nO°<. '<'^. iV* . ■< « . "^^l » X * .\'^ C^'.^"I"* ''b. '^\ii A^> r^^ => s x^o,. ^. * .'' K ^ ^0- O )r , , , ^ \^^ . . » , ^^. * -. S O ' ^S ■A .y. X ^'= ^/ f; * .\v "^i ' 1/ I 1 \V on A o "^ & <, '©_ X^o.. \ %^ ^.^ / •'*.. ', L'A'-^.'i''" \' THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS IE" THE TEAR 191T IN THE WORLD WAR BY HENRY Gr. SHARPE MAJOR GENERAL, U. S. ARMY (formerly QUARTERMASTER GENERAL) f*i ^ ' C*V » NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1921 Copyright, 1921, by The Century Co. SEf -I ,V{ §)CI,A624171 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMBERS OP THB QUARTERMASTER CORPS AND ITS CIVIUAN PERSONNEL WHOSE LOYAL, UNTIRING AND DEVOTED SERVICES MADE POSSIBLE THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE WORK HEREIN OUTLINED ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am under deep obligation for the assistance ren- dered me in preparing this book by the following: Lieutenant Colonel John H. Adams, Brigadier General D. L. Brainard, Colonel F. A. Coleman, Colonel Wil- liam H. Clopton, Brigadier General John M. Carson, Lieutenant Colonel Ezra Davis, Lieutenant Colonel L. L. Deitrick, Brigadier General Charles B. Drake, Col- onel Charles P. Daly, Colonel John S. Fair, Colonel William R. Grove, Major George Hahn, Colonel Harry J. Hirsch, Colonel Letcher Hardeman, Mr. Emmet Hamilton, Major Henry R. Lemly, Mr. W. H. Lewis, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel Marcel S. Keene, Brigadier General A. D. Kinskern, Brigadier General Herbert M. Lord, Colonel Fred S. Munson, Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Shannon, Mr. O. D, Street, Colonel Thomas H. Slavens, Major Amos Tyree, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Van Vleck, Colonel R. H. Williams, Colonel Winthrop S. Wood, Colonel M. Gray Zalinski, and also to Mr. Edward Hungerford and Miss Elsie Seeligmann for suggestions and assistance in the copying of the manuscript, and to Mr. Edward Frank Allen for the careful editing of the same and for many helpful sug- gestions concerning the arrangement of the contents. The assistance given by the oflficers above named was viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS tendered under great strain of official duties, and the extra work it entailed required the sacrifice of time available for rest or diversion, and my appreciation of their assistance is therefore deep and sincere. H. G. S. FOREWORD It was a gigantic task that was thrust upon the Corps of which General Sharpe was the head when we entered the war. Our Allies were being sorely pressed and needed our aid at the earliest possible moment and their representatives in this country did not fail to press upon Washington the necessity for haste. After the Armistice, Lord Reading in an address at the University Club, described the situation of the op- posing Armies in March, 1918, when the enemy was only about thirty miles from Paris, told of his visit to the President, adding that when he left it was with a lighter heart and a quicker step than for many months before as he hastened to cable Lloyd George that the American troops then in France would go immediately into the battle line (though without that thorough train- ing theretofore regarded as necessary) and that troops would be taken from the cantonments and sent over to take immediate part in the fighting as fast as bottoms and convoys could be ready. The impossible was attempted on our part from the very beginning, and in the effort to attain it, we actually accomplished that which was never before even attempt- ed by any nation. The Corps of which General Sharpe was the chief employed herculean efforts to obtain sup- ix X FOKEWORD plies on time, troops being sent abroad each month beginning with September. This book indicates that the Quartermaster Corps of the Army included a number of capable, energetic and efficient men, who by their foresight and devotion to duty were able, as the author states, to provide the foundations upon which the superstructure was erected. It also indicates the duty of preparation in time of peace, for while as a people we desire to conserve peace, the manliness and independence of our citizens make us deplore the necessity that others were obliged to defend the gates to ensure us the time to organize our resources and strength so as to fight for the liberty of the world. The author's poise is admirable and he has produced a book that will be very helpful to the future historian and will prove exceedingly attractive to those who read it now. CONTENTS I Introduction II Personnel 17 Civilian personnel — Commissioned personnel — Enlisted men — Cemeterial branch. III Finance and Accounting Division .... 68 Financial problems and accounting — Diffi- culties and embarrassments. IV Supplies 90 Supplies division — Subsistence branch — Clothing and equipage branch — Fuel and forage — Conservation division. V Supplies Division 129 Clothing and equipage — Board of Control of Labor Conditions — Time when troops could be equipped — Calling troops in advance of time so designated — Shipping troops to France complicated conditions as to supply — Additional troops — Investigation by Com- mittee on Military Aifairs of the Senate — Shortages at camps — Number of men in service of United States on December 31, 1917, who were equipped — Number of men in France December 31, 1917 — Reserve ship- ment of supplies to France — Over 40,000 men equipped in excess of number which was stated could be equipped by December 31, 1917 — Problem of supply — Distribution of supplies in this country — Fuel and forage branch — Conservation and reclamation divi- sion. xii co:n^tents CHAPTBB FiOE "VT Eemount Division and Eemount Service . . 244 Organization and operation — Method of pur- chasing remounts during the War with Germany — Training activities — Overseas units — Breeding. ^/ VII Warehousing Division 271 Duties assigned to Warehousing Division — Tvs^o classes of Quartermaster Depots — Storage depot at Boston — Functions of the six branches of Warehousing Division. VIII Construction Division 292 Fourteen training camps for officers — Re- frigerating plants for use in France — Me- chanical repair shop units. IX Quartermaster Depots 301 P.roblem of the Grocery Division — Clothing and Equipage Divisions — Forage and Ware- house Divisions — Purchasing and vparehous- ing materials — Manufacture of uniforms — German vessels and the docks at Hoboken — Business of the depots. X Transportation Division 343 Rail transportation — Water transjKjrtation — Motors — Machine shop unit at Hoboken — Joint Army and Navy Board for the In- spection of Merchant Ships — Planning and designs for nevs^ army transports — Army vessel building program for construction of numeral small craft — Militarization of the U. S. Army vessel service — Motor trans- portation. XI Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Florida .... 403 Object of the camp — Instruction — Adminis- trative personnel. Conclusion 412 Index 415 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS The Quartermaster Corps in the Year 1917 in the World War I INTKODUCTION" An eminent "writer stated that : "Men, arms, money and provisions are the sinews of war." If he had included transportation in this classifica- tion, the means by which the sinews receive their nour- ishment, vigor and repair would have been indicated, and the statement would be as apt today as when it was made several hundred years ago. All armies have certain organizations which provide the supplies necessary to maintain their efficiency. Im- provement in the general conditions of life and advance- ment in science necessarily increased the number and the varieties of the supplies required ; and, as a conse- quence, separate organizations have been formed to provide such supplies as are considered technical or scientific. In this country all these organizations in the Army are generally designated as the Supply Depart- ments. 3 4 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS It is the purpose to discuss only the organization known as the Quartermaster Corps, and to indicate briefly the work accomplished by it in the year 1917 in the World War. In order that a fair comprehension and full apprecia- tion of this matter may be obtained, it is necessary to recall some import.ant facts. Several of the Supply Departments in the Army were among the first of the organizations established by the Continental Congress, and others have been created at various times since as necessity arose. As a sequence of the Civil War, and because of the development in business methods, efforts were made at various times to effect a combination of several of the Supply Departments, but these efforts failed. The Commission to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain, appointed by the President in 1898, reported, among other things, as follows : "Finally, In the opinion of this Commission, there should be a division of the labor now devolving upon the Quartermaster's Department. . . ." "Whether there should be one great department of supply, covering the Quartermaster's Department ex- cept transportation, the Subsistence Department and the Pay Department, and another covering the im- portant problem of transportation, including the move- ment of armies by land and by sea and the supply of animals, wagons, ambulances and harness, is a subject for the serious consideration of a board of officers whose experience in peace and war, at home and in an enemy's INTRODUCTION 5 country, would render them most competent to make an exhaustive investigation and to present a complete re^ port upon this important subject." In 1901, Mr. Elihu Koot, then Secretary of War, appointed a Board of Officers, comprising, among others, the Chiefs of the Quartermaster, Pay and Subsistence Departments, to consider this subject. This Board of Officers submitted two reports to the Secretary of War, both favoring the suggestion but differing as to the manner of its application. A bill was later submitted to Congress by Secretary Root, and was opposed by all the Bureau Chiefs who were on the Board of Officers. As the bill provided for a consolidation of the three Departments into the Quartermaster Department, such opposition could have been based on the following analogy: The hand, one of the most important and useful members of the body, is a union of the thumb and fingers ; a consolidation of these might result in an enlarged thumb, but the com- bination forms the palm, and the flexibility and useful- ness of the hand is thus largely increased. The bill failed of passage. It is greatly to be regretted that the bill submitted did not endeavor to establish a Supply Corps proper, for under the able administration of Secretary Root such a corps would have been wisely organized and its duties clearly defined. In 1911 a bill was submitted by the Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Repre- sentatives which created a Supply Corps by combining 6 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS the Quartermaster, Pay and Subsistence Departments. It was not perfect, but it was a step in tbe right direc- tion and was favored by the Chiefs of the Bureaus concerned; and while many of the officers of the De- partments affected did not favor the bill, their loyalty to the Chiefs of their Bureaus restrained them from endeavoring to make their own views known. The bill provided the rank of Major General for the Chief of the Supply Corps, whereas the rank of the Chiefs of all the other Bureaus of the War Depart- ment was that of Brigadier General, except the Ad- jutant General, which was that of Major General dur- ing the continuance in office of its then incumbent. This seems a trivial matter to note, but the rank ac- corded the Chiefs of the Supply Corps had a very ma- terial effect upon the subsequent development of a real Supply Corps, as will be later shown. An officer of one of the Departments affected, who had announced to both Committees of Congress that he was not an aspirant or an applicant for the promotion, was asked what should be the rank of the Chief of the Supply Corps. He replied that it should be de- termined by the financial responsibilities of such chiefs, as salaries were always made commensurate with such responsibilities, and that it should be the highest rank then given in the Army, that of Major General." The Chiefs of the new Corps would be responsible in times of peace for the disbursement of one hundred and twenty-five millions of dollars annually and accountable for the property it represented ; and in time of war this inteoductio:n' 7 responsibility might represent several billions of dollars annually. And in reply to a further question if other Chiefs of Bureaus should receive the same rank, he replied that that was a question for Congress to de- termine, but that the compensation should be established by the financial responsibility of each; and called at- tention to the fact that all Railroad Presidents did not receive the same salary, but that the salary of each one was fixed in the manner suggested. The bill passed each House of Congress, and then was sent to Conference, and upon request of an officer belonging to one of the Departments affected, the name of the new organization was changed from Supply Corps to Quartermaster Corps. This apparently trivial mat- ter prevented the possibility of creating a real Supply Corps, as the establishment of an enlarged Quarter- master Corps was assumed to be for the purpose of securing the rank of Major General for its Chief. Thereafter all the other Supply Departments held ten- aciously to the right to provide all the supplies for their Departments, even if such supplies were in common use in two or three Departments. The viciousness of this system was clearly indicated in 1917 when several of the Supply Departments were in the market for practically the same item of supply, resulting in competition in the "War Department itself. This condition could not be changed under the then existing law; but was effected later under authority of what is now known as the Overman Law, which gave to the President the authority during the continuance 8 THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS of the War, to transfer duties or funds from one De- partment to another. The policy of Congress had been in the past to assign to a Department the sole duty of executing certain work or providing certain supplies required by the Army, and no other Department was authorized to function along these lines. Eor instance, the Medical Department was charged with the duty of providing medical attendance, supplies and hospital treatment; the Ordnance of providing ordnance ma- teriel; the Signal Corps of providing means of com- munication ; the Engineers Corps of the construction of fortifications and river and harbor works. This is merely a brief and incomplete enumeration of the duties assigned by law to each Department, but is sufficient to indicate the point referred to. For some unknown reason when the Law providing for Deficiency in Appropriations was passed just after war was declared, Congress departed from this well es- tablished principle and authorized several of the De^ partments to undertake certain duties which had before that time been assigned to the Quartermaster Corps. The Signal Corps was authorized to pay, subsist, clothe and quarter the men belonging to the Aviation Section ; and this Corps and several of the others named were also authorized to provide storage. Organizations were created in these Departments to undertake these new duties. Decentralization was thus established in lieu of the policy of centralization which had previously been followed and the various Departments of the War Department were thus brought into competition with INTRODUCTION d each other. The confusion occasioned bj this change in Congressional policy will be referred to again. It was remedied later under the authority of the Overman law. It is, therefore, manifest that the Quartermaster Corps was not responsible for the confusion caused by change of a policy of centralization to one of decentralization during a time of war, especially as it had received no information of the intended change, and learned of it some time after the law effecting such change was enacted and when the competition developed. For many years there has existed a tendency on the part of the line of the Army to criticise the Supply De- partments, and there has also arisen a feeling of jealousy against them. At times this tendency has occasioned wide comment in the public press, as for instance in the controversies which have arisen in the past between the Commanding General of the Army and the Sec- retary of War based upon the effort of the former to exercise authority over the Supply Departments and control of the Army appropriations made by Congress. Those who supported this contention seem to have forgotten the purpose for which our Revolutionary War was fought, and also that a considerable portion of the English people at that time maintained similar views to those advanced in this country, and in fact so ex- pressed themselves in Parliament. The contest in both countries was against an arbitrary and despotic form of government, such as is instituted when the doctrine of the divine right of kings to rule is maintained. The doctrine of the divine right of kings to rule neces- 10 THE QUAETEKMASTEE COEPS sarily carries with it tlie control of tlie purse and th.e sword. As a result the form of government adopted in this country necessarily separated the power of the purse and the sword. The Secretary of War, who has almost without exception been a civilian, was charged with the custody and disbursement of the moneys appropriated by Congress for the support of the Army and for the property pertaining to the same. To assist the Secre- tary of War in the performance of these duties and financial and property responsibilities, the Congress established the Supply Departments, the Chiefs of which are each made by law responsible to the Secre- tary of War for the moneys appropriated for his sep- arate department, and the property held by it. A Secretary of War could not under his oath of office transfer these duties to the Commanding General ; and furthermore such transfer would be in violation of the fundamental principle adopted in the formation of our government, of separating the power of the purse and the sword from the control of one man. This point was shown with remarkable clearness and lucidity by Mr. Eoot, when, as Secretary of War, he advocated the formation of a General Staff and a Chief of Staff to have supervision and coordination over the Supply Departments. This did not give the right to administer those Departments, but was intended to remove the complaint at times made by the Commanding Geiieral of the Army that when recommendations were made to the Secretary of War by him the Chief of a Bureau concerned would go to the Secretary and urge the dis- introductio:n' ii approval of the recommendation ; while the actual facts were that the Secretary upon the receipt of a recom- mendation involving a disbursement of money, desiring to inform himself if funds were available to carry it out^ and if the funds could be used legally for the purpose recommended, therefore called upon the Chief of Bureau for report. The supervision and control of the Supply Depart- ments given to the Chief of Staff made it possible for him to adopt such steps as would enable him to be heard before decision was reached. But this did not contemplate denying a Chief of Bureau the right to perform his duty to the Secretary of War to protect him in the matter of the disbursement of money or ac- countability of property for which he, the Secretary of War, was, by law, solely responsible. Exception was taken by a Chief of Staff to a Bureau Chief bringing to the personal attention of the Secretary of War the fact that fraudulent vouchers were being forwarded to his office for administrative action and suggesting steps necessary to correct such practice. The Quartermaster Corps was created by the Army reorganization law passed in August, 1912. This act also provided a limitation upon the number of General Staff Officers who could be stationed on duty in Wash- ington; and the Congress, evidently convinced that the General Staff was exercising control and direction over the Supply Departments to an extent not intended in the law of 1903 creating the General Staff and defining its duties, placed in the act of 1912 legislation pro- 12 THE QUAKTERMASTEE CORPS hibiting the General Staff from doing so in the future. The law also provided that the Chiefs of the Supply Departments could be appointed from the Army at large; but this legislation was, according to the terms of the law, not to apply in the case of the appointment of the Chief of the Quartermaster Corps until after January 1, 1917. Because of this exception, as to the Chief of the Quartermaster Corps, many members of the General Staff attributed the inspiration of the legislation affecting the General Staff to the Quarter- master Corps, but such inference was entirely un- founded. The fact is, however, that some General Staff oflScers in 1917 felt resentment against the Quarter- master Corps. According to Army Regulations the Quartermaster Corps is charged with the duty of providing means of transportation of every character, either under contract or in kind, which may be needed in the movement of troops and material of war. It furnishes all public animals employed in ithe service of the Army, the forage consumed by them, wagons and all articles necessary for their use, and the horse equipments for the Quar- termaster Corps. It furnishes clothing, camp and gar- rison equipage, barracks, storehouses, and other build- ings; constructs and repairs roads, railways, bridges; builds and charters ships, boats, docks, and wharves needed for military purposes; supplies subsist-ence for enlisted men and others entitled thereto; supplies ar- ticles for authorized sales and issues; furnishes lists of articles authorized to be kept for sale; gives instruc- Il^TRODUCTION 13 tions for procuring, distributing, issuing, selling, and accounting for all quartermaster and subsistence sup- plies ; has charge of the supply and distribution of and accounting for funds for the payment of the Ai-my, and such other financial duties as are specially assigned to it; and attends to all matters connected with military operations which are not expressly assigned to some other bureau of the War Department. It had charge of all the National Cemeteries in the country, and under a law enacted in 1885, upon the Quartennaster Depart- ment was imposed the duty of providing for the freight shipments made by all of the Executive Departments of the Government. To carry out the duties imposed upon the Quarter- master Corps, the Office of the Quartermaster General was organized, as follows, and similar organizations were established at Depots and in the offices of the Chief Quartermasters of Departments. On January 1, 1917, just a few months before the declaration of war, the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral was organized into five divisions, each of them sub- divided into branches : (a) Administrative Division Administrative Branch Persomiel Branch Estimates, Reserve Depots and National Defense Act Branch Contracts Branch Claims Branch Cemeterial Branch Mail and Records Branch Miscellaneous Branch 14 THE QUAKTERMASTEK CORPS (b) Finance and Accounting Division Deposits and Allotments Branch Money Accounts Branch Subsistence Keturns Branch Property Accounts Branch Financial Branch Apportionments Branch (c) Supplies Division Supplies Branch Clothing and Equipage Branch (d) Construction and Repair Division Construction Branch Mechanical Branch Reser\^ation Branch Drafting Branch Miscellaneous Branch (e) Transportation Division Land Transportation Branch Water Transportation Branch Remount Branch Miscellaneous Branch Expansion of and Changes in the Office of the Quarter- master General Due to War Conditions in the Year 1917 ' The above organization remained intact until April 2, 1917. On May 16, 1917, by direction of the Secretary of War, a division to be known as the Cantonment Division was established in the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral. This division was charged with the construction of all the buildings at the National Guard and National Army Camps, and under the orders of the Chief of the Division was to report direct to the Secretary of War and the Chief of Staff on all matters relating to con- struction, the Quartermaster General being charged INTRODUCTION 15 witli only the duty of preparing the estimates of funds required for submission to Congress. This change took from the Office of the Quartermaster General all the officers, engineers, architects and clerks trained in the matter of construction and repair. Because of the competition resulting from the various Supply Departments undertaking construction of build- ings under the authority of law contained in the De- ficiency Bill, which law was at variance with the Law of 1912, placing upon the Quartermaster Corps the duty of undertaking all construction for the Army, and creat- ing decentralization instead of centralization in time of war, the Secretary of War on October 5, 1917, directed that all buildings and construction rendered necessary in the United States by the emergency should be undertaken by the Cantonment Division above men- tioned. This Division, as stated, functioned direct with the Secretary of War and Chief of Staff on such mat- ters. The one officer and few clerks remaining in the Construction and Repair Division were transferred to the Cantonment Division; and the Consti-uction and Repair Division of the Office of the Quartermaster General was abolished. On August 15, 1917, under the provisions of Office Orders 'No. 76, there was established a branch of the Supplies Division to be known as the Storage Branch. The Remount Branch of the Transportation Division was abolished on October 3, 1917, by Office Orders No. 100, and a separate Division to be known as the Re- mount Division was established. This Division was 16 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS charged with, all the duties and functions pertaining to the Remount Branch and with the administration and supervision of the Remount Service created by General Orders, War Department, September 25, 1917. A branch of the Supplies Division to be known as the Conservation Branch was established on October 5, 1917, per Office Orders No. 102, To this branch was assigned all matters relating to the conservation of food and other products at posjis, camps, cantonments and other stations. The Personnel Branch of the Administrative Division was made a separate Division to consist of the Com- missioned Personnel, Enlisted Personnel and Civilian Personnel Branches, by Office Orders No. 104, October 9, 1917. Followed by the above change, a Division was created in the Office of the Quartermaster General, to be known as the "Warehousing Division." The duties performed by the Storage Branch and the Cable Service and Over- seas Shipment Branch were transferred to the Ware- housing Division. Office Order No. 109, October 29, 1917, gives in detail the functions of the Warehousing Division. The Conservation Branch of the Supplies Division was made an independent division of the office on November 8, 1917, by Office Orders No, 114 to meet the increase in work. On December 14, 1917, a branch was established in the Supplies Division to be known as the Fuel and Forage Branch by Office Orders No. 126. II PEESONNEL Civilian personnel — Commissioned personnel — Enlisted Cemeterial branch. The Civilian Personnel of the Office of the Quarter- master General During the Period of the World War Up to December 31, 1917. — Some months before the actual declaration of war, which was on April 6, 1917, a careful study was made of the status of the civilian force as it existed in the Quartermaster General's Office, and as to what its probable requirements for the future would be. The aim and plan were to have it continue an efficient and homogeneous forc& — one that would do the maxi- mum amount of work with the minimum number of employees. It was the intention not to swell the num- ber at any time beyond the current and actual needs, but only increase it as the volume of the work increased. In the first instance, the amount of floor space at the disposal of the office was limited, being only sufficient for the requirements of the 323 employees then in the service, so that all the available space was occupied when war was declared. Some of the Branches even at that time occupied rooms on the second, third, fourth 17 18 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS and fifth floors of the State, War and E"avy Building, and one division in the Lemon Building, and because of this separation could not even then work to the best advantage. Having this condition in view, and casting ahead to the probable developments of the future, a plan had been devised by which it was feasible to work three shifts of about seven and three-quarter hours each for every day in the week, including holidays and Sundays, allowing only about twenty minutes for the change of shifts and cleaning the rooms. When war was declared, a call was made at once for something over 200 clerks and messengers. This extra force when secured was crowded into the existing space, and overtime work was required and cheerfully per- formed, nearly all throughout the office. From time to time additional employees were re- quested. Much difficulty was experienced in obtain- ing them through the Civil Service Commission, which was swamped with calls for civilian personnel. In the meantime, the work was increasing heavily from day to day, necessitating, as stated, universal overtime and the hardest work by the office force, while the super- visory and executive force were'- especially hard hit. Each call for more help was carefully considered, as had been earlier determined upon, so that only the number actually required would be provided, and which could be taken care of and employed to the best ad- vantage. The second shift was before long put on. The work PERSONNEL 19 and the number of employees continued to increase, with the result that in the rush and confusion it be- came harder and harder to keep up, or take care of the work, and especially as the clerical force which had been so swollen was composed of new and untrained people who had to be instructed and looked after closely. But clerks of any description were hard to obtain at that time. Many of them had barely passed the Civil Service Examination, for it was the policy to employ only those who had a Civil Service status — much as this policy added to the difficulty. It was not long before the experienced and able clerks who were in charge sought and were given commissions in the Army. Under the ruling of the Department, made about that time, these experienced men — now officers — were forbidden to remain in the bureaus or offices where they had served as civilians. This was a severe blow and gi'eatly crippled the office, as trained clerks to instruct the new appointees were needed, and furthermore those taken from the office were among its most qualified men — men whose long years of training and thorough knowledge of the work of the office were invaluable and could not be replaced as they were fa- miliar with the laws, decisions and precedents and were therefore qualified to prepare the tables of requirements and draw up the estimates for Congress. Reference will be made later to the embarrassment to the service caused by the assignment of these men to duty in other stations. Some idea may be had of the volume of mail when — on an exceptional day — there were over 111,000 pieces 20 THE QUAETEEMASTER COEPS of mail, consisting of letters, indorsements, reports, statements, returns, accounts, etc. It had become necessary, owing to tJie lack of space and to meet exigencies, to put on another or the third shift in various divisions of the office. Any of the trained and experienced clerks who had remained were nearly broken down — and some did break down — be- cause of arduous exertion and long hours. The force by December 31, 1917, had grown to nearly six times what it was when war was declared, or close to 1,800 employees. It had, therefore, become neces- sary to secure office space in outside buildings. While this arrangement was absolutely necessary, it had its drawbacks, for time was lost and delays and disad- vantages occasioned because of the wide separation of the force — even kindred divisions which were inter- locked and worked together could not now because of their size be kept near each other. In this time of great stress and difficulty, when cramped for space, working under pressure for long hours, and without sanitary surroundings, the civilian force labored willingly and faithfully — for all of which they deserve the greatest credit. Reserve Supply of Blaiik Forms and Books for the Quartermaster General's Office. — Early in March, 1917, the outlook was very threatening, and danger of war was imminent. In view of this and after mature con- sideration, it was deemed advisable to provide against all eventualities with regard to the necessary reserve supply of blank forms and books for use of troops in PERSONNEL 21 case of war and quick mobilization of the military forces. In view of tJie above conditions and to expedite tbe work and printing as much as possible, consultation was had with the officials of the Government Printing Of- fice who agreed, after explanation showing the impor- tance and urgency of the work, to give such work of the Quartermaster General's Office the right of way. And in pursuance of such understanding, there was ordered printed at the Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C, on March 13, 1917, 31,538,000 blank forms and books at a cost of $235,606.36 as a reserve stock for the transportation, subsistence, clothing and pay of seventy divisions — 2,000,000 men — in addition to the immense regular stock on hand for the maintenance of the Arm}''. By the end of April, 1917, the reserve stock of forms and books were delivered by the Government Printing Office and stored ready for issuance when called for. For the storage of this large reserve stock of blank forms and books, 20,000 square feet of floor space was ac- quired adjoining the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Yards, 1514 Ecking-ton Place, so shipments could be handled without delay. When orders were issued to mobilize, each detach- ment, company, regiment and division was equipped with the necessary forms and books at the camps and mobilization points to transport, feed, clothe and pay the troops as fast as they entered the service. This office also sent a supply overseas to take care of the 22 THE QUAETEKMASTEE COEPS troops upon arrival. No complaint or criticism as to delay in supplying the troops with the necessary forms and books was received. It must be remembered that this immense number of blank forms were purchased when no funds were available to pay for them. The officials of the Government Printing Office undertook the work with full knowledge of the conditions and with the understanding that estimates would be suV mitted for the funds. If they had been lacking in courage or had failed to cooperate with the Quarter- master General's Office serious delays and difficulties would have resulted. Acknowledg-ments are due to those officials for their assistance. It is thought that the work performed by the Quar- termaster Corps in the year 1917 can best be described by giving an account of that performed by each Division of the Office. It must be understood, however, that the Divisions are coordinated and that work assigned to one Division required cooperation and assistance from other Divisions. PERSONNEL DIVISION Commissioned Personnel By a War Department Order published about 1912 the number of officers authorized to be detailed for duty in the various Bureaus of the War Department was established. Congress passed an appropriation in Au- gust, 1914, for the relief of Americans abroad who be- cause of war conditions were unable to obtain money PERSONNEL 23 to pay for their passage home. The Assistant Secretary of War was sent abroad on a battleship accompanied by a number of officers to provide the relief afforded by the Congress to American citizens. An officer on duty in the Office of the Quartermaster General had a few years before graduated from the iScole de I'Intendance in Paris, and was detailed to accompany the Assistant Secretary of War. Such officer remained abroad on this duty until this country declared war on April 6, 1917, being carried as on "temporary duty abroad" and still being included among the number of officers limited for duty in the Office of the Quartermaster General. After the declaration of war the enormous increase of work necessitated the detail of another officer in the Office of the Quartermaster General and request for such an assignment was made, whereupon the attention of the Quartermaster General was called to the order above referred to limiting the number of officers on duty in his office and directing that a statement be submitted showing whether the assignment requested would in- crease the number of officers authorized for duty in his office. Explanation was made that an officer of the Department had been abroad since August, 1914, re- ported as on "temporary duty," whose station was Wash- ington, D. C., and duty in the Office of the Quarter- master General; that another officer was needed to assume his duties in the office, due to the enormous in- crease in work, and that at the time the request was made for the assig-nment to duty in the office, the of- ficer then abroad was performing duty under General 24 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS Pershing's directions. After the delay resulting from all this correspondence, the detail requested was finally made, but of course it added unnecessarily to the work of the office: and such action does not evidence the hearty spirit of cooperation and assistance which might properly be expected at a time when everyone was endeavoring to assist in preparing the country for war. The Quartermaster General, by an office order, con- stituted a Board of Officers, from the officers on duty in his office^ to consider matters affecting the Quarter- master Corps. This Board gave consideration to our experiences on the Mexican border in 1916, and also made a thorough study of the various reports of the Military attaches and others regarding the war then being waged in Europe, and submitted a very thorough and comprehensive study for the proper organization of the Quartermaster Corps. The Board recommended the formation of Quartermaster organizations then not in existence or heard of in our Army, but every one of which were brought into existence before the termina- tion of the war. This report was submitted to the General Staff for approval in December, 1916, but although frequent efforts were made, no action was ever obtained upon it. This failure caused considerable delay, as the creation of a new organization had to await a call for it from General Pershing, which call was based, of course, on a study of the English and French organizations; a study already made by the Board, not with so complete data as was available abroad. The practical correctness of this study was PERSONNEL 25 demonstrated after our entrance in tlie war when the Quartermaster General received the assignment for duty in his office of two officers belonging to the De- partment of the Quartermaster General for the Forces of the British Army, of an officer of the Corps de I'ln- tendance, and also an officer of Engineers of the French Army. All of these officers had served in the field during the war and their selection would indicate that their own governments reposed confidence in their ability and felt that their practical experience for nearly three years of war, not considering their other long years of service, would enable them to be of great assistance to us in our preparations ; which they were. But unfortunately approval of the establish- ment of new organizations had to await the call for them and therefore they were not ready to be dispatched when called for. The further fact that the shipping of troops abroad commenced about nine months before the original programme contemplated doing so, indicates the advantages which would have been received by the early approval of the report of the Board submitted in December, 1916. Organizations of the Reserve Officers were effected at various places throughout the country and officers and non-commissioned officers of the Quartennaster Depart- ment instructed them in their duties by courses of lec- tures and practical instruction in the business methods of the Department. The English and French officers on duty in the office of the Qifartermaster General ably assisted by delivering lectures, based upon their experi- 26 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS ence, before the Reserve Officers in Washington, and also delivered lectures to the students in the Quarter- master Training School at Camp Joseph E. Johnstone^ near Jacksonville, Florida. Business men in various cities arranged with officers and non-commissioned officers for courses of instruction in the business methods of the Department to prepare themselves to take the examination for Commission in the Quartermaster Corps. When the United States entered the World War, the National Defence Act of June 3, 1916, Kad only partially gone into effect. That Act increased the exist- ing number of officers in the Quartermaster Corps, num- bering 113 by 183, making a total allowance for the Corps of 296, exclusive of the 67 second lieutenants commissioned as such from the former pay clerks of the Army. The law provided that the 183 additional officers be added in five increments; one increment each year be- ginning with 1916, or an annual increase of 36 officers. Due to the threatening situation, the proviso of the National Defense Act authorizing the addition of all five increments in case of an emergency, had been made operative by Executive Order, so that on April 6th, the day the country entered the War, the Corps con- sisted of 205 officers, 91 short of its total number. This 205 was composed of two groups of officers, 55 belong- ing to the permanent Quartermaster Corps and 150 to the line, the latter detailed for duty under the Army Reorganization Act of 1901 for a period of four years. PEKSONNEL 27 It is necessary at this point to refer to the detail system in certain of the Staff Departments instituted by the Army Reorganization Act of 1901. Prior to that time, for a number of years and following the Civil War, the officers of the Staff Departments had been permanently appointed. The method of their selection was vicious and largely due to influence; but this was eliminated in some Departments and could very readily be extended to all so as to make it possible to secure capable, energetic and progressive officers, trained and expert in their several specialties. Their appointment was also for life and with promotion by seniority the attainment of rank was assured before retirement. It was a vicious system and should have been con*ected. Unfortunately during the Spanish War a large number of permanent Staff officers secured commissions in the Volunteers with high rank. Every officer, except one, in a certain Staff Department, received a volunteer commission in the line. Thus they secured advance- ment and rank to which line officers were fairly entitled. Our so-called Military policy had been to create a larger staff than required in time of peace, so that when the Army was expanded in time of war trained staff officers would be available. To appoint such trained officers in the line disregards their value to the service, as also the right of line officers to such advanced rank. Such appointments naturally caused resentment in the line of the Army and the detail system was proposed as a corrective. If the law had limited the detail to the lower grades, and then provided for a competitive ex- 28 THE QUAETEKMASTEE COKPS amination for permanent appointment in the Corps, and made such permanent appointees ineligible for appoint- ment in the line of the Army, the many evils existing would have been eradicated and the Staff Departments would not have been crippled as they were during the largest and most serious war in which the country has ever been engaged, by withdrawing from them at a critical time the detail men and assigning them to the line with higher rank. The Quartermaster General called the attention of the Chief of Staff to this detachment of the detailed officers in his Department, and to the billions of dollars then appropriated for the use of the Quartermaster Corps and the very small number of trained officers remaining to do the work and protect the government funds and property. An officer of the British General Staff, on learning of the detail system, expressed sur- prise and amazement to the Quartermaster General, saying that Americans were noted as being practical men and inquired if they did not realize that the war was one of experts and specialists. In the former Subsistence Department a course of training was adopted for the officers when appointed therein, consisting of a course at the Bureau of Chem- istry, Department of Agriculture in qualitative anal- ysis of food products, the study of butter and fats, the use of the microscope and the saccharometer, followed by a course in packing of meat food products, next a detail at one of the large purchasing stations, followed by a course at the School for Bakers and Cooks. This PERSONNEL 29 required about four years. The detailed officers could not be given this full course because of the time re^- quired, but were sent to take the course at the School for Bakers and Cooks, and were thus enabled upon the termination of their detail to return to the line better qualified to supervise the messing arrangements of their companies. In addition to the officers of the permanent establish- ment, the National Defense Act also established the Officers' Reserve Corps. The Reserve Corps was in- tended to supplement the Regular Army during periods of emergency expansion, and was designed so that officers could be selected, commissioned and available for call to active duty when the exigencies of the service demanded. The examination and selection of candidates had progressed leisurely and methodically until we entered the War, when, under the impetus of possible service, applications poured in from all over the coun- try and the various parts of the world. The regulations controlling the procedure for admission to the Reserve Corps were not suitable to emergency conditions, yet had to be followed in the absence of any suitable substi- tute therefor or any abbreviated system which could be followed. This created a deplorable congestion of paper work, causing long delays before an actual com- mission could be issued a candidate and make him legally available for active duty. The work of examin- ing candidates; preparing the necessary papers; and routing the reports through the numerous channels only added to the labors, already heavy, imposed on the 30 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS regular officers in the Corps. The earliest boards ap- pointed to make selections of Reserve Corps Officers were convened in September, 1916, and up to April 12, 1917, had succeeded in passing upon 436 successful cases, with the major part of these rushed through by local boards at the last moment, and requiring review by different agencies in the War Department. The volume of applications grew so large that it was necessary to close the list to all received after April 1 1th and, on checking up those received before the list closed, there were on April 12, 1917, 4,930 cases of rec- ord requiring action. Applications subsequently received were returned to writers advising them that the list was closed and no more requests would be entertained. On July 1, 1917, the status of the Reserve Corps showed 1,700 officers actually commissioned and avail- able for call to active duty; 400 cases completed and awaiting the issuance of commissions by the Adjutant General's Office, with 3,266 cases yet to be heard from or requiring revision or correction of some part of the examining board's record. On July 15th the Reserve Officers available for call to active duty were being ordered to stations, camps, depots, ports of embarkation, France, and other duties at an average rate of twenty to thirty per day, so that by August 1st the available list was nearly exhausted and the supply through the examination routine could not meet the demand. Because of the enormous amount of work placed upon the officers of the Corps in con- ducting the examinations for commissions in the Officers PERSONNEL 31 Reserve Corps, and in examining and passing upon the various reports of the Examining Boards, the Quarter- master General, about June 1st requested two hundred men from each of the Ofiicers Training Camps who failed to qualify for line commissions be assigned to the Quartermaster Corps. At the same time it was purposed to establish a Quartermaster training camp and to send the men from the Officers Training Camps to qualify them by a course of instruction for the vari- ous duties devolved upon the Quartermaster Corps. This school was also to be used to train the enlisted men of the Quartermaster Corps in some of their duties. At the time the request for the men from the Officers Training Camps was made, it was contemplated to re- ceive authority to establish the training camp, have the location selected and the camp constructed by the time the Officers Training Camps completed the course of in- struction, some time about the close of August. The laen would then go at once to the' Quartermaster Train- ing Camp, and after the course there would be available for assignment to duty. The following letter was pre- pared and forwarded on the date indicated: WAR DEPARTMENT Office of the Quartermaster General of the Army, No. 354.I.P. Washington, June 8, 1917. From: Quartermaster General. To: The Adjutant General of the Army. Subject: Mobilization and Training Camp, Quarter- master Corps Personnel. 82 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS 1. In the future tlie Quartermaster Corps will be confronted with the problem of supplying various or- ganizations and individuals of the Quartermaster Corps to divisions and other formations ordered for duty abroad or to be established abroad, such as division supply and ammunition trains, remount depots, supply depots, transport workers, battalions, bakery companies, wagon companies, pack companies, repair shops for clothing, shoes, harness, wood and metal articles of equipment, laundry and cleaning establishments, supply companies Quartermaster Corps, labor and salvage com- panies, and possibly various other units. 2. Authority has been obtained to enlist approx- imately 16,000 enlisted- men Quartermaster Enlisted Reserve Corps, and additional authority was requested on May 26 to increase this number to 45,000 enlisted men. It is anticipated that this last number will have to be doubled within eight months. 3. In order to have these men undergo training and to have a definite place of mobilization, keeping in mind the desirability of a mild climate and nearness to the eastern seaboard, it is believed a Quartermaster Corps training and mobilization camp should be estab- lished on a large scale in the southern part of the East- ern Department, preferably in the vicinity of Richmond or Newport 'News, Va., where various Quartermaster Corps organizations could be mobilized as rapidly as enlisted and given such preliminary training as possible before their services are needed at division camps in this country, or with formations sent or created abroad. 4. It is understood that camps similar to the above have been authorized for the Medical Department, the Signal Corps and the Engineer Corps. 5. Such a camp should be in addition to the division PERSONNEL 33 camps and should be large enough to accommodate an average daily strength passing through the camp, vary- ing from 10,000 to 20,000 enlisted men and approx- imately 300 officers in charge of the camp and in com- mand of the reserve organizations therein. 6. It is believed one such Quartennaster mobiliza- tion and training camp will be more economical, more efficient for the purpose in view and in every other way more desirable than Quartermaster camps as separate adjuncts to the sixteen division area training camps. Only such personnel and equipment as would be re- quired to handle the routine affairs of the latter camps and enable the divisions passing through them to be trained as a complete unit would probably be furnished such camps. 7. The prompt establishment of such camp is con- sidered necessary now in order to organize properly a system of replacements and of furnishing in the first instance trained Quartennaster Corps units to the vari- ous divisions, as the latter are made ready and ordered for duty abroad, as well as to furnish numerous special and technical units for the service of the rear abroad. 8. It is estimated the acreage required for such camp would be approximately 2,000 acres and prac- tically the same conditions as were laid down for the cantonment camps for the sixteen training divisions should govern the location of this camp in respect to transportation facilities, water and nature of soil. It is estimated the cost would be about $4,000,000, and it would be desirable to lease the site for at least three years with an option to purchase same at any time be- fore the expiration of the lease, should later events show complete ownership to be desirable. No tentage is available. 