Cheyenne record., 1918-04-11

February 8, when the British ship
Tuscania was torpedosd and sunk.
The bodies Of IA soldiers. en- route to
France, have been found and IS others
were still missing on March 10.
To secure an adequate number OF.
competent officers 10 lead the new
armies various plans were devised.
Two classes at West Point were grad
uated in advance Of the usual gradu-
ating dates and special examinations
were held In various parts of the coun-
try for appointments from civil life.
Three series Of officers training camps
have been held. OF 68.2O8 candidates
in the first two series Of camps 44,578
qualified and were awarded commits
sions. In the third series Of camps,
opened January s. 1918, about $1,000
candidates. consisting largely Of en-
listed men. have been in attendance.
Corps Of Engineers.
At the beginning Of the war the en-
gineer troops consisted Of three reRi-
ments Of pioneer engineers, with
trains, one mounted company, sone en-
gineer detachment at West Point. The
aggregate strength was approximate
ly 4.125 officers and enlisted men. At
present the aggregate authorized
strength il over 600. with an, act
ual strength Of approximately. 10000.
OF the special engineer units re-
cruited for service on railwaystand In
the maintenance Of lines Of eommuni-
cation, many are already in France
and others are awaiting recruitment
to full strength in order to be ready
for overseas service. The nrst en-
ginssF troops, LOO strong. to be sent
abroad, arrived in France about three
months after war was declared. Since
that time the number has been Sreatly
augmented. These troops have been
constantly engaged In general en-
cheering work, including the con-
struction of railways. docks, wharves.
environments, and hospitals for the use
Of the American expeditionary forces.
They have, in some instances. in the
performance Of their duties, engaged
In active combat with the enemy.
Ordinances Department.
Since the outbreak Of war the
commissioned personnel Of tue ord
nance department has expanded from
e7 officers, operating with yearly ap-
propriations Of about $14 900 and
with manufacture largely confined to
government arsenals, to 5000 officers
in this country and abroad, transacting
an unprecedented war program for the
supply of ordnance, the total direct
| appropriations and contract authortza-
| hox u hAor A..
7b6.508. 1856.
While building the foundation for
greater production. the ordnance de-
partment has provided I, 400. 900 rifles !;
has brought the rate Of rife production
up to 5000 per week, sufficient to
equip three army divisions; secured
deliveries on more than 1900 ma
chine guns brought the rate Of pro-
duction Of machine guns from 10000
| to 25,O00 per year; increased the rate
Of production Of ~ h-inch to 0-inch cali
Der guns from 1900 to $4,000 per year
and has arranged for the manufacture
Of some 5000 motortrucks and trac-
tors for hauling heavy guns and am
munition, which are being deliverea
almost as fast a. they can be shipped.
One billion roundS Of ammunition
has been purchased for the training
Of troops in the cantonments alone.
An idea of the extent of the ord
nance program may be gained from
the following few items Of purchase
Twenty-three million hand grenades.
725, 600 automatic pistols, 10000 re-
volvers, 23OO0,000 projectiles for all
calibers Of heavy artillery. 427,246.OOO
pounds Of explosives. 100000 machine
guns, and 2,4s4, 600 rifles.
ouartermaster Corps.
,s, The magnitude Of the work Of the
quartsrmaster corps Is indicated by
the, operation Of the subsistence divi-
sion, which IL charged with the re-
sponsibility of seeing that food sup
plies for the army are available at all
stations, from the Philippines to Lor-
raine. Purchasss recently made In
cluded &e000,0o0 pounds dried beans,
11B 600, 900 cans baked beans of the
1917 crop, e6,1s4,4 ,470 cans Of tomatoes.
o1OOO,OOO cans Of condensed milk. and
20, ,2s7, 900 pounds Of prunes.
i The establishment of the subsistence
division centralized he purchases Of
foodstufts for the army, previous to
1 which such products were distributed
through the depot quartermaster. Ef-
fective January 1, the central control
system. has resulted in greater en-
cheney and 4 big saving. In January.
for instance, 100000 was saved under
this system. - compared with the
prices obtained BY depot quartermas-
ters, and In February q saving of
$50. .740 was made on potatoes alone.
The central control system IL still be-
ing perfected.
Production Of 10000 new automobile
trucks II in progress for the army. in
addition to purchases Of $500 passen-