the frame and hood, and
are designed to cut wires which the enemy may have stretched across
highways or passages to hinder progress.

The armored covering on some of these cars is little more than a steel
box, with "port" holes all around. There is no hoop dome or cupola, and
the men are supposed to protect themselves by keeping their heads below
the sides of the box. Besides the driver, some of the cars carry two or
three men, who are further protected against the bullets of the enemy
and the chance missile from the sharpshooter by steel headpieces or
helmets.

The Belgians have a type of car of heavy design, equipped with huge
headlights, as well as a searchlight to operate at night. The car has a
rapid fire gun mounted in a cupola-formed revolving turret. In the
matter of automobiles in the army, Italy outranked Germany at the
beginning of the war. While Germany had Mercedes and Opel trucks,
mounting five to seven rapid fire guns, which, with their steel armor
and solid tire disc wheels, were actually miniature forts, the Italians
had more formidable mounted creations of the same sort.

ITALY'S SINGULAR POSITION.

As a matter of fact, Italy's position in regard to motors is unique
among the other countries in the war. Not only are the transportation
conditions different, but the motorcar industry in the country is on a
different basis. It is said to have been the only one of the countries
which was able to meet the demand put upon it for motors without going
into some other land to augment its supply. Italy did not buy a single
American motor vehicle for war purposes. There are cars of foreign makes
in the army and with the Red Cross, but these vehicles were in the
country--purchased for private use--when the war broke out and were
requisitioned.

The big guns of the army are handled by motor tractors, 95 per cent of
the army mail service is motorcar service and 95 per cent of the
drinking water for the fighting forces is delivered by motortruck.
Profiting by the lessons of the other countries called to war, Italy had
time in which to prepare for emergencies, and when the order for
mobilizing forces was issued the motorcar factories were speeded up and
the workers were permitted to stay on the job, instead of being called
out to fill up the ranks of the army.

Compared with the resources of America, the Italian motor industry is
not large; but the product is uniform and practically all of the
factories are