9. Authority is therefore requested for this office 34 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS to submit a special estimate for the necessary funds to cover the lease, the camp site and to erect the necessary buildings, roads and stnictures thereon to carry out the above plan. 10. In compliance with (W.C.D. 6,277-166) in- structions from the Adjutant General's Office, dated June 3, 1917, the above plan has been considered after informal conference by an officer of this office with Major Kingman, War College Division of the General Staff. HENRY G. SHARPE, Quartermaster General. ^Nearly a month elapsed before this request was ap- proved. Upon receiving notice of the approval, request was immediately made for the location of the camp at Manassas, Va. The matter was held in abeyance for some time, as the General Staif officer to whom it had been referred was inclined to reconsider the question as to the desirability of authorizing the establishment of the camp. His attention was drawn to the fact of the approval by the Secretary of War of the project, after full consideration. On July 20, 1917, a Board of Officers was appointed- to select the location of the camp and the Cantonment Division was prepared to under- take the construction. By direction of the Secretary of War, an officer was sent on August 1st to inspect a camp site at Jacksonville, Florida. The selection of the Jacksonville camp site was approved on August 9, 1917. A long delay next ensued in awarding the con- tract for the construction of the camp due to the fact that an effort was made to have the contract awarded to PERSONNEL 35 a local firm instead of the firai selected by tlie War De- partment. The result was that the construction of the camp was not started until about the 1st of September. When request for authority to establish the camp was made, it was fully and reasonably expected that it would be ready for occupancy about September 1st, and the men coming from the Officers Training Camps could be ordered there for necessary instruction. This was not the case, due to the delay above cited, and the camp was not completed until some time in November, 1917. This is an important fact to remember, for when the Quartermaster General made application for authority to appoint some technical officers, the application would be returned for infoiTaation why the officers were not selected from the 3,045 men who graduated from the Schools. As a class, these were a fine lot of men, and many excellent officers were later developed from among the number. If a suitable steel for rifle barrels is supplied, is it fair and reasonable to assume that the finished barrels, with the accurate rifling, can be produced without the necessary machinery ? On page 41 of his book entitled "America's Race to Victory," Lieut. Colonel Requin asks : "Was it neces- sary to wait three months before opening an artillery- school in the United States?" and adds: "Evidently not." He continues: "We shall conclude by saying: 'That if it was justifiable to await General Pershing's recommendations and to follow them scrupulously in everything concerning general plans of organization, 36 THE QUAKTERMASTEE CORPS training and transportation, it would have been prefer- able to take day by day and without delay such meas- ures as must in any case aid in the execution of these plans, relieve the crushing burden of the Commander in Chief of the Expeditionary Eorces, and lastly, save precious time.' " The National Defense Act of Jime 3, 1916, created a Reserve Officers Corps. Many of the most efficient and valuable clerks in the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral, men who for years had satisfactorily filled the im- portant positions of principal clerks of Divisions and Branches, took the examinations and qualified for com- missions in the Quartermaster's Officers Reserve Corps. It was the intention of the Quartermaster General to call these men into service and assign them for duty in his office in charge of the Divisions and Branches with the work of which they were entirely familiar, being informed concerning the various laws, decisions and precedents relating to same. This plan would have provided the trained officers for the several shifts of clerks which were necessary to transact the rapidly in- creasing business. It is necessary to explain that with the exception of the Insular, Militia and Coast Artillery Bureaus all Bureau Chiefs having any correspondence with the Sec- retary of War or Chief of Staff must address the corre- spondence to the Adjutant General, and that officer presents it for consideration. The Bureau Chief can, of course, see either of these officials personally about a matter pertaining to his own specific duties. Would it PERSONNEL 37 be considered good administration for the President or General Manager of a railroad to require his Chief Engineer, General Superintendent, General Freight Manager, General Traffic Manager, Superintendent of Motive Power or Treasurer to address all matters per- taining to their several departments to the Secretary of the railroad and have the latter present them for con- sideration ? Effort has been made in the past v^^ithout avail to have this unbusinesslike method changed. The adoption of this form of procedure necessarily throws an immense amount of work on the Adjutant General's Office and is persisted in under the claim that his is an office of record. It is, for the matters which under the law it is charged with, but the Office of the Quarter- master General is the office of record for everything, ex- cept personnel, pertaining to the Quartermaster Corps. An officer desiring a certificate of non-indebtedness ob- tains same from the Quartermaster General, which of- ficial also passes upon his financial and property re- sponsibility and keeps accounts of all the funds appro- priated by Congress for the Corps, and makes cer- tificates to the courts as to the records shown by his office in any case before the courts. To effect the call of these Reserve Officers to active duty and receive their assignment for duty in his office the Quartermaster General made application to the Adjutant General some time in May. The application was returaed disap- proved, and after seeing the Secretary of War the re- quest for assignment was returned asking for a reconsid- eration ; it was again returned from General Bliss, the 38 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS Acting Chief of Staff, disapproved; and with the con- sent of the Secretary was submitted again for reconsid- eration and was returned disapproved, the Acting Chief of Staff taking the position that to approve would create criticism of the War Department, as of two Civil Serv- ice men living in adjoining houses in Washington one would be given a Commission and the other not. It was shown that both could obtain them if they passed the examination and their assignment to a station would depend upon their ability to perform the duties of same. The submission of this application through the Adjutant General was proper because it related to a personnel matter and that department is an office of record for such matters. The Adjutant General, in sub- mitting the application for the consideration of the Chief of Staff, forwarded to him a memorandum on the subject, which stated in effect that to approve the ap- plication would be the cause of dissatisfaction among those clerks in his (the Adjutant General's) office who were superannuated and physically disqualified for commissions and recommended that the men when com- missioned be assigned to other stations and men at those stations ordered to the office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral. This was shown by a memorandum from the Ad- jutant General to the Chief of Staff, a copy of which had, probably, inadvertently been left at the Mail and Record Room of the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral. It is understood that the clerks in the Adjutant General's Office were not allowed to be given commis- sions in the Officers' Reserve Corps of that Department. PEKSON^NEL 39 A number of the highly qualified clerks in the Adju- tant General's office had passed the examinations and been given commissions as Reserve Officers of the Quar- teiTQaster's Corps, but there was never any thought or intention of requesting their assignment to duty in the Office of the Quartermaster General. They were all or- dered to other stations and later one or more of them was returned to Washington for duty in the Adjutant General's Department. The Secretary of War agreed as to the impropriety of the memorandum of the Ad- jutant General as it affected the office administration and responsibility of another Bureau Chief and was a matter which concerned only that Bureau Chief and the Secretary of War. But, as stated, the request for re- consideration was returned by General Bliss, the Acting Chief of Staff adhering to the previous action of dis- approval. A decision was then made that any Civil Service Em- ployees or enlisted men, when given commissions as Re- serve Officers and called to active duty, must be sent to some other station than the one they were at when called into service. This decision necessitated the as- signment of all these valuable and highly efficient of- ficers to other stations and deprived the office of their assistance at a most critical time. In passing, it need only be noted that in January, 1918, nearly all of them were, upon the request of the then Acting Quarter- master General, assigned to duty in his office. About August 15th, the first officers training camps, fourteen ijj number, concluded their work, and from 40 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS these camps 3,045 second lieutenants were commis- sioned in the Quartermaster Corps. The list of Reserve Corps Officers and the 3,045 second lieutenants commissioned at the training camps contained many able business men, experienced in their own lines of business; but there were very few who possessed any knowledge whatsoever of the Army, its needs, requirements, etc. This lack of knowledge made it necessary to place at least 90 per cent, of the civilian officers called to duty in subordinate positions where they might learn how best to apply their individual ability to the numerous duties and functions of the Corps and subsequently rise to executive positions. The other 10 per cent, of so-called civilian officers came from the former Quartermaster Sergeants and clerks of the Quartermaster Corps. These men had the army technique but in a large number of cases lacked the executive perspective necessary for the period of ex- pansion and ever increasing responsibilities. To leaven this group of officers, nearly 7,000, a small coterie of regular officers, amounting at no time to more than 180 to 190, were available and these were scattered from the Philippines to France, with the majority of the line officers detailed to the Corps impatient to get back to duty with troops. With the creation of the first sixteen ^National Army divisions August, 1917, 66 officers of the Regular Army then with the Corps (22 per cent.) were removed from the Corps and assigned to duty with combatant troops, leaving overnight the duties they were engaged upon, PERSONNEL 41 in the hands of inexperienced or subordinate officers — in some cases to non-conunissioned officers. Many of the officers so transferred to line troops were perform- ing duties of great importance, and their departure created delay and confusion which impeded the trans- action of urgent public business to the detriment of the service until successors could gather together the loose ends and readjust matters. Foreseeing the natural desire of line officers to return to the line, many efforts were made to have the situa- tion of the Corps appreciated and to secure authority for a normally expanding organization, balanced both as regards the number of officers as well as to an equitable adjustment of rank. It was fully recognized by the Quartermaster General that in order to hold the line officers they must be assured of equal opportunities of advancement in rank with their contemporaries, and also that, in justice to civilian officers, their opportuni- ties for advanced rank should not be less than that ac- corded officers going to line regiments and duties. With this in view, a board of officers was convened in June, 1917, in the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral to consider the matter, and on August 8th a mem- orandum was sent to the Chief of Staff, recommending that an elastic and automatic allowance of officers be authorized for the Quartermaster Corps, both as a necessity for the good of the service and as a matter of expediency to overcome delays incident to separate and fonnal requests when new activities demanded ad- ditional officers. It had been found that needless delay 42 THE QtTAKTEBMASTER COEPS was invariably experienced by submitting each situa- tion separately for consideration and approval by the General Staff, which was then greatly over-worked. The reco-mmendation submitted was based on an esti- mated requirements of six officers— for each 1,000 en- listed men in the service. The recommendation is re- corded as having been received at the War College Division of the General Staff on August 10th. On September 5th a Board of Officers was convened in the office of the Quartermaster General to consider the subject of expansion of commissioned personnel in the Quartermaster Corps. That board was convened in compliance with a memorandum issued by the Secre- tary of War, dated September 3, 1917, which directed that a memorandum be submitted for such additional legislation as might be considered necessary to properly strengthen the Quartermaster Corps and for the ef- ficient operation of the War Department during the War. The Board having cognizance of the recom- mendations submitted August 8, 1917, made a formal recommendation September 10, 1917, that the Quar- termaster Corps consist of the following number of officers: 235 Colonels, 235 Lieutenant Colonels, 705 Majors, 3,525 Captains, 3,760 First Lieutenants, 3,525 Second Lieutenants, a total of 11,985. At the same time the Board prepared and submitted a draft of a bill which would provide an elastic au- thority for progressive expansion of the Quartermaster Corps capable of meeting any condition likely to arise during the war. The estimate submitted, shown above, PERSONNEL 43 was based on the supposition that an Army of two million men would be organized. 'No definite results were accomplished by the fore- going, and the first real authorization for an expanded personnel was on December 27, 1917, when a mem- orandum was issued in the Office of the Chief of Staff authorizing the Quartermaster Corps to expand to 6,651 officers. This was the net result of all efforts made to secure a properly balanced program whereby logical expansion could be conducted without discour- aging delays or by submitting each requirement as it developed to the General Staff for consideration. Had the recommendations of either August 8th or September 10, 1917, been approved, the Quartermaster Corps would have expanded normally and rationally to approximately 12,000 officers for an Army of two mil- lion men. In the light of our full experience, this number would have been about the normal had all the pre-war functions of the Quartermaster General re- mained within that Department and not been trans- ferred or converted into separate organizations. The soundness of those two recommendations above is sup- ported by the fact that on November 11, 1918, the date of the Armistice, there were 13,949 officers on duty in the Quartermaster Corps in spite of the fact that many of its pre-war functions had been taken away from it and absorbed in other Departments. (See Keport of Quartermaster General, 1919, page 171.) Had the Quartermaster Corps retained all of its functions it seems reasonable to assume that they would 44 THE QUAETERMASTEK CORPS have found it necessary to have had approximately 24,000 officers at the time the Armistice was signed, or the equivalent of the estimate made on August 8, 1917. The total authorized strength for the Quartermaster Corps on ISTovember 11, 1918, was 19,949 (see Report of Quartermaster General, page 172), but this was the result of a long, tedious up-hill climb, authority com- ing piecemeal and with each advance dragging the work along, awaiting official sanction. In addition to the efforts made to secure a reasonably balanced organization, special efforts were made to secure advancement for the second lieutenants of the Quartermaster Corps. These officers were formerly pay clerks and had been appointed second lieutenants in 1916, the grade of second lieutenant being the high- est grade they could attain under the laws governing the regular establishment. On July 23, 1917, the Quartermaster General recom- mended the appointment of all pay clerks, second lieu- tenants, Quartermaster Corps, to the grade of Captain. These officers were the bext experts in the Army on Finance Accounting. Due to the rapidly increasing responsibility in that branch of the Quartermaster Corps these officers were disbursing large sums of money and giving their undivided attention to their work with- out commensurate rank. The recommendation was re- turned stating that the Quartermaster General could nominate 32 of the second lieutenants for the grade of captain and that these upon advancement would have to serve in the sixteen ISTational Army Divisions as PEKSONNEL 45 assistants to the Division Quartermasters; the Tables of Organization for the Division authorizing five officers from the Quartermaster Corps. In the opinion of the Quartermaster General, the assignment of the pay clerks to the grade of captain as assistants to Division Quartermasters appeared to be an uneconomical assign- ment of those officers whereby the Army would lose the specific advantages of the knowledge and experi- ence possessed by them and accordingly declined to make the recommendations. On August 31, 1917, the Quartermaster General again renewed his recommendation that the sixty-four pay clerks, second lieutenants, be promoted to captains, but no action was taken thereon at that time. Under date of July 16, 1917, the Secretary of War ruled that it was undesirable to assign War Department clerks, who were officers in the Reserve Corps, to duty in the War Department. A large number of the clerks in the War Department had successfully passed the ex- amination for commission in the officers' Reserve Corps and were very able and competent men. Their services as officers in the expanding period of War Department activities would have been of exceptional value in ad- ministrative capacities and greatly assisted in the de- tails of developing the several branches of the Quarter- master Corps to meet the demands made on it, but the memorandum mentioned operated adversely in two di- rections. First, it removed from the Quartermaster General's Office many men whose services could not properly be spared at that time, leaving large gaps in 46 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS the office force; and, second, it. required dispatching those same men as officers to activities where the Gov- ernment was not receiving the full measure of their ability. As an insufficient number of officers for the several shifts of clerks were available, the officers then on duty were compelled to remain on duty many additional hours each day with the result that several of them suffered serious physical breakdowns. The work of the Remount Branch of the Transporta- tion Division increased rapidly, and efforts were made to have it expanded so as to form a separate Division. An Administrative Personnel for it was recommended on August 26th, which was approved by a Committee of the General Staff, but on the recommendation of General Bliss, the Acting Chief of Staff, was disap- proved by the Secretary of War "until experience showed the necessity for the appointment of these of- ficers." After repeated and urgent requests by the Of- fice of the Quartermaster General and the Committee of the Council of ISTational Defense the necessary per- sonnel was appointed on October 12th. The Quarter- master General understood that the Chairman of the Committee informed the Chief of Staff (recently pro- moted) that unless the personnel was authorized he would resign from the Committee, as he was unwilling to risk his personal reputation by association with an organization so inadequately provided with adminis- trative officers. An expert leather man had been given a commission MilSONNEL 4f m tiie Officers' Reserve Coi*ps and was assigned to duty at the Jeffersonville Depot in charge of the in- spection of leather goods received under contract. Such officer reported that the civilian inspectors, obtained through the Civil Service Commission, had passed for acceptance "traces" which were not up to specification, consequently the following memorandum was prepared and forwarded : WAR DEPARTMENT Office of the Quartermaster General, I^ovember 19, 1917. MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF: 1. In view of the fact that this office will be re- quired to inspect 289,285 sets of harness during the re^ mainder of the fiscal year 1918, and an estimated quan- tity of 738,350 sets of harness, also a large number of halters, bridles and saddles during the fiscal year 1919, the necessity of commissioning a number of experts for tbe inspection of leather equipment in the present emergency has proved imperative. Repeated experi- ments with civilian inspectors and officers already com- missioned in the Quartermaster Corps in the last five months have been a failure, and have demonstrated the impossibility of properly safeguarding the interests of the Government by the use of such inspecting personnel. The men procurable at the authorized salary of $1,500.00 a year for civilian inspectors are generally inefficient and lacking in character and experience and of the officers already commissioned in the Quarter- master Corps who were considered qualified for tbis 48 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS work according to the records only 5, of over 50 who have been tried, are capable of performing this work. 2. The depot quartermaster at Jeffersonville, Ind., has asked, therefore, that certain leather equipment in- spectors, who are willing to serve the Government from patriotic motives, be commissioned for this purpose, and it is recommended that authority be granted to com- mission in the Quartermaster Corps, N^ational Army, 17 captains, 17 first lieutenants and 17 second lieutenants without examination, except as to physical fitness, for the performance of this work. 3. Before recommending them for commission, the qualifications for those who volunteer for this duty will be fully established by competent officers of this Corps. 4. More than 50 leather equipment experts of high business standing and experience, with established rep- utations for integTity, have offered their services to the Government. 5. It is considered necessary that those commis- sioned be called to active duty without delay and as- signed to the depot Quartermaster, Jeffersonville, In- diana, as his assistants. Very respectfully, HEl^RY G. SHARPE, Quartermaster General. A few days later this was returned by the Acting Chief of Staff, General Biddle, disapproved. The Quartermaster General then saw him personally and ex- plained the necessity and the impossibility of having the inspection done by civilians and asked for a reconsidera- tion; but was asked why use had not been made of the 3,045 men commissioned from the camps. It was ex- PEESONNEL 49 plained that some fifty of them had been tried as shown by the memorandum and that practically none of the 3,045 were qualified for any duty because the school for their training had only just opened (as has been previ- ously explained), A Congressman later visited the depot at Jeffersonville and, hearing of the condition of affairs from the officer in charge of the inspections, upon return to Washington reported the facts in per- son to the Secretaiy of War. The matter was then, about January 1, 1918, referred by the Secretary of War to the War Council, which body promptly recom- mended that the officers requested be appointed. The difference in action taken and time required to obtain a decision on a similar request is illustrated by the fol- lowing letter of an officer, who it is understood insisted before assuming the duty, that his recommendations must be approved. The letter is as follows : WAR DEPARTMENT Office of the Quartermaster General Washington, January 23, 1918. MEMORANDUM: O. Q. M. G. to the Chief of Staff: 1. The office of the depot Quartermaster, Jefferson- ville, Ind., will be required to inspect approximately 120,000 escort wagons, 20,000 ration carts, 20,000 water carts, 5,000 medical carts, 25,000 limbered combat wagons and the necessary parts for these ve- hicles. Repeated experiences with civilian inspectors and officers already commissioned in the Quartermaster 50 THE QUARTERMASTEK CORPS Corps have been unsuccessful and have demonstrated the impossibility of properly safeguarding the interests of the Government by the inspecting personnel now available. 2. The depot Quartermaster at Jeffersonville, Ind., has asked, therefore, that certain vehicle experts, who are willing to serve the Government from patriotic mo- tives, be commissioned for this purpose, and it is recom- mended that the necessary authority be granted to com- mission in the Quartermaster Corps, National Army, 1 major, 10 captains, 10 first lieutenants and 10 second lieutenants without examination except as to physical fitness for the performance of this work. 3. Before recommending them for commission, the qualifications of those who volunteer for this duty will be fully established by competent officers of this Corps. 4. It is considered necessary that those commis- sioned be called to active duty without delay and as- signed to the depot quartermaster, Jeffersonville, Ind., as his assistants. GEO. W. GOETHALS, Acting Quartermaster General. January 26, 1918 APPROVED By Order of the Secretary of War : — Wm. S. Graves, Colonel, General Staff, Assistant to Acting Chief of Staff. It must be noted that there was no greater urgency or an increase of business at the time the latter letter was forwarded, which explains or justifies the different action taken; in fact there was gi*eater urgency and sound business reasons why the former communication should have received as prompt approval as the latter. PERSONNEL 51 ENLISTED MEN, QUARTERMASTER CORPS Prior to the World War the enlisted strength of the Quartermaster Corps, and the numher in each grade, was limited and fixed from time to time by the Presi- dent, in accordance with the needs of the Army, as provided for in Section Nine, Act of June 3, 1916, reading as follows : "The total enlisted strength of the Quartermaster Corps and the number in each grade shall be limited and fixed from time to time by the President in accordance with the needs of the Army, and shall consist of quartermaster sergeants senior grade, quartennaster sergeants, sergeants first class, sergeants, corporals, cooks, privates first class, and privates. The num- ber in the various grades shall not exceed the following per- centages of the total enlisted strength of the Quartermaster Corps, namely : Quartermaster sergeants senior grade, five- tenths of one per centmu; quartermaster sergeants six per centum ; sergeants fii'st class two and five-tenths per centum ; sergeants twenty-five per centum ; corporals ten per centum ; privates first class, forty-five per centum ; privates, nine per centum ; cooks, two per centum ; Provided, That the master electricians now authorized by law for the Quartermaster Corps shall hereafter be known as quartermaster sergeants, senior grade, and shall be included in the number of quarter- master sergeants, senior grade, herein authorized." Under the above authority the number fixed by the President, on recommendation of the Secretary of War, was 7,000 enlisted men for duty with the Regular Army, and an additional number of 15,993 was author- ized under the provisions of Section 55, Act of June 3, 1916 (National Defense Act), for enlistment in the Quartermaster Enlisted Reserve Corps in all depart- ments. Request for this number was made by the Quar- termaster General under date of February 25, 1917, 52 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS and authorized March 3, 1917. Recruiting under this organization was proceeding most satisfactorily. Realizing that this country was about to declare war, and that many calls would be made upon the Quarter- master Corps for enlisted men, request was made in a memorandum for the Chief of Sta,ff, that authority be granted to recruit the Quartermaster Section, Enlisted Reserve Corps, to 45,000 men. ]^o action having been taken, request was renewed under date of May 26, 19 lY, because of the urgency of continuing the recruit- ing that had been successfully launched and because in the meantime war was declared on April 6th, and imme- diately the calls made upon the Quartermaster Corps were more than could be supplied under the limited number of men then authorized. Ample authority was contained in the National Defense Act for this purpose, and was especially provided for under the provisions of Par. 1 (b) Regulations for the Enlisted Reserve Corps. An extended conference was held at the War College on this matter, at which conference the Corps and Staff Departments were represented, they claiming at the time this was necessary in order to have as a Reserve a body of men who could be placed in responsible po- sitions when the need arose by merely calling them to duty, and not having to wait until the Supply Depot or Staff organization was created and then calling on local commanding officers for the detail of suitable men. The Adjutant General's Office at that time was making an earnest attempt to recruit approximately 65,000 men to complete the Regular Army, and maintained that to PERSONNEL 53 authorize enlistments in the Reserve Corps for the vari- ous Supply Departments would interfere with the en- listments for the Regular Army, as those Departments were offering to clerks and others possessing abilities along given lines required by those Departments, war- rants as non-commissioned officers practically the date they enlisted; whereas, the General Recruiting Service had to enlist the applicant as a private. In addition to the several recruiting committees which were operating throughout the country, a considerable number of prom- inent colleges undertook the work of training the clerks, storekeepers, checkers, et cetera, needed by the Quar- termaster Corps, as the authorities of those institutions appreciated the importance and necessity of making a large number of such trained men available. To stop recruiting for the Quartermaster Enlisted Reserve Corps, paralyzed all machinery then in motion to ob- tain men for the Corps and indicated bad faith with the numerous civil recruiting committees and colleges, which at considerable expense to themselves had, for patriotic motives, undertaken the work. This was so stated in letter of June 21, 1917, to the Adjutant Gen- eral. The views maintained by the Supply Depart- ments did not prevail with the General Staff. The result was that when the National Army cantonments commenced to receive recruits all of the Supply Agen- cies were handicapped by lack of suitable men to attend to the urgent needs as the recruits reported. The re- quest was disapproved under date of June 16, 1917 (2606Y98-A.G.O.), which also directed that no further 54 THE QUARTEEMASTEK CORPS enlistments be made in the Quartermaster or Enlisted Reserve Corps except to the extent of the authority already granted to be called into active service (15,993). This action caused a well launched and successful re- cruiting campaign that was in force throughout the United States by volunteer organizations, the entire ex- pense of which was maintained by those organizations, to be stopped. These organizations realized the neces- sity for the Quartermaster Corps to obtain their best possible material in which to form the nucleus for Motor Truck Companies, Wagon Companies, Pack Companies and Miscellaneous Personnel, and urgently requested that they be permitted to continue with the machinery then in motion for this purpose. The Quar- termaster General was thus placed in a most embar- rassing position because of the fact that he realized the necessity for the additional men, and further appreci- ated the work of a civilian organization in helping him to obtain that result. He was forced, therefore, to ad- vise these organizations through the Department Quar- termasters of the various departments that enlistments must cease when the allottment then authorized was completed. Under dates of June 21 and June 23, 1917, which as following the disapproval on June 16, 1917, of any further enlistments in the Quartermaster Corps, the matter was again laid before the Chief of Staff in a memorandum. It was urged that the organizations of 45,000 men originally requested be granted, in order PERSONNEL 55 that the recruiting campaigns then under way through- out the United States might continue, and, therefore, the much needed personnel be obtained. No action was taken upon these requests, but finally under date of July 2, 1917, the Adjutant General of the Army in- formed the Quartermaster General that in lieu of the authority for a total of 45,000 men there should be sub- mitted, whenever conditions indicated the necessity for other organizations of the Quartermaster Corps, a re- quest showing such necessities and the strength of or- ganizations required, in order that they might be author- ized under Section 2 of the Act approved May 18, 1917. This action of necessity, on account of no further au- thority for recruitment under the Quartermaster En- listed Reserve Corps, resulted in all recruiting through- out the United States being brought to a standstill. On several occasions, the Quartermaster General inter- viewed General Bliss, the Acting Chief of Staff, urging the prompt approval of the requests. The Acting Chief of Staff expressed the opinion that too many men were being requested for the Quart.ermaster Corps. The Quartermaster General called the attention of the Act- ing Chief of Staff to the fact that the Department of the Quartermaster General for the Forces in the British Army had many fewer activities than those placed upon our Quartermaster Corps; and stated that before the war began, one branch of the British organization, the Army Service Corps, had 435 officers, and from 10,000 to 12,000 men, but that there were at the time he was speaking 10,000 oflficers and from 200,000 to 300,000 56 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS men in the Army Service Corps of the British Army. The Acting Chief of Staff inquired how many more men there were in the British Army than in ours ; and was informed that that had little bearing on the subject, as our Quartermaster Corps had many more activities than the British, and when the time arrived that the number of officers and men in our entire Corps equaled those of one Branch (the Army Service Corps) of the Department of the Quartermaster General for the Forces in the British Army, that it might be assumed we were getting enough officers and men. The Quartermaster General' having met with oppo- sition in carrying out plans for bringing the enlisted force of the Quartermaster Corps to a strength that would meet the calls then being made upon it was left no alternative other than to submit a statement for organizations under the direction given by the Adjutant General of the Army on July 2, 1917, referred to above. Had the enlistment for the Quartermaster Section En- listed Reserve Corps been permitted to continue the men could have been obtained and later formed into organizations as the necessities of the service demanded. Finally, under date of August 17, 1917, after much delay in ascertaining the requirements for Quarter- master organizations from the General Staff, authority was requested to organize the following Quartermaster Corps organizations: 434 Motor Truck Companies, 78 Headquarters Motor Supply Trains, 34 Wagon Com- panies, 17 Headquarters Wagon Supply Trains, 24 PERSONNEL 57 Pack Train Companies, and 2,682 Miscellaneous Per- sonnel. The number then authorized in the Quartermaster Section, Enlisted Reserve Corps (15,993), was to be absorbed therein. It was stated at that time that the authority of 34 Division Supply Trains covered by Tables of Organizations were in addition to the organ- izations above authorized. The Quartermaster General realized the insufficiency of the authorization for Motor Supply Trains, Motor Truck Companies (exclusive of divisions), and under date of September 18, 1917, again requested authority to organize 81 Motor Supply Trains and 52 Motor Truck Companies. No action was had upon this request, and a very short time there- after a cablegram (Par. 11, cablegram 166) was re- ceived from the Commanding General, American Ex- peditionary Forces, stating that 1,000 men for Motor Transports must be sent with the least practicable de- lay, and that 500 each sent monthly thereafter until further notice. A memorandum was again made to the Chief of Staff urging the authorization repeatedly re- quested. In spite of the cablegram received from the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, and numerous memoranda above referred to requesting additional personnel, authorization was not granted until November 19, 1917, when the following was authorized: 23 Motor Supply Trains, 58 Motor Truck Companies (separate), 8 Motor Car Companies, 23 Motorcycle Companies, 4 Wagon Companies, 23 Pads Train Companies. 58 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS On November 19, 1917, a cablegram was received at the War Department from General Bliss, the Chief of Staff, who was then in France. Paragraph 3 of that cablegram was in part as follows: "Ascertain from Quartermaster General what Quartermaster Corps personnel of all kinds has recently left port of embarka- tion and what can be expected to be sent within the next 60 days. Transportation problem in France at the present time is serious." Upon receipt of this cablegram in the Office, a mem- orandum was prepared for the signature of the Quarter- master General which criticized quite severely the fact that after having been repeatedly refused authority to organize units which were required in France, the Quai^ termaster Corps was then blamed for failure to foi-ward those units. The Quartermaster General declined to sign the memorandum, and directed that a memoran- dum be prepared simply reciting dates of request for authority to organize the units and the dates of the disapprovals, omitting all criticism, as he was unwilling during a war to originate a controversy in the War Department. It would seem that, when the matters referred to in the cablegram cited were brought to the attention of the Chief of Staff then in France, a full explanation and a frank statement would have clarified the situation. For instance, the Chief of Staff might have explained that about August 1, 1917, the Embarkation Ser\'ice was established in his own office and under his own direc- tion, and that that service was charged with the duty PERSONNEL 59 of forwarding personnel, animals and property to France; that none of the Supply Departments could forward either personnel or property to the Ports of Embarkation until they had received a "release" from the Chief of the Embarkation Service, and that no in- formation was sent the Departments whether the per- sonnel or property had been shipped or when it would be shipped. The whole matter was regarded as con- fidential. Then again, a frank statement that he, the Chief of Staff, had, when Acting Chief of Staff, dis- approved the requests of the Quartermaster General for authority to enlist men for the Quartermaster Corps would have explained why the organizations needed were not in France. While on the subject of this same cablegram : in Par. 3, the Chief of Staff inquired : "Have the 40 limousine cars asked for by General Pershing on July 31st for his headquarters been shipped ?" To which reply was made that no copy of the request of General Pershing of July 31st for the 40 limousine cars had been received in the Ofiice of the Quartermaster General until November 20, 1917, when a copy was personally obtained from the Office of the Chief of Staff. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the failure to grant an authorization for enlistment of men for the Quartermaster Section, Enlisted Reserve Corps (May, 1917). It is considered that it was well nigh a calamity to have to abandon a well organized recruiting cam- paign that was under way with the assistance of local committees in the principal cities and towns throughout eO THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS the United States. Due to the lack of authorization only 222 Regular Army and 309 National Army re- cruits were on hand at all recruit depots on E'ovember 23, 1917. This, of course, made it necessary, at that late date, to select men from the draft to supply the greater portion of enlisted men required for the Quar- termaster Corps, whereas, had the machinery authorized by the I^ational Defense Act been permitted to function, the major portion of the first quota of men required for the Corps could have been had without difficulty. Effort to obtain men from the draft for service over- seas was very unsatisfactory. In one instance the Com- manding General, American Expeditionary Forces, re- quested that T5 stenographers and 300 clerk typists, also 50 stenographers and 150 clerk typists be furnished per month for a period of two months. The men re- quested not being available, a request was submitted to select that number from the draft under date of October 9, 1917. This request was disapproved over a month later (JSTovember 23, 1917), and it was stated that it was believed the men requested could be secured by voluntary enlistment if vigorous efforts were made. This statement was made in spite of the fact that the original request made it clear the men were not avail- able and that they were required for immediate service overseas. Another instance was in providing the necessary en- listed men for Quartermaster Mechanical Repair Shops Nos. 301, 302 and 303. A request was made under date of October 11, 1917, that 2,858 men be selected PERSONNEL 61 from the draft. No action was taken until October 31, 1917, when authority was granted to select only 1,000 of the number requested, and it was stated that "The Quartermaster General will report later and renew request if unable to make progress in organizing the units referred to." After much delay the 1,000 men authorized from the draft were furnished from canton- ments, only to be found that they were unsuitable for the purpose, following which numerous requests were made to the Adjutant General of the Army for replace- ments of the unsuitable men without satisfactory re- sults. Finally on November 23, 1917, the balance re- quired for these units (1,858) was authorized. Still another instance is cited in which it was found impossible in October, 1917, to obtain by voluntary enlistment the required enlisted men (1,350) for Ma- chine Shop Truck Units. Request was made on October 10, 1917, for this number for the formation of 54 units, ten of which were required for immediate service overseas, only to be returned under date of October 23, 1917, disapproved. Request was again renewed on Oc- tober 23, 1917, and after a delay of nearly thirty days (November 15, 1917) was approved for only 1,100 men. The above cited instances are only a few in which delays for obtaining the necessary authority to select men in the draft resulted in delay of formation of units for overseas that were urgently needed, and had been re- quested in cablegrams from the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces. 62 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the Quartermaster Corps made every effort to obtain au- thority for organizations and men in advance of the need for them. Lack of authorization prevented the building up of a suitable reserve, which would have been available to supply demands that were anticipated, and resulted in lack of preparedness and great difficulty in supplying men at a later date. The resort to the draft at that stage of bringing men into it was not satis- factory, due to the fact that the machinery was not in suitable working order to supply men on short notice, all of which would have been easily obviated by proper authorizations in the beginning, and the utilization of the recruiting campaign then under way in the prin- cipal cities and towns throughout the United States. The most serious delay, however, was that caused by lack of the necessary information giving organizations of units for oversea forces, which prevented progress in the organization of those units. This is notable in the following cases. 1. General Pershing's project of July 11, 1917; a copy of which was never received in the Office of the Quartermaster General. 2. General Pershing's project of September 18, 1917 ; copy of which was only obtained informally about October 25, 1917. 3. General Pershing's Priority Schedule; copy of which was obtained November 28, 1917. Cables were received, but lack of information con- cerning matter called for in items on Service of the Rear, PERSONNEL 63 which project had not been received in the office of the Quartermaster General, delayed action. For example: October 11 — General Pershing called for items in his Service of the Rear. This project, as shown above, was not supplied the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral until October 25, 1917; when the Quartermaster General personally applied for it after seeing the refer- ence in cables. After receipt in the office it was neces- sary to study same and then proceed with the organiza- tion of units required. It will be shown later on that considerable delay and embarrassment were occasioned by the failure to apprise the Quartermaster Corps in 1917 of the number of men to be in service in 1919, and that there was uncertainty and indecision in this matter. The table furnished by the General Staff giving the personnel, commissioned and enlisted of the First Di- vision to accompany General Pershing to France, in- cluded only two officers of the Quartermaster Corps and an inadequate number of the enlisted personnel. There were no officers included for the Depots to be estab- lished on the Line of Communication Service to be organized in France or for the Disembarkation Service. Effort was made to send the enlisted personnel of a Motor Car Company, the members of which were to drive and keep in repair the automobiles required for General Pershing and his staff. This was disapproved, as a Motor Car Company was not authorized, the recom- mendation of the Quartermaster General which was submitted in December, 1916, not having been acted on. The chauffeurs and repair men necessary were 64 THE QUARTEEMASTER CORPS sent over in the guise of Quartermaster Corps Miscel- laneous Personnel and the officer assigned as Chief Quartermaster on General Pershing's staff so informed. During the year 1917 the Quartermaster Corps formed about twenty-eight different kinds of organiza- tions to enable the work it was charged with to be properly and efficiently performed. Many of them first came into existence in this war being necessitated by its character and the immense numbers engaged. As previ- ously stated, the Table submitted by the Quartermaster General in 1916, contained most of these organizations, as that Table was based upon our experiences on the Mexican Border that year and also upon a study of the war in France. The following is a list of the special and technical organizations of the Quartermaster Corps: Advance animal transport Mechanical repair shops, depots, Motor car companies. Auxiliary remount depots, Motorcycle companies, Bakeiy companies. Motor truck companies, Base animal transport depots, Organization park. Butchery companies, Pack train companies. Clothing units. Remount squadrons. Conservation and reclamation Sales commissary units, Sal- companies, vage units. Fire, truck and hose com- Ship repair shops, panics. Stevedore regiments. Graves registration sections. Standard Military truck pro- Guard and fire companies, duction section, lee plant companies. Supply companies. Labor battalions. Supply trains, Labor companies. Water-tank trains, Machine shop truck units, Wagon companies. A Stevedore and Labor Branch was constituted in the PERSONNIEL 65 Administrative Division for the purpose of recruiting stevedore and labor troops for use in this country and in France. Colonel William G. Austin, N. A., was placed in charge of this Branch to organize the several regiments ; after organizing the first three regiments he was ordered abroad and was succeeded by Colonel Carey E. Goodwyn, N. A. The following are the organizations which were cre- ated by this Branch: White Colored Enlisted Enlisted Officers Men Men Total 30l8t Stevedore Kegiment, overseas 127 858 6,121 7,106 302nd Stevedore Regiment, overseas 127 858 6,121 7,106 303rd Stevedore Regiment, overseas 127 858 6,121 7,106 304th Training Regiment, Newport News 59 286 2,124 2,469 305th Reserve Stevedore Regiment 76 3,556 3,632 50 overseas labor battalions 750 2,400 60,853 64,003 50 domestic labor battalions 750 2,400 48,050 51,200 Domestic labor companies 24 2,000 2,024 Total 2,040 13,216 129,390 144,646 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES QUAETERMASTEK CORPS AT LARGE The number of civilian employees at large, that is at depots in this country and the insular possessions of the Quartermaster Corps, increased during the year 1917-1918 from 20,500 to 89,788. Great difficulty in obtaining the employees resulted through the operation of the selective-service law, and also from the fact that the more experienced clerks and field clerks had in many cases been commissioned and assigned to duty as officers. 66 THE QUAETERMASTEE CORPS CEMETEEIAL BRANCH (ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION) This branch, had supervision over the 83 National Cemeteries which by law are under the control of the Quartermaster Corps, and also had supervision over the cemeteries at military posts. Graves Registration Service. — In obedience to Gen- eral Orders 'Eo. 104, War Department, August Y, 1917, there was organized, equipped and supplied four units of the Graves Registration Service, which after prepara- tory training at the Casualty Camp on Governor's Island, New York Harbor, and Camp Merritt (Ten- afly), New Jersey, were dispatched overseas under the command of Major Charles C. Pierce, U. S. A., Retired. Each of these units was commanded by a Captain, aided by a second lieutenant and comprised an enlisted strength of fifty men, with the organization, more or less, of an infantry company of schedule 1906. In each unit there were three expert embalmers with rank of Quartermaster Sergeants, Senior Grade, and seven em- balmers' apprentices; also four sergeants, two of them designed to be clerks and five corporals, who, in ad- dition to their military duties, were intended to act as foremen of working parties. Subsequently the Commanding General of the Amer- ican Expeditionary Forces in France cabled for eleven additional units of the Graves Registration Service, which units were organized at the Training Camp of the Quartermaster Corps at Camp Joseph E, Johnston, Florida, and dispatched overseas. When the first four PERSONNEL 67 units were ready for shipment abroad, the Quarter- master Corps was informed that they would not be re- quired there. A letter stating the necessity for such organizations in order to keep accurate record of the deaths and the location of the interments was prepared by Majors H. R. Lemly and Charles C. Pierce, and permission to send the units was urged. It is believed that without those units it would have been difficult to prepare and main- tain the accurate records kept in France. That the value of the units was appreciated is demonstrated by the later request for eleven additional units. To the two officers named is due the credit for the organiza- tion of the units and also for the presentation of the urgent request to forward the first four units to France. Ill FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING DIVISION Financial problems and accounting — Difficulties and embarrass- ments. The following financial problems faced the Quarter- master Corps at the date of declaration of war, April 6, 1917: (a) Lack of Funds. — ^When war was declared the Quartermaster Corps was without funds. Congress had adjourned March 4th without enacting the Deficiency Bill made necessary by the mobilization of the National Guard along the Mexican boarder and the Pershing Expedition into Mexico. Congress also failed to enact into law the Army Appropriation Bill, fiscal year 1918. The Deficiency Bill finally became a law in April, 1917, while the appropriations in the Army Bill, which be- came law May 12, 1917, were not available until July 1st of that year. Because of the retention of a large por- tion of the National Guard in the Federal Service after December 31, 1916, the current appropriations, which included no funds to meet National Guard ob- ligations, were almost exhausted. Funds had been pro- vided to cover the services of the National Guard to December 31, 1916, and the cost of maintenance of 68 FINAN^CE AND ACCOUNTING 69 Militia organizations retained in service after that date was necessarily met from the current appropriations. Supplies can be obligated and procured without funds in possession, but the current activities of the Army call for cash payments. The situation demanded decisive measures, which were taken. Disbursing quartermas- ters were notified by wire to pay only for certain specific supplies and services so that the Army's necessary ac- tivities should not be crippled. Quartermasters were required by wire to turn their balances into the Treas- ury, and the funds thus accumulated were issued under such careful supervision that ofiicers, enlisted men and civilian employees received their pay when due. Not a teamster, carpenter, or other employee was discharged, all payments that were essential to the actual operation of the Army were made at the expense of obligations of a character that could best bear delay in settlement. To accomplish this result borrows were made from what- ever appropriations held balances, this being done under a somewhat liberal construction of the 35 Stat, at Large 37, which provides for the temporary use of money from one appropriation for the purposes of another appro- priation. The Army's most urgent demands were thus provided for until the passage of the Deficiency Bill which be- came law April 17, 1917. This Deficiency Bill, under the demand created by war preparations, scarcely stemmed the tide for a day, and then a borrow of $30,- 000,000 was negotiated from the appropriation of $100,- 000,000 "National Security and Defense," carried in 70 THE QUARTEEMASTER CORPS the Act of April 17, 191Y. The Quartermaster Corps had expended $27,000,000 of this borrow when Con- gress came to the rescue with the Urgent Deficiency Act, approved June 15, 1917, which enabled the Quarter- master Corps to pay its borrow of $30,000,000, settle its outstanding obligations, and proceed to do business in a business-like way. Financing the United States Army in time of war without funds is something of a proposition and is no child's play. From March 4th until June 15th the Quartermaster Corps was practically without funds, yet none of the necessary activities of the Army were cur- tailed and the Army as a whole pursued its usual rou- tine unconscious of the fact that it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Army only knows that it received its pay and that there was no interi'uption of its usual ac- tivities, but it does not know that the Quartermaster Corps stood between it and disaster. (b) FiTiancing Contractors. — To assist harassed contractors, who were placed in an embarrassing po- sition through failure of Congress to appropriate the necessary funds to pay for supplies delivered, quarter- masters were instructed to issue to creditors of the Gov- ernment a statement or form of voucher to show the Government's indebtedness to the contractor, with a view to assisting him in raising funds to tide over the delay in settlement. The law precludes, and rightly so, the assignment of vouchers or due bills against the Gov- ermnent, but a form of voucher was prepared in the Office of the Quartermaster General, with the approval FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 71 of the Comptroller of the Treasury, which afforded timely relief to worthy contractors of small means who were pushed to the verge of bankruptcy by the failure of the Government to meet its obligations. Through this procedure and in no other way could the contractors for clothing and other necessary mu- nitions required by the Quartermaster Corps procure the raw material necessary to enable them to produce the completed articles so absolutely essential for the equipment of troops. The amounts involved were so extraordinarily large that even contractors and corpora- tions of the highest standing and the strongest financial backing were helpless in the face of the emergency, and without some measure of this sort the production of war supplies would have been practically stopped. In this procedure the Quartermaster Corps had the cordial and powerful backing of the Federal Reserve Bank through its member banks, which contributed materially to the success of this somewhat revolutionary departure from usual Government methods. (c) Simplification of Accounting. — For some years the Quartermaster Corps had been operating under a system of apportionment of funds which, while it ac- complished certain desirable results, was responsible for a great deal of paper work on the part of quarter- masters at posts and in the field. This system, which was something of a burden in time of peace, was im- possible in time of war, when quartermasters were occupied with duties of too important a character to be hampered in any degree by detail paper work that 72 THE QUAKTERMASTEK CORPS could in any way be eliminated. This apportionment system, consequently, was eliminated and a simple up- to-date workable system of direct supply of funds, on call, substituted therefor. One result of this simplifica- tion of accounting was that the number of office ac- countants for detailed record of expenditures was re- duced from 192 to 80. (d) Simplification of Property Accounting. — A top- heavy and intricate method of accounting for thousands of articles and millions of dollars' worth of Quarter- master property was supplanted by a system that greatly simplified accounting and reduced the number of ac- countable officers, being more adapted in every way to war conditions than the old system. (e) The Wool Supply. — To guarantee a supply of suitable clothing for the Army the necessary steps were taken to establish and maintain a reserve supply of wool, a wool purchasing agency being established in Boston which, by a constant study of the market and judicious purchases at various times, steadied the mar- ket and enabled the Quartermaster General to furnish contractors at cost with the necessary material for the manufacture of uniforms, blankets and other munitions in which wool entered as a constituent part. This wool purchasing activity, which at the date of the signing of the Armistice had reached an expenditure of approxi- mately one-half billion of dollars, was a somewhat rev- olutionary venture on the part of the Quartermaster Corps and was carried on with the assistance and co- operation of the Council of N^ational Defense, the FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 73 American Wool Growers' Association and the Boston Wool Trade. This wool purchasing activity, which be- gan in 1917 in such a modest way, developed into one of the most important as well as one of the most gigantic war enterprises of the Government. (f) Reduction of Finance Work in Supply Depots. — The provision of supplies for an Army running into millions threw upon the Supply Depots an enormous amount of work. To reduce the paper work in these over-burdened centers of Quartermaster activity the settlement of all transportation accounts was trans- ferred to Washington, where a new system of settlement gave greater accuracy, prompter payment and a gi-eat reduction in paper work. Incidentally it relieved the great Supply Depots of a burden of detail work that seriously interfered with their legitimate function, the furnishing of war supplies, so vitally important in war times. (g) Allotmenis of Pay. — The Army had for many years a system of allotments of pay which enabled the enlisted men, when ordered to duty outside the limits of this country, to have a certain portion of their pay delivered directly to their dependents. Under the law as it originally was drawn, however, a full month must intervene between date soldier's pay became due and date that it could be paid the allottee, while no pro- vision whatever was made for the allotment of pay of officers. Legislation was, however, secured from Con- gress by representatives of the Quartermaster General which permitted payments to allottees on the day the 74 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS pay of the soldier is due, thus eliminating the interven- ing month required under the old law. Authority was also secured so that officers could allot pay to their de- pendents. This legislation also liberalized the allot- ment provisions in other important particulars, making them applicable to war conditions. (h) Bonding of Reserve, National Guard and Na- tional Army Officers. — A decision of the Comptroller of the Treasury required that before Government funds could be placed to the credit of Reserve Officers, JSTa- tional Guard Officers and E'ational Army Officers they must be bonded. To meet the urgent cases that neces- sarily arose where it was necessary to bond officers on short notice a so-called "Interim Bond" was prepared in the Office of the Quartermaster General which was approved by the Comptroller of the Treasury. This form of bond enabled the Office of the Quartermaster General to bond an officer on telegTaphic request and place funds to his credit immediately, without waiting for the receipt of the officer's signed application. This temporary bond remained in force until the officer sub- mitted a proper and permanent bond. Resort to this temporary bond cleared up a number of perplexing situations and enabled the Quartermaster General to place funds where delay would have proved disastrous. (i) Disbursing from One Appropriation. — To sim- plify the task of disbursing quartermasters in France and other places outside the limits of this country, a plan of procedure was worked out in the Office of the Quartermaster General that enabled disbursing officers FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 75 to make all disbursements from one appropriation. This method eliminated the trouble and confusion occasioned by the necessity of calling for funds under various ap- propriations and the duplication of much trouble and confusion in cabling back credits under these various and multitudinous appropriations. Disbursing quar- termasters, under the method in use, simply called for money, the amount called for being cabled back with- out reference to appropriations. The necessary adjust- ments were made in the Ojffice of the Quartermaster General and in the Office of the Auditor for the War Department. (j) Funds for Independent Units Going Abroad. — In order that in case of unforeseen eventualities no de- tachments of United States Army personnel should be left without funds the Quartennaster General insisted that the disbursing quartermasters of every independent unit going abroad be provided with funds. United States Treasury credit and Treasury checks. This precaution was justified in many striking instances, and prevented many embarrassing situations where American con- tingents were located for indefinite periods at points where the funds supplied were needed for their main- tenance pending their location at points within the lines of regular supply. (k) Financing Disbursing Quartermasters in France. — One of the most serious finance problems to be solved was the method to be followed in France for providing and disbursing cash, the varying rates of ex- change adding a confusing factor to the situation. The 76 THE QUAKTERMASTEK CORPS Quartermaster General's Oflfice presented the matter with a recommendation to the Treasury, and as a result the branches in France of certain reputable American fiscal institutions functioned as Government deposi- taries; and the Secretary of the Treasury on the in- itiative of the Office of the Quartermaster General an- nounced monthly a fixed rate of exchange for one full month, both for purposes of expenditure and receipt. This system v^hich was finally applied to the disbursing officers of all bureaus of the War Department enabled quartermasters in France to convert their United States Treasury checks into francs at the announced rate, giving the Government credit for all gains by exchange and charging against the Government all losses thereby. This procedure, on the initiative of the Office of th^ Quartermaster General, received the sanction of law in the Act of October 6, 1917, which authorized the Secre- tary of the Treasury to fix the rate of foreign exchange for the purpose of disbursing and receiving Government funds. Following is the law : "For payment of exchange by acting quartermasters serving in foreign countries and when specially authorized by the Sec- retary of War by officers disbursing funds pertaining to the Quartermaster Corps when serving in Alaska, and all foreign money received shall be charged to and paid out by the dis- bursing officers of the Quarteimaster Corps at the legal val- uation fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury." (1) Agent Officers. — Realizing that with millions of troops in the field it would be impossible to furnish bonded disbursing officers in sufficient number to make the necessary payments, legislation was secured in the FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 77 Act of May 12, 1917, which created the so-called "Agent Officer" who acting as the representative of accountable disbursing officer made the actual payments. This legislation, which was secured for the disbursing quar- termasters, was afterwards secured for all disbursing officers of the War Department. Following is the law : "Hereafter, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War, officers of the Quartermaster Corps accountable for public moneys may intrust such moneys to other officers for the purpose of having them make disburse- ments as their agents, and the officers to whom the moneys are intrusted, as well as the officers who intrust it to them, shall be held pecuniarily responsible therefor to the United States." (m) Appropriations. — Following is a statement of Quartermaster appropriations made available for the fiscal year 1918 : QUARTERMASTER APPROPRIATIONS MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1918 Appropriation Amount Appropriated under Act Total Pay, etc., of the Army Act May 12, 1917 $87,130,147.40 * " June 15, 1917 350,105,839.90 " Oct. 6, 1917 405,403,131.00 $ 842,639,118.30 Mileage to OflScers and Con- tract Surgeons Act May 12, 1917 740,000.00 * " June 15, 1917 510,000.00 " Oct. 6,1917 750,000.00 2,000,000.00 Supplies, Services and Trans- portation, Q.M.C. Act May 12, 1917 80,610,100.00 * " June 15, 1917 706,848,577.29 •* Oct. 6,1917 1,132,886,500.00 1,920,345,177.29 * The amounts made available in the Deficiency Act of June 15, 1917, were for deficiencies in the fiscal year 1917 and for the requirements of the fiscal year 1918. 