Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-10-03
Don't Give Up
The Truck y

The newest branch OF the Amer can
service, the Motor Transport Corps,
just now offers splendid opportunity
for men with experience IN the aut =
mobile industry, who want to render
service To the government and get To
France quick
There are to be five thousand officers
and two hundred thousand men in the
corps when il IL fully recruited, and
about two thousand OF the officers arc
still to be found Men in deferred classes
are given preference, but any man who
is properly qualified NAV applye for
commission. lie should address his
application to the Training Branch,
Motor Transport Corps, Washington.
ID. {. II he qualities. he will he sent
10 the Training Camp for officers, which
is n part of Camp Joseph T.. Johnson
at jacksonville. Florida Another motor
transport officers school is 10 be es-
tablished at Fort Sheridan. and there
will be- several others for. enlisted men.
The men who are organizing this
new corps strongly emphasize two things
that IL IL no "slackers' brigade,
but n service full Of danger and hard
ship and that no man will be sent 10
France until he il ms proficient IN his
job al instruction and experience can
make him
MEN oF EDucATIoN USED.
The best officer material for the Motor
Transport Corps has been found to be
men Of education who have BEEN m the
automobile business AS manufacturers,
designers. statesmen, garage managers
and the like j, Il should be borne IN mind
that there are two principal divisions
of the Motor Transport Corpa park
service and a convoy service. An officer
Of the park service has charge Of re-
pairing and rebuilding cars. Men with
an intimate knowledge Of motor car
mechanism are therefore especially need
| cd for this branch The convoy servlre
| actually uses the cars in getting food
and ammunition to the fighting units,
and IN moving troops, and even artillery
horses and all
In this branch resourcefulness and
| familiarity with the operation Of care
are the requisites for both officers and
men The corporal who was carrying
| ammunition 10 the front when the radla-
tor his truck was punctured by shell,
and who mended it with the solder
| from a tomato ran that he found hy
the roadside. Is n good example ~ the
kind of mon needed IN this branch y
is business ~ considerable hazard.
rs Is shown by the fact that when three
truck loads Of ammunition we're started
| toward tho Marines who took Chateau
IhlerrY, only one Of them arrived The
| driver Of that one had four bullet holes
IN him He offered to 20 back for another
| load on the ground that nc was the
| only man who knew the way tic II
also ono Of the kind they are looking for
The Motor Transport Corps has been
getting ITS enlisted mcn by application
| to the Provost Marshal Generals office
| Men who have Indicated knowledge
Of the motor car business on their ques-
tionnares arc commonly assigned To
| tins branch But the Corps has now
obtained permission to recruit ten thou
sand men from the civilian population
without regard to thrlr status in the
] draft II especially wants skilled repair
| men and skilled chauffeurs To have
| owned and operated some kind Of ear
| for q year or two Is not enough. Real
| professionals Of the motor Business,
| and especially mechanics am trIck
| drivers, are what the Motor Corps
wants. Men who want to enlist should
apply, the same as those who aspire
to commissions to the Training Branch
Motor Transport Service, Washington,
d. c.
ANOTHER wAR-MfRACLE-
The "motorzation' Of the American
! army Is one Of the swift miracles which
war has worked When we went INTO
the war, the Use Of trucks and auto
mobiles IN the army was a new thing
TO Us, except for a very brief experience
OF hauling supplies that way to Mexico
and the other beiligerent nations hadn {
brought the motor business TO anything
like the Importance it now has on the
western front When the armies came
out OF their trenches, and the present
war OF maneuvers began, the motor
entered upon a new phase OF usefulness
Not only could supplies be sent by
truck to the swiftly moving fighting
units much more rapidly than by horse
drawn vehicles, and much more surely
than by rail. but troops and artillery
are row transported by motor. Trucks
are being used into which three horses
may be loaded, while field piece and
a caisson are hitched on behind as trailers.
In this way an artillery unit may be
moved from one place 10 another at
the rate OF fourteen miles an hour. and
then set down to maneuyer in the usual
way.
The Motor Corps is just as highly
organized as any her branch of the
service \ truck company consists OF
twenty-seven trucks, with repair ma
chime, baggage truck and a moving
kitchen 4 corporal and q private are
on the drivers seat of each truck If
the corporal rs killed the private takes
his place The first sergeant travels
in the side car of a motorcycle, and the
two commissioned officers in command
usually a first and second lieutenant,
60 ahead IN 4 light passenger car.
LIGHTLEsS AND At NIGHT.
Most of the moving Of supplies and
ammunition IS done nj night and with
out lights That Is why the corps il
now training Its chaufTeurs by sending
its trucks from factory 10 seaboard IN
this country under their own power
at night
Despite all precautions a shell frt-
quentlv finds truck Some trucks
stay in the service for vears. and Others
are Town to pieces IN few DAYS The
most strenuous work OF the corps comes
IN case OF an enemy advance 1t Is then
the duty of the truckmen to load up
the supplies and get them TO the rear
SO rs to save them from capture " hen
the Germans made their big push in
the spring. heavy percentage of our
trucks were shot To pieces while trying