Evening star., 1942-08-20
mo. Three Of a Seriss.) }
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.


The Army's Transportation Corps
is moving more than 4 million SOL
diers . month within the United
States.
It il accomplishing this stupen-
dous joh-four or, five times greater
than at any time during the last
war-with relatively little disruption
Of civilian travel and little decrease
in comfort, except for some un-
avoidable crowding.
Up to the present there have been
very few instances where Z soldier
has been moved overnight without
being provided with = Pullman
berth.
In the last war. Transportation
Corps officers explain, the great
majority Of soldiers made only two
moves by tratn-fro@ home to train
ing camp And from camp to port OF
embarkation. Now nearly everybody
makes xix moves-from home to
induction station, home again On .
short furlough to adjust his affairs,
from home to . reception center,
then to 4 replacement training
center, then to 4 camp and finally
to 4 port. In most cases al this
movement Is by train. When the
Army speaks Of moving 4 million
men . month 1t does not necessarily
mean that 4 million separate indi-
viduals have been transported. One
man may be shifted several times.
Closets Cs- Ordination.
There has been more troop move
ment within the country in the past
five months than in the flrst Is
months Of the First World War.
Travel by sleeper has been several
times heavier than by coach. In the
other war the condition was just the
opposite. Many Of the moves are
now transcontinental.
This vast amount Of travel. with
little disruption OF routine railroad
operation is possible only BY the
closest sort Of coordination, making
the utmost Use Of Ill equipment pos
sible, and complete cooperation be-
tween the railroad omcials and the
Army. The whole intricate system
has been worked out mostly In the
past two years during which time
the passenger division Of the Trans-
portation Corps has increased from
one oficer and 10 civilian employees
to many times that number.
It is necessary to make up many
combined passenger and freight
trains new sort OF arrangement
for American railroads. This is due
to the policy, which did not obtain
in the last war, that m organiBa-
ton and its equipment when chang
ing stations shall never be separated.
Special emphasis lis given this when
troops are taken to 4 port Of en-
barkation.
Eyes on "Impedimenta."
The policy has been adopted As
= result OF many instances in 1917
ID. Troops would get to 4 port just
In time to board 4 transport. Much
of their paraphernalia might be on
= railroad siding hundreds Of miles
away. They either would sail with
out it, expecting to draw new equip
ment on the other side, or departure
would be greatly delayed while fran
tic efforts were made to trace the
freight cars. Sometimes they stayed
lost.
Now . commanding onlcer's re-
sponsibility for the "impedimenta"
Of his outfit never ends. He can
keep his eyes on 1t at all times and
II any Of it Is lost there is nobody
else on whom to shift the blame.
Another reason for the new trans
portation policy is the determine :
ton that Z command shall be ready
for action 1T al times, regardless
Of the probability that it Will have
any occasion to fight.
Also IN this war. due largely to
the Transportation Corps handling
Of the trafilc, there has been no
piling up Of troops at ports awaiting
transportation. Because Of the close
coordination between the rail- and
ship divisions it usually Is known
precisely when 4 vessel viii be
available and how many 1t can
carry.
Troops intended for overseas are
shipped from an interior station to