78 THE QTJAETEEMASTER CORPS Horses for Cav. Arty., Engrs., etc. Act May 12, 1917 400,000.00 * " June 15, 1917 25,000,000.00 " Oct. 6,1917 40,000,000.00 65,400,000.00 Barracks and Quarters Act May 12, 1917 3,000,000.00 * " June 15, 1917 47,603,314.20 " Oct. 6,1917 49,155,000.00 99,758,314.20 Construction and Repair of Hospitals Act May 12, 1917 750,000.00 " Oct. 6,1917 35,000,000.00 * " June 15, 1917 2,115,267.00 37,865,267.00 Quarters for Hospital Stew- ards Act May 12, 1917 25,000.00 Shooting Galleries and Ranges Act May 12, 1917 45,000.00 " Oct. 6,1917 6,014,540.00 6,059,540.00 Rent of Buildings, Q. M. Corps Act May 12, 1917 41,225.10 " Oct. 6, 1917 37,875.00 79,100.10 Maintenance Army War Col- lege Act May 12, 1917 10,700.00 Vocational Training of Sol- diers Act May 12, 1917 250,000.00 Filing Equipment of the Army Act May 12, 1917 (1917- 1918) , 45,000.00 Buildings Jeffersonville Depot, Indiana Act May 12, 1917 9,500.00 Purchase of land, Military Reservations, Fort Sam Houston, Texas Act May 12, 1917 330,000.00 Barracks and Quarters Phil- ippine Islands Act May 12, 1917 500,000.00 Military Post Exchanges Act May 12, 1917 50,000.00 * " June 15, 1917 500,000.00 " Oct. 6, 1917 250,000.00 800,000.00 FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 79 Roads, Walks, Wharves and Drainage Act May 12, 1917 600,000.00 ♦ " June 15, 1917 5,539,965.00 " Oct. 6,1917 12,700,000.00 18,839,965.00 Construction and Maintenance of Military and Post Roads Bridges and Trails, Alaska Act May 12, 1917 (1918-1919) 500,000.00 Military Post, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Act June 12, 1917 1,077,000.00 Purchase of Land, Military Post Schofield Bar- racks, Hawaii Act Oct. 6, 1917 10,300.00 Quartermaster's Depot, St. Louis, Mo. Act Oct. 6, 1917 300,000.00 Sewerage System, Fort Monroe, Va. Act June 12, 1917 9,359.99 Seacoast Defenses, P. I. and Hawaii Act June 12, 1917 93,000.00 Barracks and Quarters, Seacoast Defenses Act Oct. 6, 1917 3,462,000.00 Repairs to Buildings, etc., at Gulf Ports Act Oct. 6, 1917 89,962.60 Bridge Across Republican River, Fort Riley, Kans. Act Oct. 6, 1917 15,000.00 National Cemeteries Act June 12, 1917 120,000.00 Disposition of Remains of Officers, Soldiers and Civil Employees Act Oct. 6, 1917 560,000.00 Pay of Superintendents, National Cemeteries Act July 12, 1917 63,120.00 Headstones for Graves of Soldiers Act June 12, 1917 50,000.00 Burial of Indigent Soldiers Act June 12, 1917 2,000.00 Burial of Indigent Patients, Array and Navy Hospital, Hot Springs, Ark. Act June 12, 1917 200.00 Repairing Roads to National Cemeteries Act June 12, 1917 12,000.00 Antietam Battlefield: Preservation, Act June 12, 1917 4,500.00 Confederate Mound, Oakwood Cemetery, Chi- cago, 111. Act June 12, 1917 500.00 80 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS Confederate Stockade Cemetery, Johnston's Island in Sandusky Bay, Ohio Act June 12, 1917 250.00 Care of Confederate Burial Plots Act June 12, 1917 1,250.00 Monuments or Tablets in Cuba and China Act June 12, 1917 1,000.00 $3,001,328,124.48 As stated above, Congress adjourned March 4, 1917, without enacting the General Deficiency Bill. This Bill contained an item of $34,000.00 for the Quarter- master Corps for deficiencies made necessary by the mobilization of the National Guard along the Mexican border and the Pershing expedition into Mexico. The supplies represented by this $34,000.00 had been se- cured from dealers the previous fall with the expecta- tion that funds would be made available early in De- cember, 1916, in the Urgent Deficiency bill which would enable the obligations to be met. Estimates covering this Deficiency were prepared and submitted by the Quartermaster Corps, and through no fault of that Corps failed to be included in the Urgent Deficiency Bill. The only recourse was to secure this amount in the General Deficiency Bill usually passed just before the adjournment of Congress. The failure to receive the funds and liquidate the obligations caused great distress and hardship to the public creditors, many of whom were unable to meet their financial obligations, which they had assumed in order to provide the sup- plies needed by the Government in an emergency. Be- cause of this distress, and because the appropriations to FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 81 provide supplies were exhausted, the Quartermaster General, in an interview, explained the situation to the Secretary of War and stated that the appropriation for the Pay of the Army contained ample funds, all of which would not be needed for the purposes for which appropriated prior to the passage of the General De- ficiency Bill ; stating that the law absolutely prohibited the use of funds to pay for supplies obtained under another appropriation which had been exhausted; in fact, imposed a fine and imprisonment for such a pro- cedure. The Quartermaster General stated that with the approval of the Secretary the transfer of funds would be made and the distress of the contractors re- lieved by paying them the sums owed them, and that later on the passage of the General Deficiency Bill making available an appropriation to satisfy the Gov- ernment obligations, the Pay of the Army would be re- imbursed by the funds thus withdrawn from it in viola- tion of law. The Quartermaster General submitted later two separate memoranda, reciting the facts and the law, and received many millions of dollars with which the most urgent cases were met and several of the contractors saved from bankruptcy. Upon the failure of the General Deficiency Bill, the Quartermaster General explained the situation to the Secretary and stated the intention to destroy the mem- oranda approved by the Secretary, as the Quartermaster General did not intend that the Secretary should be blamed for the transaction. The Secretary replied that he fully understood the situation, appreciated the viola- 82 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS tion of law, but that lie had approved the suggestion in the memoranda and was therefore responsible for the transaction, and intended to assume the responsibility and directed the Quartermaster General not to destroy the memoranda. That day, upon meeting the Secretary by appointment in the President's room at the Capitol, it was ascertained that several of the members of the Cabinet and many Senators had been informed of the matter and expressed approval of the action taken. Later, other methods, not in violation of law, to ob- tain a portion of the money required were adopted as referred to above and refundment of the amounts with- drawn from the Pay of the Army was effected. In ad- dition a prominent banking house in ISTew York ad- vanced $1,000,000 to such public creditors who needed financial assistance and an individual banker in San Francisco advanced $500,000 for similar purposes. In neither case were any of the public creditors charged interest for the moneys so advanced them. The Gen- eral Deficiency Bill was passed the latter part of April, 1917, and all of the old obligations of the Quarter- master Corps were met. The difficulties and embarrassments imposed upon the Finance Division by this lack of funds must be apparent, particularly when it occurred at the very be- ginning of the greatest war this country has ever en- gaged in. These conditions increased upon our entry into the War, as new obligations had to be made, one of them of over thirty million dollars for the construc- tion of the Training Camps for Officers, undertaken in FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 83 direct and positive violation of law as no funds were available or had even been estimated for; the securing of money to provide the many individuals and organiza- tions forwarded abroad when there were no funds avail- able in the proper appropriations, and the appropria- tions made by Congress could not be secured until after the first of July. Preparing for war during a period of over three months with no funds available was the task imposed upon the Quartermaster Corps and par- ticularly upon the Finance Division. That the situa- tion was fully met was due entirely to the ability, re- sourcefulness and courage of the officers attached to that Division. Contemplate for one moment the situation presented by shipping troops abroad to engage in war with no actual money available in the various appropria- tions needed and the problem which then was presented may in a measure be visualized. When presenting on January 15, 1917, in the Hear- ings before the House Committee on Military Affairs the estimates submitted for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 1918 an earnest effort was made to consolidate eleven of the Quartermaster appropriations into three. The purpose was to simplify the paper work of the Army, provide really a budget so that the amount required for each item would be shown and the appropriation made for the same purpose the preceding year stated. The reasons for this were fully set forth in the Hearings and in the data submitted at the time and are given at length in the Hearings. The mem- bers of the Committee were favorably inclined towards 84 THE QUARTEEMASTER CORPS the proposed change, but it was abandoned at the last moment because so little time was available for the consideration of the bill, and for the additional reason that being a change in the form and verbiage from the former appropriation bills it would be subject to a point of order and the passage of the bill thus en- dangered. If the suggested change had been adopted it would have effected great simplification in time of war, and a corresponding relief during a time of great pressure, and furthermore would have tended to greater accuracy in the accounting. It moreover would have been in line with the new Budget System now proposed for CongTess. In regard to the Methods of Money and Property Ac- countability adopted by the Quartermaster Corps, it is desired to call attention to the fact that the War Depart- ment is the only Department of the Government in which, since its first establishment, the policy and per- sonnel have been practically continuous; not subject to change as to either policy or personnel every few years due to change in administration, as in the other depart- ments of the Government. The result being that the Methods of Money and Property Accountability are based upon the experience and familiarity of the sub- ject of all the men who have had any part in the affairs of the Department for over one hundred and forty years. The characterization of such methods as "red tape" is generally made either by the hasty, careless, indolent, thoughtless, ignorant or evil disposed person ; for surely the Government is entitled to as ac- c FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 85 curate an accountability of its Financial and Property responsibility as any business man or corporation. It is understood tbat the Financial System of Account- ability of the State of Illinois was ifiodeled on that of the Quartennaster Corps, the foims for same being taken from the Quartermaster's Manual and adapted to the purpose intended; and that the proposer wa^ given a handsome monetary consideration by the State of Illinois. One of the most successful railroad busi- ness men, a graduate of the United States Military Academy, once stated that the forms he adopted were modeled on forms in use in the Army. The work of preparing an estimate for Congress is a stupendous undertaking and if the basis for this esti- mate is continually changed such work is increased many fold. The basis for an estimate is the number of men to be in the Army during the time for which an appropriation for the support of the Anny is sought. An approved memorandum of the War College Di- vision of the General Staff, dated September 11, 1917, stated that there would be thirty divisions in the Army in 1918; sixty divisions in 1919; thus making a basis for the estimates of about three millions of men. Estimates for the Quartermaster Corps were there- fore prepared on a basis of 3,000,000 men and were completed about the first of October, 1917. Learning that an additional call of men was contemplated the Quartermaster General on October 9, 1917, addressed a memorandum to the Chief of Staff as follows : 86 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS "It is iinderstood that a second, third and fourtli call for selective draft men, for 456,000-500,000 and 500,000 men is contemplated." "In order that this office may have reliable data on which to base estimates of the quantities of supplies needed by months, information is requested as to the approximate date these calls will be made." HENRY G. SHAEPE, Quartermaster General. To which the Chief of Staff replied under date of October 23, 1917, as follows: "The question as to whether or not subsequent calls for selective draft men will be made, and, if so, the numbers to be called, has not been determined and the infonnation asked for on the attached memorandum (the Q.M.C.) can, therefore, not be furnished." TASKER H. BLISS, General, Chief of Staff. As stated above, the estimates, based on the approved memorandum of the War College Division of Septem- ber 11, 1917, were submitted about October 1st. On October 19, 1920, a memorandum was received from the Chief of Staff as follows : "The Secretary of War desires that you submit a modified estimate, based on the assumption of 1,500,000 men to be maintained in the Military Establishment during the fiscal year 1918-1919." TASKER H. BLISS, General, Chief of Staff. FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 87 At once estimates were started on this new basis and on October 22, 1917, another memorandum was re- ceived from the Chief of Staff as follows : "Referring to the memorandum dated October 19th, the number of men called for by the progi'am of the Aviation Section, Signal Corps, in France, is 11,941 officers and 112,245 men. These should be in addition to the 1,500,000 men referred to in memorandum of October 19." TASKEE H. BLISS, General, Chief of Staff. Before again commencing work on the estimates the Chief of Staff was seen and it was explained that the estimates for the fiscal year 1918, which were then be- fore Congress provided for 2,033,345 men and that the approved memorandum of the War College Division of September 11th gave 60 Divisions, or about 3,000,000 men for 1919 ; and if that number of men would be in service in 1919 arrangements to secure the funds to pay for the supplies for such number of men should be made. It was also stated that under authority of the Secretary of War of July 11, 1917, purchases were being made for two millions of men, and that with the approval of the Secretary of War under date of Sep- tember 15, 1917, in order to secure more prompt de- liveries and keep the factories in operation upon Gov- ernment orders, contracts were being entered into which did not terminate until December 31, 1918 ; and the difficulty of securing supplies unless funds for pay- 88 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS ment of same were available was indicated. Authority was then given to estimate for funds for such supplies as required more than three months to produce on the basis of 3,000,000 men and the estimates were prepared accordingly. The matter contained in the memorandum of Sep- tember 11, 1917, of the War College Division of the General Staff was of such vital importance in the plan for the Conduct of the War that it must have been con- sidered by the Secretary of War, The decidedly con- trary action of the Chief of Staff in his memoranda of October 19th and 22nd, and his reply regarding sub- sequent calls of selective draft men of October 23rd seem to indicate lack of coordination between his office and the Divisions of same. As stated previously, General Pershing's project of July 11, 1917, was never received in the Office of the Quartermaster General, and no information as to its contents was furnished that office. Lieutenant Colonel Requin in his book "America's Race to Victory" states, on page 49, that: "The plan submitted by General Pershing to his Government contemplated the employ- ment of a million men in France for the offensive cam- paign of 1918, to be disembarked before July of that year, — without consideration of the forces that it might be necessary to send to the front later on, nor the total numerical strength of the future American Army, which he estimated at 3,000,000 men (a numerical strength to be reached within two years)." It would appear that the Memorandum of the War FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 89 College Division of September 11, 1917, was based on General Pershing's project of July 11, referred to by Lieutenant Colonel Eequin, and that tbe Chief of Staff by his instructions of October 19th and 22 nd, disre- garded the recommendations of General Pershing. The difficulty, and it may be danger, of endeavoring to provide supplies and pay for an Army in time of war when no funds are available for months has been before alluded to. The danger would be the possibility of forcing into bankruptcy firms from whom supplies had been secured, because funds to satisfy the Govern- ment's obligations were not available, and it surely is not fair to expect merchants to provide supplies needed during war and have no funds available to pay for them, simply because the estimates for funds submitted to Congress failed to provide for the number of men who would be in service according to the plan approved. IV SUPPLIES Supplies division — Subsistence branch — Clothing and equipage branch — Fuel and forage — Conservation division. SUBSISTENCE On account of the perishable nature of the supplies furnished, the Subsistence work of the Office of the Quartermaster General was entirely decentralized. Credit for the initial supply of the Army as it expanded must therefore be largely given to the Depot Quarter- masters, under whose supervision the camps and posts were supplied. These Depot Quartermasters were, as a rule, the very best type of officers in the Corps, but it was necessary in order to meet the demand for trained officers to send many of the most experienced officers to France. These officers had for many years made a close study of food products and the methods of preparing them, had made constant experiments with rations and containers, cooking and baking appliances, and made practical application of the knowledge thus gained. In their specialization of the study of food supply, the subject had been considered from every possible angle and from different viewpoints; but it is no discredit to state that none of them had had the prevision to 9j SUPPLIES 91 foresee that this country would ever be called upon to supply an army of millions of men in a campaign across the Atlantic, and at a time when the food sup- plies of this country would be drawn upon for the civilian populations and the armies of the different countries with whom we entered the war as co-bel- ligerents. Due to the preliminary study of the permanent of- ficers, aided by a number of detailed officers who had been trained in the work, and assisted by many non-com- missioned officers, when the war came there were on hand some thoroughly attested appliances for field cook- ing and baking, and it was only necessary to very largely augment the number of these appliances in order to equip the army. The task of securing these appliances was made difficult and the time necessary to obtain them increased, due to the fact that the steel and other material from which they were manufactured was like- wise needed by our allies for various purposes. Of gi'eat assistance in the critical period of expansion were the post quartermaster sergeants and field clerks, who had been commissioned in the Corps as Reserve Officers. The better class of these men, those who could partly visualize the enormous scope of the problem presented, were invaluable as assistants to the Depot Quartermasters and as instructors to the officers com- ing into the sei'vice from civil life in Washington as well as in the depots and camps. Many a pitfall was avoided and many an error checked by the patient and con- scientious work of these men. They were a complement 92 THE QUAETEKMASTEK COEPS to tlie business experience, ability, mental and physical force displayed by some of the temporary officers, and whose loyal and efficient work in the Quartermaster Corps has not received the acknowledgment to which it is entitled. The number of permanent officers of the Quarter- master Corps was so limited that no one was immedi- ately available for the exclusive work of Subsistence in the Quartermaster General's Office, and that work had to be carried on by a most efficient Reserve Officer, a former post quartermaster sergeant, assisted by one or two other Reserve officers. It was not until October, 1917, that it was possible to receive the assignment of a permanent officer to duty in the Office to undertake this work. The specifications of the Army were very clear upon the points of quality and wholesomeness of the food products, and were prepared after many conferences with the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry, and the Chief of the Bureau of Experiment Stations of the Department of Agriculture, and the Chief of Fishery Department o:^ Commerce. Experts were stationed at most of the plants, especially where meats were packed, and these made constant inspection during all the stages of cut- ting, curing and packing; certain vegetables were in- spected and selected before being put through the can- ning processes ; and every effort made to insure the cer- tainty of obtaining proper and nutritious food supplies for the Army. SUPPLIES 93 Supplies were purchased in the usual manner after public advertisement for proposals, but about August 13th was discontinued, as it became evident that such discontinuance was necessary to prevent inflated prices and also to keep from the enemy knowledge of factories where supplies were being prepared for the Government. It became evident during the smnmer that certain food commodities would be short, and that it would be necessary to adopt some plan of providing the require- ments of the Army and ISTavy without unduly influenc- ing the price paid by civilians. To accomplish this the Council of National Defense undertook to make allot- ments of certain products such as beans and sugar, canned tomatoes, peas and corn. In my book entitled ''The Art of Subsisting Armies in War," published in 1893, the necessity was urged of creating a Department of the Government to mobilize the resources of the country in time of war. No atten- tion had been paid to this important matter in the inter- vening years, though its necessity was frequently urged. The introduction of the Council of National Defense in this matter was a feeble step in the direction indicated. The fact that the country must provide supplies for the allied and neutral nations of Europe indicated the necessity of taking legislative action and the ideas sug- gested in the book above referred to were adopted in drafting the necessary legislation, which resulted in the establishment of a Food Administration, to which power of control over the export and imports of food and food products was likewise given. 94 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS The work undertaken by the Council of E"ational De- fense was later taken over by the Food Administration and the bulk of the requirements of such articles for the fiscal year were obtained in that manner. The articles purchased under this allotment plan were in many cases purchased under a tentative price subject to revision, and later when the crops matured, a revised price was made and published to the trade and all supplies pur- chased were settled on that basis. The prices were fixed at first by the Federal Trade Commission and later by a conference committee consisting of members of the Food Administration, and one representative each from the Federal Trade Commission, the Army, the N'avy and the industry concerned. The prices were in the main accepted by the trade as fair and reasonable. They were based on the cost price of the article, plus what was considered as a "fair and just" profit. It was necessary in a few cases to commandeer suj>- plies, especially in the case of canned tomatoes and peas, as the price continued to rise in the commercial market even after the price set by the committee was published to the trade. In cases where commandeering was neces- sary, the dealer had declined to deliver the goods to the Army even though he had before entered into an agree- ment with the Food Administration to deliver a certain percentage of his pack to the Government at the price determined as "fair and just." His object was, of cause, to sell the supplies in the open market at a higher price. In order to be fair to the dealers, allotments were gtJPPLIEg 95 inade by tJie Food Administration on the percentage basis, that is, every dealer turned over to the Army or Navy a certain percentage of his pack. In the case of com this was 12 per cent., and of tomatoes 18 per cent, of the pack. The market wslb not closed to competition, and if anyone had anything to offer cheaper than the fixed price, he received proper consideration. Such instances were, however, rare. In connection with allotments of food and fixing prices, a Food Purchase Board was appointed, consist- ing of a representative of the Food Administration, the Quartermaster General of the Army, or his representa- tive, the Paymaster General of the N^avy, or his repre- sentative, and a representative of the Federal Trade Commission to decide upon what food products should be furnished under the allotment plan and to fix a mini- mum price which should be paid for any of the articles so allotted. The following articles were purchased under the allot- ment plant : Tomatoes Sugar Beans, stringles8 Canned apples Canned cherries Prunes Ketchup Jams, assorted Co,m Beans, issue Beans, baked Apricots Pineapple Flour Strawberry pre- Peas Canned salmon Evaporated apples Evaporated peaches Canned peaches Canned pears Evaporated milk In October, 1917, it was finally possible to secure one of the permanent officers of the Corps who was an 96 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS expert in Subsistence matters for assignment to the Subsistence Branch. The work of this Branch in- creased enormously, and orders for the expansion into a Division were issued. To prevent depot quartermasters in the various dis- tricts from competing among themselves for the same article, and in consequence causing a rise in price, it became necessary to assume control in Washington over the purchase of thirty-three principal items. Bids for the supply of these items were opened simultaneously in each large city or camp where a Quartermaster was stationed, the Quartermaster wiring to Washington the bid he recommended for acceptance. This gave Wash- ington an opportunity to exercise control without ac- tually doing the purchasing, as in each case some depot quartermaster was instructed to buy, unless all bids were considered too high, in which case the Wash- ington office would advise where a lower price could be obtained. This was centralized control with decentral- ized purchase, and the list of controlled items was gradually extended until at the time of the armistice practically all items were included. To keep advised as to prices throughout the country, a section was set up to gather from every known source market statistics on the principal food supplies. This gave a means for quickly checking the quotations received from the vari- ous cities. For the first time in our history, the pur- chases grew to such volume that the division was able to secure practically every article from the manufacturer or packer and eliminate the broker. The viciousness SUPPLIES 97 of a system by which the Government is compelled to have transactions with brokers or middlemen will be again pointed out later. As an illustration, some years ago the agent of a manufacturing house called upon a purchasing officer, to ascertain the prices quoted on supplies manufactured by his firm. Being told that as he was not a bidder and had declined to submit proposals the information re- quested could not be furnished, he replied that it was a public office and demanded the information in order to ascertain if certain dealers had violated their contract with his firm, a contract agTeeing not to sell below a stated figure. He was informed it was a public office but not an office for the public or such of them as were in agreement in restraint of trade. Toward the end of 1917 the problem of getting the supplies overseas began to require close attention by officers already overburdened. The size of the Army that was finally to be enrolled had not yet been decided upon, and this uncertainty as to the number to provide for was one of the serious difficulties of that period. Certain food supplies like flour, which is milled throughout the year, do not need to be provided for very long in advance, but others such as canned vegetables and fruits, are seasonal and if not secured at time of packing are apt to become scattered among the small jobbers and with the retail trade, so cannot later be se- cured in large quantities. In fact it was even consid- ered necessary to stimulate production of some com- modities so that Army needs could be supplied, and 98 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS with this in view representatives of the Quartermaster Corps frequently attended the meetings and conventions of the various trade organizations concerned. No defin- ite plan for the size of the Army was at that time avail- able, as has previously been demonstrated, and it was necessary to make liberal estimates of the quantities re- quired and purchase accordingly. This indecision forced the officers of the Department to assume a great responsibility in order to assure sufficient supplies for the Army. It must be remembered that those supplies had to be planted, cultivated, harvested and manu- factured. If the courage to assume the responsibility, notwithstanding the indecision and uncertainty as to the numbers of men to be in service in 1918 and 1919, and to take the necessary steps to provide the Subsist- ence supplies needed in those years were lacking, seri- ous results might have followed, as it would have been too late to do so. And the officers who assumed that re- sponsibility are entitled to credit for their action in that matter. In 190Y, the then Commissary General of Subsistr ence requested authority of the Secretary of War to visit Europe to make an inspection of the methods of supply and the systems adopted in the English, French and German Armies to effect these vital matters during a time of war. The then Chief of Staff having stated that there were no funds available for this purpose the Commissary General of Subsistence offered to go at his ovTU expense, as he stated that no previous report on this subject had ever been made to our War De- SUPPLIES 99 partment, and it was considered of the highest im- portance that the data should be obtained. Permission to go was granted under the condition that he had stated. This is mentioned for the fact that the follow- ing results were obtained from that inspection, all of which were of great importance in the late war, and as such were a contribution to the war. 1. Permission was secured to send officers of the Quartermaster Corps to the Ecole de I'lntendance in Paris. A number of officers took the course before the outbreak of the war. One of these officers was in Paris when General Pershing arrived there, and it is felt that his knowledge of the French Military organization and the methods of administration combined with his ac- quaintance with the several officers in the French Army was of assistance in those early days. 2. The simplified methods adopted in the British Army for Accountability in the Field were studied, and were the basis of the methods later adopted in our Army, which saved an enormous amount of paper work in the field and made the problem of supply easier to solve. 3. At that time it had been possible for the first time in our Army to secure authorization for a Field Bakery. That Bakery was, following the practice of all the Continental Armies, to be attached to the fighting trains of the Army. In Paris it was ascertained that the French had decided that the Field Bakery had no proper place with the fighting trains, but was an ele^ ment of the line of communications and as such should be assigned to that service. As a result, after much 100 THE QUAETEKMASTEK COEPS opposition, the Field Bakeries became an element of our Service of the Line of Communications, or as it is now termed Service of Supply. This enabled the aban- donment of the rolling type of field oven and the devel- opment of a knock-down type of continuous baking oven, which is thought to be superior to any in use in other armies. 4. Observation was made of the work being under- taken in France and Germany in regard to rolling kitch- ens, and the data secured materially assisted in the de- velopment of a rolling kitchen suitable for use in our Army. 5. A suggestion for the establishment of a Supply Corps was submitted as a result of the study of the organizations abroad, and while it was not adopted it is believed that it was helpful when the matter was con- sidered four years later. The ration in use during the Spanish War proved unsatisfactory due to its lack of flexibility and variety, caused by the fact that the components were established by law. After securing the necessary legislation in 1901 a change was made, and in 1908, after a profound study of the matter a new ration was adopted. The subject had been studied exhaustively by many officers of the Medical Department of the Army and several of them had published books treating on the subject which had been recognized as authorities. All these officers and their publications were consulted when the change in the ration was under consideration, and the views obtained or writings consulted of the following recog- SUPPLIES 101 nized authorities: Professor Langworthy, BiTreau of Experimental Stations, Department of Agriculture; Doctors Wiley and Alsberg, Bureau of Chemistry, De- partment of Agriculture; and Professors Atwater and Chittenden and others. The purpose was to establish a well-balanced ration with proper nutritive value and af- fording the necessary variety. It is felt that by the as- sistence of the authorities above cited the purpose was attained, and therefore at a joint meeting of committees of the Food Administration, it was somewhat of a sur- prise to hear a temporary officer in the Medical Depart- ment assert that the Army needed a balanced ration; and to recommend the reduction of the ration in order to save supplies. The Quartermaster General called the at- tention of the meeting to the facts as above stated, refer- ring the temporary officer to many standard publications by members of the Medical Department, with which works such temporary officer was not familiar. It was also shown that in the matter of flour, lard and sugar the Field Bakeries and the Messes throughout the service were, and had been for some time, making greater sav- ings than those recommended by the Food Administra- tion. This and other matters of food conservation will be more fully treated when describing the work done by the Schools for Bakers and Cooks. The Quartermaster General also objected to the re- duction of the meat component of the ration and the substitution of oatmeal instead. This objection was based on the fact that a large number of the selective draft men would be drawn from cities where thev had 102 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS been engaged in indoor occupations and consequently did not possess tlie bodily vigor and physical activity whicb they would require in an active outdoor life, to enable them to undergo the severe strain of active serv- ice and endure the exposure, suffering and privation which such service exacted. Furthermore as many of the selective draft men would be called to the colors to replace the valetudinarians who were rejected and to make it possible for them to acquire the bodily vigor to endure the severe physical training necessary to enable them to go "over the top," it was a duty of the Gov- ernment to see that proper and adequate nourishment was supplied them. It was also suggested that any savings of food sup- plies other than those already being effected in the train- ing camps, should be made by the civilian population, for whose protection the selective draft men were being trained and made physically fit to encounter the perils, hardships and horrors of a war the like of which had never before been heard or dreamed of in this world. At this meeting the Surgeon General stated that the commissioned personnel of his Department had been more largely increased than any other Department of the Army, that many of the ablest and best known men of the medical profession had volunteered to the call of duty, and that a large proportion of his time and that of his permanent officers was consumed in explaining why certain things proposed by some of the temporary officers could not be adopted. At the close of the conference some of the eminent SUPPLIES 103 autliorities cited by the Quartermaster General ex- pressed their appreciation for his having explained the care taken to insure the adoption of a well-balanced ration. Fortunately, nothing was done to effect the re- duction of the ration suggested, and the country has the consolation of feeling that everything possible was done to enable the selective draft men to go "over the top" in such perfect physical condition and training that they at least were not too weak to endure the strain, and that when they made the supreme sacrifice it was not because their bodies were so enfeebled as to make them inferior to their opponents. In fact, the bodily vigor and training of our men was proven to be equal if not superior to those of their opponents, and this to the surprise and astonishment of certain militaiy authori- ties who had doubted whether the selective draft men from the large cities could, because of their indoor oc- cupations, be made fit to endure the hardships, exposure, sufferings and privations of an active campaign. But the results proved the fallacy of their doubts, as has been clearly set forth in some of the Kegimental His- tories of organizations composed of selective draft men secured from such sources. The ration adopted in 1908 contained the novel pro- vision of authorizing the commander of the field forces to prescribe the field rations. This was urged by the then Commissary General of Subsistence to enable the field commander to take the necessary steps to put his command in physical condition to perform the duty assigned to them. This was objected to by members of 104 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS the General Staff on account of the possible expense it might entail ; but it was maintained that as all war was waste, the best way to stop the waste was to stop the war by giving to the Field Commander the power to conserve life and thus afford him an adequate force to attain his objective. This provision was very largely taken advantage of during the war in France, thereby adding greatly to the comfort and well-being of the troops and unquestionably maintaining their morale and discipline. The recommendation made by the Quartermaster General in June, 1917, for authority to issue cigarettes, tobacco and matches to the troops in France was not approved; but later on was granted at the request of General Pershing. How thoi»oughly this was appreci- ated the records of the several Welfare associations which made similar distributions to the troops will attest. In the spring and summer of the years 1915, 1916, 1917, a camp was maintained at Washington, D. C, under the auspices of the l^avy League, to train young women along such lines as they would be capable of rendering service in time of war. The ration issued at those camps was the Araiy ration, and was prepared by cooks who were graduated from the School for Bakers and Cooks at Washington Barracks, using the Army field cooking equipment ; and the bread was baked in an Army field oven by an instructor at the Washing- ton Barracks School. The universal satisfaction given by the camp mess is surely an evidence of the adapt- SUPPLIES 105 ability of the Army ration, and was a further proof, if any were needed, that it was a well-balanced ration af- fording the necessary variety in diet. EMERGENCY RATION In 1901, an emergency ration was adopted for troops on active campaign or in the field. It was composed of dried gi-ound wheat and dessicated beef, with salt and pepper added, and also three cakes of sweet choco- late. When it was first adopted the law authorized the issue of only one ration a day, and, consequently, when the emergency ration was used the garrison ration could not be drawn; forced issues of the emergency ration therefore created a prejudice against it. About the year 1906 a law was secured authorizing the issue of the emergency ration, in addition to the regular ration to troops on active campaign or in the field for pur- poses of instruction. Only one firm manufactured this ration, and in order to keep the machinery installed and ready for operation in time of war, it was necessary to purchase about 100,000 rations a year costing over $30,000 annually. Orders were issued directing the use of the emergency rations three days a year, and this would have consumed the number necessary to keep the machinery installed and in operation. The orders were disregarded; and later an emergency ration, con- sisting of cholocate, nucleo casein, dessicated eggs and sugar was devised with the cooperation of the Bureau of Chemistry, Department of Agriculture. This ration 106 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS met with favor among the troops and stringent instruc- tions against its use except under orders had to be issued. The chocolate ration could be manufactured in any quantity desired when needed, and therefore the carrying of a large stock on hand was not necessary. After a test for over four years in the Philippine Islands to determine its keeping qualities, chemical and bacteriological tests being conducted every six months, the ration finally received the approval of the Surgeon General and was adopted. Shortly after its adoption. Doctor Langworthy of the Bureau of Experimental Tests, Department of Agxiculture, stated his readiness to undertake the tests of the emergency rations which had been requested some years before, but could not then be undertaken as some other tests were then being con- ducted. A number of the chocolate emergency rations were provided and they were subjected to the digestive test, as a result of which a report was submitted, and based upon this the approval of the ration by the Sur- geon General was withdrawn. The Quartermaster Corps was directed to take up the question of the selection of a suitable ration with Doctor Langworthy. An excellent ration was produced, which it was hoped would be, adopted by cracker manufacturers and manufactured for sale to the public. This expectation, unfortunately, was never realized and only one possible manufacturer of the ration was found, and the price was considered impossible of acceptance. As it was impossible to secure enforcement of the order requiring the use of the emergency ration three SUPPLIES 107 days a year, a ration which was in every way suitable had to be abandoned. The firm manufacturing it had dismantled and junked the machinery. At first this was not an embarrassment, as the authorities in France, in reply to a question, had stated that no emergency rations would be needed. Later when requisition for emergency rations was received from France, it was found difficult, due to the conditions existing at that time in the country because of the war, to construct the machinery required for manufacturing the rations. But notwithstanding such handicap tbe several millions of the 1901 emergency rations were supplied in an in- credibly short time. In the year 1905, upon the recommendation of the Commissary General of Subsistence, a School for Bak- ers and Cooks was established at Fort Riley, Kansas. This School opened under the direction of Captain M. S. Murray of the Subsistence Department, and justified its establishment from the very first. Captain Murray was succeeded by Captain (now Colonel) Lucius R. Holbrook, a Cavalry officer, and the excellent work of the School was continued and enlarged upon. The loca- tion of the School was fortunate, for it soon attracted a number of the Cavalry officers who were attending the other schools at that post, and, furthermore, it received considerable asistance by the interest taken in it by the commanding officer of the post. Brigadier General E. S. Godfrey. Later other similar schools were opened at Washing- ton Barracks and the Presidio of San Francisco, and 108 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS still later other schools were established at San Antonio, Texas, and at Honolulu and in the Philippine Islands. It is not too much to say that these schools con- tributed very largely to the success of the training camps for officers which were established at Plattsburgh, N^ew York, as the personnel of some of the schools were sent there to operate the Bakery and conduct the messes. The personnel of one of these schools also operated the Bakery at the Veterans' Reunion at Gettysburg. As previously stated, the number of officers on duty in the Office of the Quartermaster General could not be increased without first securing authority. Authoriza- tion was given in the latter part of May, 1917, to assign an officer to duty in the Office of the Quarter- master General to have charge of the organization of the Bakery Companies needed in the new Army. Captain L. L. Deitrick, now Lieutenant Colonel, was selected for this detail, and assigned to the charge of the Bakery Branch, which was then connected with the Adminis- trative Division of the Office. The subject is treated of here as it falls more logically in an account of the work of subsisting the Army. Captain Deitrick had organized the School for Bakers and Cooks in the Southern Department, and had pre- pared, with the assistance of several other officers, who were authorities on the subjects, the new manuals for Bakers and Cooks which were issued in 1916. In order to facilitate the work of establishing Bakeries for the militia organization on the Mexican border. Captain Deitrick had secured the names of all graduate mess SUPPLIES 109 sergeants and cooks as well as bakers from the army schools for Bakers and Cooks at Fort Riley, Kansas, Washington Barracks, D. C, the Presidio of San Fran- cisco, California, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas, from the time of the organization of each of these schools. He also ascertained the names of the men who were still in the service, and in what organization they were located. A card index was prepared showing the mili- tary records of these men and the organization with the idea of keeping track of them for future emergencies. Captain Deitrick reported June 14, 1917, and was given charge of all matters relating to the organization of the Schools for Bakers and Cooks to be opened in the cantonments and the organization of the new Bakery Companies for the new Army. While the personnel and control of the Bakery Companies was under the Quartermaster General, the control of the different schools for Bakers and Cooks and their personnel was, at the outbreak of the war, under the Adjutant General. The Quartermaster General had been directed to or- ganize and supervise a system of training for Bakers and Cooks for the new Army, and in order to coordinate the work of his office on June 14, 1917, recommended that the Schools for Bakers and Cooks in the territorial limits of the United States and their management and personnel be placed under him, as the cooks and bakers were so intimately connected with a supply depart- ment, and that suggestion was the only possible method 110 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS of handling the problem. The recommendation above was not approved. As previously stated, the Schools for Bakers and Cooks were first established in 1905, upon the recom- mendation of the then Commissary General of Sub- sistence. The personnel remained for several years under his direction and control, and, notwithstanding the fact that very little encouragement and assistance was given by the General Staff, the Schools from the very first demonstrated their incalculable value to the Line of the Army. Upon the establishment of the Quartermaster Corps, the control and administration of the personnel of the Schools was vested in the Quar- termaster General. Shortly after that time the person- nel of those schools was transferred to the Adjutant Gen- eral and a policy was adopted in regard to the rating of the non-commissioned instructors at the schools which resulted in many of them securing their discharge from, the Service, and the efficiency of the schools was seri- ously threatened. Fortunately about the year 1914 Colonel S. G. Jones, a Cavalry Officer, was on duty with the General Staff. This officer had made a study of and was an expert on matters relating to Baking and Cooking and largely through his efforts the former rating of the instructors was restored and it was possible to secure the reenlistment of many who had received their discharge. If this had not been done it is a serious question whether it would have been possible to or- ganize the schools for Bakers and Cooks needed for the new Army, and thus make it possible to subsist the men StJPPLIES 111 as adequately and efficiently as they were during tke war. Colonel Jones deserves credit for making it pos- sible to properly organize the new schools. After the transfer above referred to all matters relat- ing to the course of instruction and other technical sub- jects were still referred to the Quartermaster General for recommendation, as there were no experts on those subjects in the Adjutant General's Department. For instance, when new manuals for Bakers and Cooks were to be issued, the Quartermaster General was directed to have them prepared. This was done in 1916. It must be remembered that the Quartermaster Corps prov- vided the personnel for the Field Bakery Companies and the propriety of giving to the Quartermaster Gen- eral the control and direction of the instructors at schools, which provided one class of the twenty-seven trades to be furnished from the personnel of that Corps is indicated. The Adjutant General being charged with the duty of providing special men for organization, in- cluding cooks, among such classification, had had in- serted in the appropriation bill an item authorizing the enlistment of 1,200 competent cooks as Sergeants, First Class, Quartermaster Corps, for the duration of the war only. On July 21, 1917, the Quartermaster General was directed to make preliminary messing arrangements for all organizations at their respective cantonments. In May, 1917, a letter had been received at the War Department from Mrs. Thomas Robins, of New York, stating that she had enlisted the interest of Mr. L. M. 112 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS Boomer, the director of the Waldorf, McAlpin and Claridge hotels in New York, whose head chef was training at the School of Practical Arts at Columbia University sixteen experienced cooks in the use of the Army ration. Mr. Edouard Panchard, the head chef above referred to, also wrote to the Chief of Staff ex- pressing jhis desire and that of other prominent chefs in New York to assist in training of cooks. Under the supervision of Colonel Coleman, who at that time was in charge of Bakery matters in the Central De- partment, with the cooperation of the faculty of Dun- woodie Institute in Minnesota about forty bakers were trained during the summer of 1917. The training of Cooks and Bakers for an Army is an entirely different matter to qualifying men for such work in civil life. For in the field the cooks must prepare the meals out of doors in all conditions of the weather, and with very limited facilities as to ranges, sometimes in a pouring rain, and must learn to do so with the least possible consumption of fuel. The meals must be ready exactly on time, and furthermore the cooks must learn to conserve food, how to dispose of the refuse and to take all necessary sanitary precautions to protect the food while being prepared. The bakers must learn to set the sponge for bread in tents and at temperatures sometimes many degrees below freezing, and learn expedients whereby under such conditions a proper temperature for the growth of the yeast plant will be maintained. About 1910, under the command of General F. D. Grant, a camp of regular troops was SUPPLIES 113 established on the Lake Front in Chicago. At this camp there was a field bakery to provide bread for the command, and all the Baking Trade Journals called attention to the excellent quality of the bread produced, and particularly to the fact that the sponge was set and developed, the dough moulded and proofed at tempera- . tures on many occasions several degrees below freezing. It was noted as a wonderful accomplishment and is a tribute to the efficiency and practicability of the course of instruction given at the Schools for Bakers and Cooks. The Quartermaster General, after the receipt of the instructions above noted stated in an interview with the Secretary of War that in order to remove any possible source of complaint when the newly drafted men arrived at the camps it should be possible to serve them with hot meals inmiediately upon arrival; that there was not a sufficient number of cooks in the Army to pre- pare those meals, and it was recommended authority be granted to hire the requisite number of civilian cooks for the necessary time and to retain such men until they could instruct men from the draft; that the Schools for Bakers and Cooks could not provide the men, as two months would be required to graduate them as trained cooks; and that hot meals immediately upon arrival at the cantonments were needed. In reply to a question the Quartermaster General stated that it would cost over one hundred thousand dollars, and in his estimation that any means to provide the hot meals under the emergency should be adopted and the emergency justi- 114 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS fied the expense. The Secretary of War at once author- ized the expenditure and instructed that steps be taken to carry out the plan. A meeting was, therefore, called in the office of the Quartermaster General, which was attended by Mr. Joseph Bifield of Chicago, Mr. Cecil D. Gregg of St. Louis, Mr. Edouard Panchard of New York and others. The Quartennaster General informed the meeting that 687,000 men would report at sixteen different canton- ments about September 1st; that hot meals should be ready for the men on arrival; that ranges, cooking utensils, mess equipment and food supplies would be on hand, but the necessary cooks to prepare them were not available, and requested that the Hotel Keepers Associations, acting in cooperation with the Chefs As- sociation would undertake the task of providing the cooks ; that about 12,000 cooks were needed in order to provide three for each organization but, as in all prob- ability that number could not be secured, at least 3,600, allowing one cook for each organization, must be pro- vided. For surely the Hotel Keepers Association of America could not have it said that they were unwilling to undertake the biggest problem ever given to such associations before. It was announced that Mr. Joseph Bifield would be appointed Chairman and Mr. Cecil D. Gregg, Vice Chairman, and that they should select a committee of sixteen, one for each cantonment ; each of these sixteen committeemen to correspond with an officer to be desig- SUPPLIES 115 nated who would give all information required con- cerning the cantonment for which he acted. The following officers were assigned for the duty above referred to : Lieut. Colonel Sherrard Coleman, Quartermaster Corps, on duty at Headquarters Central Department, who had charge of the organizing of six National Army Camps. Major C. Emory Hathaway on duty at Headquarters Western Department, who had charge of three camps. Major James C. Pegram, Quai'termaster Corps, on duty at Headquarters Southern Department, in charge of six camps. Major William H. Smith, Quartermaster Corps, on duty at Headquarters Southeastern Department, in charge of ten camps. Major Alexander M. Milton, Quartermaster Corps, who relieved Major Dickey in the Southern Depart- ment. Major Stewart C. Elting, Quartermaster Corps, who relieved Major Smith in the Southeastern Department. Major Ralph Talbot who relieved Major Elting in the Southeastern Department. The above regular officers are all Cavalry men who had taken the course in baking and cooking at Fort Riley, while on duty at the Mounted Service School. The following were selected as the District Chair- men: No. 1. Arthur L. Race, Brandon Hotel, Brookline^ 116 THE QUAKTEKMASTER COEPS ISTo. 2. L. M. Boomer, Hotel McAlpin, N'ew York City, IT. Y. 