Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-04-09
ARMY HAS FINE
MOTOR SCHOOL
Mechanics and Chaufeurs
Taught Ways and Means
of Auto Craft.

trade of the automobile industry at the
Motor Transport school, located at
Camp Holabird, Md, which is within
the limits of the city of Baltimore. The
United States Army Recruiting News
states that from 800 to 400 accom-
plished mechanics every year are
turned back to their respective units,
which thus gain skilled workmen, as
well as men who are able to impart
to others the knowledge they have &C
quired.
This school Is a comparatively young
institution The advent Of motor trans
portation in the army called for eff
cient and economical operation and
maintenance of the same In the field.
To provide for this necessity it was
decided to establish school for the
instruction of personnel whose work
rendered knowledge Of motors essen
tial. In July, 1919, Col. George p.
Halves, Jr.. field artillery, reported to
the chief of the motor transport corps
at Washington. He received verbal
Instructions to proceed to Camp Hola-
bird and organize a motor transport
training school. On July 7, 1919, the
organization of the school was COM
menced, and by September 2 of that
year most Of the machinery and equip
ment necessary for the instruction Of
students had been installed This
project was somewhat of a departure
In the instruction Of enlisted men, in
that no work of this nature had ever
before been attempted on SO large a
scale by the army.
The school was officially opened on
September 5, 1919, by the secretary OF
war, with total enrolment Of 442 en-
listed men as students. This body of
men at that time was distributed
throughout ten departments of the
school, and since that date there has
been steady flow of students through
the institution. Today the enrolment
Is not quite as large, but the same
opportunity exists for the enlisted man
who desires to train himself that he
can become skilled workman in any
of the army branches Of the automobile
industry. The courses available to en-
listed men are:
Machinists, tire repair, blacksmith
ing and spring making; sheet metal
and radiator repair; storage battery
construction and repair, oxy-acetylene
welding; body building and wheel
wright; automobile painting; trimming
and upholstering ignition and carbure-
ton; motorcycle mechanics, and chauf-
feur mechanics.
Individual Shops a Feature.
Each of the subjects enumerated
above has its individual shop, which is
equipped according to the established
custom for such shops, and every pos
sible effort is made by the instructors
to keep abreast of the present-day
methods. The instructors who COM
pose the staff of the school are for the
most part civilians employed by the
government. Instruct0rO who are quail
flied to instruct In the subjects men,
toned above are, Of necessity, men
with long practical experience, schOlas-
tic or theoretical training, good per-
sonality and the ability to lecture to
students in such a way that the facts
of the subject matter are impaired in
a forceful and understandable manner.
OF the instructors now at the school,
the majority are men employed In the
early days of it's organisation. They
have thus been able to correct many
mistakes Of class management formerly
made so that today the school Is bene-
fitting by the FIVE years OF experience
these men have had as instructors.
In the beginning the courses Of In
struction were naturally fragmentary
and full of defects, as the course OF
any new school would naturally be,
but constant revision and reorgani7a-
ton have established definitely out
lined course of study, together with
training manual for each subject
Equipment for practical work and
demonstration has gradually been &C
cumulated for each subject during the
last five years, so that a better
equipped school for the teaching Of
trade craft in automobile work would
be difficult to and, asserts the Recruit
ing News, and adds
AppIicatory System Used.
"a word here as regards methods Of
instruction and the scope of subjects
will not be out of place. Instruction in
the school consists OF practical work
and theoretical instruction, both Of
which are accompanied by practical
demonstrations BY practical work 1t
ls to be understood that the student is
assigned task or piece of work, which
Is explained to him in detail both theo-
retically and practically. The task Is
then demonstrated to him by the In
structor who actually performs the
work, after which the student performs
similar task under the direct super
vision of the instructor. This system
of training, known as the applicatory
system, Is adaptable to the subject mat
ter Of the courses, In that the ultimate
aim Of the school Is to produce men
who can manually perform Job on
motor vehicle that will pass the most
exacting inspections.
"After successfully completing any
Of the numerous courses at the Motor
Transport school the soldier has the
knowledge Of a trade at his finger tips
should he ever decide to return to civil
life Or he can report to his organixa-
ton knowing that he has fitted himself
n. l. a L n IL -.lo~