The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-03-17
AN ARMY OF EXPERTS FOR SOLDIERS Frank Carpenter

work demands experts. Take for in- stance, the soldier who wishes to en- list in the quartermaster's reserve corps as a motor truck man. lie has first to pass the physical tests, and then to answer 25 questions as to the operation and care of motor trucks If he does this successfully he is given shop work, which includes th- adjusting, repairing and lubricating the parts of the truck. He is next taught to drive. not in the ordinary way, but in that which will enable him to do his work in war time. part of the driving is straightaway and a large part of it is zigzag, including the swift turning of corners. The zig gag driving Is in and out of stakes which have been driven down into the ground to represent a curved course, and the student must wind the truck about through them without knocking them over. Later the stakes are brought closer and closer together and the man winds about between them at various rates of speed. Later he has to learn to back through t>a zigzag
 lines, and then go backward and
 forward and twist this way and that without touching the stakes. Some
 of this work is done afetr dark and
 many of the adjustments and repairs
 are made at night and under all sorts
 of conditions. Every student has to
 learn at least five different kinds of
 trucks, and he is shifted from truck
 to truck so that he can take up any
 machine that may be given him on the
 battlefield and handle it.
 Another important work of this
 war training board will be in connec- ton with the rehabilitation of our disabled soldiers and sailors. It vii,
 take charge of the cripples and wound ed as they come home from France
 and lie in the hospitals and teach them
 such trades and occupations as they
 may be able to carry on when they
 nave sufficiently recovered to go out
 into life. This has been one of the
 great problems of England and France
 and the work will be based upon their
 experience during the past three years.
 Ihere are at present something like lS,o00,OOO wounded and crippled sol :
 diers in Europe. and among these are
 more than 3,000.000 who have lost one limb or another. Tn 1916 more than 1o,oOO legs were cut off in the Ger man ,, hospitals alone, and a half mil lion men were under treatment.
 These welders are only one class of the new mechanics needed by the army. The government Is sending out question: narles to all the men on the conscripted llsts It asks them to give their trades and professions and the work of various
 Kinds In which they have been engaged.
 and from these papers it Is trying to pulid up corps of machipists to be sent With the soldiers to France It has found l great lack in every branch of expert men needed and this includes all kinds
 of mechanical work. The need is so great that the adjutant general of the army mas recently sent out a letter to the commanding generals of the departments. and the chiefs of bureaus of the United states, fnstructing that men be trained
 Tor the army under the advice of this board, The letter cites S7 different oc- equations in which especially trained men are needed. Among the most important are electricians. blacksmiths, engineers and auto and gas engine men. Expert automobile machinists are wanted for the repair factories and in the garages and
 in the field. Motor truck drivers are needed and also foundrymen and those
 who can do all kinds of masonry and carpenter work The army calls for diff 1erent classes of miners and railroad me- chanfcs. It needs bridge builders and steel metal workers as we'll as wireless operators, telephone and telegraph re- pairmen and mechanical experts as to all things connected with structural steel. The government wants men in the United States industries that are manufactur- ing supplies for the war. and this fed eral board is now Investigating the ship building occupations with the idea that 1t may help the government to skilled men f'r work on the emergency fleet. It needs aiso men who have special knowl- edge and skill along other lines For instance, every branch of the army in
 France has to, have carrier pigeon ex- perts, and the government must know where to find them and get them into the service
 The great number of mechanics and
 technicianS and other experts needed cannot be realized by those who do not
 understand the demands of modern war fare. The federal vocational board has recently received applications from the war air division, asking that mechanical and technical experts be trained for that service. The chief of the signal corps es- inmates that they will need 79,OO0 such men for the aviation branch by the 1st of next June. These men will include more than 14,00O cabinet makers, 14.OoO chauffeurs and 14,o0o coppersmiths and metal workers. The service needs 26OU welders and an equal number of men who can repair ignito and magneto machin- cry. It needs 7200 to repair instruments of various kinds, and 2, 500 men skilled in working motors. The board has outlined courses and directions for stu dents who wish to become part of that service, and full instructions will be giv- en to all those who wish to enter it by writing to Washington.
 The United States signal corps needs also 15,000 radio and buzzer operators, and the training of these has already been inaugurated In many parts of the coun- try Many of the drafted men are taking up the study, with the idea that when they get to the cantonments they will be chosen for this work rather than that in the trenches They are anxious to get it because they think the work will be easier and also for the increased wages received. Upon first assignment to radio or buzzer work, the soldiers wages rise to $s6 per month. and as he grows more expert they become S51 per month, and if he gets to be a master
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