'No. 3. John McGlynn, Hotel Rensselaer, Troy, :Nr. Y. No. 4. J. M. Frazier, Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, Pa. No. 5. F. S. Hight, New Willard Hotel, Wash- ington, D. C. ITo. 6. J. B. Rector, Reed House, Chattanooga, Tenn. No. 7. J. Lee Barnes, Majestic Hotel, Atlanta, Ga. No. 8. J. Stacy Hill, Hotel Gibson, Cincinnati, Ohio. No. 9. Otto Seelbach, Seelbach Hotel, Louisville, Ky. No. 10. Ray Smith, Hotel Pfister, Milwaukee, Wis. No. 11. Laurence Adams, Brevoort Hotel, Chicago, 111. No. 12. W. N. Trulock, Hotel Jefferson, Pine Bluff, Ark. No. 13. Eugene Eppley, Hotel Martin, Sioux City, Iowa. No. 14. Sam J. Whitmore, Muehlebach Hotel, Kansas City, Mo. No. 15. Percy Tyrrell, Hotel Gunter, San An- tonio, Texas. No. 16. L. M. Davenport, Davenport Hotel, Spo- kane, Washington. Instructions were given that the cooks must be at the camps by August 20th, that they would be trans- ported to the camps and returned to their homes if their services had been honest and faithful; otherwise they would be discharged and return transportation SUPPLIES 117 not furnished. Especial emphasis was laid upon the absolute cleanliness of the men. Instructions were also given to supply each canton- ment with ten thousand sets of mess equipment, which would be available for the men immediately on arrival ; such equipment is in the field supplied by the Ordnance Department, but would not be available for the men on arrival. The first problem was to provide Bakery Companies necessary to produce bread for an army of three million men; second, and even more difficult, to provide cooks and messing arrangements for this new army and to coordinate the work of numerous civilians and civilian organizations, who desired to train cooks and to providie food and messing facilities, as well as to start schools for training army cooks. WITH REFERENCE TO THE FIRST PROBLEM There were on hand in the United States nine Bakery Companies with a strength of four officers and approx- imately 450 enlisted men. These were all located in the Southern Department. The companies were fully equipped, and there was sufficient equipment in reserve on hand in the various depots to supply three more com- panies, or twelve in all. It was, therefore, necessary to order at once equipment for one hundred new Bakery Companies to take care of this new army, and to use every effort to expedite delivery of sufficient of this equipment within three months from the date the order was placed. This was done. 118 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS It was also necessary to provide for an expansion of these nine Bakery Companies with a personnel of 450 men into 88 Bakery Companies with a personnel of 8,880 enlisted men within a period of six months. This was also done, although in order to accomplish the task it was necessary to establish at once schools at which officers and enlisted men could be trained as bakers. These schools were established and by January 1, 1918, 170 officers and approximately 9,000 enlisted men had been trained and were serving as army bakers. Prior to the War the authorized strength of a Bakery Company was one officer and sixty-one enlisted men. When it was learned that the size of a division in our army would be increased materially, it was necessary to draft new regulations increasing the strength of a Bakery Company to two officers and 101 enlisted men and increasing the equipment from twelve units to fifteen units or fifteen field ovens. The new regiila- tions were prepared in June, and on July 16th the Quartermaster General secured authority to proceed with the organization of 88 new Bakery Companies at the increased strength. On August 30th, or within six weeks, thirty of these new Bakery Companies had been organized, equipped and trained and were on hand to produce bread for the I^^ational Army and the I^Tational Guard when they were ordered into camp September 1st. On January 1st, 88 of the Companies with a trained personnel of ap- proximately 8,880 enlisted men had been organized and the enlisted men trained in their duties as bakers. SUPPLIES 119 WITH REFEEENCE TO THE SECOND PROBLEM The second problem was to provide cooks and messing arrangements, kitchen equipment and mess equipment for the new army, and to coordinate the work of numer- ous patriotic civilians who desired to assist in thi§ work. This was more difficult than the preceding one. Prior to July, 1917, there had been four army schools for bakers and cooks in the United States. These schools had an average capacity of about one hundred students. It was customary for the regular army or- ganization to detach men and send them to these schools to be instructed as cooks or bakers. E^umerous patriotic civilians had volunteered their services to instruct cooks, and to organize schools to provide the necessary cooks. It was decided, however, that this would be impracticable, as it would be neces- sary to separate the students from their organizations and send them to various cities for instruction where there would be no supervision over them by the army authorities. As it required approximately 12,000 cooks for the first draft of the National Army alone, it is apparent that it would have been impracticable to have these men scattered broadcast throughout the country without proper means of disciplining them, training them or feeding them. It was decided that the only practicable method to solve this problem would be to train the cooks for tbe Army in their own kitchens and to establish schools at every large camp under the con- trol of the division commanders in order to carry this 120 THE QUAETEKMASTER COEPS work out, and to train the bakers and cooks under mili- tary supervision and control where more satisfactory re- sults could be obtained. The most vital problem to be considered was the means of feeding the new National Army, which was about to be assembled in unorganized masses in the sixteen l!^ational Army camps. These camps were not organized or provided with officers, mess sergeants or cooks as the regular army and National Guard were. After more than a month's delay, and on July 23rd, authority was finally secured from the Chief of Staff to proceed with organizing of forces sufficient to look after the messing arrangements and cooking arrange- ments for tbis National Army. Meanwhile, early in June plans had been formed to organize schools and Bakery Companies at each of the National Army cantonments. Five regular Army of- ficers, all Cavalry, formerly trained in the School for Bakers and Cooks, Fort Riley, Kansas, were detailed on this work. These officers were assigned one each in the five territorial departments, and sixteen of the most competent non-commissioned officers, former graduates from the Army schools for Bakers and Cooks, who had been on duty at these schools as instructors, were sent to these officers to be trained in administrative work and in the proper methods of organizing these new schools. Application was made in June for authority to com- mission these sixteen non-commissioned officers as cap- tains to take charge of new schools. They were com- jmssioned as captains about August 10 th and on August SUPPLIES 121 15th one of these officers was on hand at each of the sixteen National Army Cantonments, prepared to pro- ceed with the organization of the new schools for bakers and cooks. Prior to the date that these officers reported for duty at the various cantonments, the following arrangements had been made to insure the success of the undertaking : (a) By transfer of graduate cooks and mess ser- geants from organizations of the Regular Army, and by the utilization of the enlisted personnel of the four regular army schools for Bakers and Cooks, an average of twelve competent gTaduate mess sergeants was se^ cured for each National Army cantonment, or ap- proximately one for each regiment of the new army. These men acted as assistants to the officers in charge of the schools. (b) 192 officers, graduates of tbe first training camp, were ordered by the Adjutant General to report on August 15th, twelve at each National Army cantonment for duty as regimental mess officers, and were instructed in their new duties between August 15th and Sep- tember 1st. (c) Civilian cooks were hired at the rate of one to each proposed kitchen in each cantonment, and as- sembled on August 20th for instruction under the of- ficer and non-commissioned officers of the regular army in a preliminary course of training in handling the army ration and in the system of accounting for the ration, and preparing bills of fare, etc. (d) Extracts of the most essential parts of the 122 THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS manual for Army cooks were prepared by June, printed in pamphlet form and distributed to each organization of the Regular Army, National Army and ISTational Guard at the rate of one for each authorized cook. (e) Bills of fare were prepared for periods of ten days showing the ingi-edients to be used and the amount of each ingredient to be used in the preparation of each article of the bill of fare. These were distributed to each cook of the Regular Army, National Army and National Guard. (f) Requisitions were prepared for equipment for all kitchens and mess halls of the proposed National Army cantonments. The property was ordered the first week in July from the various Quartermaster Depots, and when not on hand, was purchased under emergency, and followed up by the Office of the Quartei*master Gen- eral until it was delivered at the camps. By this means all of the camps were fully equipped on August 20th and reports received from the camps stating that the equipment was on hand, for file in the Office of the Quartermaster General. (g) The table of foods and ration articles, neces- sary for organizations of various sizes from 50 to 250 men, was prepared and sent to the officer in charge of the school at each camp. This officer was directed to draw the supplies for each organization, which was scheduled to be organized at the camp, from the Camp Quartermaster, and if they were not on hand, to purchase them locally, and to place them in each kitchen with the equipment already provided, under charge of a SUPPLIES 123 competent cook wko was furnished witli a copy of the bills of fare prepared for the first ten days. (h) Plans for permanent bakeries together with a list of equipment necessary for them were turned over to the Cantonment Division. The bakeries were com- pleted by September 1st and ready to operate. In order to provide the equipment, however, it was neces- sary to purchase ovens of various kinds from the manu- facturers and send men to the camps to take charge of the installation of the ovens and equipment. (i) Instructions were prepared by the Bakery Branch of the Quartermaster General's Office and sent to each officer in charge of one of the new schools. These instructions provided for every emergency that could be anticipated. The officers followed the instruc- tions laid down and so successfully organized the schools according to the plans outlined that no detach- ment of the ISTational Army arrived at any of the camps at any hour of the day or night without finding a hot meal ready to be served. (j) Through the hearty cooperation and assistance of a Committee of hotel men formed throughout the country, who devoted their time and money to the task of hiring civilian cooks for temporary duty with the National Army, the 4,000 cooks necessary to assist in providing food for this Army when it was mobilized between the period of August 25th and September 15th were secured. This association was so organized that a prominent hotel man was appointed chairman of the committee and to take charge of each cantonment and 124 THE QUARTEKMASTEE CORPS cooperate with the officer in charge of the school at the cantonineiit in providing cooks. The schools were able to dispense with the services of the civilian cooks as rapidly as mess sergeants and cooks for the ^National Army were trained, and by November 1st most of these cooks had been discharged. On January 1, 1918, the schools mentioned above had trained cooks for the overseas forces, the regular army, N^ational Guard, the ISTational Army and various inde- pendent staff departments. It is estimated that 16,000 mess sergeants, 50,000 cooks and 1,200 instructors in cooking and 9,000 bakers had been trained in these schools by January 1, 1918. In addition 180 officers had been trained as bakers and in administrative and technical work of handling Bakery Companies, and ap- proximately 260 officers had been trained in duties of an officer in charge of the schools for bakers and cooks. The Bakery Branch had also carried on a campaign in conservation of food and sanitation from the be- ginning through the agency of these schools. A corre- spondence course was inaugurated in the Bakery Branch, and through the cooperation of the various Division Commanders of the National Army and Na- tional Guard camps, great improvements were made in conservation of food and in sanitation. This work was successful from the beginning and was the cause of many favorable comments from the various Division Commanders as well as from various prominent civilians who were interested in the welfare of the troops and who visited and inspected these camps. SUPPLIES 125 There was a sufficient number of graduates from the School for Bakers and Cooks at the Presidio of San Francisco to more than provide the initial number of cooks needed at Camp Lewis. These men were called back into service and the excess number distributed among other camps ; thus amply justifying the wisdom of establishing the School. It is of interest to note the statements made con- cerning the subsistence of the Army in the year 1917 in the World War : At a hearing before the Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Representatives on January 7, 1918, explanation of the arrangements made to provide hot meals for the selective draft men on an-ival at the contonments was made ; and Mr. Tilson, a member of the Committee, said: "By way of corroborating what General Sharpe has said, I saw that system in operation at one of the camps where I watched the first forty per cent of the men come in and the order was that there should be a hot meal ready for every man within an hour after he reached the camp, and I believe there was only one case in which the company cook failed to have the meal ready when the men arrived. There was only one case that I saw and that company conunander re- ceived quite a blowing up, as I remember." Senator Wadsworth of 'New York, a member of the Committee on Military Affairs, addressing the United States Senate in January, 1918, said: "Another thing that we should remember at this time is that the Amer- ican Army is being fed as well, if not better, than any 126 THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS other army on the face of the earth during this period, and the credit for that great task, the training of soldier cooks in the Quartermaster Cooking Schools and in putting them to work in the cantonments in time to serve a hot meal, the first meal, to the soldiers as they arrive in the cantonments; the credit for that ought not to be denied. It is one of the things in which foresight and organizing ability were shown, and we ought to be gTateful for it, and I am glad to pay tribute to the officers and men who accomplished that great feat." Other commendatory statements were made by Sen- ator Wadsworth and other Senators and members of the House of Representatives on subsequent occasions. STATEMENT MADE BY SECRETARY BAKER MONDAY^ JANU- ARY 28, 1918, AT A HEARING BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS "I want to make but one further observation on this general subject of the Quartermaster and Supply De- partment. I think it is not unfair for me to say that in the matter of provision of food, no Army ever as- sembled anywhere was fed as regularly, as well, as nutritiously, as appetizingly as this Army. I think you gentlemen of the committee, and surely the men in the War Department, will agree that while there have been complaints about other things, that the almost universal testimony so far as I know, and the unanimous testimony of the Army is that its food has been of the highest quality; that there has been no suggestion of defective quality or insufficient quantity; that its prep- SUPPLIES 127 aration has been of the highest character; and, gener- ally, that the very great problem of food supply of this vast and hastily organized gTOup of men has been carried out with most extraordinary success." In an address delivered August 8, 1918, the Secre- tary of War said : "We have summoned into being in the United States Army now pretty nearly, if not quite, two and a half million men, including those overseas and those on this side, and although I stand at the center of complaint and criticism, and everybody, it seems, in the country — most of them helpful I am glad to say — sends me criti- cisms and comments which they have heard and stories which they think I ought to know. I get all the com- plaints, some of them unfounded, some of them founded; but from the very first mobilization of the Army until now I have not had a single complaint as to the food of this vast Army. I do not mean that there have not been complaints as to the food which has been stored, but I mean that in no camps in this country visited by fathers or friends attended by persons in every ordinary walk of life, from no camp have I had a criticism that the food was insufficient, that it was un- wholesome in its character, that it was not well cooked, or did not arrive on time. And today, I had a letter from General Pershing in which he was commenting upon the perfection of supplies on the other side, and said that not since the Army had been in France has a single man in that Army had to wait a minute for a meal that was due." In April, 1918, after we had been in the war a year, the Washington correspondent of a great New York 128 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS daily wrote to the Acting Quartermaster General : "Greatly pleased with the record which your Depart- ment has made in feeding the rapidly expanding Amer- ican Army and avoiding all scandal and discontent on that score, Mr. , Managing Editor of The , wishes to publish a comprehensive story, showing how this has been accomplished. Here are some of the questions asked by Mr. : "Who is the man who provides grub for all the camps? He appears to be about the only one against whom no kicks have been made. "Who is responsible for the efficiency at the several camps and for the very excellent preparation for feeding the Army which must have been made long before the men were sent to camps ? "Nobody with whom I have talked, including Army officers who have highly commended him, knows the name of the man or men who are entitled to immediate credit. Who is he or who are they ?" What, if any, reply was made to that letter is not known, but surely the names of the following should be mentioned in reply, viz : Colonel W. R. Grove, Colonel Leonard L. Deitrick, Lieutenant Colonel John H. Adams, Lieutenant Colonel J. N. Mcintosh, Mr. Joseph Bifield, Mr. Cecil D. Gregg, and also the following officers in charge of the Supply Depots which furnished the supplies required, viz : Brigadier General John M. Carson, Colonel Thomas H. Slavens, Colonel Hugh J. Gallagher, Brigadier General Albert D. Kniskem, Lieu- tenant Colonel William F. Clark, Colonel George McK. Williamson and Major General Carroll A. Devol. SUPPLIES DIVISION Clothing and equipage — Board of Control of Labor Conditions — Time when troops could be equipped — Calling troops in advance of time so designated — Shipping troops to France complicated conditions as to supply — Additional troops — Investigation by Committee on Military Affairs of the Sen- ate — Shortages at camps — Number of men in service of United States on December 31, 1917, who were equipped — Number of men in France December 31, 1917 — Reserve ship- ment of supplies to France — Over 40,000 men equipped in excess of number which was stated could be equipped by December 31, 1917 — Problem of supply — Distribution of sup- plies in this country — Fuel and forage branch — Conserva- tion and reclamation division. CLOTHING AND EQUIPAGE At the time of tlie outbreak of the war, the purchase of clothing and equipage was handled under the super- vision of the Clothing and Equipage Branch of the Supplies Division, Office of the Quartermaster General. The large depot at Philadelphia being the main clothing Depot, practically all supplies of this char- acter were received through that Depot. Prior to 1916, advertisements for supplies were made and proposals received at the depots in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis and San Francisco. The abstract together with the proposals were forwarded 129 130 THE QUARTEEMASTEK CORPS to Washington, there consolidated, and afterwards the several depots authorized to make awards and enter into contracts for the supplies to be delivered to their respective depots. In some cases the contracts were made at Philadelphia and then forwarded to other depots for execution when the contractors stipulated in their proposals for delivery at other places than in Philadelphia. The depots at ISTew York, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco and San Antonio were designated as reserve depots for Clothing and Equipage and troops in their vicinity were to be sup- plied from them, but all of tbese depots had not been furnished with adequate supplies, as funds for their procurement had not been provided. When the Militia was called into service in 1916, complaint was made because of the delay in furnishing supplies due to the centralized system then in vogue; consequently late in the fall of 1916 orders were issued establishing these depots for reserve and authorizing each to purchase such of the supplies as could be pro- cured in their immediate territory; those which could not be so procured were to be obtained from the Philadelphia Depot. This system was not put into effect during the war because the total lack of supplies and the enormous quan- tity required necessitated a centralized control of pur- chase and manufacture. It is noted here, however, as that Zone System of Supply was later put into effect when ample reserves had been secured and the purchase and manufacture had been coordinated and sufficient SUPPLIES DIVISION" 131 funds were available. In 1909 a policy was adopted by the War Department of establishing four or five depots, to be known as Reserve Depots, in which were to be placed the supplies required to bring the organiza- tions in the territories supplied by each depot respect- ively to a war strength ; adequate funds, however, had been appropriated for the Reserve Depot at Phila- delphia only. When the N^ational Guard was mustered into the Federal Service, under call of the President of June 18, 19 IG, it was found that paragraph 455a, Army RegTila- tions, 1913, had not been generally complied with, in that many States were deficient in equipment. The regulation referred to is as follows : Governors of States and Territories and the commanding general of the District of Columbia Militia are required at all times to keep on hand either at the various company armories or in suitable storehouses, a sutfieient supply of arms, uni- fonus, and equipment to completely equip for the field the minimum number of men prescribed by the President for each organization, so that on being called into the seiTice anj' organization will be completely equipped from the stores on hand in the State, Territory, or the District of Columbia with- out calling on the War Department for assistance. The muster in of these organizations developed shortages in equipment amounting to $4,192,054.46 based on peace strength, and $6,940,447.36 for equip- ment to bring them to war strength, or a total deficit of $11,132,511,82 in peace and war strength require- ments combined. There was in stock at the Philadelphia depot, as a 132 THE QUARTEKMASTER COEPS reserve, in addition to the stock at that and other depots, for current requirements, clothing and equipage amounting to $5,258,547.23, and materials for the manufacture of clothing and tentage amounting to $1,- 016,725, a total of $6,275,272.23, or $4,857,239.59 less than required to equip the organizations called into the Federal service at war strength. The records of the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral show that the department endeavored to secure funds from time to time sufficient to acquire a reason- able reserve of cloth and materials for the manufacture of clothing, but appropriations were not made in ac- cordance with the estimates as originally submitted. The following summary shows the efforts of the Quar- termaster General to secure funds for the accumulation of a suitable reserve and the amounts finally appro- priated : Total funds for procurement of reserve clothing estimated for by Quartermaster General's Office, 1909 to 1916, inclusive, eight fiscal years $12,656,159.50 Total approved by the War Department 6,330,295.66 Reduction made by the War Department 6,325,863.84 Appropriated by Congress 4,121,534.61 Reduction made by Congress of estimates as sub- mitted by War Department 2,208,761.05 Total reduction 8,534,624.89 In addition to the foregoing, reductions to the extent of $1,066,023.99 were made by the War Department in the estimates for current requirements, clothing and equipage. Congress further reduced this item to the extent of $117,000, making a total reduction of $1,- SUPPLIES DIVISIOIT 133 183,023.99 under current requirements, and $8,534,- 624.89 for reserve, a grand total of $9,717,648.88, rep- resenting equipment of clothing and equipage for field service of approximately 138,000 men, or one outfit for approximately 200,000 men. (Annual Eeport of the Quartermaster General — 1917.) It will be noted from this that the War Department reduced the Quartermaster's estimates by fifty per centum, and that Congi-ess appropriated only one-third of the original estimates. The reduction by the War Department of the estimates for current requirements and the further reduction of this estimate by Congress had a most serious result, as it practically reduced by that amount the appropriation for the reserve; as the current requirements of the men actually in the service must be provided for. As the question of preparedness had not been brought before the people of the country until 1916, it may fairly be assumed that Congress was justified in not making large appropriations for that purpose. But the appropriations were not large, and should have been made, particularly for the greatly reduced amounts which the War Department approved. Furthermore, the reduction made by the War Department was not in consequence of a change in policy regarding the estab- lishment of Resei-ve Depots. That policy was still maintained, but the Quartermaster Corps did not re- ceive approval of its efforts to secure the necessary funds to carry it into execution. The result was that at the beginning of the war the 134 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS depots of the Quartermaster Corps were almost com- pletely exhausted; and, furthermore, liabilities were contracted for the supplies required for the troops on the Mexican border, as the troops were retained in serv- ice bejond the time for which funds for their support had been obtained from Congress, as in accordance with the instructions given to the Quartermaster General in the Fall of 1916 the estimates were prepared under most of the appropriations for the Corps to cover the time to about October 31, 1916. As the militia were held in service long after that time, a deficiency of about $34,000,000 resulted, and as the General Deficiency Bill failed to pass Congi-ess on its adjournment March 4, 1917, the gTeat embarrassment of having to prepare for war with no funds available and with a large in- debtedness outstanding was placed upon the Corps. In the early part of 1917 it became apparent that the United States would shortly be drawn into the world conflict. In anticipation of this it was decided that all possible preliminary steps should be taken to prepare for the prompt purchase of clothing and equipage in large quantities, and tables were prepared giving the supplies necessary for 500,000 men. Letters were then prepared to be promptly dispatched to the several depot quartermasters to authorize them to invite proposals for the quantities specified, the Depart- ment reserving the right to increase or decrease the amounts at the time the award was made. It was the intention to publish this advertise- ment for supplies immediately after the passage of the SUPPLIES DIVISION 135 bill making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 1918 by Congress. In a conference with the Secretary of War, the Quar- termaster General explained the arrangements made as above outlined, and was authorized to issue at once the advertisement calling for proposals for the needs of the Army for the fiscal year 1918, based on estimates which had been submitted to Congress, the appropriation for which, however, had not yet been made. The advertisement was issued under date of Feb- ruary 5th, inviting proposals for supplies to be opened on March 5, 1917. The Chief of the Supplies Division, under direction of the Quartermaster General, visited the depots where proposals were to be received, and effected an arrange- ment to obtain the widest possible competition, utiliz- ing the suggestions and services of Chambers of Com- merce and other allied organizations. Under date of February 4, 1917, the Quartermaster General sug- gested to the Secretary of War the desirability of secur- ing the cooperation of the National Chamber of Com- merce to effect the appointment of a committee of com- petent business men to act at each depot in an advisory capacity to the officers on duty at such depots, such board or committee of business men to represent the in- terests of the business community in seeing that fairness was shown in the consideration of all proposals for supplies. It was emphasized that the men selected should be thoroughly trained business men in no way connected with any firm or line of business which would 136 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS be likely to submit proposals. This suggestion was ap- proved under date of February 4, 1917, and amended under date of March 1, 1917, so as to emphasize the fact that these men were to act in an advisoiy capacity only, and were not to participate in making the award, as that duty under the law devolved entirely upon the officers of the Corps designated for such possible duty. The result of this was in general the appointment of a number of well qualified and competent business men who by their advice and experience assisted materially the officers on duty at the depots. By the plan above adopted, and through the coopera- tion of the business men on the several depot com- mittees, when bids were opened on March 5, 1917, it developed that competition was far greater than at any previous opening for clothing and equipage supplies, and contracts were awarded for the articles called for in the advertisement, with the stipulation that payment for same would be made when the funds were appropri- ated by Congress. This stipulation was necessary due to the fact that Congi-ess had adjourned on March 4th without enacting the bill for the support of the Army in the fiscal year 1918. The Revised Statutes provide that deficiencies may be created for certain supplies, including clothing, for such number of men in the Army as may be authorized by law; and based upon this law the contracts were entered upon, the deliveries to be made at the earliest possible date. The contracts were for the supplies re- SUPPLIES DIVISIOIT 137 quired for 160,000 men, the authorized strength of the Army for the fiscal year 1918. On March 13, 1917 (S. 473) in reply to a memo- randum from the Chief of Staff, the Quartermaster General stated that the clothing and equipment, except canvas for tentage, for a million men could be procured within ten months, that is, by December 31, 1917. Nothing further was heard of this, but on March 21, 1917 (S. 474) the QuarteiTaaster General in reply to a communication from the Adjutant General stated that if authorized that day it was thought possible to place orders for the manufacture of clothing and equipage under the opening of March 5th and give additional orders for sufficient clothing and equipage to take care of 500,000 men (the number specified in the letter of the Adjutant General) including the Regular Army and I^ational Guard, within sixty days. On March 26, 1917, the Quartermaster General was directed to take action in accordance with his recommendation of March 21st, and the orders for the supplies were placed as promptly as possible. It was found, however, that a number of the bidders, under the opening of March 5th, who had not received awards under that opening, had cancelled their option for new materials, and conse- quently could not take orders then at the prices tbey had quoted, and it became necessary to secure other proposals in an informal way. On March 24th, instructions were issued calling a number of National Guard organizations into the Fed- eral Service, the estimated strength being 68,000 men. 138 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS On April 2nd these men were promptly equipped, al- though the number which was brought into the service was 89,000 instead of 68,000. This increased number of men called into sei-vice was undoubtedly necessary to provide guards for railways, bridges and water sup- plies of cities and towns, though the addition added seri- ously to the work of supply (S. 471-H632). The Quartermaster General on April 3, 1917, see- ing that a call for 500,000 men would evidently be made if the selective sei'vice bill became a law, sub- mitted a memorandum requesting authority to procure the supplies required for an additional 500,000 men (S. 476). This was approved by the Secretary of War on the same date, and instructions were issued to the depot quartermasters to purchase the supplies and exact the earliest possible deliveries. The supplies required under the authorizations above cited of March 5th, March 21st and April 3rd, 1917, were purchased in con- formity for the law which requires advertising of pro- posals and entering into fomial written contract, or when time did not permit of advertising proposals were received inforaially and written contracts made. The law also requires that the purchases should be made where cheapest, the quality, cost of transportation and the interests of the Government considered; and while there is authority under the acts of April 10, 1878, and March 3, 1883 (20 Stat, 36; 22 Stat. 487) to prescribe rules and regulations to be observed in the preparation, submission and opening of bids for con- tracts under the War Department, such regulations SUPPLIES DIVISION 139 must conform to statutory requirements and cannot preclude persons who are able and willing to furnish the required supplies in the time specified. In other words, there is no statute applicable to the War De- partment similar to Section 3,722, Revised Statutes, which, with reference to contracts with the Navy De- partment, provides inter alia: "No person shall be viewed as a contractor who is not a manufacturer of or regular dealer in the articles which he offers to supply." The result was that in time of peace persons who were neither manufacturers nor regular dealers would attend the opening of the proposals for Army supplies and there hear read off the lowest prices for which cer- tain articles were offered. At a subsequent opening of proposals, they could then submit proposals, based upon the prices for which contracts had been previously made, even for articles produced under definite speci- fications carefully defining the quality and minutely describing the processes of manufacture. Ascertaining that the proposal submitted was the lowest such person would then make an agreement with a manufacturer to supply him with the quantity of the article desired in the time specified and made strictly in accordance with the specifications. Having made this agreement, it was an easy matter to secure the bond required for the faithful fulfilment of the contract by paying the com- paratively small fee charged by a bonding company. When called upon by the Contracting Ojfficer, such per- son would furnish the name of the manufacturer and bonding company, and if his proposal was the lowest 140 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS the contract had to be awarded to him, provided it was in conformity with the terms of the advertisement and the instructions to bidders issued in connection there- with. This practice led to the establishment in business circles of individuals or firms termed middlemen or agents. In time of peace in case of failure to make delivery at the times specified in the contract, or for other de- fault under same, it was possible to obtain the supplies from manufacturers charging against the bonding com- pany the excess cost of the supplies, if any. Until the outbreak of the war, the clothing for the men was provided in accordance with an estimated money value of the clothing required by a man during his term of enlistment. It was thought to encourage care in the use of the clothing, as, upon discharge from the service, the man was paid the amount of money re- maining of his clothing allowance, representing the articles of clothing which had not been drawn due to the care and economy displayed by each individual. Such a method of clothing issue required three separate accounts to be kept ; an impossibility with a large army because of the immense amount of clerical work it re- quired. Furthermore, it is the duty of the Govern- ment to provide necessary clothing for the men in time of war to replace any which may be worn or destroyed on active service. Upon our entry into the war effort was made by the Quartermaster General to effect a change in the matter of the clothing allowance, and the paper having been referred to the Judge Advocate SUPPLIES DIVISION 141 General, that officer stated that the clothing allowance was never intended as a compensation to the enlisted men, and that it lay within the President's authority, under law, to prescribe the amount of clothing adequate for the service in which an enlisted man was engaged. In conformity with these views G. O. ISTo. 89, W. D. was published on July 11, 1917, reading as follows: The President of the United States directs that during the period of the existing emergency a soldier's allowance for clothing will be the quantity of clothing necessary and ade- quate for the service upon which he is engaged. Organization commanders will be held responsible for rigid economy in issues and for the proper equipment of enlisted men of their commands with the allowances prescribed as Equipment "C" in table for quartermaster supplies. Articles lost or destroyed through neglect will be charged on the pay roll against the man responsible therefor. Articles which have been damaged or I'endered unservice- able Avill be repaired if practicable or replaced by others. The clothing allowance of retired enli.sted men, as estab- lished by law, is given in paragraph 137, Army Regulations, and is not changed by this order. This order will be effective on and after July 15, 1917. The style of uniform adopted for the Army is one that fits closely to the figure and has a tight standing collar on the coat. The unsuitability of such a gar- ment for field service, during which a man would be called upon to engage in active conflict to defend his own life and destroy his adversary is apparent; its military appearance is of little consideration when a death struggle is to be engaged in. The garments worn by athletes in their competitions are not provided with tight standing collars. As the uniform was to fit closely, 142 THE QUARTEKMASTEK CORPS a large number of sizes of same had to be provided in the tariff of sizes: there were eighteen different sizes of coats and thirty-two sizes of breeches. For these reasons a change in the style of uniform was recom- mended which provided a turn-down collar loose about the neck and the coat to fit loosely and comfortably; the breeches also were to be changed. If these changes had been adopted not more than six or eight different sizes would have been required and a greater number of men could have been properly fitted from the same number of uniforms than would be possible with the close fitting style of uniform. Moreover, it is believed they would have presented as satisfactory an appear- ance. These recommendations failed after several attempts to secure the necessary approval, and the attention of the Quartermaster General was called to the order which stated that nothing which did not serve to help in winning the war would be undertaken. Surely the proper clothing of the men would materially so assist. The failure to approve this change resulted later in inability to fit the men at the several camps when often there was a large number of garments on hand. Effort was made at the same time to change the officers' uni- form so as to have a turned down rolling collar, and it was pointed out that as nearly thirty thousand new of- ficers would be graduated shortly from the training camps the time was opportune. Such a change would have made it possible for many excellent civilian tailors to cut and make the ofiicers' uniforms. SUPPLIES DIVISION 143 This recommendation was also disapproved and later when several thousand medical officers were appointed for service in France the Quartermaster Corps was ordered to sell to such officers the uniforms they re- quired, as such unifonns could not be produced by the military tailors in the time required. This resulted in depleting the stock of the Quartermaster Corps and made it impossible to supply some of the drafted men in the camps as promptly as they would otherwise have been supplied. It is understood that before the field service uniform was adopted it was shown to President Roosevelt and that he objected to the tight standing collar, thinking the turned down collar was more suitable and appropri- ate and that he was informed the tight standing collar was more "military." Our lady and canine friends wear tight standing (military) collars as an adornment; the former through choice but never when engaged in a death struggle, as witness the uniforms of the Bat- talions of Death ; and the latter under compulsion and to that collar a leash is often attached for the purpose of restraining freedom of action. The participants in athletic contests are provided with uniforms which in no way interfere, but on the contrary, in every possible way, assist them to exert their full muscular powers to win the contest. A com- parison with the uniform of those engaged in a contest for life is not necessary, but surely no benefit is derived for such contestants by wearing a "military" collar. In time of peace our Army is raised and kept re- 144 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS plenished by volunteer enlistments. The number of men authorized by law being a very small percentage of the total population, in normal times there are a great many more applicants for enlistment than there are vacancies. As a consequence certain physical re- quirements have been established by the War Depart- ment, which prescribe a minimum and a maximum, as to height, weight and chest measurements; and any applicant for enlistment who was not included in the limits established was rejected, notwithstanding the fact that he might have been in good healthy physical condition. The Regular Aniiy in time of peace was a very carefully selected body of men, as is shown by the great number of rejections of men applying to enter the service. It might fairly be said that the men were a normal physical type. To provide the clothing and equipment it was found after years of experience that certain sizes each of pre- scribed measurement were necessary, and it was als' found, based upon the experience of 3^ears, that a certain number of each size would be required in outfitting a certain number of men. Tables were therefore pre- pared and had been in use for a considerable period giving the number of each size that would be required to equip each 1,000 or ten thousand men. These tables were known as Tariff of Sizes for each garment. A Quartennaster preparing a Requisition for Clothing for his command would base it upon the total number of each size called for by the several organizations in the command. This would afford the Depot Quarter- SUPPLIES DIVISION 145 masters an opportunity to ascertain if the established Tariff of Sizes were correct and report would be called for from them at frequent periods to determine whether any modification was necessary. When new organiza- tions were to be outfitted and the sizes required for the men composing same was not known, experience had proved that if twenty-five per cent, in addition to the number required for the organization were shipped, assorted according to the Tariff of Sizes, that it was possible to outfit the organization perfectly. Any excess number of the various sizes would be returned to the Quartennaster, who would be enabled from such excess to provide for the wants of another organization. Con- sequently in ordering the manufacture of new clothing the contract would be based upon the Tariff of Sizes, and this method was followed in preparing the clothing for the new army. When the Selective Service Act was put into opera- tion and the men first drafted reported to the camps, the careful physical selection that had been heretofore made was entirely disregarded, and if a man was physically sound he was certified to the service regard- less of his height, weight or chest measurement. And it was then found that the Tariff of Sizes did not apply to such drafted men as it had to the men here- tofore enlisted in the Eegular Army. As an illustra- tion, the men coming from Michigan and several west- ern States were found, as a general rule, to be much taller and larger, and the men coming from certain 146 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS eastern cities proved to be shorter and mucli smaller, than those who had been previously enlisted. General Order No. 26, War Department, dated Au- gust 16, 1912, prescribed a method of measuring the soldiers' feet and fitting the shoes. It stated : 1. With a view to increasing the marching capacity of troops, Company commanders will personally measure the feet and fit the shoes of the men of their commands and will be held responsible that the instructions herein contained are strictly followed. (Then was given in precise detail the method to be adopted.) By the same order it was enjoined that light woolen or heavy woolen socks would habitually be worn for marching, but orders issued in France required the men to wear two pairs of heavy woolen socks in the trenches in the winter time. Consequently it is evident that the men would require a larger size shoe to enable this to be done. This, of course, was not foreseen when the Tariff of Sizes of shoes was prepared. An elaborate test was made with the fitting of the men's shoes on the Mexican border in the fall of 1916, and the Quarter- master General endeavored several times to secure a copy of it but without success. On November 14, 1917, a Board of Ofiicers, consisting of two officers of the Quartermaster Corps, an officer of the Medical De- partment and Mr. E. J. Bliss, President of the Regal Shoe Company, met to discuss the subject of the fitting of shoes for the men. At this meeting, it was the unanimous opinion that if General Orders 26, War Department 1912, was complied with there would be no question but that the proper fit could be secured. SUPPLIES DIVISION" 147 The Tariff of Sizes for Shoes gave six different widths and fifteen sizes. Learning of the large sizes of the men drafted, the table was modified by omitting the smallest size and width, and increasing the number of sizes by two. Later when men of small stature were drafted from the cities, the small sizes had to be again adopted. In time of peace the Army with its very limited ap- propriation was compelled to secure the sizes which would be needed by the troops and therefore adopted its own Tariff of Sizes. If a civilian tariff' had been adopted and then it was discovered that the men could not be fitted from the sizes on hand, and there were no further funds with which to secure the proper sizes, it is thought that the authorities might properly be censured for not following their own tariff sizes. Realizing that the Ai-my Tariff of Sizes had always proved correct in the past it was quite natural that they should be followed for the new Army, until demon- strated to require modification. It must be remembered that upon the passage of the Selective Service Law there was a reservoir of ten millions of men and all that was needed was to pick out 500,000 of them, and say that on a designated day they must report at specified camps, and this might result in the very large men being assembled at one camp; and, furthermore, it must be understood that no advance notice had been or could possibly have been given of the sizes of garments required for these men. Someone had to use his best judgment and discretion 148 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS before the time of assembling; and of course tbat could not be as accurate as a criticism based on a passed event. After an exhaustive study by a Board of Officers, a type of shoe last, known as the Munson last, from the name of the officer on the Board who devised it, was adopted for use in the Army. The upper was made of a light weight calfskin of tan color, lined with canvas, the soles welted and of a number nine gauge leather. The shoe produced was very comfortable and its shape and structure eliminated any possible source of injury to the feet. It was light in weight and for that reason was objected to by the officers of the Quartermaster Corps as being unsuitable and unserviceable for field use. This objection was met by the assertion that as a people we were accustomed to wearing light weight shoes, and further that it would be impossible to have the army equipped with the strong heavy shoes worn in Continental annies. However, in the spring of 1916, when the Punitive Expedition crossed into Mexico, it was soon demonstrated that the light weight shoe pro- vided the men would be worn out in a week's campaign and rendered unserviceable and the men likely to be injured. Consequently, in the fall of 1916 samples of the field shoes worn by the British, French and Belgian Armies were secured and with the assistance of a num- ber of qualified shoe experts a type of field shoes, made of heavy leather, with strong double soles, covered with hob-nails and having a steel heel plate was devised. About two hundred pairs of these shoes were sent to SUPPLIES DIVISION" 149 the Mexican border for trial and report. Early in the spring of 1917, as no report had been received, the Quartermaster General directed the purchase of about sixty thousand pairs of these field shoes. These were also sent to the Mexican border, and ascertaining that they had not been used there instructions to ship them to France were given when the first Division was or- dered to sail from this country. Soon after the arrival of the troops in France, request was received from the authorities there to ship only the field shoes for use of the troops. In tbe meantime the manufacture of the field shoes had been undertaken on a large scale, and the light weight garrison shoes reserved for use in the camps. The troops were all being equipped with two pairs of field shoes when prepared for embarkation. As previously shown authority had been obtained to purchase the clothing and equipage for the Regular Army and National Guard, both raised to war strength, and also for 500,000 men to be secured by the operation of the Selective Service Law when it was enacted by Congress; a total of about one million men. By in- structions from the Acting Chief of Staff the estimates were prepared for an authorized strength of 1,078,000 men and submitted to Congress soon after the opening of the session on April 2, 1917. By the National Defense Act of 1916 a Council of National Defense was created which was composed of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor. It also authorized an Ad- 150 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS visory Commission under the Council of IsTational De- fense to make special investigation of any subject deemed desirable, and authorized the Council of ISTa- tional Defense to organize subordinate bodies, either experts or committees, for the prosecution of these special investigations. A body known as the Advisory Commission of the Council of Il^ational Defense was or- ganized in December of 1916. It was divided into seven different sections of activities, as follows: trans- portation and communications; munitions manufacture, including standardization and industrial relations; sup- plies, including food and clothing; raw materials, min- erals and metals ; engineering and education ; medicine and surgery, including general sanitation ; labor, includv ing the preservation of health and welfare of workers; and later the commercial economy board was formed, the purpose of which was to eliminate waste and the production of all unnecessary articles. Still later a com- mittee on coal production was formed, but its duties and functions were taken over upon the passage of the law creating the Fuel Administration. After the formation of these committees to advise on industries and raw material, it was found that there was no real point of contact with those departments of the Army and of the Navy which were purchasing supplies and that a system for coordinating their needs and bringing them to public notice was required. The Gen- eral Munitions Board, consisting of seven members, was then formed for this purpose. That organization func- SUPPLIES DIVISION 151 tioned for several months and was finally changed into the War Industries Board. This Board authorized a Clearance Committee. It also had a raw material division, with experts on differ- ent kinds of raw material ; supplies division, called the committee on supplies; a finished products division and a priorities committee. On April 8, 1917, a conference was held in the office of the Secretary of War, which was attended by the members of the Council of !N"ational Defense, the Ad- visory Commission of the Council, the General Muni- tions Board and the members of the several committees created by this Board, and the Chiefs of the various Departments of the War Department. This conference was called to discuss the manner in which the purchase of supplies required for the Army should be made. It was pointed out that the quantity of supplies required was enormous and in some cases in excess of the possible production of the country; that, furthermore, the pur- chases by the allies had to a great extent depleted the market. The prices had largely advanced and with the increased demands from abroad, both from the allied and neutral nations, still greater advances in prices were anticipated. The necessity to protect the interests of the people by preventing any unwarranted advance in prices was emphasized, and also the necessity of stim- ulating production to meet the requirements. It was maintained that to advertise publicly for proposals for the supplies needed would afford an opportunity to corner the market and greatly increase the cost of the 152 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS supplies and possibly tend to check the installation of new sources of supply, and it was urged that under the conditions then existing there was an emergency necessi- tating the immediate procurement of the supplies re- quired. This discussion was participated in by a num- ber of the members of the Conference. It was also urged that under the existing conditions the purchases should be made by "merchandising" with the various manufacturers and producers directly. This conten- tion was advanced by several members of the Com- mittee on Supplies who were recognized in the com- mercial world as being thoroughly competent and emi- nently successful men of affairs, some of them being the heads of the largest business organizations in the coun- try which provided all classes of supply. As a result of this conference, the following order was made by the Secretary of War and published under date of April 12, 1917: WAR DEPARTMENT Washington, D. C, April 12, 1917. ORDERS : 1. It is hereby declared that an emergency exists within the meaning of Section 3,709, Revised Statutes, and other Statutes which except cases of emergency from the requirement that contracts for and on behalf of the Government shall only be made after advertising, and as to all contracts under the War Department for the supply of the War Department and the supply and SUPPLIES DIVISION" 153 equipment of the Army and for fortifications and other works of defense; and nntil further ordered such con- tracts will be made without resort to advertising for bids in the letting of the same. 2. Where time will permit information will be given to the Munitions Board constituted by the ISTational Council of Defense, through the Supply Bureau's repre- sentative, of orders to be made for supplies, with the view of assistance from the Board in placing the orders and in order that the supplies of the War Department may be coordinated with those for the !Navy and other executive departments and secured at prices not in ex- cess of those paid for other departments. 