primarily
for military purposes should be located
near our boundaries, they must not be
SO near that they can be easily raided
or captured by small bodies of the en-
emy and thus likely to be of use only
to him and not to us. All roads farther
inland and parallel to the border roads
will be of very great value as feeders
to those nearer the borders. Along
these interior roads men and supplies
may be moved long distances without
fear of interruption or observation by
the enemy and thus contribute greatly
to the element of surprise so essential
to victory III nearly all cases. There
must be crossroads at reasonably close
intervals to enable tie traffic on interior
lines to leave them and cross to those
places near the border where needed.
During mobilization and the early
stages of the war there will be many
and rapid movements of large bodies
of troops. Here roads and automobiles
will be deciding factors, for, as every
body knows from the progress of the
war in Europe, the one who gets the
start has an enormous advantage that
will cost the other side many times the
original loss to overcome. Later in the
beginning Of campaign, when move
ments are rapid and there is little op-
portunity to intreilch, three inch guns
and shrapnel will be very largely used,
but just as soon as there is time to in-
trench there will be al opportunity for
the larger guns to come up to fire high
explosive shells to drive the enemy out
of his intrenched positions. This may
be called the second or trench warfare
stage of the campaign, when hundreds
of thousands of rounds Of high explo-
sfye shells will be required for every
twenty-five miles of battle front. In
all these operations the number Of au-
tnmobiles required will be tremendous.
but with the vast number in general
use and being manufactured every day
it is inconcciyable that there ever will
be shortage after the first confusion
is over.