rapid fire guns of the armored cars.

IMPORTANCE OF THE AUTOMOBILE.

Evidence of how greatly the automobile is appreciated in its relation to
the modern army service is found in the fact that when America entered
the war and began the mobilization of its forces and resources, the
Quartermaster at Chicago was ordered to obtain bids for the delivery of
35,000 motortrucks of one and one-half tons capacity and 35,000 trucks
of three tons capacity. Bids were also asked on 1000 five-passenger
automobiles, 1000 runabouts, 1000 automobiles, in price ranging from
$1500 to $2000, several hundred motortrucks of half, three-quarter and
one ton capacity and 5000 motorcycles, and the same number of
motorcycles with auxiliary passenger capacity, or side cars.

The motortruck, too, in modern warfare is a shoeshop. The care of the
feet is an important matter in the army, and the men, besides being
provided with good footwear, must have that footwear kept in serviceable
and comfortable condition. It is some job to keep the shoes of half a
million or more men in repair, and the United States Quartermaster
Department, in connection with their mobilization, included in its
equipment portable motor-power machines to nail on half soles for troops
in garrison and campaign. Such a machine will nail on a pair of soles in
five minutes. It weighs but 27 pounds and can be transported with the
troops on a motorcar, and may be used anywhere to keep the shoes in
serviceable shape until the troops can reach permanent camps, where new
footwear can be provided.

FRANCE'S TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES.

At the outset of the war France is said to have had 100,000 passenger
cars, 25,000 motorbuses, taxicabs and motorcycles and 10,000 motortrucks
available for military use, and was able to give the various departments
of her military organization excellent transportation service. Besides
this, she had squads of automobile aeroplane cannon, and about 84
12-centimeter and 15 5-centimeter Rimailho howitzers of the armored
artillery type. Russia is said to have been weak in automobile
equipment, having less than a thousand trucks in the Empire available
for military use; but this number was rapidly increased, upward of half
a thousand having been purchased within a short time.

Austria and Germany together are said to have had something like 1500
trucks and about 20,000 passenger cars available for army use. At the
start Germany alone had 250 armored automo