3. It is to be understood, however, that the responsi- bility of the several supply bureaus for promptly sup- plying the needs of the Army must be recognized ; and where time will not admit of the delay in consulting the Munitions Board, the supply bureaus will retain their present initiative in contracting without reference to the board. (Signed) NEWTON D. BAKER, Secretary of War. E102387— 17. Later at a conference with the Secretary of War, the chairman and sub-chairman of the Committee on Sup- plies and the Quartermaster General, it was arranged that for clothing and equipage supplies the Quarter- master General was to deal direct with the chairman or sub-chairman of that Committee, thus to expedite action. It was further arranged that an officer of the Quartermaster Corps should sit with that Committee when it was arriving at agTeement as to prices with the various manufacturers and the allocation as to or- 154 THE QUARTERMASTEE CORPS ders for supplying the various articles. Such officer to be the representative of the Quartermaster Corps in such matters. It was further arranged that all woolen, cotton and leather supplies, a list of at first about nine- teen articles, should be procured through the assistance of the Committee on Supplies and Colonel H. J. Hirsch, of the Quartermaster Corps, then stationed at the Phil- adelphia Depot, should be the representative on that Committee. The method of procedure was for the Quartermaster General to inform the Supply Committee that certain quantities of supplies were required at a specified time, and to request information with whom the contract for same could be entered into and the prices for such articles. The names of the individuals, the prices, etc., were to be furnished the Philadelphia Depot and the contract would then be prepared by Colonel Hirsch and signed by him as representing the Government. He thus being the Contracting officer and signing the affidavits on the contract as he was a party to the agree- ment as to prices. Later on the list of articles to be procured through the Committee on Supplies was ex- tended to include all articles relating to clothing and equipage. Instructions were given by the Quarter- master General that in all cases where commissioned officers of the Quartermaster Corps were acting in con- junction with any Committee of the Council of 'Na.- tional Defense in the matter of placing orders for ma- terials and supplies for the Quartermaster Corps and the fixing of prices at which the orders should be placed, SUPPLIES DIVISION 155 if any instance occurred where they (the officers) dis- agreed with the opinion of the Committee of the Coun- cil, it was their duty to bring the matter to the atten- tion of the Office of the Quartermaster General so that the matter could be presented to the Secretary of War ; and such officers were informed that they were associ- ated with the Committee of the Council because they had been selected as having particular knowledge of the various matters to be handled, and as representatives of the Quartermaster Corps they were so to act as to pro- tect the interests of the Government. The latter part of October, 1917, Colonel Hirsch was ordered to Washington to organize and assume charge of the Quartermaster Purchasing and Manufacturing Office. This office was charged with the responsibility of making all awards and contracts for clothing and camp and garrison equipage for the Army. On April 18, 1917, a statement was furnished the Committee on Supplies, Council of National Defense, showing the articles purchased for one million men to that date, the amounts delivered, and the date of the final completion of the contracts. In forwarding this statement, the Secretary of War requested that steps be taken under Section 120 of the National Defense Act, approved June 3, 1916, to expedite the delivery of designated articles. This section, in time of war, au^ thorizes the Government to take over a plant or to place an order with same and requires in this case that precedence shall be given to the Government order; it further stipulates that the price can be fixed by the Gov- 156 , THE QUAETEEMASTER COEPS ernment but that it must be fair and just. Fine and imprisonment may be imposed for failure to comply with the Government's orders, l^o action was taken under that section. The Committee on Supplies was from time to time furnished with the list of supplies required for one million men in addition to those for whom purchases had already been effected ; and requested to inform the Depot Quartermaster, Philadelphia, where the supplies could be obtained, the price at which they could be pur- chased and the rates of delivery. After the passage of the Selective Service Law on May 19, 1917, it was learned that it was contemplated to call an additional 500,000 men into the service, and a memorandum was submitted to the Secretary of War on May 29, 1917. "To date orders have been or are being placed for the initial equipment of clothing, equipage and ma- terials for 1,000,000 men, and the upkeep for the first, second and third quarters. ISTo steps have yet been taken to place orders for the fourth quarter for the first million men. "In view of the fact that it was understood that a total of 1,500,000 men will soon be in the Federal service, for which the Quartermaster Corps will be re- quired to furnish equipment, it is recommended that authority be granted to place orders immediately for the equipment required for the remaining 500,000 men. "If it is approved, a deficiency of about $110,000,000 will be created." HENEY G. SHAEPE, Quartermaster General. SUPPLIES DIVISION" 157 "I concur, unless our Government decides to provide for no more than the Regular Army, war strength ; Na- tional Guard, war strength ; and the first 500,000 men." TASKER H. BLISS, Acting Chief of Staff. "Approved. "The memo, of General Bliss is based upon a thought of a second increment of 500,000 men, but the memo, of General Sharpe deals only with men now in sight for training." BAKER, (S. 489) Secretary of War. At that time, May 29th, it had already been decided to make the first call of the Draft for 500,000 men, which, with the Regular Army and National Guard both at war strength, wovild make a total of about 1,500,000 men. On July 11, 1917, the Committee on Supplies was informed that it had then been furnished with the re- quirements for the fourth three months for a million men and for the initial equipment and a year's upkeep for 500,000 men and the Council was requested to state with whom the contracts were to be placed and the prices at which the goods should be purchased ; and was informed that it was urgent that arrangements should be made for obtaining the stores at the earliest prac- ticable date. On July 11, 1917, a memorandum was submitted by the Quartermaster General to the Secretary of War, as follows: "Orders have been placed, or will be placed shortly. 158 THE QUAETERMASTEK CORPS for clothing and equipage supplies for the year's re- quirements for 1,500,000 men. It is understood that approximately 2,000,000 men are to be mobilized. It is therefore requested that authority be granted this office to take steps to place additional orders for an additional 500,000 men for clothing and equipage. "We have estimated for the necessary funds in the deficiency estimates which have just been submitted." Approval of this request was given by the Secretary of War on the same date, and on July 31, 1917 (S. 508), the Committee on Supplies was requested to ad- vise the Depot Quartermaster Philadelphia where the articles could be obtained, the prices at which they could be purchased and the rates of delivery. The deficiency bill passed on October 6, 1917, and provided for 2,033,345 men for the year ending June 30, 1918. Just shortly after the date of its passage, by instructions from General Bliss the then Chief of Staff, the estimates for the fiscal year 1919 were to be pre- pared for 1,612,245 men as previously shown. On Sep- tember 15, 1917, request was made upon the Secretary of War (S. 505) for authority to place orders for clothing and other supplies so as to obtain the capacity of the mills up to December 31, 1918, thus insuring prompt deliveries. This request was approved by the Secretary of War on the same date. Contracts were thereafter made for the supplies for two million men, providing for deliveries up to December 31, 1918, when it was to the advantage of the Government. The con- tracts thus assuring the deliveries all through the cal- SUPPLIES DIVISlO:tT 159 endar year 1918 made it possible to promptly clothe and equip the large number of Selective Service men drafted in that year to provide the reinforcement of the allied battle lines needed after the German drive of March, 1918. Possibly this might have been effected if the supplies had not thus been assured, but it is thought this action substantially assisted in the successful solu- tion of the problem. Contracts were made for clothing and equipage supplies, incurnng the following obliga- tions of indebtedness : From March 5, 1917, to June 30, inclusive $240,729,264.36 July and August 188,327,858.27 October 148,899,509.03 September, November, December, estimated 188,327,858.27 $766,284,489.93 The correct figures for the months of September, No- vember and December are not available, but it is as- sumed that the purchases made those three months equal those made in July and August. While one contract alone made in September involved material to the value of $56,298,750, to be conservative the estimate for those three months is assumed as the amount of the purchases made in July and August. Contracts for the purchase of shoes were made on proposals submitted in response to telegraphic notice to shoe manufacturers. These proposals were con- sidered by the officer assigned to act with the Committee on Supplies, Colonel Hirsch, assisted by the members of the Sub-Committee composed of the most expert sho€i 160 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS manufacturers in the country and contracts made in accordance with, the awards. Cloth and other articles for clothing and equipment were handled by the method of "merchandising." This necessitated a personal interview by the manufacturer or producer with the Committee on Supplies, at which Colonel Hirsch was present and sometimes several in- terviews were necessary before a satisfactory agTcement was reached. As previously stated, the members of the Committee on Supplies were competent and successful business men who ^ad achieved great success in the commercial world in building up great corporations by skilful mer- chandising; they maintained that the "merchandising" method should be adopted in procuring the supplies for the Army in order to prevent an unwarranted advance in prices. It was also asserted that as Army officers had been trained to make purchases by the public solici- tation of proposals, few of them were familiar with the merchandising methods. In "merchandising" the price to be paid is naturally of first consideration, for one expert in that method of purchase endeavors to effect it at the very lowest price. In fact it may be stated as a fundamental law of that method that of the two parties to the transaction the first endeavors to buy at the lowest and the second to sell at the highest obtainable price. If there is a differ- ence as to price, as is natural under this law, time is necessary to compose the situation, as each party main- tains the justness of his proposition. This may necessi- SUPPLIES DIVISIOl^ 161 tate many interviews and consume much time. Further, such negotiations must naturally be confidential, for if the argument and prices finally agreed upon are known to others, the one endeavoring to purchase would be handicapped when entering upon negotiations with other sellers, and the seller also handicapped when ef- fecting a sale with other buyers. Consequently, it is mutually agreed that the concessions are for the in- dividual only. In every transaction there are certain elements to be considered, and therefore there must be a meeting of minds to agree what conditions should be considered and allowed to govern in each transaction; as the cost of raw material, labor, overhead charges, financial capacity, and state of equipment will vary with each individual. The necessity of considering anything confidential in a transaction of this kind for the pub- lic service suggests the idea of secrecy, always abhorrent in such service. Then again, merchandising for such an enormous amount of supplies as the Army required limited the consideration only of the propositions submitted by manufacturers or producers. To have extended its application to dealers or others would have given op- portunity to them to effect a comer in the market. And to have admitted them would, even if there were no attempt to comer the market, have necessitated the payment of an amount in excess of the actual value of the articles in order to provide them their commissions, which it was their business to secure. So it may be as- sumed that only manufacturers or producers could be 162 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS considered, for from them only could tiie lowest pos- sible price figures be secured. For these reasons the Committee on Supplies adopted the rule of dealing with no middlemen or agents. By so doing, the Committee eliminated a number of the individuals or firms who, because in times of peace purchases were made by issuing public notice soliciting proposals, having offered at the lowest prices, had for- merly transacted business with the Quartermaster Corps. Many of these middlemen or agents visited Washington and interviewed the Committee, and were disappointed to learn that they could transact no busi- ness with it. Exception was made as to being excluded from the business and some complaints were made re- garding the manner of their reception by the Com- mittee. Several of the complainants being men of in- fluence and standing in their communities, called later upon the Committee accompanied by their Senators or Representatives, or bearing letters of introduction from them, and received the same information. Both parties leaving the interview entertaining similar views as to the position taken regarding the nile of exclusion and the manner of their reception. The officials probably felt that their dignity had been affected in the pres- ence of their constituents. This undoubtedly created a feeling of resentment among members of Congress against the Committee on Supplies, and is accountable for the opinion formed there of the Committee, which was evident later when the Senate Investigation was undertaken. SUPPLIES DIVISION" 163 The manufacturers and producers, being unable to ascertain the prices paid for the supplies purchased by the Government, finally resorted to the means of secur- ing them by inspecting the contracts in the Returns Office, Department of the Interior, where by law all contracts made by the War Department must be placed on file. They are open to inspection of anyone de^ siring to see them and copies can be secured by the payment of a small fee. Anyone who is familiar with the investigations made by Congress at the close of the Civil War into the matter of Army and Navy con- tracts must recognize the wisdom of such a law. In- formation as to prices thus secured by the manufactur- ers or producers interfered, however, with the system of merchandising adopted and the Secretary of War, on request of the Committee on Supplies, directed that the contracts should be held some time before being for- warded to the Returns Office Department of the In- terior. The result was a protest against such action but no change was effected. All contracts were, after a delay, forwarded for file, but then the information se- cured from them as to prices was not sufficiently up to date to be of much service. Unquestionably the supplies procured by the as- sistance of the Committee on Supplies were obtained at the lowest possible prices, and as a merchandising system was an entire success and tended to prevent an abnormal advance in prices for the public and also for the allies. But in practically ignoring the element of time, which was so vital when supplies were needed at 164 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS once to equip the Army, the system failed. For if price, and not time of delivery is the dominating ele- ment in a transaction, the merchandising system may result in late deliveries of supplies, just because of more favorable prices for same, that is, lower prices. This is noticeable in several instances : In March, 1917, contract was made with the Ameri- can Woolen Company for a considerable quantity of cloth, and for blankets. The contract expired July 31, 1917, and prior to that time the Committee on Supplies was urged to aiTange terms with the company for a new contract. Shirting flannel and blankets were es- pecially needed to meet the requirements for the men going to the camps in AugTist and September. To have the shirts available at that time, the shirting flannel should be delivered early in July to permit the making of the shirts and shipment to the camps. The Ameri- can Woolen Company had its machinery all arranged and the force available to produce the greatest possible number of yards of shirting flannel a day. Many in- terviews were held by the Committee on Supplies with the representatives of this Company, but agreement as to prices was not reached until a short time prior to September 22, 1917, when contract was made involv- ing material to the value of $56,298,750.00. The deliv- eries of some of the supplies were not to be completed until late in the spring of 1918. On this contract an advance of nearly $19,000,000.00 was made to the American Woolen Company under the provisions of the Act of Congress of October 6, 1917, which permitted SUPPLIES DIVISION 165 advances of funds to contractors to the extent of one- third of the amount of the contract. Purchase of 600,- 000 blankets had to be made in August, 1917, to meet the situation and these, of course, were not of the qual- ity or color prescribed for use in service (S, 498). In September the purchase of about a million shirts had to be made to supply the camps (S. 508). On August 31, 1917, a letter was sent to the Com- mittee on Supplies, stating that owing to a change of plans over which the Quartermaster Corps had no con- trol, the demands for woolen outer clothing and woolen underwear would be very great. The change of plans referred to was the decision to ship troops abroad each month; the plan was adopted without consulting the Quartermaster General as to the supplies available for the troops, and information was communicated to him by a casual inquiry as to whether supplies were on hand. The letter referred to stated the necessity for the pur- chase of nearly 1,500,000 suits of underwear. On October 15, 1917, the Committee on Supplies inquired if the quantities referred to in the letter were in addi- tion to the quantities previously stated, and on October 16th was informed in reply that they were in addition. Meanwhile as the underwear was not forthcoming through the Committee on Supplies, early in September the depot quartermasters were directed to buy it in open market for immediate delivery and to make ship- ments to the camps. This action was taken under para- graph 3 of the order of the Secretary of War, dated April 12, 1917, directing that the assistance of the Com- 166 THE QUAETEEMASTEE COEPS mittee on Supplies should be sought in placing orders for supplies. The paragraph reads, as follows : 3. It is understood, however, that the responsibility of the several supply bureaus for promptly supplying the needs of the Army must be recognized; and where time will not admit the delay involved in consulting the Munitions Board, the supply bureaus will retain their present initiative in contract- ing without reference to the board. This action directing the purchase through the depots caused a protest from the Committee on Supplies, and a conference was called in the office of General Bliss, Acting Chief of Staff on September 9th, and up- on the insistence by the representative of the Commit- tee that the Committee and the Depot Quartermasters should not both be in the market at the same time, and upon his statement that he could have sufficient under- wear secured and on the way to the camps within forty- eight hours, instructions were wired the depot quarter- masters to make no purchases. However, it was not un- til the latter part of October that sufficient woolen un- derwear for two suits per man was on hand, and then the reserve was very small. Early in October a suf- ficient number of blankets was not on hand, and under paragraph 3 of the order referred to the Depot Quarter- masters were instructed to purchase comforters in such numbers that each man in the camps would be provided with three blankets or two blankets and a comforter. This also caused a protest but the purchases were made and the men provided, the protest, however, resulting in a practical rescinding of the paragraph of the order SUPPLIES DIVISIOIT 167 as far as future purchases by the Depot Quartermas- ters was concerned. The Committee on Supplies, shortly after commenc- ing to operate, requested to be informed of the number of men in service, and later, after the dispatch of troops abroad, requested the number of troops in France. The Quartermaster General informed the Committee that orders prohibited the furnishing of information as to the number of troops in camps; and that the number in France was guarded with such perfect secrecy that the Quartennaster General was not informed. Later, the Committee received the information from some source, but not through the Office of the Quartermaster General. This information was evidently desired by the Committee to enable it to decide whether the sup- plies called for were needed immediately or whether, in the opinion of the Committee, the need was not ur- gent and delay in procuring them would be of advantage in merchandising. Whenever report was made to the Committee on short- ages, request would be made by it to be informed what had been done with all that had already been bought. The Committee failed to realize the wear and tear on a soldier's uniform with the consequent necessity for quick replacement. Furthermore, the Committee would express opinions, to those requesting them, as to whether the condition of supplies warranted action regarding the calling of troops at a designated time. Such opin- ion would be adopted by those desiring an opinion favor- able to the plan proposed, in preference to the state- 168 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS ments from the office of the Quartermaster General which was responsible in the matter, and would be so held even if action were taken contrary to those states ments. An instance of this is as follows: On May 22, 1917, orders were issued calling the first 500,000 men of the National Army to the colors. On July 18, 1917, effort was made by the Quartermaster Corps to show that this could not be done and the General Staff conferred with the Committee on Supplies and received from it figures as to the condition of supplies and an opinion as to the possibility of providing for the call, which were at variance with those from the Office of the Quartermaster General. The views of the Committee on Supplies prevailed and the men were called under date of August 24, 1917. (S. 500-1.) The Com- mittee's figures and opinion were given subsequent to a letter forwarded it on August 4, 1917, which quoted a letter from the Depot Quartermaster at Jeffersonville, Ind., stating that the supply of shirting flannel was exhausted at the Depot. The letter continued: "It may be well to state in this connection, that from re- ports coming to this office, it would seem that the Com- mittee on Supplies have been misinformed as to the amount of clothing and equipment on hand for issue to the Army. And it should also be stated that any shortage of clothing is not due to the failure of the Quartermaster Corps to conserve the supply or have the material made into garments as rapidly as delivered, but is due to two causes, namely: 1. Deliveries under SUPPLIES DIVISI0:N" 169 contract not being sufficiently early to meet the de- mands; 2. Delinquencies under existing contracts." It should be noted that in time of peace when de- linquencies occurred under a contract, the Quartermas- ter Corps purchased in open market, charging any ex- cess cost against the contractor or those who had guar- anteed security under his bond. When operating by the assistance of the Committee on Supplies this was not possible, as the Committee maintained it would disturb market prices, and furthermore that it had practically all the mills operating to fill the orders. On August lY, 1917, the Chaii-man of the Committee on Supplies at a hearing before the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, stated : "Aside from uniforms I would say that there should be no question but what the needs of 500,000 men could be supplied on the 1st of September." Being asked "How about uniforms ?" he replied : "A large part, of them will ; possibly not in sufficient quantity to be able to fit every man, because this must be taken into consideration, that it requires many times as many uniforms a'§ there are men in order to be able to fit the men; the surplus stock required is very con- siderable." As uniforms were the essential necessity at the camps in case of the calling of the men, and the Chairman of the Committee on Supplies indicating by his reply that there would be a shortage, thus agreeing with the state- 170 THE QUARTEKM ASTER CORPS ments from the Office of the Quartermaster General, it is regi'etted that his views were not accepted by the General Staff in preference to those of other members of the Committee on Supplies. The conditions which existed as far as supplies were concerned at the beginning of the war were very similar to those in England, and it is believed that it was neces- sary to adopt some plan to effect the large purchases re- quired wdth as little disturbance as possible to the mar- ket. There the plan adopted was to form a civilian body, headed by the Surveyor General of Supplies, who purchased all the materials. Associated with him was an Advisory Board composed of officers from the sev- eral Supply Departments. The Quartermaster General for the Forces, the Master General of Ordnance and other supply officers formed a board in the War Office. This latter board prepared the requirements and for- warded them to the Surveyor General of Supplies with instructions to buy the quantity desired at the time designated; and it was the duty of the Surveyor Gen- eral of Supplies to see that the deliveries were made in the quantity desired and at the time specified. Every possible credit should be given the Committee on Supplies for the zeal, industry and intelligence con- stantly displayed in all of its transactions and also for the enterprise shown in inducing new plants to under- take the manufacture of blankets, ducks and the sev- eral cloths required for the uniforms. The manner in which plants were transfonned and arranged so as to make possible the production of fabrics which before SUPPLIES DIVISION" 171 that time would be considered an impossibility for such plants was truly astounding. A country which adopts a policy of neglecting, in time of peace, to prepare for war insists upon the utmost economy as regards money matters and adopts a most improvident and wasteful extravagance of time; time which should have been utilized in making preparations, that is, providing its National insurance. When such a country is later forced into war, it necessarily is compelled to reverse its action and, in order to provide for the troops in the short time avail- able, must exercise economy as to time and be extrava- gant as regards money. The adoption of the merchandising method of pro- curing the supplies in time of war means a continuation of the erroneous policy adopted in peace time, for to succeed in such a method the vital element of time must be wastefully squandered in order to effect the pur- chases at the lowest possible prices; consequently it is not a method of procurement of supplies which can be wisely adopted in time of war. Later in the year after the purchase of a quantity of wool in Australia and the opening of a Wool Purchas- ing Depot in Boston, the Committee on Supplies chang- ed its method of arranging for contracts for material, by determining the price it wovild pay per yard and then allocating the yardage to the various mills. Even under this plan certain concessions were allowed, or demanded, because of the character of the machinery or the overhead charges. 172 THE QUAETERMASTEK CORPS There were expert officers, secured from civil life, who were stationed at such mills as had Government contracts. The law requiring the inspection of Govern- ment supplies on delivery, the officers at those mills in- spected the cloth when manufactured. They then fur- nished a certificate to the depot and shipped the cloth at once to clothing manufacturers. The depots paid for the clot*h upon the receipt of certificate of inspection; at the Boston Depot the payments were made thirty- six hours after the delivery of the cloth as just described. There were in the country a large number of clothing manufacturers, and as authority had been received at the outbreak of the war to make contracts without ad- vertising, when it was known the date cloth would be available contracts were at once made so that the fac- tory would be prepared to commence work immediately upon the delivery of the cloth. Once commencing oper- ations it was necessary to keep that factory supplied with cloth, otherwise it would be obliged to lay off some of the employees; if this once happened, some time would elapse before the employees would again be as- sembled land therefore delay in the production of the completed garments would result. Orders were issued, however, to depiots not to hold cloth in reserve, nor allow a contractor to have more in his possession than to pro- vide for a few days' op€ration, and if thei*e was any un- necessary delay in a contractor's delivery of garments whatever cloth was in his possession was to be with- drawn and given to some other contractor to expedite the delivery of the garments. SUPPLIES DIVISION 173 Tlie difficulty at all times was to secure the cloth in sufficient quantities and with early deliveries so as to allow time to cut, make and trim the uniforms. The contracts for manufacturing the garments were, until some time in October, made by the Depot Quartermas- ter at Philadelphia. After October, the contracts were made by Colonel Hirsch, who was in charge of the office of the Purchasing and Manufacturing Quartermaster in Washington. On April 3, 1917, the Boston Wool Trade Associa- tion forwarded to the Secretary of War a resolution, passed unanimously by the Association, in which it was resolved that the members of the wool trade of Boston would neither sell nor buy any wool in this country nor in transit thereto until further notice from the Com- mittee appointed by the Association, and they further resolved to offer the entire stock of wool tops and noils to the United States Government at values current on April 2nd, as handsome and patriotic an offer, it is be- lieved, as any of the many handsome things done during the war. This resolution was acknowledged by the As- sistant Secretary of War on April 5th, and the same day the Secretary of War sent the following telegram to the Boston Wool Trade Association : "We wish to express sincere appreciation of your patriotic action looking to assist the Government in supplying its needs for wool, I have referred the matter to the Munitions Board of the Council of National Defense, and you will undoubtedly hear from them shortly." Copies of the correspondence were furnished the Of- 174 THE QUAKTEEMASTEE COEPS fice of the Quartermaster General, but no report or rec- ommendation was called for. The telegram from the Secretary of War stated that the resolutions were re- ferred to the Munitions Board of the Council of Na- tional Defense, and also stated that the Munitions Board would reply. At that time the appropriations of the Quartermas- ter Corps were completely exhausted. There was a de- ficiency incurred in 1916 of $34,000,000 and obliga- tions greatly in excess of $100,000,000 had been made for the supplies contracted for to clothe and equip the army. The purchase of wool would require "spot" cash and there were no funds available. In addition, wool, as such, had never been bought out of the appro- priation and it was a question if it could be as Sec. 3678 of the Eevised Statutes states that the sums appropri- ated shall be applied solely to the objects for which they are respectively made and for no others. It was, fur- thermore, the impression that the resolutions were re- ferred to the Munitions Board because it was composed of business men who would suggest the proper action to be taken. As far as the Quartermaster Corps was concerned it had never made speculative purchases and none of its oflBcers was trained in that character of busi- ness. The reply was made to these resolutions by the Chief of the Eaw Materials, Minerals and Metals Sec- tion of the Munitions Board but no information as to the action was ever furnished the Office of the Quarter- master General. In the light of future events, it is a pity that some arrangements were not made whereby SUPPLIES DIVISION 175 this handsome offer could have been accepted as it was so advantageous to the Government. While copper was largely used by the Signal Corps and the Ordnance De- partments, neither of those bureaus had to buy up all the supply. It is also pertinent to recall that the Secre- tary of War endeavored to secure the first war appro- priation of about $3,000,000,000 as a lump sum and Congress declined to make the appropriation in that form but made it in the usual form of specifying the items. The fair conclusion to be drawn from that ac- tion was that Congress intended the provisions of Sec- tion 3678 should be observed. Some time in June it was represented by the Com- mittee on Supplies that in order to obtain the supply of clothing required for the Army it would be necessary to control the wool supply. Two of the officers on duty in the Office of the Quartermaster General were directed to consult with the accounting officials of the Treasury Department to ascertain whether under the terms and verbiage of the law it was possible to buy wool. On June 6th these officers reported that the officials con- sulted held that that purchase could be made. There were still no funds on hand as the appropriation bill did not pass until June 15th and the funds included in the bill did not become available until after July 1st:. On July 11, 1917, the Quartermaster General re- quested authority to buy supplies for an additional 500,000 men, making 2,000,000 in all. The estimates submitted in August were for 2,033,345 men for the fiscal year 1918. The Secretary of War in approving 176 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS the request stated "The policy of purchasing a certain amount of wool will first be put into effect." The sum of $10,000,000 was made available for this purchase and conference held with the Committee on Supplies to arrange the manner and methods of purchase. A Quartermaster wool-buying office was established on August 1, 1917, in Boston, Mass. For the purpose of obtaining and maintaining a supply of wool avail- able at all times while the war should last so that manufacturers contracting for supplies for the Quar- termaster Corps might be protected in their bids in the event that they did not own the wool themselves, the following Committee, denominated "The Com- mittee on Wool Supply of the Council of INational Defense" was appointed by the Committee on Sup- plies of the Council of National Defense and the ap- pointments confirmed by the Secretary of War: Mr. Jacob F. Brown, Chairman; Mr. Stephen C. Metcalf, Mr. Frederick S. Clark, with Mr. Robert H. Stevenson, Jr., as Secretary ; Captain W. B. Gracie, Quartermaster Corps, was detailed to take charge of the wool office in Boston. It was the inte'Ution of the War Department to main- tain a reserve supply of wool approximating, but not exceeding, $25,000,000, and to endeavor to keep this quantity as a working stock ahead of orders. Based on this the Committee was to proceed to purchase $10,- 000,000 to $12,000,000 worth of wool, a portion of which should be suitable for the 8i/2-ounce flannel, 16- SUPPLIES DIVISION" 1Y7 ounce suiting, 30-ounce overcoating and blankets, with possibly some finer wool adapted for underwear. It was easy to speak of the desirability of the pur- chase of wool for the Government, but it was not a simple matter to arrange the method of purchase and this fact was fully appreciated by the gentlemen com- posing the Committee. As they were all engaged in the wool business, the plan adopted had to consider the possible criticism of their action based on that fact ; then the method of payment for the purchases, the in- spection of the wool on delivery, the storage of the wool carried as reserve, the payment of charges for storage and drayage, and the insurance of the wool in storage; also the method of making sales of the wool to the Gov- ernment contractors and the manner in which payments would be effected. These were all matters of the most vital importance, for if the fullest consideration had not been given to these subjects, the opportunity of criticism might have arisen and the possibility of cast- ing unjust reflection upon the members of the Commit- tee. In addition, forms for accounting for the wool pur- chased, vouchers for the payment of same and receipts for the sale of the wool had to be devised and their approval secured by the accounting ofiicials of the Treasr ury Department. The ability and thorough knowledge of the wool busi- ness and of all of its ramifications, possessed by the members of the Wool Committee, enabled it to devise the plan of its operations, and their standing in the busi- 178 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS ness community secured the assistance and cooperation of the Wool Trade in Boston. Arrangements were perfected through the State De- partment to effect a purchase of about 78,000,000 pounds of wool in Australia, and through the Shipping Board to secure its transportation to this country. The Committee on Wool Purchase prepared instruction pre- scribing the manner in which the Australian wool should be inspected and delivered and the method of payment. Plans for the organization of a wool purchasing of- fice having been effected, in order to more completely control the wool situation and particularly that portion derived from re^worked wools, the Committee on Sup- plies emphasized the necessity of the control of clip- pings from Government cloths and also the rags from wornout and condemned blankets and uniforms. The Committee on Supplies recommended that contracts be entered into for this purpose with the Base Sorting Plant in ISTew York, and stated that the prices named in the contracts were established by the Committee's own experts and were considered fair and just. As the Quartermaster Corps had never undert.aken the work of sorting rags there were no officers in the Corps who were trained in the work or who possessed knowledge of the business. The members of the Committee on Supplies were expert business men assigned by the Secretary of War to assist the Quartermaster Corps in the work imposed upon it by the War, the fair as- sumption being that the Committee would be of especial SUPPLIES DIVISIOl^ 179 assistance in any new line of work, particularly such in which it claimed to have experts. The Committee on Supplies having stated that it had experts on this line of work and that the prices were fair and just, in- structions were given to enter upon the contracts. Later it developed, after an investigation ordered by the Quar- termaster General, that the prices charged in the con- tracts were excessive, and they were terminated by authority of the Secretary of War upon the recom- mendation of the Quartermaster General, and over the protest of some of the members of the Committee on Supplies, The supervision of the operations of the Base Sorting Plant for the four months of the existence of the con- tracts was entrusted to the Depot Quartermaster, New York, who also made the investigation. That officer and his assistants thus became familiar with the work and learned where the necessary experts could be se- cured. Upon the termination of the contracts the work was continued by the Depot Quartermaster under the supervision of the Conservation Division of the Office of the Quartermaster General. COMMITTEE ON SUPPLIES (Later the Supplies Section of the Finished Products Division of the War Industries Board.) Julius Kosenwald, Chairman Rufus W. Scott Charles Eisenman, Vice- F. R, Eddington Chairman C. B. Stevens Albert L. Scott S. M. Kaplan Harry L. Baily S. F. Strook Millor Wilson Jacob F. Brown D. D. Martm Stephen 0. Metealf 180 THE QUAKTERMASTEK CORPS Arthur Lawrence Frederic S. Clark J. F. McElwain Maj. H. S. Wonson Lincoln Cromwell Capt. B. B. Burgunder F. E. Hai^rht BOAED OF CONTROL OF LABOR CONDITIONS The contracts for making articles of uniform con- tained clauses requiring the enforcement of the Eight Hour Law and the Child Labor Law, and also a clause prohibiting the sub-letting of the contract, this to pre- vent the possibility of the work of the making of uni- forms being done in sweatshops. Before awarding a contract, the shops in which the work was to be done were inspected by the contracting officer to determine if the equipment was sufficient to insure compliance with the terms of the contract. In June, 1917, reports reached the Mayor of New York that the uniforms for the Army were being made on the sweatshop system and the report of the Committee appointed by him was forwarded to the Secretary of War, who directed an investigation of the matter. The report submitted in pursuance of this order indicated that in some instances uniforms had been sent from the contractor's shops in order to be hand-finished as required by the contracts. The Quartermaster General issued instructions prohib- iting the sending of the uniforms from the contractor's shops, and to effectively remove the possibility of such action, the specifications for making the garments were changed so as to eliminate all handwork upon them, and requiring all work to be done by machine. On August 24, 1917, the Secretary of War estab- SUPPLIES DIVISION 181 lished the Board of Control of Labor Standards for Army Clothing, which was composed of two civilians and an officer detailed from the Quartermaster Corps. The Board was to operate under the direction of the Quartermaster General. Offices were secured for the Board in New York City and the necessary personnel provided, consisting of clerks and stenographers, in- spectors of labor conditions, a fire hazard inspector, and later an officer was assigned from the office of the Depot Quartermaster in New York, to act as inspector of wage conditions. All contracts for making uniform clothing were made by the Depot Quartermaster, Philadelphia, and that of- ficer was directed before entering upon a contract to communicate with the Board of Control and secure a certificate that the labor conditions of any firm's plant were satisfactory, and that its normal capacity was suf- ficient to enable the contract to be executed in accord- ance with its terms. That officer was also directed to inform the Quartermaster General in case there was any delay in receiving the above required certificate. The Board's final report shows that after October 1st the time of one inspector was fully spent in following up clues as to the existence of home finishing of uniforms made under Government contract, and that only one verified instance was found. The Board was called to report upon 129 firms and many of these had addi- tional shops in which they carried on their work. The Board approved or disapproved of each shop on its own merits, and a copy of its report, to the Depot Quarter- 182 THE QUAKTEKMASTEK CORPS master was furnished each firm. The disapproval of a shop was not final, as upon making the specified changes, the disapproval would be removed. Two firms were disapproved by the Board for rea- sons other than shop conditions in regard to safety and sanitation. One of these was on account of labor troubles and the other on account of a pending prose- cution against the firm by the New York City Fire De- partment. The latter firm made the changes required by the Fire Department. Inspections were made by the Board in l^ew England, New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, New Orleans and St. Louis, and arrangements were being perfected to district the country and to have, in addition to the New York force, inspection headquar- ters in Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. These ar- rangements, however, were not effected by December 31, 1917. The Board of Control of Labor Standards for Army Clothing consisted of Mr. Louis C. Kirstein, Chairman; Mrs. Florence Kelley, Secretary, and Cap- tain Walter E. Konesi, Q. M. O. E.. member. Time when troops could he equipped; Calling troops in advance of the time designated; Shipping troops to France complicated the conditions as to supply. — In reply to an inquiry by the Chief of Staff, the Quarter- master General on March 13, 1917, stated: (S. 473) : "1. Clothing and equipment necessary for one mil- lion men can, under existing conditions, be procured within ten months with the understanding that it might be necessary to purchase some blankets which do not SUPPLIES DIVISION" 183 conform to existing specifications, but which would closely approximate standard quality and color." (It will be noted that the ten months specified would end December 31, 1917.) The Adjutant General on March 21, 1917, by direc- tion of the Secretary of War directed that the follow- ing information be furnished : "7. If large numbers of men have to be trained before they can be equipped with regulation uniforms, etc., is the Quartermaster General prepared to at once recommend some kind of comfortable civilian clothing, from hat to shoes, which can be purchased commercially in quantities sufficient for, say, 500,000 men ?" To which reply was made the same date, as follows: "7. If authorized today to place orders for the man- ufacture of clothing and equipage, it is believed this office can open communication with the bidders under the opening of March 5th and place additional orders for sufficient clothing and equipage (taking into con- sideration the obsolete clothing now on hand and which has been held for possible emergency use) to take care of 500,000 men, including the Regular Army and the National Guard, within sixty days, or as rapidly as the recruits can be enrolled." (S. 474-5.) It will be noted that reference in the above inquiry of the Adjutant General is made to supplying the men if called early for training with civilian clothing. The Secretary of War on January 10, 1918, stated as follows before the Senate Committee on Military Affairs : 184 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS "At the outset there was a question to be decided as to which of two policies ought to be pursued, whether we ought to assemble a large force and begin its train- ing before it could be fully clothed in soldier clothes and equipped, and let the equipment and clothing come along as it could, or whether we ought to postpone the assembling of large forces and delay their training until full equipment was actually in hand. Speaking of my own part in it, I was earnestly urged by men of great weight to call out large forces at once, and men of dis- tinguished military experience and reputation said to me that it was unimportant whether they drilled in their own clothes, or whether, at the outset, they had rifles; that the elements of military training were such that men could drill in their own clothes without arms for a while." On January 28, 1918, the Secretary of War stated before the Senate Committee on Military Affairs that a very competent General officer had called at his of- fice — "I have forgotten when, but it was early — and suggested to me the advisability of instantly calling out a large army. I said, 'But, General, we have not the clothes and we have not the weapons for them.' He said, 'I know that, Mr. Secretary, and they need many things before they need the rifles. They need to live together, get used to camp conditions ; they need the ele- mental discipline of camp life; they need to be taught to keep step ; they need to know the subordinations of the Army and it will take some time to give them that preliminary instruction.' He pointed out to me that in England, the so-called Kitchener army drilled for SUPPLIES DIVISION 185 months, as be said, in their civilian clothes, with top hats and using a stick for arms, I said to him, 'General, I agree with you that it is important to have our Army equipped rapidly so that a prolonged period of training may be given to them; but we will call out first the Eegular Army and then we will call out the National Guard, build it up to war strength.' But with the draft army they would have an additional period of train- ing in the field by reason of the fact that the Army cannot be shipped abroad in bulk suddenly. It was necessary to attempt to forecast the amount of time needed for training, and it was deemed wise to put the men in the camps in order that they might learn this matter of camp discipline, camp sanitation, the ele- ments and essentials of the soldier's life a little in ad- vance of their being fully tried with arms." (S. 1944.) At the same hearing the Secretary of War stated : "I have already said to you that at the outset we had the problem as to whether we should wait until we had an adequate supply of clothing or whether we should not." "I did not then know nor do I know now, nor can I know, how rapidly it may be necessary for us to send men to France. I know how rapidly we have sent them. I know how many are there. I know what our present plan is to send them, but I do not know but tomorrow — this has not happened — but I do not know but that tomorrow it might turn out that it would be wise to double the rate at which we are sending troops." (S. 1,759-8.) 186 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS In Requin's book "America's Race to Victory" on page 43 we read as follows : "Without following day by day the development of this organization, we may note in the following pages its principal stages. "Nothing comparable with it had been done since the formation of the British Armies in 1915-1916. Be- sides, the problem faced by the United States offered conditions of peculiar difficulty, since, aside from men and money, everything had either to be created or trans- fonned. It was possible to shorten the period of prep- aration; unfortunately it was not possible to dispense with it." "It was the delays of the Young British Armies in preparing to take the offensive that permitted the Ger- man General Staff to wage a local combat with the French Armv at Verdun from February 21 to July 1, 1916." Requin was on duty at the War College all through the war and the views of that most capable and experi- enced officer undoubtedly were given great weight. On April 2, 1917, a memorandum was submitted to the Chief of Staff by the Quartermaster General which stated : "5. It will require four months to complete the equipment of the Regular Army and National Guard, both at war strength (approximately 500,000 men) with regulation articles except tentage. "6. To equip another 500,000 men will require five months in addition to the preceding four months, pro- vided that all the orders for the second 500,000 men SUPPLIES DIVISION 187 could be placed at the same time as the orders for the equipment of the first 500,000 men." Foreseeing that it was tJie intention to call an addi- tional 500,000 men, the Quartermaster General on April 3, 1917, received authority to effect the purchases for that number, but no instructions to obtain this au- thority were given to him. On April 16, 1917, in a memorandum by the Quarter- master General for the Chief of Staff it was stated: "It is understood that the 'other plan' referred to is for this Department to be prepared to equip 500,000 men by the end of July and 500,000 more by the 31st of December, with proper uniforms and equipage, or to clothe and equip the first 500,000 by the middle of June with articles closely approximating standard arti- cles and the second 500,000 simUarly by November 1st. It will not, in the opinion of this office, be practicable to properly clothe and equip this or any other number of men more than was provided for in the original plan." (S. 477). The original plan was the one of March 13, 1917, for 1,000,000 men, and the statement above made that it was not practicable to provide for more than that number was added because in March 89,000 men of the I^ational Guard had been called to the colors when the Quartermaster Corps had been notified that only 63,000 men would be called. This additional 26,000 men were provided for, however, but it is quite manifest that these additional calls could not be continued without seriously interfering with the original plan. 188 THE QUARTERMASTEK CORPS On April 18, 1917, in reply to a further inquiry a memorandum by the Quartermaster General for the Chief of Staff stated : "1. Attention is invited to the remarks contained in memorandum from the Quartermaster General, under date of April 16, having reference to equipping Na- tional Guard Coast Artillery. "2. As stated in the memorandum referred to, it will not be practicable to properly clothe and equip within the time previously allotted this or any other number of men more than that which was provided for in the original plan." (S. 478.) The Adjutant General, by direction of the Secretary of War, addressed the following letter to the Quarter- master General on April 18, 1917: — "It is desired that you furnish this office at the earli- est practicable date the following information : "(a) Is the Quartermaster Corps able to clothe, supply and maintain all organizations of the Regular Army and ISTational Guard now in the service of the United States at minimum strength ? "(b) How many men in addition can it clothe, equip and maintain from the following dates ? "April 20, 1917; May 20, 1917; June 20, 1917; July 20, 1917; Aug. 20, 1917; Sept. 20, 1917; Is^ov. 20, 1917; Dec. 20, 1917." To which the following reply was made on April 19, 1917; by the Quartermaster General: "1. With reference to paragraph (a) the question can be answered in the affirmative. SUPPLIES DIVISIO]^ 189 "2. With reference to paragraph (b) the question would depend on where the men are to be mobilized for which the supplies are required. "3. During the month of March orders were placed for the delivery of clothing and equipage up to July 31st, in sufficient quantities, except tentage, to equip an army of 500,000 men, including the N^ational Guard and Regulars now in the service. These supplies are coming in daily and the Regular Army and I^ational Guard so far called have been taken care of and are provided for, and sufficient supplies will be coming in to take care of 25,000 additional men in April, 50,000 in May, 75,000 in June and 100,000 in July, but it must be borne in mind that these supplies are being received from various factories scattered from the At- lantic to the Pacific coast, the bulk coming from the Eastern States. "4. Early in April, orders were placed for clothing and equipage for an additional 500,000 men for de- livery up to December 31st, and assuming that the first 500,000 men are equipped by the end of July, the De- partment will be able to clothe and equip 100,000 men Uionthly thereafter, with the exception of tentage. "5. Much time will be consumed, even after the supplies are delivered in transporting them to the places where the troops will require them; especially is this true if they are mobilized at points distant from the factories. Attention is invited to the fact that to take care of a gi'eat number of troops at once, the demands on depots should be divided among the various supply depots which are now being stocked up to take care of certain territorial limits." At the time the above report was made no decision had been arrived at as to the location of the mobiliza- 190 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS tion points ; the decision to put the men in cantonments was not reached until some time in May, 1917, and then the sites had to be selected. Information as to their location was to be furnished on June 10th, but at that date several had not yet been determined. The loca- tion of the cantonments had to be decided before ar- rangements to organize the depots to supply them could be arranged. The information as to the number of men which could be clothed and equipped by the Quartermaster Corps and the time required to accomplish it was furnished upon memorandum from the Chief of Staff and to the Adju- tant General. This is mentioned to indicate that all the sources from which orders might possibly be origi- nated had been fully appraised concerning these matters. It was generally understood early in May, 1917, that decision to make an early call of the drafted men had been made in order to begin their training. On May 19, 1917, the Cantonment Division of the Office of the Quartermaster General was established by direction of the Secretary of War in order to insure the completion of the cantonments by September 1st. The information called for by the Adjutant General, by direction of the Secretary of War, on April 18, 1917, above referred to, was communicated on April 18, 1917, confidentially to the Western Department, thus showing that the capability of the Quartermaster Corps to meet the situa- tion was fully recognized. In view of all these facts, the Adjutant General on May 22, 1917, sent the fol- SUPPLIES DIVISION 191 lowing comnmnication to all Department commanders in the United States : "Subject: Program for organizing the Regular Army, National Guard and National Army. "1. There is enclosed herewith for your informa- tion a copy of an approved program for organizing the Regular Army, National Guard and National Army. "2. The Chief of each Supply Bureau will be in- structed to take prompt steps to meet the demands upon his Department in carrying out this program so that there will be no chance of failure in providing the absolute essentials, namely, food, water, clothing, shelter, blankets and bedding of some sort (regulation if practicable) and a rifle for each man; other equip- ment and supplies to be furnished as rapidly as the resources for the Nation permit. "3. The Quartermaster General will be directed to issue at once to recruits at depots all available shoes of obsolete pattern and khaki uniforms, the latter at one- third of cost prices," (Note. — The Tcliahi uniform referred to was the old uniform which was abandoned several years before when the new uniform of olive drab color, generally known as the "O. D." was adopted. A large stock of this khaki uniform was on hand when the new uniform was adopted in its place. Effort was made, unsuc- cessfully, to utilize it in various ways and quantities of it had been sold at public auction ; the latter action having been severely criticized in Congress and the War Department characterized as extravagant in its many changes in uniform and equipment which ren- dered the old patterns obsolete. This was possibly one 192 THE QTJAETERMASTEK CORPS of the cogent reasons which influenced Congress in de- clining to make appropriations to provide for a reserve stock of cloth and uniforms. It is necessary to mention this as commonly the term 'khaki was applied to the new olive drab uniforms ("O. D."). The terai khaki in the order refers to the obsolete and abandoned uniforms.) Continuing the communication of May 22nd read : "4. ISTon-essentials should not be permitted to delay the prime necessity of putting a large army into train- ing while the weather is suitable for outdoor work, drills and target practice. Even the lack of uniforms for a week or two should not delay organization. After organization of the forces has been completed, discipline established and physical training assured, technical training will go forward rapidly as the necessary equip- ment is supplied. By Order of the Secretary of War." 1^0 further instructions about the steps to be taken to meet the demands upon the Quartermaster Corps were received. From paragraph 4 of this communica- tion the idea of drilling the men in their civilian clothes, as has previously been shown had been the English prac- tice, is evident; but this purpose was practically made impossible by the instructions sent to the draft men, from the Provost Marshal General's Office, to take only a very limited supply of civilian clothes to the camps; as it was stated the men would be obliged to send such clothes to their homes upon joining the camps. The Quartermaster General's Office was not informed of these instructions, and they were not known of until SUPPLIES DIVISIOIT 193 months later when a copy of an order to drafted men was seen in a small local paper. On January 28, 1918, the Secretary of War before the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate replied to the question : "Was there, Mr. Secretary, an order or a warning, or suggestion sent out to troops coming to camp that they should bring but little clothing with them ?" To which the Secretary replied : "I think there was, Senator, a suggestion sent out that they bring very little clothing, and when they got there they were directed to go into uniform and send their private clothing home." (S. 1,959.) In October, anticipating a temporary shortage of winter underwear because of the failure to obtain the supply through the Committee on Supplies as previous- ly shown, request was made upon the Provost Marshal General that instructions be sent the drafted men to take sufficient clothing, and at least two suits of winter under- clothing to the camps. No information as to the action taki?n on this request was received at the Office of the Quartermaster General. The enclosure referred to in the above communica- tion of May 22, 1917, was in part, as follows: "Subject: Policy of the War Department relative to increasing the Regular Army, calling the l^ational Guard into Federal Service, and calling out 500,000 men for the l^a- tional Army. 194 THE QUAKTERMASTEE COEPS "1. Regular Army. The Eegiilar Army will be in- creased by the addition of four remaining increments and raised to maximum (war) strength during the months of May and June. "July 15 : Draft in Federal Service one-third of the N^ational Guard not already in service; "July 25 : Draft into Federal Service the second one- third of the National Guard; "August 5 : Draft into Federal Service the remain- ing one-third of the National Guard." "National Guard organizations will be assembled in three groups and sent to Departments as indicated be- low, on the dates given: August 1, 1917 August 15, 1917 September 1, 1917 "All units of the National Guard not now in the Federal Sei'vice and all that are in the Federal Service will be recruited to maximum strength at once, and the needed arms, equipment and clothing for full strength will be issued as soon as practicable." "All coast artillery organizations of the National Guard will be drafted into the service on the earliest date, namely, about July 15th with the first group." It will be observed that the foregoing instructions concerning the National Guard Coast Artillery entirely disregard the information given by the Quartermaster General's Office as to the possibility of clothing and equipping those troops and are at variance with the SUPPLIES DIVISION 195 statement made by the Adjutant General to the Com- manding General, Western Department in letter of April 27, 1917, which stated: "I am directed bj the Secretary of War to inform you confidentially that these I^ational Guard troops cannot be called out at the present time unless immediate requirements make it necessary, in view of the following conditions as re- ported by the Quartennaster General." Then follow the statement of conditions made on April 19, 1917. It will be noted that no report as to the amelioration of those conditions had been made by the Quartermaster General in the time intervening between April 19th and May 22, 1917, the date on which this order was made. Consequently the order was made in disregard of the conditions as reported. The enclosure to the communication of the Adjutant General of May 22, 1917, continues as follows: "3. The National Army. The first 500,000 men of the National forces will be called to the colors Sep- tember 1, 1917, and put under training at once in their division cantonments. This force will be supplied with woolen uniforms, which will be available in sufficient quantities." A table entitled "Program for Organizing the Regu- lar Army, National Guard and National Army" ac- companying the foregoing shows as follows : 1. That the regular Army was to be raised during May and June at designated Army posts and provided with cotton uniforms (including all available stock of 196 THE QUAETEEMASTER COEPS khaki) and woolen uniforms were to be supplied by Nov. 1, 1917. 