Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-07-03
Army Transport Train Three Miles Long
to Make Three Thousand Mile Trip From
Coast to Coast Passing Through Illinois

By order of the war department
a motor transport tram three miles
long will leave Washington on
July z and cross the continent to
the Pacific coast, reaching San
Francisco over the Lincoln high
way.
This long journey is to be made
in so days. 1t will serve as a test
of the efficiency of the army's
transport service, but what is con-
sidered more effective, will demon
strate to the nation the inestima-
BILE value of a system of national
highways.
The plans for the adventure
department. All equipment has
been assembled and the personne,
detail assigned. This transport
train will be the heaviest in the
history of the army. 1t will be
even heavier than any single unit
of the huge transport service used
to keep the armies of the allies
supplied along the French front.
No motor transport train of any
nation has ever before attempted
continuous journey of 5000
miles in 60 days with full war
equipment The motCr trucks will
carry not only their own supplies
to last the entire journey, but will
carry supply and repair, units, as
well as full compliments of men
and officers. The marching orders
call for an average of rs miles
day. This schedule necessitates d
speed of Is miles an hour all the
way from Washington Z" the coast.
no matter how unfavorable the
weather or geographical condi-
tons.
The war department, through
the chief of the motor transport
corps, Brigadler General Drake.
has officially notified the war camp
community service OF the depart
ure of the transport train and re
quested it to care for the men all
the way from Washington to San
Francisco. sending the itinerary of
the line of march. The war camp
community service has been au-
thoriZed to make official announce
ment of the event for the war de-
partment, and has already dis
patched special letters with in
structions to all of its organizers
and field workers along the line of
march. Plans for the mems care
and recreation during their brief
evenings in each community have
already been perfected.
The decision to send three miles
of army motor trucks across the
country was reached several days
ago in Washington after consulta-
tons between General Drake, in
command of the transport service.
Colonel Owen Seaman and Lieuten-
ant Colonel ]. M. Richie working
in close collaboration with the Lin
coin Highway association.
The most picturesque features OF
the long journey will be the man
ner in which the long snake-Iike
train of motor vehicles will wind
its heavy. humping way over the
Rocky mountains. 1t will cross by
way of the Continental divide. The
engineering staff of the army has
carefully figured out the journey
so that no mechanical or engineer
ing obstacles stand in the way of
its success.
The start is to be made on the
morning of July from Lafayette
square in front of the White house.
The van of the train will immedi-
ately leave the capital, headed for
Pittsburgh. The course then fol-
lowed will take the soldiers trucks
through Ohio. Indiana, Illinois.
Iowa, Nebraska. Wyoming, Utah
and Nevada The transport trucks
will finally drop down the western
slope of the Sierra Nevada range
to Sacramento, Cal, and then on
to San Francisco.
For many years the Lincoln
association has endeavor-
ed to secure the backing of the
in its project to build
a thoroughly sound ocean-to-ocean
highway. The proposed journey OF
the three miles of motor trans