The Colorado statesman., 1918-06-22
ARTILLERY NEARLY
ALL IS MOTORIZED
AMERICAN ARMY TO GO FURTHER
IN THIS RESPECT THAN HAS
ANY OTHER.
NOTIFYING OF CASUALTIES
How the War Department Informs
Relatives OF Killed and Wounded
soldiers-Radlo and Buzzer Opera
I tion Taught In 600 Schools.


tion Taught In 600 Schools.
<From Committee on Public Information.)
| Washington.-Motori of field
artillery will be carried to greater
extent in the American army than In
any other army engaged In the war.
Not only will far greater amount Of
motor equipment be provided in pro-
portion to the strength of the army,
! but 1t will be used for work where
armies now In the field depend solely
upon horse power and man power.
The ordnance department has sue
ceeded in developing such types of
tractors that, exclusive of the heaviest
field artillery mounted on railroad car
riages, all American artillery will be
, motorized, with the exception of some
| of the three-inch gun batteries. The
problem of motorizatlon of field artil-
( lery Is a difficult one, which explains
| why 1t has not been carried out to
( greater extent than has been the case
/ with the armies that have been fight
! ing in Europe for the last three years.
The possible output of tractors for
the transport of field artillery In the
United States Is practically unlimited,
whereas the supply of horses is at
present limited and Is becoming more
so each month.
Relatives of soldiers named In cas-
ualty lists forwarded from France or
dinarily are notified within "a hours
after receipt of the lists, according to
q statement authorized by the war de-
partment. A Statistical DIVISION"
| with a staff of officers and corps of
stenographers, gives all Its time to
the maintenance of files of soldiers
names and addresses. This division
notifies relatives.
A copy of the roster of each contin-
gent sailing to join the expeditionary
! forces is filed Ia card index fashion,
each card bearing the name of one SOL
dier, his organization, and the name
and address of parent or other relative
or friend designated by him to be noti-
fed in emergency. When a casualty
list is received from General Pershing
each name capled from the American
expeditionary force is listed with the
emergency address on file In the card
index. AS rapidly as the new list with
emergency addresses is built up the
telegraph clerks get duplicates. These
clerks already are supplied with blank
kilograms which require only the rela-
tive's address, name of sender, nature
of casualty and the date, and filling In
the blank spaces they get the tele-
grams off as quickly as possible. In
addition to maintaining the telegraph
blanks for the sake Of speed the statis-
teal division is supplied with sets of
form letters to be filed in and mailed
when further details are available.
While relatives are generally In re-
ceipt Of information within "a hours
after the cables are received. delays
are sometimes due to clerical errors
caused by the fact that names must
pass through so many hands In France
and in America, incorrect emergency
addresses turned In by soldiers. re-
moval of families to addresses other
than those listed, and the occasional
necessity for cabling back to General
Pershing to verify name or to obtain
an address.
Aside from these four causes of de-
relatives to receive word at once is
military consideration. General Persh-
ing may, at his discretion, withhold
casualty list until he is positive
1t will have no military value to the
enemy.
Through the operation of repair
shops for clothing and other articles
a considerable saving in reissue of new
equipment has been made at army
camps. One camp quartermaster est-
mates the issue of new clothing has
decreased one-third, and of shoes 40
per cent.
/ At a base repair shop for clothing
an average of 1881 garments were re
paired daily during the first is days of
May. In addition to the work done at
base repair shops, many thousands of
garments are repaired at camp shops
one shop being located at each large
camp.
During April nearly 10000 pairs of
shoes were repaired in army repair
shops. At present practically all hat
repairing is done by contract, the
price varying from so to 80 cents per
hat.
This work is in charge Of the conser-
walton and reclamation division OF the
quartermaster corps, which has been
in operation only during the last four
months.
The food administration is making
careful survey of the national ice stu
ation in order that it may be prepared
to meet any sudden shortages In par
! ticular communities. The destruction
of Ice plants by fire, breakdown of ma
chinery, or the exigency of the weather