2. The IN^ational Guard was to be raised July 15th to August 5th and after 15 days to go to division can- tonments in the South; they were to be supplied with cotton uniforms and with woolen uniforais by Novem- ber 1, 1917. 3. The ISTational Army was to be raised September 1, 1917, at its divisional cantonments and were to be equipped with Enfield and Krag rifles (Krag rifles to be used only until they can be replaced), blanket rolls and haversacks (to be replaced by 1910 equipment as soon as practicable), horse equipment and artillery ma- terial after equipping Eegular Army and National Guard, woolen uniforms, commercial articles will be substituted where necessary for such regulation articles as cannot be procured. At the end of this table was the following : "Note. — The officers' training camps will end August 15, 1917. Ofiicers of each division then proceed to division cantonments, where the enrolled men report September 1, 1917. Each man to be equipped at once with uniform and rifle. Other equipment to be sup- plied. "Execution of third program ivould he delayed by the diversion of equipment or supplies to meet any un- foreseen demands." The foregoing sentence was not in italics in the original. The order calling the National Anny to the colors SUPPLIES DIVISION 197 by September 1st disregarded the information, as to the time when the men could be clothed and equipped, given by the Quartermaster General on March 13, March 21, April 2, April 16, April 18 and April 19, all of which have been previously quoted; and in them it was constantly stated that the men could not be cloth- ed and equipped before December 31st with proper uni- forms and equipment and that one hundred thousand men could be provided for each month after July, thus completing the 500,000 hy December 31st, or by November 1st at the earliest by using articles closely ap- proximating standard articles. It will be obserA^ed, however, that the order of May 22, 1917, states that "even the lack of uniforms for a week or two should not delay organization." And the note quoted above would seem to indicate that the period might be prolonged and that the prime necessity was to drill the men, as is fully explained in the Secretary of War's statement before the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate, above quoted. ADDITIONAL, TROOPS Sections 2 and 3 of the Act of Congress approved May 18, 1917, authorized the organization of special and technical units in the Army during the war. On January 28, 1918, the Secretary of War made the fol- lowing statement to the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate: (S. 1,980.) "Early in this war when Joffre was here and when 198 THE QUAETEEMASTEK COEPS Balfour was here, they said to us, 'It may take you some time to get over to us a great fighting array, but you are a great industrial country. Our man power is fully engaged in our industries and in our military enter- prises; send over artisans, special engineering regi- ments and troops of a technical character,' and, although it was not contemplated at the outset, and only a phrase in the emergency military legislation shows that the thing was thought of as a possibility, yet in a very short time we had organized engineering regiments of railroad men and sent them over there and were re- building behind the lines of the British and French the railroads which were being carried forward with their advance, reconstructing their broken engines and cars, building new railroads, both back of the French and British lines and those regiments were of such quality that at the Cambrai assault carried on by Gen- eral Byng, when the Germans made their counter at- tack, our engineer regiments threw down their picks and spades and carried their rifles into the battle and distinguished themselves by gallant action in the war itself. "Very early in this war Great Britain, through Bal- four and his assistants, and France, through Joffre, said to us, 'Send us nurses and doctors.' Why, before we were scarcely in the war American units, organized in advance and anticipation by the Eed Cross, which was taken over into the sei-vice of the United States through the Surgeon General's office, were on the bat- tlefield, and there are tens of thousands of men in England and France now who bless the mission of mercy upon which the first Americans appeared in France. . . . But that was not enough. It was sug- gested that further gToups of mechanics might be needed." SUPPLIES DIVISION 199 These men, as stated above, were not considered when the plan for the organization of the Army was made and the Quartermaster General was asked when the Army could be supplied. They were in addition and the clothing and equipment of the men naturally affect- ed the problem of supply; as did likewise the estab- lishment of the officers training camps, the students at which had to be provided with uniforms and clothing; also the calling to the colors of 26,000 additional Na- tional Guardsmen in April in excess of the number which the Corps stated could be provided ; and also the calling in June of the National Guard from thirteen states in addition to the number which had been stated could be provided. At a conference with the Secretary of War and General Bliss the Acting Chief of Staff, the Quartermaster General indicated the difficulty this imposed upon the Corps and how it affected the pos- sibility of providing the supplies required for the Na- tional Army by September 1st. The Acting Chief of Staff stated his inability to see how that problem was affected by calling to the colors the additional men. After the above conference the following memoran- dum was sent to the Chief of the Supplies Division Of- fice Quartermaster General: July 15, 1917. "In view of the large number of technical troops which have been called into the service, also the large number of medical officers who have bought clothing and the number of students at the camps which we have supplied, and in view of the fact that the National 200 THE QUAETEEMASTEE COEPS Guard is to be mustered into the service on the 5th of August, will there be sufScient supplies on hand on September 1st to equip the National Army ?" To which reply was made on July 18th, enclosing a "Statement showing the Status of the Principal Articles of Clothing" and closing with the following sentence: "If the National Army is called out September 1st, a portion of the force will have to remain in citizens' clothes. It is therefore recommended that the as- sembling of the National Army be postponed until October 1st." This was approved by the Quartermaster General and forwarded to the Acting Chief of Staff on July 19, 1917. On July 20th the Acting Chief of Staff directed the Quartermaster General to report the designation and number of enlisted men comprised in any special units that had been raised and uniformed for the Army and that were not counted by him at the time that he estimated that clothing would be on hand for the first 500,000 drafted men by September 1, 1917. It will be noted from estimates furnished by the Quartermaster General and given above verbatim that that officer had never stated that clothing would be on hand for the first 500,000 drafted men by September 1, 1917. The time stated by the Quartermaster Gen- eral was always December 31, 1917; and further it will be noted from the Secretary of War's statement that these special or technical troops had not been con- sidered. The Quartermaster General on July 21, 1917, sent the following memorandum in reply: SUPPLIES DIVISIOK 201 "1. Eeferring to memorandum dated July 20tli, there is submitted the following list showing the en- listed men comprising the special units that have been raised and uniformed that were not originally estimated for: i. e. — Training camps 40,000 Nine railway regiments, engineers 10,000 One forestry regiment, engineers 1,167 Six months' reserve for 10 engineer regiments 11,670 Aviation schools 1,460 Five telegraph battalions, E. R. C 1,045 Thirteen base hospitals 1,796 Ambulance corps 4,000 Field hospitals and ambulance companies (64 each about 60% complete) 11,700 Ordnance, E. R. C 333 Quartermaster E. R. C 2,500 Six months' reserve for first and second convoys 25,000 Six months' reserve for marines 3,800 Total 114,471 "2. In addition to the foregoing it has been neces- sary to provide a considerable quantity of clothing for the equipment of reserve officers, especially those or- dered for duty with troops abroad. "3. Attention in this connection is invited to state- ment made verbally in an interview with General Bliss, General Smith and the undersigned on April 2, 1917, wherein it was stated that: 'Considering the stock on hand and orders so far placed, the equipment of the first 500,000 men (Regular Army and ISTational Guard) could be completed by July 31, and that if orders were placed at once for supplies for an additional 500,000 men, they could be equipped within five months from that date.' "4. On April 16, 1917, in a memorandum of the General Staff it was state"d : 'It will not be practicable to properly clothe and equip 202 THE QUARTERMASTEK CORPS within the time previously allotted, this or any other number of men more than that provided for in the original plan.' "5. In an indorsement of the Adjutant General, dated April 19, 1917, the following statement was made: 'Early in April, orders were placed for clothing and equipage for an additional 500,000 men for delivery up to December 31, and assuming that the first 500,000 men are equipped by the end of July, the Department will be able to clothe and equip 100,000 men monthly thereafter, with the exception of tentage.' HENRY G. SHARPE, Quartermaster General. It should be added that 26,000 students were equipped in the second training camps, so that the total of the additional men was 140,471. The statements made in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of the above memorandum were to correct the erroneous im- pression of the Acting Chief of Staff as to the date which the Quartermaster General stated the troops could be clothed. The Quartermaster Corps was informed that the men would be called in September as already provided for in the orders, and the call would not be postponed until October 1st as recommended by the Quartermaster Gen- eral on July 19, 1917. Information was received to the effect that the first call for drafted men would be made for 687,000 men instead of 500,000 stated by the Adjutant General in the orders of May 22, 1917, issued by direction of the Secretary of War. The original order calling the men having stated that they would be drilled for a week or SUPPLIES DIVISION 203 two in civilian clothes, and the note to that order stat- ing in effect that that time might be prolonged ; and the Quartermaster General on July 19th, having stated that if called by September 1st a portion of the force vpould have to remain in civilian clothing, and as this w&s in accord with the statement of the Secretary of War of the necessity of putting the men in camp so as to train them, it is clear that such was the understanding. It had been stated that the 687,000 men would all be called in September and effort was made to have the call divided, so that the men would not all arrive at the cantonments at the same time, because of the impos- sibility of supplying such a large number of new men at one time. At a conference with the Acting Chief of Staff and a member of the Equipment Committee of the War College Division of the General Staff, the sug- gestion to call 187,000 men September 1st; 100,000 September 15th; 175,000 on October 15th; and 225,000 on November 15th was concurred in by the Quartermas- ter General for the above reasons. It was found, however, that the movements as above suggested would conflict with those of the National Guard to their cantonments, and also with the move- ments of troops to the Ports of Embarkation. This was stated to the Acting Chief of Staff, and the representa- tive in the Quartennaster General's Office of the Ameri- can Railway Association entertaining the same views, a conference was arranged with a Committee of the General Staff, a representative of the War College, one from the American Railway Association and one from 204 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS the Transportation Division Office Quartermaster Gen- eral. The following proposition was submitted in order to coordinate the movements and was approved: Five per cent, of the ISTational Army to move, beginning September 5th, and moving one per cent, each day for 5 days ; forty per cent, of the l^ational Army to move, be- ginning September 19th, and to be completed as rapidly as possible; forty per cent, of the I^ational Army to move, beginning October 3rd, and to be completed as rapidly as possible; fifteen per cent, of the N^ational Army remainder, beginning October 17th and to be completed as rapidly as possible. This plan was later modified so that the men were moved as follows : Sep- tember 5th, 32,564; September 19th, 274,181; October 3rd, 172,094; October 27th, 24,594; ISTovember 2nd, 24,389 ; E'ovember 19th, 12,641 ; December 5th, 2,405 ; and the remainder 144,132 were not moved until Feb- ruary 15th, 1918, due to shortages of uniform clothing caused by sending troops to France, and by ordering the men to the camps in advance of the time, December 31, 1917, by which it had repeatedly been stated that they could be supplied. A delay of over two months and a half was necessary in order to accumulate the clothing to equip the balance of the draft; thus indicating the correctness of the recommendations of the Quarter- master General to delay the calling of the drafted men. By December 5, 1917, there were 542,868 men in the camps, and the original plan was to provide for 500,000 men by December 31, 1917. As most posi- tive orders prohibited the giving of information regard- SUPPLIES DIVISION" 205 ing the number of men in the camps, these figures could not be stated at the investigation conducted by the Com- mittee on Military Affairs of the Senate. When the plan for raising the Army was under discussion in April, 1917 there was no intention of sending troops to France until early in 1918. It was generally understood that the first part this country was to play in the war was to provide money and sup- plies for the allies, and there was deep mortification that so humiliating a role had been assigned the country as its part in the world's drama. The year 1917 was to be devoted to organizing, eqipping and training the troops and the memorandum of the War College Divis- ion of the General Staff, approved September 11, 1917, previously referred, provided for thirty divisions in France in 1918 and sixty divisions in 1919, indicating that our supreme effort was to be made in that year. Shortly after the arrival in this country of Marshal Joffre in May, 1917, decision was made to send a divi- sion of the Regular Army to France for the inspiration and encouragement its presence there would impart to the allied peoples and their ai*mies ; and soon the stir- ring notes and the encouraging words that "The Boys are Coming" were resounding "everywhere." A division of Regular troops was organized and dis- patched and arrived in France on June 26, 1917. The orders for the shipment of troops to France required that each man should have in his possession two com- plete suits of woolen uniforms, one overcoat, three suits of woolen undei*wear, five pairs heavy wool socks, and 206 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS two pairs of shoes; it was also provided that a six months' reserve of clothing and equipment should be forwarded with the troops. Shortly after the dispatch of the first division, information was given of the inten- tion to dispatch a second division composed of Regular Army and Marine Corps troops. This division was similarly supplied with clothing and its six months' reserve also forwarded. That division arrived in France in August, 1917. Shipments of the woolen uni- forms abroad reduced the number which were expected to be available later for issue to troops called to the colors in this country, and the Acting Chief of Staff gave instructions on August 1, 1917, that cotton uni- forms would be worn so far as possible until l^ovember 1st by troops in the United States. The Chief of Staff returned from the Mission to Rus- sia about the middle of August, 1917. Some few days thereafter the Assistant Chief of Staff came to the of- fice of the Quartermaster General and inquired con- cerning the supply of uniform clothing, to ascertain if it was adequate to meet the schedule for shipping troops abroad. The Quartermaster General inquired if a schedule had been adopted and, upon being informed that one had been adopted, remarked that it would seem proper to first ascertain if the Supply Departments were able to provide the necessary supplies to meet it. As a result of this information, the following memorandum was sent to the Chief of Staff on August 31, 1917 : "1. It is requested that this office be informed whether or not it is desired that sufficient quantity of I SUPPLIES DIVISIOIT 207 woolen uniforms and underwear be reserved each month to equip a certain number of troops for over- seas duty, or whether these articles should be issued as required to the National Army and other troops located in the northern posts. "2. An early decision is requested as the issue of woolen clothing to the National Army is being held up pending a decision." HENEY G. SHAEPE, Quartermaster General. (S. 503.) Information was given that the shipment of troops abroad would be continued and supplied in the same manner as the first two divisions had been. Troops sent abroad should undoubtedly be given precedence in mat- ters of supply, for when necessary the call for troops in this country could easily be deferred. Upon insist- ence that information of any contemplated movement of troops abroad should be communicated to the Quarter- master General at the earliest possible moment, it was finally agreed that the information would be communi- cated to him personally and verbally by a designated officer of the General Staff. Captain J. P. Aleshire on duty in the office was designated to receive the informa- tion as to the dispatch of troops abroad and to com- municate it to such Chiefs of Divisions and Branches of the Office as would have to be informed in order to arrange for the supplies. The orders requiring that the men sent abroad should be equipped with two suits of woolen uniforms and the other clothing and equipment before mentioned, fre- quent applications were received by the Quartermasters 208 THE QUARTERMASTER (jORPS to obtain the necessary supplies for various organiza- tions and, in consequence, the following memorandum was sent to the Chief of Staff on September 11, 191Y: (S. 505.) "It is recommended that a Board be appointed for the purpose of determining priority in the equipment of troops for overseas duty. The Assistant Chief of Staff recently furnished this office confidential information as to the number of troops that would have to be equipped each month for the next three months. Already for the month of September a larger number of troops have been fitted out than we understood were to go. Not- withstanding this fact there is scarcely a day that requisition or request has not come in for the outfitting of some organization or technical troops for overseas duty not previously contemplated." HENRY G. SHARPE, Quartermaster General. Knowing the necessity of technical troops in France, in order to assist in the preparations for all the arrange- ments to be made there, it was quite natural that the Bureau Chiefs charged with the execution of these plans should exert themselves to secure the prompt expedition of such troops, but if more troops were equipped than could be shipped to France at a given time, as happened, it caused a still further reduction of the available sup- ply of woolen unifonns and clothing. Requisitions were received from France in the early part of September, evidently based on General Per- shing's project of July 11, 1917, information concern- SUPPLIES DIVISION 209 ing which had never been received at the Office of the Quartermaster General. These requisitions called for very large quantities of supplies, and the matter was referred to the Chief of Staff in a memorandum dated September 8, 1917, as follows: "1. Transmitted herewith are extracts of cable- grams from General Pershing calling for initial and monthly shipments of clothing for each 25,000 men. A table prepared in this office (omitted here) is also submitted herewith showing a comparison between the quantities called for by General Pershing and the quan- tities previously shipped as six months' reserve for the first expedition of approximately 25,000 men. An ex- amination of this table shows that enormous quantities are being called for, which, in the opinion of this office, will be required, due to the nature of the service the troops will perform. "2. Attention is invited to the next to the last sentence of sub-paragraph 2 (omitted) wherein General Pershing asks that the clothing listed in paragraph 2,752, Quartermaster Corps Manual, be shipped monthly for each 25,000 men. The paragraph quoted shows what is a proper four months' allowance for ap- proximately 25,000 men. This table is based on actual issues on the Mexican border. General Pershing's call for this same quantity each month is practically four times as large. If the supplies called for are furnished, it will seriously interfere with the supply of wool cloth- ing to troops in this country, who also need this clothing. "3. The estimates for the present year, when sub- mitted, were thought to be made on a very liberal basis and would have provided a reserve of clothing for nearly 210 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS nine months, with the upkeep figured in accordance with our past experience; but from this cablegram of General Pershing's it is very evident that the estimate will have to be very largely increased over the amount which was thought necessary at the time the estimates were submitted. "4c. Instructions of the Chief of Staff are requested as to whether these supplies shall be furnished in the quantities called for." HENRY G. SHARPE, Qtlartermaster General. (S. 503.) Under date of September 18, 1917, the following reply was received from the Adjutant General : "To the Quartermaster General : "With the infonnation that "1. The Secretary of War approves the request for clothing contained in cablegi*am from the Commanding General of the Expeditionary Forces in France, No. 136 (W. C. D. 9,265-36), paragTaph 8, sub-paragraphs 2 and 3, and directs that shipment be made in accord- ance therewith as soon as this can be done without de- priving troops in this country of necessary clothing. "2. Until that time six months' reserve of clothing will be shipped with each expedition as in the past, in accordance with the enclosed table (omitted) prepared in your office. "3. The subject of monthly replacements to France has been taken up with the Commanding General of the Expeditionary Forces in France by cablegram (copy enclosed for your information). (Omitted.) "4. You will arrange at once to procure the ad- ditional clothing on the basis requested by the Com- manding General of the Expeditionary Forces in France. SUPPLIES DIVISION" 211 "The attached table, prepared by the War College Division of the General Staff, is self-explanatory. Col- umn 8 represents the approximate total requirements — initial issue (column 5) not included — based on present projects for one year. "5. A copy of this indorsement and enclosures has been furnished the Council of National Defense. "By order of the Secretary of War: Adjutant General." The depletion of the stock of woolen clothing caused by the continued shipment of the troops and supplies abroad, a memorandum was sent to the Chief of Staff on October 9th, 1917, as follows: "Attention is invited to the accompanying table (omitted) prepared by the Supplies Division, showing the supplies available on the first day of each month after deducting the upkeep and stores shipped abroad. "In this connection, it is desired to state that this Department in April was given instructions to prepare for 1,078,000 men. The Department stated that it would be able to equip the men sufficiently to drill them by the 30th of September, but the camps were opened on the 1st of September. "At that time there was no intention of shipping troops abroad this year. Schedules for shipment of troops have been prepared and this department has not been consulted as to whether the supplies are on hand to meet that schedule. "The accompanying statement indicates that one of two things must be done; first, that shipment of troops abroad must be discontinued ; or, second, that the calling of the remainder of the draft will have to be deferred for at least six weeks. 212 THE QUARTEEMASTEK CORPS "This Department has shipped with all the troops going abroad six months' reserve supply of clothing. A recent cablegram from General Pershing indicated that they have practically no supplies on hand. This is un- doubtedly due to the increased requirements owing to the arduous training the men are receiving. General Pershing's call for stores are in quantities which in the ordinary basis of our calculations would amount to a four years' supply in one, and, furthermore, the char- acter of the clothing is all wool. "It is requested that this office be informed as to what is done about the discontinuance of shipping of troops abroad or the postponement of the calling of the drafted men." HENRY G. SHARPS, Quartermaster General. (S. 509.) Receiving no reply to the above request for decision in a most important matter, a memorandum was sent to the Chief of Staff on October 13, 1917, as follows: "Referring to my memorandum of October 9th, trans- mitting a table prepared by the Supplies Division show- ing the supplies available on the first of each month after deducting the upkeep and the stores shipped abroad, I am attaching hereto an additional table show- ing the available balances of clothing on December 1st. "Prompt decision on my previous memorandum is urged." HENRY G. SHARPE, Quartermaster General. (S. 509-10.) "P. S. — Copy of memorandum of October 9 attached for ready reference." A cablegram was received from General Pershing SUPPLIES DIVISION 213 giving the clotliing on hand on October 1st, and stating that the clothing situation was critical; this undoubt- edly due to the inability of filling his requisitions of September, above referred to; memorandum was sent to the Chief of Staff on October 18, 1917, stating in part as follows : "1. . . . Attention is invited to memorandum of this office of August 25, 1917 (Q. M. G. O. 111.03-C.E. Genl. 1918), in which it was shown that the shortage of clothing was due to three causes, as follows : "First: That arrangements were made to call the N'ational Army before the date this Department stated they could equip them. "Second : That shipment of troops abroad was made a year before it was the intention to begin such ship- ments, when the problem of supplying the troops was given to this Department. "Third: That various special units not included in the number originally estimated for were shipped abroad. "These are the facts and no doubt the military situa- tion demanded this, but according to the above cable- gram from General Pershing, the clothing situation is becoming critical on the other side, and the inability to provide clothing in case any further troops are called into the service in this country still further complicates the problem. "2. On October 12th, a confidential letter was ad- dressed to this office by the Adjutant General, giving the priority of the supply of woolen clothing to the various units to be shipped abroad and indicating the order in which these troops were to be equipped, and it was presumed that they were to be sent abroad in the 214 THE QUAETEKMASTEK COKPS same order. This provides, first, for a large number of aero squadrons and then for another division of troops, and reference is made to this letter in this con- nection because if additional troops are sent abroad, with the reserve which must be given them, it will further complicate the clothing situation here, on ac- count of making greater shortages. "In repeated cablegrams General Pershing has urged the necessity of sending labor troops over in order to enable him to make proper provision for handling the supply of troops which he already has there. In the letter of October 12th, above referred to, so far as the Quartermaster's Department is concerned, many of these labor troops are to be shipped last. "3. If it is not deemed advisable to discontinue the shipment of troops abroad, the necessity of providing adequate clothing for the upkeep of the troops already abroad is imperative, and authority to make shipments for that purpose in preference to any other demands is requested." HENEY G. SHAEPE, Quartermaster General. (S. 514.) The above paper was returned by first endorsement from Adjutant General's Office under date of October 23, 1917, as follows: "To the Quartermaster General: "With the information that the decision of the Presi- dent to begin sending troops abroad at an earlier date than had been anticipated by him and to call the incre- ments of the National Army at an earlier date than he had recommended, has called upon his department to put forth very strenuous efforts, which efforts, however. SUPPLIES DIVISION 215 have 80 far fairly well met the needs from day to day, and the Secretary is convinced that this same energy will meet all further calls made upon his Department; that while the supply situation is so critical, supplies will continue to be distributed in such manner that no one will suffer, that troops designated for overseas serv- ice must be first equipped according to approved sched- ule of priority in equipment board ; that General Persh- ing's needs must be taken care of, but a large reserve will not be created in France at the expense of the men we now have under arms and who must be made com- fortable ; that as soon as the supply situation will allow the following priority list will govern — General Persh- ing's needs ahead of all others, with troops soon to join him, second ; National Army divisions in northern can- tonments, third ; other troops in northern places, fourth ; National Army troops at southern camps, fifth; and other troops in southern camps last; that the supply situation will be kept in mind, when further increments of the draft are under consideration." By order of the Secretary of War, Adjutant General. (S. 515.) As a result of the three memoranda above, the calls for the draft were delayed to some extent but not discontinued entirely for at least six weeks, as had been recommended by the Quartermaster General. ' By December 5th, there were 542,868 men in the National Army cantonments, or about 80 per cent, of the draft of 687,000 men as made. It must be remembered, how- ever, that according to the order of the Adjutant Gen- eral, dated May 22, 1917, 500,000 men were to be drafted but that the draft actually was for 687,000 216 THE QUARTEEMASTER CORPS men; an excess over tJie original figure of 187,000 men. Consequently, on December 5tli there were 42,868 more men in the camps than the number stated by the Quar- termaster General which could be supplied by December 31, 191Y. That number, 42,868, does not include the special and technical troops sent abroad or the men in the officers training camps. The following memorandum was sent to the Chief of Staff on December 6, 1917: "Orders have been issued to depots to complete equip- ment for every National Army cantonment after the first increment to the draft has been received to provide 1 hat, 1 overcoat, 1 blouse (olive drab), 1 pair of trousers (olive drab), 2 flannel shirts; 2 suits of under- wear, 3 pairs woolen socks, 2 pairs of shoes and 1 pair of leggins. Shipment of these articles were completed by the depots on December 5th, except 157,000 blouses (olive drab), which it is estimated will be completed be- tween the 15th and 20th of December. It is contem- plated that these articles will reach the cantonments within two weeks from the date of shipments. There would be sufficient olive drab cotton blouses at every cantonment to make up the deficiency of the woolen garments until the latter arrives." HENRY G. SHARPE, Quartermaster General. (S. 511.) And the following memorandum was sent the Chief of Staff on December 13, 1917 : "In accordance with instructions of the 11th instant, the following is submitted in connection with cablegram No. 360, dated December 11, 1917, paragraph 2, sub- paragraph B (copy attached) in which it is reported SUPPLIES DIVISION 217 that due to 'the failure of the Quartermaster Depart- ment to land supplies of winter clothing there has been produced a serious situation.' "The orders directing the shipment of troops abroad require that each man should be supplied with two com- plete suits of woolen uniforms, one overcoat, three suits of woolen underwear, five pairs of heavy woolen socks, two flannel shirts, two pairs of field shoes, slicker, and three blankets, in addition to one hat, one pair of leggins and one pair of gloves. "Attached hereto is a statement showing all of the shipments which have been made to France up to and including December 12th." The statement is omitted here but will be referred to later. It has been previously shown that the Embarkation Service was by G. O. 102, War Depart- ment July 30, 1917, created in the office of the Chief of Staff, for the period of the war, to take charge of the embarkation of troops and supplies for transatlantic transportation and to exercise under the Secretary of War, the direct control incident to that service. Para- graph 2 of the order prescribes as follows : "2. The function of this section is to coordinate all shipments of munitions and supplies of every kind and all troop movements whose ultimate destination is Europe and to advise and assist the Chief of Staff in reference thereto. It will have direct supervision under the Chief of Staff of all movements of supplies from points of origin to ports of embarkation ; will supervise the operations of the latter and will control the employ- ment of all Army transports engaged in the transat- lantic service and such commercial shipping as may be 218 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS used to supplement that service. It will arrange with the Navy for convoy service." The effect of this order was to take from the Quarter- master Corps all control of such matters, a condition which evidently was not appreciated in France, as was shown hj frequent cablegrams asking that the Quarter- master General's attention be called to the improper loading of ships, or the failure to forward supplies. As these matters were entirely removed from his con- trol, frequent requests were made that the authorities in France be so informed, in order that the Quarter- master Corps should not be blamed for matters over which it then had no control or supervision. The re- petition of these complaints indicated that the requests of the Quartermaster General were not complied with. The Quartermaster Corps, as well as all other Supply Departments, had to procure from the Chief of the Embarkation Service a "release" before either men or supplies could be forwarded to the ports of embarka- tion; after they were so sent there were no means of ascertaining whether they had been placed aboard the Transports. In order to secure this information the Quartermaster General sent a number of officers, with a force of clerks, to the Embarkation Ports to keep a check on such matters, and to enable the Quartermaster Corps to duplicate a shipment in case of the loss of a transport, but such men were not allowed to function as it was claimed that the matter was confidential and under the immediate control and supervision of the Chief of Staff. The lack of fairness in permitting the SUPPLIES DIVISION" 219 Quartermaster Corps to be blamed for matters the con- trol and supervision of which had been taken from it and assumed by others is manifest. The memorandum of December 13, 1917, continues, as follows: "In addition thereto, this office, through the aid of Colonel Puckle, of the Army Service Corps of the Brit- ish Army, now on duty in this office, has secured the consent of the British Government for the sale of 200,000 uniforms (100,000 made up and the other 100,000 to be made from cloth to be manufactured). General Pershing was notified of this and was informed to purchase same, if he approved, which purchase has since been undertaken, as has also the purchase of 200,000 blankets from Spain, made on General Persh- ing's request." (N'ote: The regulation buttons and ornaments for the uniforms already made were sent over, and "cut- ters" provided with our standard patterns for uniforms were sent to London to cut the 100,000 uniforms from the cloth when manufactured.) The memorandum still continues : "In this connection attention is invited to the fact that the troops in this country are only supplied with one suit of clothes, three suits of underwear, three pairs of woolen stockings, two pairs of shoes, one pair of leggins, a hat, a pair of gloves, one coat, one overcoat, and two flannel shirts. The troops are not all supplied with slickers, and the remainder of the draft has not yet been supplied with woolen coats. This is only one suit to be worn all the time at severe drills and at parades^ which has been required to last them from the 220 THE QUAKTEKMASTEE COKPS time they went into woolen clothes up to the present time. In a cable^am from General Pershing, dated October 1, a report was made on the clothing situation. This office submitted a memorandum under date of Oc- tober 18 to the Chief of Staff and stated the exact con- dition as to clothing and recommended that 'if it is not deemed advisable to discontinue the shipment of troops abroad, the necessity of providing adequate clothing for the upkeep of troops already abroad is imperative, and authority to make shipments for that purpose in prefer- ence to any other demands, is requested.' The mem- orandum was returned by a first indorsement from the Adjutant General's Office under date of October 23 (given above). The distribution of the available cloth- ing has been made by this department in accordance with the foregoing instructions. '^'It is quite evident that the situation in this country is not appreciated abroad nor the efforts which are being made to meet the calls for France. It is, therefore, recommended that a copy of office memorandum of October 18, with the first indorsement of the Adjutant General's Office of October 23, together with a copy of this memorandum and the accompanying statement, be transmitted to General Pershing. Two copies of each paper referred to are attached." HEI^RY G. SHAEPE, Quartermaster General. (S. 513-4.) INVESTIGATION BY COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS OF THE SENATE Explanation was made during the course of the In- vestigation that an order had been made by the War De- partment at the beginning of the War that nothing would be undertaken, and no changes made in any arti- SUPPLIES DIVISION 221 cles, which did not assist in the winning of the war. This order was quoted as the reason for disapproving the changes in the uniform, as recommended by the Quartermaster General, notwithstanding the fact that it was clearly shown that such changes would facilitate very greatly in enabling the men to be expeditiously equipped because of the great reduction in the number of the various sizes of garments which would have to be produced. In other words, more men could be fitted from a tariff of sizes prepared to conform to the changes recommended than could be from the tariff of sizes made on the old pattern. Instructions were further given that only such changes would be considered as were recommended by the proper authorities with our troops in France. Consequently, report as to the suit- ability and adaptability of the uniform in every par- ticular was called for, and paragraph 6, cable ISTo. 38, from General Pershing gave the character of winter clothing necessary. This cablegram stated that the present woolen under- wear, stockings, flannel shirts, coats, breeches, and field shoes were satisfactory; and recommended hip rub- ber boots and moccasins for use of men in the trenches. It stated that the present woolen gloves were satisfac- tory^ if the wristlets were made longer; that the over- coats and slickers should be shortened to the knee ; that leggins were not satisfactory on account of mud and that they should be replaced by spiral puttees; and strongly recommended the issue of jerkins. Steps were at once taken to provide for the changes recommended. 222 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS As the coats and breeches were reported to be satis- factory, and because of the order referred to, there could be no effort made to increase the weight of the cloth. During the Senate Investigation the Quartermaster General was asked if there had not been a recommenda- tion from the chairman of the Wool Manufacturers' Committee of the Committee on Supplies, that the weight of the cloth should be increased. To which the Quartermaster General stated that no such recommenda- tion had been made either verbally or in writing to the Quartermaster Corps. It was urged, however, with considerable insistence that such a recommendation had been made, and that it was presented by Colonel John P. Wood one of the best wool experts in the country. Colonel Wood was called by the Senate Committee and on January 7, 1918, testified that he was President of the ]!^ational Association of Wool Manufacturers for a number of years ; that he had served as chairman of a committee requested by the board of directors of the American Association, another trade organization, which was to represent the industry at large in any rela- tions it would have with the Government. Colonel Wood was asked the follovtdng questions: (S. 1457.) "But you were on this committee on woolens which practically created the standard of uniforms for soldiers here?" Colonel Wood: "N^o; we only made certain recom- mendations as to change in the content, not as to the weight. The weight had already been long established, SUPPLIES DIVISIOK 223 and no question had been raised as far as I know, except informally and in conversation with individuals not in the Government, individuals who knew about the heav- ier weights of cloth used abroad, as to whether it might not be found necessary to use heavier cloth if our sol- diers wanted it over there." Question: "Was that considered by your commit- tee?" Colonel Wood: "Yes, sir." Question: "Did you make any recommendations with regard to it ?" Colonel Wood: "]^one; because nothing had been called for on that subject, and because I think the con- viction of the committee generally was that a heavier weight was not desirable, and perhaps I can answer, having some voice with the committee now, the judg- ment today is that the 16-ounce uniform is quite heavy enough." Colonel Wood was also called before the Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Representatives and on January 15, 1918, testified as follows: (H. 715.) Colonel Wood: "A great deal of the discussion oc- curred in the Senate Committee hearing as to the suf- ficiency of the weight of the uniform cloth which is now sixteen ounces to the yard, and it has been referred to by some of the members of the Committee as being en- tirely inadequate. "I make the statement now that I did before that Committee, that until some American experience in European service determines the necessity for greater 224 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS weight, I think it would be a very serious mistake to increase the weight, and for this reason: the troops in the Expeditionary Force are to wear this uniform the year round. The sixteen ounce weight is heavier than the average weight of civilian winter clothing in this country, which is fourteen ounces." The question of the use of reworked wools, sometimes called shoddy, in the manufacture of clothes, in order to conserve the wool supply of the country also came before the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate, and quotation from the testimony of Colonel John P. Wood at his hearing on January 15, 1918 before the Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Repre- sentatives is herewith made. (H. 710.) Chairman: "As I understand you, from your ex- perience as a manufacturer and your actual experience in the field, you think the articles supplied, so far as keeping the soldiers warm is concerned, are as good as are supplied to the soldiers of any country in the world?" Colonel Wood: "Yes, sir. The uniform — the coat and the breeches — has thus far been made of all wool, with the exception of some small and emergency pur- chases, which were an infinitesimal part of the whole quantity. The charge that the uniforms are being reg- ularly made otherwise than of all new wool is a mistake. "There is probably one other thing that I ought to state in order to make the whole subject clear. "There has been a great deal of discussion by the SUPPLIES DIVISION" 225 manufacturers and the economy board and others about the shortage of wool, and opposed to that, other state- ments have been made by some persons that there is no shortage of wooL ''Both are right, but because of the difference of the statements it probably needs a little clearing up of the situation. ''We have in this country at the present time prob- ably as much wool as we ordinarily have. But there are two very important qualifications : Of the approxi- mately 280,000,000 pounds grown in America in a year, which is about one-third of what we are now using, only about 35 per cent, of that is of the grades such as are necessary for military clothing, and the rest of it is much finer fibered wool and while it could be used it would be much more costly and not make so sturdy a cloth. "We rely for the rest of our wool upon importations from Australia, JSTew 2e?iland, South America and South Africa. Australia, N^ew Zealand, and South Africa are under the control of Great Britain entirely, and owing to the shortage of ships it has been almost impossible to bring any from those colonies to this coun- try for nearly a year. A certain amount has been brought from South America, but Great Britain's anxi- ety, both for herself and her allies, to create a supply against a still more serious shortage of shipping and competition in South America for the wool of the only open or free market, has made it impossible for us to ac- 226 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS cumulate supplies for the future. The whole question is involved in the problem of shipping. ^' There is a lot of wool in Australia and New Zealand, but most of that is also of the fine sort. Great Britain has taken almost all of the coarser wools for military purposes. The necessity for conservation at the moment is because of the very great difficulty, if not impossibil- ity, of bringing wools in any large quantity to thig country, and while we have enough probably to see us through for this year, if the amount brought to the country continues to be as little as during the last nine months, we will have a famine in wool in 1919, while with the shortage of shipping increased by reason of destruction or by reason of diversion of still more ves- sels to carrying supplies to our troops in Europe, the wool situation will become acute even sooner. "That is the reason for anticipating and conserv- ing the wool now while we have it, rather than waiting until the supply is exhausted. It is not a question of whether we want to use the cloth in the proportion of 65 to 35, but it is whether, by adopting that at the be- ginning of the war we can continue using that for a considerable period of time, or whether we should go on using 100 per cent, in all of these articles for 1917, and then probably have to use a much greater proportion than 35 per cent, of reworked wool. That is why this step was taken." The above are the reasons so ably and concisely ex- pressed by an acknowledged expert which influenced the Quartermaster General to adopt the use of reworked SUPPLIES DIVISION 227 wool in the manufacture of cloth for overcoats and in the blankets, making use of the clips, the same method of conservation as that of using the remainder of a Christmas turkey the following day. It is interesting to ascertain the practice of the Eng- lish as regards the use of reworked wool in manufactur- ing cloth. Howard Preistman of Bradford, Eng- land, an authority on wool manufacture in the United Kingdom, in a paper published in the ''Bulletin of the National Association of Woolen and Worsted Manu- facturers" for July, 1918, writes as follows: "It is probable that the use of shoddy has been an even greater cause of controversy in America than it has been in England, for in England we have never shut our eyes to the fact that we imported 100,000,000 pounds of rags per year before the war ; that we added all our own waste cloth to these, and ground the whole down to fiber again. Then, by mixing this short fiber with a very large quantity of brain and with very little else, the manufacturers of the heavy woolen district turned out an immense amount of serviceable cloth at an absurdly low price. "Probably this was the reason why the authorities did not waste much time in establishing a center of their own for dealing with the incredible quantity of old socks, underclothing, uniforms, and overcoats that so early in the war began to pour in from France. At any rate, such a warehouse is in existence in Dewsbury, and through its efficient management millions of pounds 228 . THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS that otherwise would have been wasted are turned from old garments into new." SHORTAGES AT CAMPS At the hearing before the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate on December 21, 1917, the mat- ter of the shortage of clothing at the camps was brought up. Explanation was made that the Quartermaster Corps stated that a definite number of men could be clothed by December 31, 1917; that the men were called to the camps in advance of the time at which it was stated they could be provided for; that an addi- tional number of troops were called that were not in- cluded in the original plans; and that the shipment of troops to France was commenced many months in advance of the time originally planned, and that such shipments necessitated furnishing the men with addi- tional uniforms and sending to France large reserves, thus depleting the stock available to clothe the men called to the camps. And further that orders to rush the shipments of the clothing to supply the existing shortages had been given, and that by the end of two weeks all would be provided. The Committee on Mili- tary Affairs of the Senate called upon the Secretary of War for a report regarding the shortages of woolen clothing, this report is given in the following communi- cation : SUPPLIES DIVISION" 229 WAR DEPARTMENT Washington, January 4, 1918. "Hon. Geo. E. Chamberlain, "Chairman Committee on Military Affairs, United States Senate. "My dear Senator: Replying to the communication from your committee of December 26, regarding short- age of woolen clothing, the following is submitted for your information: "Telegrams were sent to all camp commanders for reports as to shortage, and replies were received. From these replies there is found to exist a shortage, and the lists below show such camps and the efforts made to correct same: "Camp Wheeler: Overcoats, number sufficient. Blouses, woolen, short 1,141, due to lack of proper sizes. Instructions sent to depot quartemiaster to em- ploy necessary labor and alter those on hand. "Camp Shelby: Overcoats, number sufficient. Blouses, woolen, short 5,100, Ordered from New York. "Camp Kearney: Overcoats, number sufficient. Blouses, woolen, short 13,809, Climate mild; shortage due to sending blouses to colder camps first. "Camp Dix: Overcoats, short 19; en route to camp 2,500. Blouses, woolen short 1,440; en route to camp 6,000. "Camp Jackson: Overcoats, nimiber sufficient. Blouses, woolen, number sufficient, "Camp Grant: Overcoats, number sufficient. Blouses, woolen, short 3,821. Ordered from Chicago depot. "Camp Custer: Overcoats, short 530. December 26, 600 were shipped by express from Philadelphia. Blouses, woolen, short 4,530, due to lack of proper 230 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS sizes. Instructions sent to depot quartermaster to em- ploy necessary labor and alter those on hand. "Camp Beauregard: Overcoats, short 10,863. Shipped by express December 22, 22,300. Blouses, woolen, short 3,094; 2,784 blouses on hand have been ordered altered. "Camp Bowie: Overcoats, number sufficient. Blouses, woolen, short 3,725 ; 2,750 sent to Fort Sam Houston for exchange. Balance ordered shipped by express. "Camp Dodge: Overcoats, short 50. Blouses, woolen, short 300. Both due to lack of proper sizes. Depot quartermaster directed to employ labor and alter same to fit. "Camp Doniphan: Overcoats, short 2. Blouses, woolen, number sufficient. "Camp Funston: Overcoats, number sufficient. Blouses, woolen, short 9,600; now en route by express, 10,000. "Camp Wadsworth: Overcoats, short 45. Depot quartermaster authorized to hire labor to alter those on hand. Blouses, woolen, short 3,367. Shipped by express December 23, 2,000. "Camp Sheridan: Overcoats, number sufficient. Blouses, woolen, short 3,996, due to lack of proper sizes. Instructions sent to depot quartermaster to employ nec- essary labor and alter those on hand. "Camp Pike: Overcoats, short 46. Blouses, woolen, short 1,260. Overcoats and blouses, woolen, or- dered shipped from St. Louis depot. "Camp Greene: Overcoats, number sufficient. Blouses, woolen, number sufficient. "Instructions have been sent to all depot quarter- masters to obtain immediately, locally, any uniform gar- ment which is short in order to give to each man one woolen uniform; when wrong sizes are on hand, to SUPPLIES DIVISION 331 exchange with other camps, if practicable, and to em- ploy garment makers to alter garments so as to fit those who are without necessary uniforms. "In addition to the shortages of overcoats and woolen blouses mentioned above, the reports also showed short- ages of breeches in some camps, and in five or six therei were small shortages of woolen underwear and some men did not have the prescribed allowance of three complete suits of underwear. These were also directed to be supplied from local markets. "Blouses are very difficult to obtain and the shortage on this account is quite general. However, provided each man has woolen underwear, and a flannel shirt, and an overcoat, the temporary shortage would not materi- ally cause great inconvenience. As fast as woolen blouses are received from contractors they are being forwarded by express to the different camps and can- tonments where shortage exists. "The delay in overcoats and other garments received was due partially to supply and largely to railroad de- lays, far longer than customary. All the camp com- manders have been directed to report daily as to equip- ment. "In all cases there was found to be sufficient bedding in the hands of the troops." Cordially yours, NEWTON D. BAKER, Secretary of War. (S. 1,351.) It will be noted that the above letter cites the steps taken to cover the shortages. The totals of the short- ages above reported amount to 11,555 overcoats, and 55,183 bloiises. The Secretary of War, on January 28, 1918, testified \ 232 THE QUAKTEEMASTEK COEPS before the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate, as follows: ":N'ow, instead of having 50,000 or 100,000 men in France, in 1917, we have many more men than that in France, and instead of half a million men whom we could ship to France if we could find any way to do it in 1918, we will have more than one-half mil- lion men in France early in 1918; and we have avail- able to ship to France, if the transportation facilities are available to us — and the prospects are not unprom- ising — we will have one and one-half million who in 1918 can be shipped to France." The Chairman : ''Why have you not felt it proper to let the public into your confidence with reference to these things that you are telling now ?" Secretary Baker: "Senator, I confess I have hesi- tated and I still hesitate. I have here a statement from Field Marshal Von Hindenburg, in which he is quoted as saying in a German newspaper, in contemptuous fashion of us, that we have advertised our preparations for this war in an unworthy manner." The Chairman: "Do you think for a moment, Secretary Baker, that there has been any time within the last year that the German Secret Service has not been fully advised as to everything we have done ?" Secretary Baker: "Yes, Senator, I know. If I may rely upon confidential information which we get from confidential sources, the German Government is SUPPLIES DIVISION 233 still mystified as to the number of men we have in France, or have had there at any time." (S, 1978.) The above statement was made at a public session of the Committee, and at the session held on February 6, 1918, effort was made to secure information for the basis of the statement, and the Secretary of War was questioned as to the ship tonnage which would be avail- able for transporting the troops to France. The latter session was also public, and for that reason Senator Beckham made the following remarks: (S. 2.080.) "Let me make the suggestion: I believe all of the members of the Committee recognize the wisdom of the War Department in not disclosing the exact number of troops we now have in France. Yet, at the same time, the effect of these questions, if answered, in de- termining how many tons of shipping you have, how much has been used, how much we will have at some time in the future would be, by a simple process of arithmetic, to bring out exactly how many troops we have taken over there, because we can all well under- stand that troops have been shipped over there as rapidly as tonnage could be found. "The direction of these questions is to that effect, to disclose in a public hearing how many troops we have in France." As stated previously, the orders positively prohibited the giving of information as to the number of men in. the camps and the number of troops which had been shipped to France. The above extracts clearly indicate the fact and the propriety of such orders. Because of 234 THE QTJAETEKMASTEE COEPS such orders it was not possible for the Quartermaster' General to give a statement of the amount of clothing shipped to France as a reserve, as these figures would indicate the number of men there. The following is a statement of clothing and equipage shipped overseas by depots from date of first convoy to Jan. 15, 1918 (H. 736). CLOTHING Belts, waist 122,268 Blankets 520,253 Boots, rubber: Hip 152,224 Knee 9,556 Breeches, wool 227,359 Caps: Denim 11,872 Winter 222,212 Chevrons, wool 74,109 Coats : Blue, dress 1,824 Wool 132,047 Denim 70,350 Drawers, wool 856,361 Ga,untlets, winter .... 