Evening star., 1941-03-09
Army Drafting Plans
To Ease Movements
Over Highways
Moss Muneuvers
To Be Worked Out at
Regional Meetings

The War Departments newly
formed Highway Traffic Advisory
Committee initiated at Baltimore
yesterday a series of nine regional
meetings that will be held this
month in various sections to work
out plans for facilitating mass
movements of Army units over
highways at a minimum of incon-
venience to the civilian motoring
public.
In certain areas where there are
large concentrations OF troops the
increase of military use of State
highways already has become
problem to traffic officials. 1t will
become q national problem soon.
for approximately $50 types of mo-
tor vehicles will be required to serve
the Army when it attainS a strength
of 1,418,000 men by June IS.
Maj. Ernest w. Brown, superin-
tendent of police, is a member OF
the official advisory group which Is
headed by Thomas H. Macdonald,
commissioner of public roads. All
but few States have formed similar
advisory committees of traffic off,
GERS to cooperate with the Army.
Regional Meetings.
Other regional meetings with
State officials are planned as fol-
lows: Columbus, Ohio, March IL;
Chicago March II; Omaha, Nebr,
March IA: San Francisco, March
18; Amarillo, Tex, March 81; At
lanta, March 25; New York, March
81, and Boston, March %.
The advisory group formed in the
District of Columbia to cooperate
in such highway plans consists of
M. o. Eldridge, assistant traffic
director; J. N. Robertson, Depart
ment of Highways, and Inspector
Arthur E. Miller of the Police De-
partment.
Governors of 43 States have
formed similar committees and the
Governors of Arkansas, Colorado,
Maine, Oklahoma and Rhode Is
land are expected to act soon.
Army officials stressed that the
closest kind of cooperation is
needed between the military per-
sonnel and public officials to pro-
vide the least possible inconven-
ience to motorists. With the great
increase in Army mechanization,
units will have to take to the high
ways for much of their training.
Command echelons and stats in
particular need such training in
maneuvers and mobilization of units
and this training, the Army en-
phasized, demands use of the high
ways.
List Available Vehicles.
The State committees will serve
many purposes. First of all they
will aid in securing civilian driver
records of men selected to be
trained as operators of Army motor
vehicles. They will also assemble
data relative to the availability of
buses and commercial trucks that
would be required in mass move
ments.
Motorized Army divisions cannot
haul all their men. In long-dis-
tance movements of division it
may be necessary to hire COM
mercial vehicles to make up the
difference.
Under the proposed plans, Army
commanders will contact only one
official in State in arranging for
large troop movements and he in
turn will make all local arrange
ments. In addition, the State COM
mittees may be called upon to
render technical assistance in the
solution of local traffic problems.
To centralize this coordination, the
Highway Traffic Advisory Commit
tee has recommended that the State
committees be grouped into re-
gional committees according to
Army corps areas, each with a liai-
son officer on duty.
Baltimore is headquarters of the
Sd Corps Area, which embraces
the District, Maryland, Virginia and
Pennsylvania. The newly formed
State advisory committees in that
area took part in yesterdays meet
ing.