184,437 Gloves : Riding 91,583 Wool 279,919 Horsehide, fleece lined 2,902 Yellow, horsehide . . . 30,902 Hats, service 158,698 Jerkins 201,155 Laces : Breeches Leggins Shoe Leggins : Canvas Leather Spiral, puttee Moccasins Overcoats Overshoes, arctic Shirts, flannel Shoes, field Slickers Stretchers, shoe Toques Trousers: Denim Blue, dress Undershirts, wool .... Stockings, wool heavy weight 359,413 1,561 267,632 79,907 1.000 234,752 201,161 140,574 355,868 215,957 898,821 84,839 335 135,673 100,456 3,024 681,224 941,512 Note: The orders directing the shipment of troops abroad required that each man shall be supplied with 2 complete suits of woolen uniforms, 1 overcoat, 3 suits of woolen underwear, 5 pairs of heavy woolen socks, 2 flannel shirts, 2 pairs field shoes, 1 slicker, 3 blankets, 1 hat, 1 pair spiral puttees, 1 pair gloves. SUPPLIES DIVISION 235 It will be observed from the above table there had been shipped 227,359 breeches, wool; 132,047 coats, wool; 856,361 drawers, wool; 140,574 overcoats; 215,- 957 shirt.s, flannel; 681,224 undershirts, wool. These figures compared with the total shortages given in the letter of the Secretary of War of January 4, 1918, above quoted indicate that those shortages of 11,555 over- coats; 55,183 blouses, and some breeches and underwear would not have existed on December 31, 1917, the date stated at which the troops would be equipped, had not the necessity of shipping the supplies to France arisen. Furthermore, it will be noted that each man sent to France was provided with an extra suit of uniform, and it will be shown that the remainder of the draft, 144,132 could have been supplied from the extra uni- forms so taken over by the men. According to official figTires there were on December 31, 1917, In United States Service \ Men Exclusive of 5,493 Philippine Scouts / 1,324,573 and of this number there were in France 178,591 men on the same date. As the shortages noted in the Secretary of War's letter of Jan, 4, 1918, had been provided for, it will be seen that the Quartermaster Corps had equipped and clothed the following men by December 31, 1917 : Men In the United States Service exclusive of Philip- pine Scouts 1,324,573 Marines 3,850 Signal Corps Cadets 7,000 236 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS Ist Training Camp 42,000 2nd Training Camp 26,000 A. E. F. (extra uniforms) 178,591 Total 1,582,014 And it is tkouglit to be a fair statement to add that in so doing the Quartermaster Corps fully carried out the plan given to it, and accomplished the task in the time prescribed, and by the date which had been fre- quently specified. PROBLEM OF SUPPLY In order to work out a plan by which supplies should always be available when needed, both in this country and abroad, it was necessary to consider carefully the amount of time required for transportation of supplies from manufacturers to depots, from depots to camps, or from depots to troops abroad. An even more important problem was that of deter- mining the time required to obtain supplies after orders had been placed with factories, and oftentimes diffi- culties necessarily resulted because of an underestima- tion of this time or because of delinquencies in factories themselves. At the beginning of the war it was peculiarly true that factories took contracts for much more than they could actually produce, and that factories in certain parts of the country were given contracts for much more than could actually be produced in their terri- tories. The proper allocation of contracts, the deter- mination in advance of the allocation of contracts as to SUPPLIES DIVISIOI^ 237 whether raw materials were available for the actual manufacture, were matters which had to be worked out in great detail. For example, the problem with respect to woolen clothing was not merely the problem of pur- chase of a supply already existing. It was a problem of determining : first, how many suits were needed and when and where needed; second, of making sure that the wool was available for the manufacturing of such suits — and this constituted one of the most serious problems ; third, the placing of contracts for the obtain- ing of such uniforms; and fourth, the delivery of the uniforms to the places where they were actually needed. The problem of obtaining, manufacturing and supply- ing quartermaster supplies for the Army at home and abroad was therefore tied up with the whole system of national industry and of inland and ocean trans- portation. DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES IN THIS COUNTRY The Quartennaster Corps machinery for distribution and for control of distribution has been generally re- ferred to above. It is desirable, however, to refer to the relationship between the Office of the Quarter- master General in distribution and the several camps, posts, and military stations throughout the country. When the war first began all supervision over the supply of posts, camps, etc., was in the hands of the six territorial Army departments and was supervised by the department commanders and under the depart- 238 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS ment commanders by the department quartermasters. By General Orders, N"o. 96, W.D. 1917 (July 20, 1917), organized tactical divisions of the National Guard and the ISTational Army after arrival at their divisional camps (the new training camps constituted as a result of the war) were exempted from the control of the department commanders in all that pertained to administration, instruction, training, and discipline. Department commanders, however, were expressly given supervision over the supply of these camps, and were required to take steps to establish a camp supply depot at each camp. These camp supply depots were to be filled from the general depots of the supply bureaus, or directly from contractors as designated under the direction of the bureau chiefs. The camp supply depots were by this order under the direction of division commanders. General Orders :^o. 137, W.D. 1917 (Oct. 30, 1917), rescinded General Orders l^o. 96 and exempted from the control of the department commanders the supply of organized tactical divisions of the ITational Guard and ISTational Army after arrival at divisional camps. By General Orders No. 137 "The camp representatives of each supply department will report direct to and be under the supei-vision of commanding ofiicers of such supply depots as may be directed by the respective bureau chiefs, who will be held responsible that adequate supplies are on hand at all times." Camp supply de- pots remained under the direction of division or camp commanders for discipline, protection, and coordination StJPPLIES DIVISION 23^ of supply within their divisions or camps, but ceased to be under the control of the division or camp command- ers with respect to the general handling of supplies themselves. A Fuel and Forage Brancli was established in the Supplies Division very early in the war, and Colonel W. H. Horton assigned to the charge of same, and to act as the representative of the Quartermaster Corps with the Fuel Administration when the latter was created. Previous to the establishment of the United States Fuel Administration, the coal and other fuel required by the army were procured by contract, after due ad- vertisement as required by law. These advertisements were issued from the various department headquarters, under the decentralized method of administration then in operation. It was found that satisfactory contracts could not be made, as the coal producers and dealers were unwilling under the conditions then existing to enter into contract for any extended period of time. After the establishment of the Fuel Administration it was necessary to centralize in the Office of the Quarter- master General the supply of coal for the army and, compilations were made covering the requirements of all posts, camps and stations. Allocations for them were received from the Fuel Administration. Many difficulties were encountered in the winter of 1917-18 in keeping the camps supplied with the neces- sary fuel, due to the severity of the weather, the short- age in production of coal, delays in transportation, 240 THE QUARTEKMASTEE CORPS caused hj snow and by the congestion of transporta- tion ; but by constant attention it was possible to main- tain the supply in a satisfactory manner, with but few complaints of actual shortage. The relationship and contact with the Fuel Adminis- tration was close and constant. Through circular let- ters outlining methods of procedure in procurement of coal and coke, decentralization was sought in order that time might be saved. The Fuel Administration had its representatives in nearly all the coal-producing dis- tricts of the country. After quartermasters were ad- vised as to which district representative their require^ ments had been referred for allocation with the coal or coke^producing companies, or with which producing company estimate had been placed, these quartermast- ers were authorized to handle the matter direct with the representatives or the shipper. Previous to the beginning of the war the forage and bedding required by the army had been handled in the same way as the fuel requirements, that is, by contract after advertisement. This was also found unsatisfac- tory, due to the great fluctuations in prices, and an office was established at Kansas City, Mo., under the direc- tion of Colonel E. E. Dravo, charged with the duty of obtaining the necessary supplies. CONSERVATION AND RECLAMATION Very early after the declaration of war, the United States followed the British and French example of pro- viding for the reclamation of materials and supplies. SUPPLIES DIVISION" 241 The proper provisions for disinfecting, cleaning, repair- ing, and pressing of clothing, shoes, and equipage be- came the more necessary after the abolition (by Gen- eral Orders, ISTo. 89, War Department, 1917) of the individual clothing allowance for enlisted men. With the publication of this order, clothing issued to enlisted men became definitely Government property, and a guaranty was given that a soldier would be furnished the quantity of clothing necessary and adequate for the service upon which he was engaged. With respect to shoes, action in providing methods of repair was taken on June 28, 1917, when instructions were issued by The Adjutant General's Office to all department command- ers in the United States authorizing them to submit requisitions for machinery for half-soling shoes, at the rate of one machine for each regiment called into the service of the United States. In the Supplies Division of the Ofiice of the Quarter- master General a Conservation Branch was created on October 5, 1917. This branch was erected into an in- dependent division of the Office of the Quartermaster General by Office Order ISTo. 114 (N'ov. 8, 1917). By June 30, 1918, the Conservation and Eeclamation Di- vision had a total personnel of 108. On December 1, 1917, every camp quartermaster and depot quartermaster was directed to assign an ofiicer and an adequate personnel to conservation work in the respective camps and depots, and an allotment was made of 8 men for the operation of every shoe shop and 21 men to every clothing repair shop. 242 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS On January 29, 1918, General Orders No. 9 pub- lished to the Army regulations pertinent to reclama- tion of waste at the various depots, cantonments, camps, posts, forts, and other units of the Army, and charged the reclamation officer with the direct supervision of clothing, shoe, hat, and equipage repair shops of the Quartermaster Corps. In December, 1917, the construction of a building to house the repairing of shoes and clothing was author- ized at each of the National Army and National Guard camps. The space thus provided proved insufficient to meet the requirements of the camps and cantonments and had to be increased from time to time. Base plants were established at New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Fort Sam Houston, El Paso, Jeffersonville, and Chi- cago. These base plants provided a means of renovat- ing clothing and equipage for the small stations, where the establishment of a repair shop was not warranted or advantageous contracts could not be made. On June 17, 1918, Special Regulations No. 77 were published to the Army. These regulations enlarged the functions of the Conservation and Reclamation Di- vision, placing all laundering, dry cleaning, and gar- dening and farming under its jurisdiction, in addition to the repairing of clothing, shoes, hats, and equipage, and the prevention of waste specified in General Or- ders, No. 9, 1918. The personnel of the field organization in the various cantonments and camps grew from the original allot- pient of 8 men to every shoei shop and 21 men to every SUPPLIES DIVISIOK 243 clothing repair shop to a company of 580 officers and men. The enlisted personnel consisted of men dis- qualified for any reason for service overseas. The repair shops authorized in December, 1917, were in many cases completed and equipped and in opera- tion by April, 1918. Camp laimdries were established at Camps Custer, Dix, Funston, Lee, Meade, Merritt, Sherman, Stuart, Taylor, Travis, Upton, and at 15 Regular Army Posts. VI KEMOUNT DIVISION AN^D EEMOUNT SERVICE Organization and operation — ^Method of purchasing remounts during the War witli Germany — Training activities — Over- seas units — Breeding. ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION At the outbreak of tlie War with Germany, the Re- mount Division was not yet in existence and there was no Remount Service worthy of that name. The pur- chase of anny remounts and the supervision over the three permanent remount depots, and the two auxiliary remount depots then in existence, and remount matters generally, were entrusted to the Transportation Division of the Quartermaster General's Office. That Division, likewise, had jurisdiction over the procurement and distribution of all motor-propelled and animal-drawn vehicles, harness and miscellaneous animal and wagon equipment. Later the Remount Branch of the Trans- portation Division was organized, and in September, 1917, this Branch developed into a fully organized Di- vision, with one officer in charge and four commissioned, and about sixteen civilian assistants. At that time the procurement and distribution of animal-drawn 244 REMOUNT DIVISIOI^ 245 vehicles, harness and miscellaneous animal and wagon equipment were also transferred from the Transporta- tion Division to the newly organized Remount Division. For the purpose of the procurement of remounts, the United States, shortly after the beginning of the War, was divided into four Remount Purchasing Zones, viz : the Eastern Zone with Headquarters at the Front Royal Remount Depot, Front Royal, Va. ; the Southern Zone with Headquarters at Fort Reno Remount Depot, Fort Reno, Oklahoma; the Korthem Zone with Headquar- ters at Fort Keogh Remount Depot, Fort Keogh, Mon- tana ; and the Central Zone with Headquarters at Kan- sas City, Missouri. At the beginning of the War, there were as hereto- fore stated, three permanent remount depots and two auxiliary remount depots in existence, viz: the per- manent remount depots at Front Royal, Virginia, Fort Reno, Oklahoma, and Fort Keogh, Montana, and the auxiliary remount depots at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. There were on hand with or- ganizations and at posts and stations in the United States and Insular Possessions, approximately 100,000 animals of all classes. These were distributed largely along the Mexican Border, and in the Southern Depart- ment, having been turned into the two auxiliary Re- mount Depots, named above, by organizations of the National Guard, when the latter were ordered to their home stations for muster out of the Federal Service. There was a surplus of approximately 40,000 animals of the total number of animals on hand, the least desir- 246 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS able of which were condemned and sold and the re- maining surplus issued to organizations belonging to the first increment of the enlarged regular army, and to the ISTational Guard organizations that were again called into the service to guard public utilities. Prior to the outbreak of the war, many plans had been worked out for the procurement of remounts and of vehicles and harness, to be used in the event of hos- tilities, but when War was declared it was found that these plans were obsolete, due to the magnitude and extent of the military program. Consequently it was necessary to decide immediately upon, and to adopt a plan of purchasing animals, wagons, harness and other equipment that would meet the demands of the War Department, and safeguard the interests of the Govern- ment. The plan at the same time was to be based on the principle that no individual, fii-m or corporation should be permitted to make more than a reasonable profit in furnishing equipment and animals to the Government. The system of purchasing by contract from the lowest bidder was not suitable for war con- ditions as it lacked the necessary flexibility and re- quired too much time to put it in operation. METHOD OF PURCHASING REMOUNTS DURING THE WAR WITH GERMANY In the summer of 1917, the contract method of buy- ing having failed to produce the required number of animals, the Quartermaster General, in a memorandum EEMOUNT DIVISION" 247 to the Secretary of War on the relative merit of open market purchases and purchase by contract after com- petitive bidding, expressed an opinioii in favor of the former as being less costly and more flexible than the latter. "We shall require/' the memorandum set forth, "approximately 180,000 horses and 80,000 mules for the National Guard and National Army. The pv chases are to commence about August 1st. If we let contracts for supplying these animals, under the law, we cannot reduce or increase any contract more than twenty per cent. If the war should suddenly come to a close, the Government would be compelled to buy mil- lions of dollars' worth of animals it would not need, or it would bo compelled to annul contracts and pay contractors large amounts for damages. On the other hand, by purchasing in the open market without con- tract, the Government will be able to stop buying on short notice. If great losses of animals should occur in war (such as the sinking of a convoy of animal trans- ports) , it would necessitate quick buying of larger num- bers than the contractors could furnish, and the Quar- termaster Corps must either buy in the open market, or fail to meet the military needs of the Nation. It would take too long to advertise and let new contracts." The method of open market purchases suggested by the Quartermaster General, was approved by the Sec- retary of War July 8, 1917, and shortly thereafter in- structions were sent to the various Remount Zones to buy according to the new system. The Quartermaster General furnished the Purchasing Officer in each of the 248 THE QUAETEEMASTER COEPS permanent Remount Depots with the average price he was authorized by the Secretary of War to pay for each class of animal, which price he was not allowed to exceed. The Purchasing Officer was also allotted a cer- tain number of animals of each class to be purchased in his Zone within a specified time. He was required to report to the Remount Division, Office of the Quarter- master General, each day by wire, the number of each class of animals shipped, names of contractors from whom purchased, and the organization of the Army and destination to which shipped during the preceding day in his Zone. N^o paid advertisement was authorized in connection with this method of purchase in the open market. A form of agreement with dealers and con- tractors was adopted which relieved the latter of certain onerous provisions of the old contracts. It required a bond of but five per cent, of the total amount of the contract where more than 100 animals were contracted for, and provided for retention of five per cent, of con- tract price for 100 animals or less until fulfillment of contract. The Government's interests were further pre tected by reserving the right to terminate inspection and purchase at any time, or on termination of hostili- ties, on ten days' notice to the contractor. These pro- visions removed some of the main objections raised against the old form of contract. The Government op- tion to suspend purchases was twice exercised during the year 1918. During the summer and fall of 191Y, buying was conducted on a large scale in all Remount Zones under REMOUNT DIVISION" 249 the open market method, hids being accepted without advertisement from reliable contractors and dealers lo- cated at points convenient for inspection and delivery, at prices fixed by the Government. Under this system, enterprising dealers, having a certain market at known prices, were able to build up buying and collecting or- ganizations which brought animals rapidly to inspection points and assured a steady flow of the desired types to camps and auxiliary remount depots. Delivery was re- quired to be made within fixed periods, usually fifteen to forty-five days, the policy being to give comparatively small buying orders to be executed in short time, fol- lowed by new orders, so as to keep purchasing organiza- tions, both of Government and dealers, steadily at work. Contracts were eagerly sought for, and most of the deal- ers were able to carry out their obligations in full. The principal States in which animals were pur- chased were Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Montana, the Dakotas, Ohio, Kentucky and Texas. Contracts were made with approximately 350 dealers and the heaviest buying was done in the Kansas City and Fort Reno Zones. The successful operation of the open market contract system enabled the Remount Division to keep pace with the demands of the rapidly extending mili- tary organization, so that in the spring of 1918 there was a surplus of animals on hand. Purchasing was then suspended and all contracts cancelled. Inspection of animals in the field was made by Purchasing Boards constituted in accordance with reg- ulations of the Quartermaster General, comprising a 250 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS commissioned purchasing officer, a commissioned veter- inary officer, two civilian clerks, and a messenger for the paper work, shipping and branding. These boards reported daily by mail and telegraph to the headquar- ters of the Zone in which they operated, and were un- der constant supervision as to methods of inspection, sanitation and shipping. Some of them operated at sev- eral inspection points, others in a single locality. As a rule boards were able to handle the animals as rapidly as presented for inspection. The purchasing officer was held responsible for final acceptance of the animal, while the veterinarian was accountable for the animal's health and physical soundness. Prescribed specifica- tions for army horses and mules governed in the selec- tion of animals. They were shipped to camps in charge of an authorized civilian attendant. At the beginning of the war it was realized that the fulfilment of the Army horse-drawn vehicle program would necessitate the mobilization of the entire wagon industry in the United States. A consultation was arranged with the ^National Wagon Workers' Associa- tion, the Committee of the Council of National Defense and representatives of the Quartermaster's Corps, at which certain manufacturers agreed to take over the manufacture and delivery of the required supply of Quartermaster vehicles and harness at prices mutually agreed upon. These prices were those furnished by the Depot Quartermaster, Jefi^ersonville, Indiana, at which depot those supplies had always been bought, and were the average prices paid to contractors for supplying EEMOUNT DIVISION 251 vehicles and harness under the competitive bidding system. The wagon industry had always used air-dried lum- ber, which required a long period for seasoning and drying. The entire supply of such lumber was soon used up and it became necessary to arrange immediately for kiln-dried lumber. N^one of the wagon manufac- turer's plants was equipped with kilns and the build- ing and fitting up of sufficient kilns to dry the quantity of lumber required was a veiy serious proposition. It soon developed that a large part of the wood stock for this large number of vehicles was still in the trees of the forest. The manufacturers called on the lumbermen, and the Remount Division arranged a plan whereby the wood stock would be obtained and delivered to the manufacturers, the Government being obligated to take over such wood stock as might not be used in case the war came to an end and contracts were annuled. The Government entered into agreements with the wagon manufacturers to defray half the cost of all kilns constructed, and to pay for siich portion of the cost at the rate of $10 per wagon produced, or $10 on each $185 worth of spare parts fabricated on Govern- ment order. As an instance of the spare parts situation it might be mentioned that on the first order for 34,000 escort wagons, the spare parts required amounted to about fifty per cent of the total order for wagons. During the war there was developed a number of new types of wagons, such as the drinking-water wagons 252 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS and carts, medical and ration carts, combat wagons, veterinary ambulances, sprinkler wagons, and other vehicles produced in smaller quantities. In spite of the fact that the entire amount of kiln- dried lumber on hand was consumed in the first few months of the war and that ordinarily six months are required for proper kiln-drying before the log is ready for fabrication, vehicles and parts were supplied on time and in accordance with the plans outlined by the General Staff, Purchases of all classes of horsc'-drawn vehicles from April 6, 1917, to July 1, 1919, approximate 190,000. 'No orders were placed after N^ovember 11, 1918, and all orders that could be terminated were canceled shortly after the signing of the armistice. Of the total number ordered approximately 117,000 were completed. The production of spare parts kept pace with the production of vehicles. The total of spare parts ordered was equivalent to about sixty per cent, of the entire number of completed vehicles delivered. For the purchase and supply of harness the same method was followed as for vehicles, except that no national association of harness makers assisted in dis- tributing the work. However, the leather committee of the Council of ITational Defense gave much valuable assistance in numerous instances by recommending methods of inspection, advising as to the prices that should be paid for leather and for harness, and in securing reliable men for duty in inspecting harness. REMOUNT DIVISION 253 The harness manufacturing business was hampered by labor troubles due to the fact that the original contracts did not contain the eight-hour clause. When it became necessary to add a supplementary clause to each contract providing for an eight-hour day and time and a half for overtime, there had to be an adjustment of prices, and several firms surrendered their contracts. At the outbreak of the war the leather business, like all other industries, found itself on a high level of prices, due to the very large amount of leather and equipment which America had been called upon to furnish the European nations already at war. Hence, .the first difficulty was to establish prices. In May, 1917, the chairman of the leather equipment committee of the Council of National Defense called together the tanners and agreed with them upon the prices for all grades of equipment leather which the Government ex- pected to buy. The packers were next called together and maximum prices on hides suitable for Army leather were agreed upon and option taken on 750,000 hides then in their hands. Generally speaking, no action was taken in regard to the hide or leather business without calling together the branch of the trade that was interested and coming to an agreement with them on the quality and price. This procedure was followed during the entire war. On the establishment of the War Industries Board and the price fixing committee, prices were regularly fixed after the examination of the books and accounts of 254 THE QUAETERMASTEK CORPS tanners and harness manufacturers by the Federal Trade Commission. The prices of leather were thus established very successfully for harness leather which was then fixed at sixty-six cents, was advanced only four cents per pound during the eighteen months that we were at war, and russet leather fixed at $1.03 never advanced above $1.07 during the same period. The system of open market purchase of public ani- mals pre\4ously adverted to required a large number of experienced officers to be placed in charge of the Remount Purchasing Zones. A request was made to the War Department for the detail of fifty of the best known horsemen of the Regular Army for this par- ticular duty, but only sixteen could be spared, and these sixteen officers were permitted to serve on this duty for only about forty-five days when their services were required elsewhere. While these officers were on this duty, thirty-two Reserve Corps Officers who had already been commissioned in the Quartermaster Re- serve Corps were ordered to the different purchasing of- fices and placed under the instruction of the Regular Army Officers for a short period of time to study the type of animal required for military use and army methods generally. However, only a relatively small number of these officers proved to be entirely qualified to buy horses and mules. Thereupon, the Secretary of War, on June 27, 1917, authorized the appointment from civil life of fifty of the most distinguished horsemen and gentlemen riders EEMOUN'T DIVISION" 255 in the country, as Captains in the Quartermaster Re- serve corps for duty in connection with the inspection and purchase of public animals. That these officers performed the duties imposed upon them in a remark- ably efficient manner, considering their entire lack of military experience and army methods generally, is shown by the large number of excellent animals which were purchased by them as heads of purchasing boards, and by the fact that when purchasing ceased, many of these officers were very successful as Commanding Of- ficers of Auxiliary Remount Depots. Experience on the Mexican Border and in the Southern Department in 1916 demonstrated the neces- sity for conditioning animals after purchase, before issue to troops. It was estimated that over ninety per cent, of all animals purchased contracted shipping fever and influenza at the stock yards and at stock pens where they were unloaded for feeding and watering, when be- ing shipped from point of purchase to destination. When shipped direct to organizations, a considerable number died from influenza or other diseases such as pneumonia and purpura, resulting from the attack of influenza. To provide, therefore, a flexible organization for sup- plying serviceable horses and mules for the army; to properly care for and condition animals prior to their issue to troops and to receive animals purchased and shipped by purchasing boards, it became necessary to organize and establish an Auxiliary Remount Depot at each division camp and cantonment of the National 256 THE QTJAETEEMASTER CORPS Guard and ISTational Army of the United States, as well as an Animal Embarkation Depot at ISTewport News, Va., and one at Charleston, South Carolina. These were to be used as Ports of Embarkation from which animals could be shipped overseas, and Field Remount Squadrons for duty on the lines of communication and in the theaters of operations. Authority for and the establishment and organization of auxiliary remount depots having a capacity of 5,000 animals, was granted by the Secretary of War May 26, 1917, the authority being published in the Army in General Orders IN^o. 105, War Department, AugTist 13, 1917. These instructions were subsequently rescinded and General Ordei*s l^o. 131, War Department, Oc- tober 5, 1917, were substituted. Section 2 of this order established the Remount Service as a separate National Army Organization, provided for the organization of thirty-three auxiliary remount depots and an animal embarkation depot, and the necessary field remount depots, later called field remount squadrons, for duty on the lines of communication and in the theaters of operations. The location of the various Auxiliary Re- mount and Animal Embarkation Depots were as follows : Camp Beauregard, Alexan- Camp Devens, Ayer, Mass. dria, La. Camp Dix, Wrightstown, Camp Bowie, Fort Worth, N.J. Texas. Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Camp Cody, Deming, N. Mex. Iowa. Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Mich. Okla. EEMOUKT DIVISION" 257 Camp Fremont, Palo Alto, Calif. Camp Funston, Kansas. Camp Gordon, Atlanta, Ga. Camp Grant, Rockford, 111. Camp Green, Charlotte, N. C. Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga. Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C. Camp Johnston, Jacksonville, Fla. Camp Kearney, Linda Vista, Calif. Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va. Camp Lewis, American Lake, Washing:ton. Camp Logan, Houston, Texas. Camp MacArthur, Waco, Texas. Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala. Camp Meade, Admiral, Md. Camp Pike, Little Rock, Ark. Camp Sevier, Gi-eenville, S. C. Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Miss. Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Ala. Camp Sherman, Chillieothe, Ohio. Camp Taylor, Louisville, Ky. Camp Tra\ds, Ft. Sam Hous- ton, Texas. Camp Upton, Yaphank, L. I., N. Y. Camp Wadsworth, Spartan- burg, S. C. Camp Wheeler, Centaur, Ga. Newport News, Va. Charleston, S. C. Regulations governing the organization, administra- tion and equipment of auxiliary remount and animal embarkation depots and field remount depots were pub- lished for the information of all concerned, in Special Regulations No. 66, War Department, 1917. The auxiliary remount depots and animal embarka- tion depots in the United States were placed under the authority of the Quartermaster General in all matters pertaining to their operation, with the exception that the Commanding General of each Camp, Cantonment, or Port of Embarkation exercised the same authority that a department commander exercises under Army Regulations over the posts in his department in matters pertaining to sanitation, discipline and general court- martial jurisdiction. 258 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS There were established at each auxiliary remount de- pot and animal embarkation depot schools for horse- shoers, teamsters, packers, saddlers, and stable ser- geants. These schools were under the jurisdiction of the Commanding Officer and the course of instruction for horseshoers covered a period of four months and for packers and teamsters a period of two months. The enlisted students for these schools were detailed from the line or Quartermaster Corps, and upon graduation were furnished certificates of proficiencj for that par- ticular course of instruction. As the war progressed, the commissioned, enlisted and civilian personnel of the Remount Division and the Remount Service, increased rapidly until at the time of the signing of the armistice, there were on duty in the Remount Division, seven officers, and thirty-eight civilian clerks, and in the Remount Service at large in the United States, approximately 400 officers and 19,000 enlisted men. All domestic shipments of animals were made in strict compliance with the twenty-eight hour release for feed and water as required by law, and arrange- ments made with the Bureau of Animal Industry to place representatives at various feed and rest stations throughout the country to inspect and place all stock pens and yards where public animals would be fed and watered in a sanitary condition. There was a total of 300,802 animals purchased in the United States from the beginning of the War; all of which had to be transported from point of purchase, KEMOUNT DIVISION 259 to a Remount Depot, and in most instances again shipped to ports of embarkation or to a Remount Depot near the Athmtic Coast so that they could be readily available for shipment overseas when called for. In many cases these animals were shipped over very long distances, i. e., 2,073 miles Camp Lewis to Camp Dodge 1,940 miles Camp Kearny to Camp Pike 1,918 miles Camp Fremont to Camp Funston Out of all shipments made in the United States, there was a total loss of horses and mules from all causes including wrecks and natural death of approximately 425 animals, or .0014 per cent, of the total number of animals shipped. This percentage would be still fur- ther reduced if it is considered that all animals were reshipped at least once. TRAINING ACTIVITIES Commissioned Personnel As the war progressed it became increasingly difficult for the Remount Service to meet the demands made upon it for officers, due to the establishment of the Auxiliary Remount Depots and the Animal Embarka- tion Depots intended for the care and conditioning of public animals prior to their issue to troops or ship- ment overseas, each of which required five officers, and due also to the organization of a number of overseas 260 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS units. The available supply of expert horsemen of the country who had volunteered their services soon became exhausted and the demands of the other Bureaus of the War Department and arms of service rendered it more difficult to obtain suitable officers who might be willing to transfer to the Remount Service. Of course, by far the greatest number of officers of that service was obtained from the trained non-commissioned officers serving at our Remount Depots, so that when the armistice was proclaimed, between three and four hundred non-commissioned officers had been commis- sioned and were then serving either at the Auxiliary Remount Depots, and the Animal Embarkation De- pots, or were on duty with overseas unit of the Remount Service in training in the United States or already in France. It soon became apparent, however, that if the Re- mount Service should be able to function properly and to fill with reasonable promptness the numerous de- mands made upon it for Commissioned Personnel, some effective steps must be taken without delay to obtain such personnel from the country at large. To that end, special authority was obtained from the Secretary of War to organize Remount Service Officers Training Camps. Under this special authority, suitable candi- dates above the current draft ages, or men of draft ages who were disqualified for service with a combatant arm due to physical inability, were selected for a three months' course of training. They were actually enlisted for the period of training only, and were then com- EEMOUI^T DIVISION" 261 missioned if tliej passed through the Training Camp satisfactorily, or, if they failed to pass through satis- factorily, were discharged. Three such Training Camps were held during the War, The first camp at the Aux- iliary Remount Depot, Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida, beginning May 10, 1918, gradu- ated forty-two men. The second Camp at the same Depot beginning September 2, 1918, graduated seventy- three men. Another Training Camp was also held at the Auxiliary Eemount Depot, Camp Shelby, Hatties- burg, Mississippi, graduating thirty-two men. OVERSEAS UNITS The mobilization camp for the organization and training of the Field Remount Squadrons for overseas service was established at Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Florida, where the original intention was to organize these units in connection with the organization of all other miscellaneous Quartermaster Corps Organiza- tions at that Camp. The units to be organized and sent overseas were first desig-nated as Field Remount Depots, which were or- ganized under the Tables of Organization for such a unit, as prescribed in Special Regulations No. 66, which also provided for the organization of Auxiliary Remount Depots and Animal Embarkation Depots in the United States. It was found, however, that on account of the difference in the requirements of Remoiuit Depots in France, that the organization, as contemplated, was not 262 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS sufficiently flexible. Accordingly, a smaller unit desig- nated as the Field Remount Squadron, consisting of six officers and 157 enlisted men, was authorized so that there could be assembled at any depot as many units as were necessary, according to the number of animals to be cared for, on a basis of one Field Remount Squadron for every replacement of 400 animals. The complete personnel of one Field Remount Squad- ron consisted of four Quartermaster Corps Officers, one Medical Officer, one Veterinary Officer, 150 Quarter- master Corps, four Medical Corps, and three Veterinary Corps enlisted men. Each squadron was completely equipped according to Table of Fundamental Allow- ances, and additional equipment specially authorized to provide for an independent mobile mounted remount unit. The first four Remount Units organized at Camp Joseph E. Johnston were desigTiated as Field Remount Depots, I^os. 301, to 304 inclusive, and were organized under Tables of Organization, provided for such a unit. These were later changed to Field Remount Squadrons Nos. 301 to 304 inclusive, and were kept in training for a period of three months before being sent overseas. In order to shorten the necessary period of training and to provide a nucleus of trained men, the Remount Division directed the transfer of privates with quali- fications for non-commissioned officers, from the various Auxiliary Remount Depots to Camp Joseph E. John- ston, for subsequent assignment to Field Remount Squadrons. These men were given a special course of EEMOUITT DIVISION 263 instruction for non-commissioned officers under experi- enced officers, and rapidly developed into excellent non- commissioned officers. Such as were found not qualified to perform these duties were eliminated. In the beginning, officers were assigned to Field Re- mount Squadrons from the Office of the Division in Washington, but as more officers became available, they were ordered to Auxiliary Remount Depot No. 333, Camp Joseph E, Johnston, for assignment to squad- rons by the Commanding Officer of the camp. These officers were also given a course of instruction under an experienced officer and were selected for assignment to squadrons as these were organized, in accordance with their progress and experience. Each squadron was thus provided with a well-balanced, properly instructed commissioned personnel. This method of assignment and selection of officers and non-commissioned officers for squadrons was highly satisfactory. In case officers did not develop sufficiently to perform the duties which were to be required of them, orders for their transfer were requested and they were assigned duties which they were capable of per- forming. Fortunately, and to the credit of the Re- mount Service, such action was necessary in but few instances. The more backward and inexperienced of- ficers, however, were held for a longer period of in- struction, and the policy of selecting first, for squadrons to be sent overseas, officers most qualified, acted as a great stimulus in their training. The men received on requisition from the draft, and 264 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS by transfer from Auxiliary Remount Depots, were, on the whole, of a very desirable type ; many of them com- ing from agricultural sections and from the western States where they had been accustomed to handling stock. During the training period the organization, training, and equipping of squadrons and other overseas units was under the direct supervision of a specially selected officer, and the general policy was to place every re- sponsibility on the squadron commander for everything pertaining to his organization, at the same time afford- ing him all necessary instruction and assistance. This resulted in developing the independence of each or- ganization and the ability to meet all demands under all conditions. In connection with the training of the squadrons in general, special provision was also made for the train- ing of the enlisted specialists necessary for each unit. Horseshoers' classes were maintained from unassigned privates carried as a Casual Detachment pertaining to Auxiliary Remount Depot No. 333, Camp Joseph E. Johnston. Upon completion of their special training they were assigned as squadron horseshoers. An in- structor from the school of bakers and cooks at the main camp was detailed for duty with the Remount Squadrons. He instructed cooks and mess sergeants in their duties and had general supervision over aH the messes, under the officer in charge of the Field Re- mount Squadrons. Saddlers were given instructiona EEMOUNT DIVISION 265 prior to the establishment of the Saddlers' School, farriers were trained under the supervision of Veter- inary OfBcers at the Veterinary Hospital, and teamsters were given instructions at the Teamsters' School. A special class for squadron clerks was instituted and all officers and specially selected non-commissioned officers attended conferences every evening. Troops were in- structed in everything applicable to their duties and in drill and other subjects, in order to attain discipline and maintain a standard equal to that of a line or- ganization. BREEDING After the war started in 1914, large numbers of animals were purchased in this country and shipped to Europe for war purposes. When the United States en- tered the war, and proceeded to purchase animals for war work, it very soon became evident to the purchasing officers that animals suited for cavalry and riding pur- poses were none too plentiful and also that animals suitable for draft purposes could be obtained with little difficulty in sufficient numbers. As time went on, it was noticed that the officers pur- chased fewer good type cavalry horses and accepted many narrow-chested, weak-loined, light-boned animals that showed very little quality and lacked the essential breeding and conformation so important in the cavalry horse. These conditions not only demonstrated the fact that suitable cavalry horses were scarce throughout 266 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS the country, but that future requirements could not be met unless prompt and efficient measures were adopted to encourage the breeding of the riding horse. In cer- tain sections of the country where racing, hunting, and horse shows were kept up a better type of riding horse was found. The Bureau of Animal Industry had encouraged the breeding of good riding horses by placing approved stal- lions at various parts of the country for the use of breeders, but this work had been conducted on such a small scale that only about 700 colts, the offspring of sires placed by the Bureau of Animal Industry, were offered for sale to the Government that year. After consultation with the representative of the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Remount Division obtained au- thority to establish at Fort Reno, Fort Keogh and Front Royal small breeding organizations where a few mares could be kept for breeding purposes with the object of producing a suitable type of cavalry horse. Authority was also obtained to accept such stallions as might be presented to the Government and to purchase others. The prime object of the War Department and the Bureau of Animal Industry in this work was to pro- duce the type of animal desired for cavalry work and to encourage and assist the farmer and breeder in pro- ducing this type in sufficient numbers to supply the needs of the Government. The following table shows the list of the principal vehicles and harness items contracted for, total deliv- eries made, unit money value of each, and the total EEMOUNT DIVISIOIT 267 money value of the items contracted for June 30, 1917, to June 30, 1918: Unit Number money Total contracted Number value value Items for delivered of each of contracts Combat wagons 15,500 7,000 $525.00 $8,137,500 Escort wagons 91,728 30,000 210.00 19,262,880 Water carts 13,500 13,000 275.00 3,712,500 Ration carts 12,000 7,000 125.00 1,500,000 Medical carts 2.500 2,500 150.00 375,000 Ambulances 3,500 3,500 350.00 1,225,000 Aparejos 40,250 3,000 80.00 3.220,000 Halters 1,500,000 1,300,000 3.00 4,500,000 The purchases are given to include June 30, 1918, for the reason that the contracts for same were made in 1917 as above stated. PURCHASE OF HORSES AND MULES Average Price Paid in the United States and France HOUSES MULES Pack Light Heavy and Cavalry Artillery Artillery Young Wheel Riding Lead In United States.. $161.71 $188.21 $221.9.5 $142.59 $228.86 $184.24 $189.38 In France 267.54 295.71 377.38 309.33 254.35 308.33 In United States and France 178.23 207.07 339.48 230.15 207.00 189.38 The number of animals purchased is given in the accompanying table, to include June 30, 1918, as in order to secure transportation to carry the troops to France in the spring of 1918, the shipment of animals was discontinued in March, 1918, and orders to dis- continue purchases then given. 268 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS o Oi H CD (M +i • «M * 03 • ^1 • p ^ -^-^.9 05 f^§^ oo" ^ Ph CO T} T-l OS os^ 0) oT f-^ o ^ 00 O CO g OS OS o w Is l-H T(< o" 03 pr Ah O 03 a be PO CO co" Sp • o ID cS >H Ah KEMOUNT DIVISION 269 Losses from April 6, 1917, to June 30, 1918 HORSES MULES Light Heavy Cavalry Artillery Wheel Lead Pack Total Condemned and sold 4,991 1,232 243 516 297 322 7,601 Destroyed 1,090 1,256 50 374 303 67 3,140 Died 4,795 10,919 908 1,342 1,156 188 19,308 Other causes ... . 189 211 ... 96 115 16 627 Lost in France 4,625 349 ... 4,974 Criticism has been made of the purchase of 1,300,000 halters for a total of about 270,000 animals. It must be remembered that the character of the war in France developed along such lines that cavalry was not used to the extent anticipated when the original plans were made, nor was it anticipated that the shipment of ani- mals abroad would be entirely discontinued, or that war could possibly be terminated by November 11, 1918. In October, 1917, it was ascertained that the prices paid for animals of the same type by the allies and ourselves were different. A conference was called in the Office of the Quartermaster General and was at- tended by the following : representing the British Army, General Gunning, Chief of Eemounts, Colonel Bate and Captain Brydges ; of the French Army, Colonel Couste and Captain Reinach-Werth ; the Italian Army, Colonel Hinoldi; Messrs. Gifford and Preston Davis of the Council of National Defense; Colonel John S. Fair, Chief of the Remount Division, Lieutenant Colonel R. H. Williams, Jr., and Major Hayden Channing of our Remount Service. 270 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS As a result of this meeting Colonel Bate, of the British Army, and Captain Reinach-Werth of the French Army, were attached to the Chief of Remounts as liaison officers. Both these officers were of great as- sistance as they had had considerable experience. Colonel John S. Fair organized the Remount Di- vision and the Remount Service and deserves credit for the excellent results obtained and the efficient or- ganization created. He was ably assisted by Colonel Matt C. Bristol, Lieutenant Colonel R. H. Williams, Jr., Major Hayden Channing and to Majors W. W. West and A. A. Cederwald, Colonels Winterbum, Val- entine and Munro had charge of the western purchasing zones, and handled the work there in an able and effi- cient manner. Great credit is due to the work per- formed at the school for the squadrons organized at Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida, for the reports of the organizations sent to France from that school were most favorable. It is regretted that records are not available to cite the work done by the other members of the Remount Service. The excellence of the work done by that Service was recognized, and the members of it have reason to feel a commendable pride in the accomplish- ments to which they so materially contributed. VII WAEEHOUSING DIVISION Duties assigned to Warehousing Division — Two classes of Quarter- master Depots — Storage Depot at Boston — Functions of the six branches of Warehousing Division, One of the duties imposed by law upon the Quar- termaster Corps was that of constructing or renting such buildings as were required for the Army. Early in the war the legislation then enacted allowed other Sup- ply Departments to undertake construction or to lease such buildings as they required. Several of them estab- lished a constructing force in their own departments, and thus provided for their own requirements either by new construction or by leases. So that, at the beginning of the war the policy of centralization which had previously been established for many years, as far as relates to construction was changed, and a policy of decentralization adopted in- stead. It is a fact that the Ordnance Department was allowed by law to undertake such construction as was authorized from time to time at the arsenals. But the general policy as regards construction had been that of centralizing such work in the Quartermaster Corps. The General Depots of the Quartermaster Corps were located at various places throughout the country, and 271 272 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS at the beginning of the war the officers in command of these Depots were authorized to provide such additional storage space as would be needed at their depots, either bj having temporary structures erected or by leasing any available buildings. In some instances, it was necessary to lease buildings when the cost of construc- tion exceeded the amount which the law placed as a limit. On August 15, 1917, by Office Order No. 76, a Stor- age Branch was created in the Supplies Division of the Office of the Quartermaster General. As the necessity arose of more fully coordinating the work of the depots and to exercise a greater supervision over them, by Office Order ISTo. 116, dated October 16, 1917, the Warehousing Division was created, and the Storage Branch of the Supplies Division and also the Cable Service and Overseas Shipment Branch of the Administration Division were merged into it. By Office Order l>lo. 116, of I^ovember 8, 1917, the duties assigned to the Warehousing Division were defined, as follows : "1. To ascertain the storage needs of the Quarter- master Corps, and in cooperation with Depot Quarter- masters, to provide and administer all storage and ware- housing facilities and operations incident thereto. "2. To standardize and supervise the physical lay- out and administrative organization of depots and to coordinate the services of the several depots. ''3. To maintain a statistics branch which shall re- ceive, calculate and chart in accordance with scientific statistical methods, all significant data pertaining to WAKEHOUSING DIVISIOE" 2Y3 amount of supplies needed, contracted for, in process of delivery, on hand, issued, etc. "4. To handle all cablegrams and requisitions re- ceived from the Commanding General, Expeditionary Forces in Europe." In order to accomplish the above designated func- tions, it was enjoined that: The Warehousing Division will have authority in matters pertaining to the location, design and equipment of depots, the apportionment and distribution of sup- plies prior to their delivery to depots. The Warehousing Division shall imake a careful study of warehousing methods and organization, and of existing practices of Quartermaster Depots, with a .view to a coordination and improvement of such depots, and shall install such statistical methods and devices as may be deemed necessary. The Warehousing Division will prepare statements of amounts of supplies needed, giving the rate at which delivery should be required. It will maintain a statis- tical branch which shall obtain all data regarding the quantity of supplies ordered, delivered, issued and re- maining on hand. All statistical data pertaining to the above now being kept in other branches or divisions of this office will be transferred to the Warehousing Division together with the personnel used exclusively for tabulating such data, time for this transfer to be arranged between divisions concerned. The Warehousing Division will furnish such ex- 274 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS tracts of data compiled as may be required by other divisions and branches of this office. At the beginning of the war there were two classes of Quartermaster Depots: 1. The General Depots of the Corps, as those at N^ew York, Philadelphia, etc. Such Depots carried a certain quantity of supplies, and received and shipped these to the various posts. The personnel was well trained in the work, and was fairly adequate to insure efficiency and dispatch in executing the work at the Depots. In the preceding month of March at the re- quest of the Quartermaster General and with the ap- proval of the Secretary of War, certain expert and ex- perienced business men had been designated by the President of the ISTational Chamber of Commerce, and the officials of the New York Merchants' Association, as members of a Committee to act in an advisory ca- pacity to the Depot Quartermasters. Mr. E. D. Page was chairman of the Advisory Committee for the New York Depot. This Committee, on its own initiative and expense engaged the services of an expert business engineer and accountant to examine the methods of organization and administration of the Depot, the forms in use for transacting the business, and the gen- eral arrangement of the Depot to insure the efficient handling and prompt dispatch of the supplies. The expert's report approved of the organization and methods of administration. Five years previously a firm of business engineers and accountants had for nearly one year been engaged to study the methods of WAREHOUSING DIVISION 275 tiie Quartermaster Corps and suggest plans for im- provements. It may be stated that the other General Depots of the Quartermaster Corps were organized and administered in the same manner as the New York Depot. Boards of Officers and Committees of Experts on the business methods of the War Department had recom- mended and the instructions of Secretaries of War in the past had directed a reduction in the number of blank forms, so it was not possible to have the forms used at Depots printed and supplied by the War Department. Each Depot had authority to have the necessary forms printed. The forms used at each Depot were com- pared and effort made to standardize them as much as the local conditions made possible. For instance, a form used at the New York Depot which pertained to clothing made under contract was not suitable for use at the Jeffersonville Depot where the clothing was made by sewing women. The regulations prescribing the organization, and methods of administration of Depots are contained in the Quartermaster's Corps Manual. This is a compila- tion in two volumes, of the combined knowledge and ex- perience of all the officers and men of the Army, who for nearly 150 years have contributed to and participated in the work of the Corps. It was prepared by a Board of Officers composed of Colonel Frank L. Armstrong, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas L. Smith and Major Ezra Davis; recognized by all who were brought in contact with them as eminently qualified and thoroughly com- 276 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS petent to perforin the work. Several of tlie civilians who contributed so ablj to assist in carrying on the work of the war, have handsomely expressed their ap- preciation of the assistance received by them from the individual members of that Board, stating that with-^ out that assistance they, those civilians, would probably not have been able to carry through the work. That Board also prepared a Table of Allowances foi; the Army, which Table it is very doubtful that any one, or all, of the experts called into the service could have prepared, as they were lacking the background and the experience necessary in its preparation. These state- ments are made merely to indicate that the criticism made that there were no regulations prescribing the methods of administration of the Depots or stating that nothing had been prepared in the army showing the re- quirements was not justified by the facts, and did not indicate a familiarity with those two publications. The civilian who advised officers of the Quartermaster Corps to throw away their copies of the Quartermaster Corps Manual undoubtedly was aware of its existence, but surely was not familiar with its contents. A statement had been made that freight cars were being held to store army supplies, and at once an in- vestigation was made to ascertain if this referred to Quartermaster Corps property. The investigation re- vealed the fact that the cars containing such property were promptly unloaded upon receipt. In one case about thirty-three cars were held for three or four days, over Sunday, by the Depot Quartermaster at ISTew York. WAKEHOUSII^G DIVISION^ 277 That was the only instance, and while, because of the urgency of other work, there might have been some jus- tification, instructions were given to prevent a recur- rence of such delay in the future. It must be noted that other Supply Departments as well as the Shipping Board were making shipments by freight and express, and also that the Embarkation Service controlled all shipments of troops and supplies moving to the Ports of Embarkation, and that the Quartermaster Corps had no control over the shipments or arrangements concern- ing storage for them, as a policy of decentralization in such matters had been adopted and its results were being demonstrated. 2. The other type of Quarteimaster Depot was really only a purchasing station. At the beginning of the War the Depot in Boston was of such character. That Depot simply executed the contracts made by the Philadelphia Depot for such supplies as any contractor in the vicinity of Boston specified in his proposal for delivery in that city. There was practically no stor- age space at that Depot and no supplies were carried on hand. There were rooms available in which the sup- plies were received and after inspection these supplies would be at once shipped to a Storage Depot, such as New York or Philadelphia. There was quite a large force of clerks and inspectors assigned to the Boston Depot, and as at times contractors frequently elected to make deliveries under their contracts at the Philadel- phia Depot, where there was an adequate force of inspectors to handle the ordinary amount of work at 278 THE QUARTEEMASTEK CORPS that depot, it often resulted that there was not sufficient work at the Boston Depot to justify the retention of the men. Consequently, as a matter of expense, the In- spectors General had for four or five years prior to 1917 recommended the abolishment of that depot. The men would be given the alternative of accepting a leave of absence without pay, or taking a temporary transfer to a Depot where their services were needed. These facts are recited to make clear the conditions which existed at such stations as Boston, Portland, Ore- gon, Kansas City, Mo., and others. Almost over night the necessity arose of making the Boston Depot a large storage depot. The Commanding Officer was authorized to lease all the storage space re- quired, and to employ the necessary clerical force and others needed to handle the depot. No competent chief clerk or storekeeper or others familiar with Depot work in the Civil Service force of the Corps were available at that time. The Depot Quartermaster did the best possible under the circumstances and the conditions then existing, and secured such storage space as was avail- able, which of course was in separate buildings necessi- tating double handling of the supplies and a large num- ber of men. The urgency was great as Boston was to be the sup- ply depot for Camp Devens, and it was necessary to get the supplies and have them ready for prompt ship- ment to the camp as soon as the building there could be constructed to accommodate them, and as stated it is WAREHOUSING DIVISION" 279 thought that the Depot Quartermaster acted wisely and did the best possible under the circumstances. Later it was ascertained that the Ford Motor Com- pany Assembling Plant at Cambridge would for the time being afford a possible solution of the problem. The Quartermaster General about August 1st, wired Mr. Henry Ford at Detroit, Michigan, stating the con- ditions and asking if consent to the Government's oc- cupancy of the Plant by August 15th, would be given. A reply was received almost at once acceding to the re- quest and handsomely turning over the property to the Quartermaster Corps by AugTist 15th on such terms for its occupancy as the Government itself would make. This splendid offer was taken advantage of at the earliest possible date. Some time antedating the occupancy of the Ford Plant, at the direction of the Depot Committee of the Council of National Defense an Expert was sent to inspect the Depot at Boston. The report submitted showed that the depot was scattered in separate build- ings, that there was not an adequate trained force of skilled storage men, that the proper blank forms for transacting the business were not used, that the un- loading and piling of the stores were done by hand with only such accessories as a few hand trucks, that there were no mechanical conveyors, piling machines or elec- tric trucks on hand. The time of the Officers in the OSice of the Quarter- master General, as well as that of the Depot Quarter- master had to be devoted to giving consideration to that 280 THE QUARTEEMASTEK CORPS report and making explanations of the conditions and the circumstances surrounding the particular ease, which could have been ascertained by a proper investiga- tion on the ground. This time was most vital and important at that instant. It would be brutal and inhuman to criticize a man, who was known to be both totally blind and deaf for falling into a depression, when passing along an unfa- miliar road ; but, if it were known that a man possessing extraordinary powers of sight and hearing should in the clearest daylight deliberately walk into a depression even on an unfamiliar road, one might be surprised, even if not prone to be critical. Realizing the conditions before related, and being most anxious to secure every possible assistance for the Corps, in the solution of the many and great problems which were presented to it, and also to secure assistance for the chief of the Warehousing Division in carrying out the work assigned to him, the Quartermaster Gen- eral consulted the Chairman of the Depot Committee requesting the suggestion of some one who would be of assistance. Upon the suggestion of the Chairman a telegram was sent on October 19, 1917, to Mr. H. B. Thayer, then President of the Western Electric Com- pany, now the President of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, by the Quartermaster General as follows : "Can you send a man to "Washington, Monday or Tuesday of next week to help design and install record and stockkeep- ing system for Quartermaster Corps?" WAREHOUSING DIVISION" 281 In response to foregoing telegram Mr. Thayer, Presi- dent of the Western Electric Company, sent Mr. O. D. Street, General Manager of Distribution, to Washing- ton on October 22nd. During the interview the Quartermaster General requested Mr. Street to remain in Washington to as- sist Major A. E. Williams in organizing the Ware- housing Division. The request was referred to Mr. Thayer who replied that the Western Electric Com- pany would be glad to lend Mr. Street's services to the Government, and also the services of several experts who were Mr. Street's assistants. Inquiry was made concerning the reason for assign- ing the Requirements and Statistical branches to the Warehousing Division, and it was explained that while the Requirements branch was in existence it was thought, to need proper development, and that the Sta- tistical Branch was a new suggestion. It was thought, however, that Mr. Street's experience would materially assist in its proper organization and development. The subjects of statistics and graphical charts were entirely new to the War Department. Effort had been made back in 1892 to induce the War Department to recog-nize the importance of the study of statistics and the development of graphical charts. A supply map of the State of Oregon had been prepared in a crude form and forwarded as an illustration of the suggestion made. In 1893 the publication of a small book again sought to direct attention to this important matter, and again in 1905 another book referred to the matter and 282 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS pointed out the valuable works published by Levasseur, Cheysson, Bertillon and other eminent writers in France. Our Army, however, had not taken up the subjects and it was realized that at that time it was possible to secure adequate funds for so necessary work, and as in Commercial business such methods had been in use for some years, it was thought that a man of Mr. Street's experience would enable the work to be successfully undertaken. The plan finally adopted was to establish six branches in the Warehousing Division as follows: 1. Requirements Branch 2. Factory Scheduling Branch 3. Statistical Branch 4. Overseas Service Branch 5. Depot Supervision Branch 6. Administrative Branch The functions assigned to each of the branches were as follows : Function of Requirements Branch: To determine requirements of Quartermasters supples adequate to supply the needs of an army of predetermined size ; and determine the monthly rate at which these supplies will be needed. To keep up to date the Quartermasters' Manual. To compute, classify and tabulate all data having to do with tonnage, weight and cubical contents of Quar- termasters' supplies which the other branches may from time to time require. WAREHOUSING DIVISION 283 To equate specific requirements as may be requested by other branches. Function of Factory Scheduling Branch: To dis- tribute the supplies as turned out by the factories which are working on Government contracts based on knowl- edge as to where and when they are needed. Function of Statistical Branch: To maintain card records of all contracts placed, and record thereon de- liveries made under each contract. To prepare charts showing graphically the status of contracts. To maintain card records of stocks on hand at each depot. Function of Overseas Service Branch: To see that all orders placed by oversea forces are shipped promptly and completely. To maintain the records incident to these orders. To handle all inquiries relative to these orders. Function of Depot Supervision Branch: To pro- vide sufiicient and proper storage facilities at interior depots, at the oversea depots and at points of manu- facture. To determine the proper and most efiicient form of organization for each depot. To prescribe what forms shall be used and what meth- ods of procedure shall be followed. To see that these forms and methods are standardized and used at each depot. To determine the manner in which the merchandise at the depots shall be stored and handled to the end that 284 THE QUAKTEKMASTEK COEPS this work may be done in an orderly and efficient man- ner. To see that the depots are properly safeguarded against loss or damage by fire, loss by theft, or destruc- tion by acts of the enemy. Function of Administrative Branch: To supervise the employment of help. To have supervision of the files. To have supervision of the Mailing Department. To prepare and standardize all printed forms and routines. To prepare and issue for the Commanding Officer all Divisional instructions. To have supervision of the central stenographic and typing division. To maintain stocks of stationery and office equipment. To have supervision of all messengers. To determine the allotment of office space. To supervise all office layouts. To have supervision of the building — the care and upkeep thereof. The organization above outlined v^^as submitted to the Secretary of War and received his approval, and as it v^^as demonstrated to be impossible, because of the urgency of having the Division in effective operation, to find sufficient number of civilians with proper ex- perience beyond the draft age, permission was given to commission men of the draft age who had the neces- sary experience. For the purpose of standardizing warehouse meth- WAEEHOUSmG DIVISION" 285 ods and practices at all depots inspections were made of the several depots. As a result of these inspections a complete set of warehouse and office forms was pre- pared, also a set of Stores Instructions giving informa- tion as to the method of preparing each form, when and by whom. Stock maintenance cards were designed and routines covering the operation thereof prepared. Complete sets of receiving and shipping forms were also prepared, together with routines affecting them. Instnictions were prepared showing in detail the method of han- dling questions of sei*vice, assembling, packing and marking same, handling of shipping papers, the prop- erty accounts, etc. These forms were later adopted as standards for all Supply Departments of the Army, when, after the pas- sage of the Overman law in the spring of 1918, the warehousing functions of all the Supply Departments were placed under one control, that of the Director of Purchasing, Storage and Traffic. The Cablegram and Overseas Shipments Branch or- ganized in the Office continued throughout to function in the manner originally prescribed. The following is a detail of its organization and methods of procedure : A Branch in the office of the Quartermaster General of the Army known as the Cable Service & Overseas Shipments Branch was organized shortly after the United States entered the world war. This Branch was charged with the handling of all cable services of the Quartermaster Corps with the American Expedi- 286 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS tionary Forces in France and with the supervision of the shipment of all Quartei-masters' supplies to the troops in France. M. S. Keene, then Captain, Quar- termaster Corps, was ordered to Washington for duty in the office of the Quartermaster General and assigned to this Branch. At that time little or no thought or attention had heen given to these matters and the office force consisted of two clerks. This force was increased in the course of two months to some fifty officers and seventy-five clerks. In the handling of the cablegram service the system inaugurated in this Branch for service in the Quarter- master General's office was later standardized for all the bureaus of the War Department. Cablegrams were received decoded, and such parts thereof with which the various divisions of the Quartermaster General's office were concerned were referred to those interested therein. A follow-up on all cablegrams received and all those sent to France was maintained and no draft of a reply to the forces in France was authorized to be released until it had been viseed in this Branch to insure that all the requirements in the original cablegram had been ful- filled. In connection with this cable service, the Com- manding General of the American Expeditionary Forces instead of frequently cabling for supplies, sent by cable during the war to the Quartermaster General's office many automatic requisitions for various supplies which were based upon the number of troops in France, the number scheduled to proceed thereto and the number that were actually en route. To determine definitely WABEHOUSIKG DIVISION 287 the actual quantity of supplies that should be ordered and shipped, it was necessary that a vei-y close liaison be maintained with the Division of the General Staff which was charged with troop movements. At first troop movement information was not pos- sible to be obtained, and no end of confusion resulted either in over or under shipments of supplies. Upon repeated complaints by the officer in charge of this Branch to the Adjutant General of the Army, necessary arrangements were finally made whereby this confi- dential information was made available to all of the Supply Departments. The Cable Service & Overseas Shipments Branch periodically informed the various Divisions in the office of the Quartermaster General of the Army relative to the time when supplies were re- quired on automatic requisitions referred to above and when the supplies should be released for shipment. This Branch did not attempt to actually order specific quantities of any commodity, but after orders had been placed for supplies for the American Expeditionary Forces, they were invariably checked and if the appro- priate quantity of supplies had not been ordered, neces- sary action would be taken looking toward effecting an increase. This service therefore provided a check and follow-up on all of the operating Divisions in the Quar- termaster General's office. No record of any character was maintained in con- nection with the first shipments of Quartermasters' sup- plies to France. Orders for supplies were placed and in view of the chaotic conditions no follow-up thereon 288 THE QUAETERMASTEE COEPS was maintained nor was the status thereof known until the receipt of a cable from France requesting informa- tion relative to the shipment of any specific commodity or commodities. Frequently the Quartermaster Gen- eral was called upon by the members of Congress, the Secretary of War and various members of the General Staff relative to the status of orders received for ship- ment to France. This information invariably would necessitate knowing not only the actual quantity of the various commodities on order, but the quantity that was actually on the rails en route to the ports of em- barkation for shipment, the quantity that might have been at seaports awaiting shipments and also the quan- tity that was on the high seas. When the first shipment of supplies went forward to France many complaints were received resulting there- from. For example, large shipments of escort wagons were forwarded to Newport JSTews, Virginia. In the loading of the ships the bodies of escort wagons which were knocked down would be loaded on one vessel and the wheels, axles and whipple^trees, etc., on another. The ships would leave the port with clearance papers for the same port in France and while under way one of the ships would be diverted to another port. This would result in the following conditions: The wagon bodies would reach one port and the other accessories necessary for the assembling of the wagons would ar- rive at another some four hundred or five hundred miles distant. This was a condition over which the office of the Quartermaster General had no control as the trans- WAEEHOUSING DIYISI0:N' 289 portation service at that time was not under his juris- diction. However, the condition was afterwards largely- rectified as a result of instructions issued from the Cable Service & Overseas Shipments Branch to the ef- fect that wagons complete must be loaded on the same ship. A system was inaugurated in this Branch which en- abled the Quartermaster General and his office to know at all times the status of any requisition for supplies and all shipments made thereunder. The system showed for any order the date of receipt thereof, when shipments were made, the quantity of the commodity that was shipped, the date of its arrival at the port, the total quantity at the port awaiting shipment, the quantity and date when loaded, and the name of ship upon which loaded and date of arrival in France. If, therefore, we had been unfortunate enough to lose any of our ships carrying troops and supplies to France, all of the Quar- termasters' supplies that were on any ship that was lost could thus have been immediately reordered, with no delay that would otherwise have been attendant. All shipments were traced and necessary action taken look- ing toward providing rolling stock, for the Companies making shipments, by this Branch. This Branch also prepared the first packing regula- tions that were issued to the army, and in addition thereto originated the baling of blankets, clothing, shoes and other similar commodities instead of shipping them in wooden or other containers, thereby greatly con- serving the limited amount of space available for the 290 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS shipment of Quartermasters' supplies. Periodically the cubical contents of supplies that were under orders for shipment to France were given to the General Staff so that an appropriate amount of space on the ships would be made available for the shipment of these sup- plies. This system as herein outlined was standardized for all the bureaus of the War Department. Captain R. H. Hess, Q. M. Reserve Corps, was as- signed to the charge of the Statistical Branch, which before January 1st numbered approximately fifty of- ficers and clerks. Early in November this Branch pre- pared the first graphic charts showing estimated re- quirements, the status of stocks on hand, unfilled con- tracts and the condition of unfilled orders. On the recommendation of Mr. Street the following were given commissions and assigned to duty: Major Frederick L. Devereux in charge of the Requirements Branch; Major J. R. Orton, assistant to Major Dever- eux; Major George F. Perkins, in charge of Adminis- trative Branch. Major Frederick B. Wells, formerly Vice President of Peavy and Company of Minneapolis, was assigned to the charge of the Depot Supervision Branch. By December 31, 191Y, the personnel of the Ware- housing Division had increased from approximately fif- teen to 350 commissioned officers and civilian em- ployees, both included. Major Frederick L. Devereux, was subsequently pro- moted to Lieutenant-Colonel and placed in charge of the WAEEHOUSING DIVISION 291 work of preparing the Requirements for the entire Army. Major Frederick B. Wells, was assigned as Chief of the Warehousing Division when Lieutenant Colonel A. E. Williams was ordered for duty in France. Later, after the passage of the Overman law when the con- solidation was affected, he was made a Colonel and as- signed to duty on the General Staff as Director of Stor- age, thus being in charge of all warehousing and storage problems for the army. The men recommended for commission by Mr. Street remained, almost without exception, in the service and performed efficient work during the war. The credit of securing an efficient and adequate personnel, of per- fecting the plan for a proper organization and an effi- cient administration, and outlining the basic principles to effect the same is due to Mr. O. D. Street, the Gen- eral Manager of Distribution of the Western Electric Company. Acknowledgments are due to the patriotic spirit shown by Mr. Theodore N. Vail, then President of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, and to Mr. H. B. Thayer, then President of the Western Electric Company, in placing the services of so many of tlie officials of their companies at the disposal of the Government, as without such action on their part the organization of the Warehousing Division might not have been possible, certainly not in the incredibly short space of time in which it was accomplished. VIII CONSTRUCTION DIVISION Fourteen training camps for officers — Refrigerating plants for use in France — Mechanical repair shop units. This Division had charge of all new construction at posts and the repairs necessary to all buildings. Early in April, 1917, the War Department authorities decided that fourteen training camps for officers would be es- tablished at various posts throughout the country. These camps were to have a total capacity of about 40,- 000 men and were to be opened about the 15th of May. Thus a little more than a month was given in which to have the buildings ready for occupancy. Temporary buildings had to be provided as there was not an avail- able supply of tents on hand. There was not time to advertise for proposals, and a number of thoroughly competent and reliable construc- tors were called to the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral and expressed their willingness to undertake the work. As the time was so short it was not possible to secure prices for the material, and as the men would have to be paid for overtime, they were unable to quote a price for undertaking the work, but agreed to do so if p.iid a commission in addition to the cost of the work. 292 CONSTEUCTION DIVISION 293 There was no alternative and as these men had their organizations in existence the offer was accepted. A form of contract was prepared and submitted to the Auditor of the War Department. Modifications were necessary and to save vital time the Quartermaster Gen- eral notified each of the contractors in writing that the contract would be awarded to him when drawn in ac- ceptable form, provided he would undertake to begin work at once upon the receipt of such notification. The work was commenced immediately, at one post within an hour after the receipt of the letter above re- ferred to, and was completed in time to receive the student officers on the date fixed by the War De- partment. Mr. L. B. Wehle, who was Counsel for the War Finance Corporation of the Treasury Department, and also on the Legal Committee of the General Munitions Board rendered great assistance in the drafting of the form of contract which met the approval of the Account- ing Officers of the Treasury Department, The amount involved in this transaction was many millions of dol- lars. Shortly after the arrival of the A. E. F. Headquar- ters in France request was received for a refrigerating plant capable of storing 5,000 tons of beef and of pro- ducing 500 tons of ice daily. The Construction Division was directed to supply the necessary machinery, pro- vide for its shipment to France, and secure the necessary machinists and skilled workmen to erect the building and install the machinery, and also to create an organ- 294 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS ization to operate the plant. It was found that one of the Packing Companies in Chicago had on hand new machinery for a Refrigerating Plant of the capacity desired which was to be erected for its own use in this country. Upon learning that the Government wished to install such a plant in France, the Company turned over the machinery to it. The machinery was secured and shipped to France with a requisite force to construct the buildings and in- stall the machinery and an Ice Plant Company was organized and sent over to operate the plant. This plant was installed at Gievres in France, and its actual ca- pacity was 9,000 tons but at one time there were 20,000,- 000 pounds (ten thousand tons) of beef in storage. The cost of the machinery, erection of plant and its installa- tion was approximately $1,000,000. Anticipating that other plants would be required orders were given the Construction Division to secure the machinery, and equipment for two additional plants. The purchase was made and the machinery, etc., shipped to France. One of the plants was erected at Basseus near Bordeaux. The original design called for 6,000 tons of carcass beef storage and the prodyiction of 600 tons of ice daily. As practically no ice was produced, the capacity of the plant was 7,000 tons of carcass beef, though at one time there were 16,000,000 pounds, 8,000 tons, of beef in storage. The machinery for another refrigerating plant was in France, secured in compliance with the instructions above referred to, and it is understood that just before COlSrSTRUCTION DIVISION 295 the Armistice was signed it was contemplated to erect a third refrigerating plant in the vicinity of Chaumont. This plant would have been of about the same capacity as the others. At times it was difficult to secure in this country the ammonia required by the refrigerating plants, but the supply at no time failed, and it is understood that there were no losses of beef or other articles in storage in the two refrigerating plants in France. When the United States entered the war two of the greatest difficulties it had to contend with were time and distance; time, in which to organize, clothe, equip and train the troops, and provide the necessary supplies for their maintenance in the theater of operations; and second, the distance which the men and supplies had to be transported to the theater of operations. Tonnage was therefore the vital element of the problem of sup- ply. In order to make the greatest possible use of the tonnage available it was necessary to get the maximum wear and use from the material shipped to France. This same problem had confronted both the French and the British authorities, and the reports submitted by our Military Attaches, which stated in a general way the methods taken to meet these difficulties, had been care- fully studied in the Office of the Quartermaster Gen- eral prior to our entrance into the war. Fortunately Brigadier General (then Colonel) Thomas Heron, C. B., of the British Army was on duty in the Office of the Quartermaster General. This officer had assisted in organizing and planning the first Salvage Depot which 296 THE QUARTEEMASTEK CORPS the British Army established in France, and his advice and assistance was of inestimable value at a critical time. His fundamental principle was that it was far better to err in having a plant too large than not tq have one large enough to meet the needs. That was thel principle adopted in forming the Mechanical Repair Shop Units, and the instructions given to Colonel Fur- low and Colonel Hegeman were to provide the men and machinery required to meet any call upon such Units. Colonel Furlow had charge of the work in the office and Colonel Hegeman was designated to accompany the units over to France and have charge of the work there. The Mechanical Repair Shop Units were organized, trained and equipped at Camp Meigs, Washington, a training camp for the Quartermaster Corps enlisted per- sonnel. When first formed these units were organized to handle all Quartermaster repair and salvage, i. e. repair and salvage of motor and animal drawn vehicles, clothing, shoes, tentage and harness, and arrived in France ready to undertake such work. It was decided, however, to separate the work and that their function should be the repair of vehicles only. Accordingly, the personnel and equipment for repairing clothing, shoes, tentage and harness were detached, but the repair and salvage of animal drawn vehicles remained with these units, as the machinery equipment was to a large extent necessary for the repair of both motor and animal drawn vehicles, and yet not capable of division to permit of operation in two separate plants. The first Motor Repair Shops were located for a while CON'STEUCTION DIVISIOl^ 297 at JSTevers, and later the large plant at Verneuil were established under the command of Colonel Hegeman. The Salvage Depot was located at St. Pierre des Corps, and to that station were transferred the person- nel and equipment for repairing clothing, shoes, tentage and harness. It was the opinion that the country was committed to preparing for a long war and consequently the shops for use abroad should be of permanent construction ; and fabricated steel buildings which could be bought in this country were considered most suitable. There were pur- chased thirteen standard buildings, each 100' x 200' in dimensions, and one hundred and thirty unit sections, each 25' X 50', built in accordance with the design pre- pared by Colonel Hegeman. This formed the basis of the plant established at Verneuil. On May 18, 1917, by order of the Secretary of War a division known as the Cantonment Division was es- tablished in the Office of the Quartennaster General, to be charged with all matters connected with construction at Cantonments and Camps in the United States, and Colonel (later Brigadier General) I. W. Littell was assig-ned to the charge of this Division. By the order all matters pertaining to the Division were to be taken up by the officer in charge of same direct with the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of War, and the Quartermas- ter Corps proper thereafter had nothing to do with con- struction at Camps and Cantonments. To avoid the formation of two similar organizations abroad and the sending of similar character of supplies 298 THE" QtJAET'EIlMASTEIl COHPg by two Departments to France, the Quartermaster Gen- eral on May 26, 1917, addressed the following letter to the Adjutant General of the Army : "Subject: Construction, etc., connection with Expe- ditionary Force to France. "1. Under Army Regulations, 1913, in the last paragraph of Par. 1,493, it is stated that, 'In time of actual or threatened hostilities within the theater of operations, the Engineer Corps has charge of the loca- tion, design and construction of wharves, piers, land- ings, storehouses, hospitals and other structures of gen- eral interest; and of the construction, maintenance and repair of roads, ferries, bridges and incidental stnic- tures; and of the construction, maintenance and opera- tion of railroads under military control, including the construction and operation of armored trains (C.A.R., 1^0. 46).' "2. In view of the fact that the Engineer Corps will have in France a trained personnel which could be effectively used in providing not only the military facilities indicated in this paragi-aph, but in addition thereto, shelter for troops which is implied in the para- graph under 'other structures of general interest,' it is recommended : "(a) Upon arrival of the American Force in France that territory be considered in the theater of operations. "(b) That the Engineer Corps be authorized to construct not only the facilities indicated in the above paragraph, but in addition thereto, the necessary bar- racks for housing the personnel of the Expeditionary Force. "3. The Chief of Engineers has been consulted con- cerning the above and approves. CONSTRUCTION" DIVISION^ 299 "4. If this recommendation is approved, it is rec- ommended that the Engineer Department be instructed accordingly and this office advised of the action taken." HENRY G. SHARPE, Quartermaster General. To have insisted upon the Quartermaster Corpa carrying on those functions in that portion of France not included in the "theater of operations" would ap- pear to place the interests of the Corps superior to those of the Army and the country, and if attempted undoubtedly would not have been tolerated by the Commanding General. The above letter was returned by the Adjutant General : Left with Sec, G. S., May 28, 1917. Rec'd Back A. G. O., June 15, 1917. 2607231 1st Ind. War Department, A.G.O., June 16, 1917— To the Quartermaster General, approved, with the informa- tion that the Chief of Engineers in connection with the duties assigned to the Corps of Engineers in para- graph 1,493, Army Regulations, has been charged also with the construction of the necessary temporary shelter for housing the personnel of the expeditionary force. By order of the Secretary of War. Adjutant General. Copy for Quartermaster General. 2607231 "From: The Adjutant General of the Army. "To : The Chief of Engineers. "Subject: Construction, etc., in connection with Expe- ditionary Force to France. 300 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS "In interpreting paragi-apli 1,493, Army Regula- tions, the Secretary of War directs: "(a) That, upon the arrival of the American Forces in France, that territory be considered in the theater of operations, and "(b) That the Corps of Engineers be charged not only with the construction of the facilities specified in the above mentioned paragraph of Army Regulations, but also with all other construction necessary in con- nection with the operations and shelter of the Expe- ditionary Force." By order of the Secretary of War. Adjutant General. In October, 1917, by orders of the Secretary of War, the Cantonment Division was directed to take over all construction work for the Army in this manner central- izing in one agency all the work of construction which, since the beginning of the war, had been undertaken by the various Supply Departments of the Army, and thus eliminating the competition between bureaus and making it possible to consolidate all of the several con- structing agencies of the War Department. The law, until the outbreak of the War, had directed tliat all contrnction work for the Army should be done by the Quartermaster Corps, and this order was a return in a measure to the former practice except that the order establishing the Cantonment Division its chief was in- stnicted to function directly with the Chief of Staif, and the Secretary of War. IX QUAKTEKMASTER DEPOTS Problem of the Grocery Division — Clothing and Equipage Divi- sions — Forage and Warehouse Divisions — Purchasing and warehousing materials — Manufacture of uniforms — German vessels and the docks at Hoboken — Business of the depots. There were on December 31, 1917, fourteen supply- depots under the jurisdiction of the Quartermaster Corps, with a personnel of approximately 44,000 civ- ilian employees. The following is a summary of the functions of these depots: ATLANTA. — This was a general supply depot for nine camps in the southeastern section of the country, and it likewise supplied the Coast Artillery and other mili- tary posts in that section. Outside of the supply func- tion, which consisted in supplying 229,450 men, it did a small amount of procurement in the nature of cotton materials. Through the assistance of the Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta, an excellent, well adapted and thoroughly equipped storehouse which had recently been completed, was secured. This storehouse was located in a most advantageous site on the railway terminals and supplied with a perfect system of sidings. The occupancy of the entire number of buildings was given during the war and proved to b© adequate to meet every 301 302 THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS condition. Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Powers was first in charge of this depot and was succeeded later by Colonel Hugh J, Gallagher. BALTIMORE. — This was the main supply depot for three camps, and supplied approximately 90,330 men. In addition it procured certain subsistence stores and superintended the manufacturing of a considerable amount of clothing. It was also the location of an Ex- peditionary Depot in which were accumulated such sup- plies as were needed for overseas shipments ; and from this depot supplies could be promptly shipped to the Port of Embarkation at IJ^ewport News, Virginia. At this depot the motor trucks were consigned for ship- ment to France. At one time as many as 4,000 trucks were held there awaiting available tonnage to make the shipment. Colonel Amos W. Kimball installed both these depots and for a time was in command of both. Later the duties and responsibilities were divided. Camp Holabird, a large Motor Repair Shop and Training School, was also located at Baltimore. BOSTON. — Here was the main source of supply for Camp Devens, Massachusetts, and several posts in the northeastern section of the country. It supplied ap- proximately 32,000 men. It was also a very important procurement depot for shoes and textiles. The greater proportion of the employees of that depot were assigned to the purchase and inspection functions. This depot took over the Eord Motor Company As- sembling Plant at Cambridge as one of its depot build- QtJAETERMASTEK DEPOTS 305 mgs, and later took over a storehouse and pier belong- ing to the city of Boston. An immense amount of work was done by this depot in inspecting, receiving and shipping the cloths delivered under contract, and a very creditable record was made by it in the prompt payment for the cloths delivered; the average time in which the payments were made being thirty-six hours after deliv- ery and acceptance. Colonel George McK. Williamson was the Depot Quartermaster and Lieutenant Colonel William B. Gracie was in charge of the Wool Purchasing Office of the Quartermaster Corps in Boston. CHICAGO. — ^At the declaration of war, April 6, 1917, the Depot occupied a five story and basement building located at 115 East Ontario Street, having a total floor space of 37,500 square feet. The principal functions of the Depot, until the de- claration of war, were the procurement and distribution of packing house products to all United States troops, including those stationed in Porto Rico, Hawaii and Philippine Islands ; the purchase and shipment of other articles of the nation ; subsistence articles for sales ; miscellaneous supplies to posts and stations in the Cen- tral Department, as well as to troops mobilized on the Texas border, also the settlement of transportation ac- counts with certain railroads. The number of men sup- plied in the Central Department at the beginning of the war was about 1,000. In May, 1917, the first officers' training camp was started which added about 20,000 men to the number to be supplied. .304 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS During August and September cantonments at Camps Grant, Custer, Sherman and Dodge began to receive National Guard regiments and the men of the draft. This, witli the number of men at such stations "as Foii Benjamin Harrison and Fort Snolling increased the total to over 200,000 men in the Central Department. At the beginning of the war the Grocery Division of the office consisted of one officer, one inspector and five clerks ; when the armistice was signed, the Division had 15 officers, 94 inspectors and 171 clerks (including enlisted men.) THE BIO PROBLEM OF THE GROCERY DIVISION (a) Procurement of Supplies: The greatest prob- lem of the Grocery Division was to open up fields of procurement where the vast amounts could be pur- chased. This necessitated a careful and comprehensive survey of the food situation of the Middle West, and the education of contractors who had never done any Goverament business as to the proper method of handling it, so that the items supplied would conform to all Government specifications, (b) Inspection: An elaborate system of inspection was established in order that food-products purchased by this Division would be of a quality that was pure and wholesome. The Inspection Branch of this Division began with one insjKJctor and on the date the armistice was signed there were 94 of them on duty. To give an idea of the large amount of foods inspected, it should QUARTERMASTER DEPOTS 305 be noted that on the item of assorted canned foods alone, approximately 10,000,000 cases were purchased from May, 1917, to November, 1918. There was not one instance of a serious complaint about the subsistence stores furnished by this depot. (c) Prompt Payment of Invoices: The policy of the Chicago Depot of paying all invoices within ten days, necessitated close organization of the Contract Branch in order to handle expeditiously all invoices cov- ering payments nmning into millions of dollars per month. It should be noted in this connection that while only a portion of these invoices bore discount, the Gro- cery Division during the last five months of the war, paid over 95 per cent, of their invoices within ten days, regardless of whether or not they showed discount, and it is safe to say that this Division saved the Government on discounts approximately oncrquarter of a million dollars. (d) Distribution: The distribution of these sup- plies covered shipments running as high as 250 car- loads per day. It was a serious and complicated prob- lem, but by having a corps of inspectors, the Grocery Division was able to ship almost 90 per cent, of the supplies purchased direct from the contractor to the point of consumption. One of the important items handled by this Depot were special reserve rations. These special reserve rations wore packed in her- metically sealed, galvanized iron containers, in order to render them gas proof and water proof. The reason 306 THE QUAKTEKMASTEE COEPS for tJie urgent need of this type of ration was due to the fact that the mustard gas as employed by the Ger- mans in their warfare, destroyed all food products with which it came in contact. These rations were to he used in the first line trenches, in order that troops in these lines could retain their position after a mustard gas attack and still have necessary food. Each gal- vanized iron container held enough food for twenty-five men for one day. The cost of the total amount of re- serve rations furnished during the war was about $6,- 000,000. This depot was also called upon to produce the Armour Emergency Eations. A twelve-ounce can was used, containing nine ounces of ground meat and wheat mixture, and three ounces of chocolate. This was strict- ly an emergency ration to be carried on the person of the soldier, and was only to be opened upon an order from a commissioned officer, when all other supplies had failed. This Division placed orders for 2,000,000 of these rations and before the first million was completed, a call came from Washington ordering that everything pos- sible be done to triple the output of this ration. With the cooperation of Armour & Co., and the American Can Company (who were manufacturing the twelve ounce cans) and by changing the method of packing, this Division was able to triple the output of this ration. The manufacture of this emergency ration continued up to the date of the armistice. The purchase of milk was another big item, and it QUARTERMASTER DEPOTS 307 was necessary to develop a corps of inspectors to handle this particular commodity alone. The Grocery Division, from the month of June to the end of the war, pur- chased nearly 1,500,000 cases of evaporated milk, the greater portion of which was shipped directly overseas. About August, 1917, the Depot Quartermaster ef- fected a reorganization of the office in order to care for the large volume of work which was daily increasing, and separate divisions were formed under the headings of the various supplies handled by the Quartermaster Corps. All plants equipped for the manufacture of cloth- ing and equipage were listed and classified according to their capacity. Inspections were made by an army officer as to sanitary conditions and recommendations forwarded to the Purchasing and Manufacturing Quar- termaster, Washington, D. C. Arrangements were made for sponging and shrink- ing all cloth, and this cloth was pro-rated to clothing manufacturers with a view to keeping them all occupied and allowing no accumulation of material at any one plant. As soon as shoe lasts were supplied shoe In- spectors were employed and sent to the factories throughout the Middle West with which contracts had been made, and the contracts transferred to this depot. The Clothing and Equipage Division of the Depot was established about July 1, 1917 and on November 11, 1918, there were about twenty-five officers on duty with this division. The office force proper, not including the clerical force of the C. & E. Branch, Warehousing 808 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS Division, consisted of 165 civilian employees and 15 en- listed men. There were 661 inspectors, 228 folders and 30 stampers on tlie division rolls. The Motor Division was organized in June, 1917. From June 1, 1917, to May, 1919, purchases of motor vehicles and equipment for the use of the army were made by this Depot amounting to about $125,000,000. On October 1, 1917, on instructions from the Quarter- master General, the Forage Division of the Depot was organized. This Division was to purchase and dis- tribute all oats, other grains and bran required by the army, both in this countr}^ and overseas. The Pur- chasing Quartermaster at Kansas City, Missouri, was charged with the supply of all hay and straw and their distribution. In order to carry a reserve stock of oats and bran, arrangements were made with thirty-four elevator companies to store oats for the Government. The amount of storage room secured in the thirty-four elevators totaled 2,800,000 bushels, payment being made only if the space was actually occupied. These elevators were located at practically all important ter- minal markets, including such places as Chicago, Minne- apolis, Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, Fort. Worth, Texas, Cairo, Illinois, Milwaukee, Toledo, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky. The Warehouse Division was established on May 4, 1917, due to the increased activities of the Depot which also indicated the unsuitability of the quarters occupied at 115 East Ontario St. Captain, later Lieutenant Colonel Unmacht was placed in charge. After a can- QTJAETERMASTEE DEPOTS 309 vas of the city, a site at 2615 Iron Street was chosen. It was occupied by a Subsidiary of Montgomery Ward & Co. and through the assistance of the officials of this latter corporation occupancy was secured. On July 24, 1917, lease was made of the entire Hawthorne Race Track, a plot of 117 acres, including all its buildings. Additional buildings of a temporary character were im- mediately put under construction by the Depot Quar- termaster and a switch connection made with one of the belt lines. Later, and again with the consent and as- sistance of the officials of Montgomery Ward & Co., a large concrete warehouse on West 39th St. was secured. Seeing that the available storage would prove inade- quate, plans were drawn and appropriation secured for the erection of one-story bungalows on the comer of 39th Street and Ashland Avenue, on ground leased from the Central Manufacturing District. Three build- ings were erected, each 96 feet wide and 1325 feet long, of hollow tile construction, equipped with heat, electric lights and complete sprinkler system. The Depot grew from 37,500 square feet to one containing 5,144,900 square feet. Colonel Albert D. Kniskern was the Depot Quartermaster. EL, PASO. — Supplied one camp of about 23,000 men. FOET SAM HOUSTON. — Supplied four camps compris- ing approximately 70,715 men. jEFFEKSONviLLE. — This Dopot suppHcd no troops. It was located in the center of a manufacturing district and was the general pi-ocurement depot for vehicles, harness, numerous articles of equipages, hardware, field 310 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS ranges and field bake ovens and their equipment. This Depot since the close of the Civil War had been manu- facturing flannel shirts on a moderate scale, and from time to time the uniforms for Civil War veterans at the Soldiers' Homes, and had thus given partial employ- ment to between seven and eight hundred widows and relatives of Civil War veterans. In the fall of 1916 it was decided to establish at the Jeffersonville Depot a small plant for the manufacture of outer clothing, coats, breeches and overcoats, and a small appropriation was g-ranted by Congress to enable the necessary alterations to be made in the buildings and to purchase the machinery required. In the manufac- ture of the shirts the cloth had been cut with shears, and the sewing women paid at the end of the month. Elec- trical cutting knives were installed and arrangements made for paying the women daily when the garments were turned in. As the number of sewing women employed increased, sub-stations were inaugurated at Frankfort and Louis- ville, Kentucky, and at New Albany and other places in Indiana, the largest of these being a sub-station at the Louisville Armory which alone handled the work of 10,000 women. The number of sewing women was increased until a total of some 22,000 was reached. All the foregoing came about in view of the very evident approaching hostilities in Europe and our ac- tual entrance into the World War. When it seemed quite evident that the United States would soon be brought into war it was deemed advisable to begin to QUAKTERMASTEK DEPOTS 311 prepare in ample time so as not to be found wanting when the crisis arrived. But this constituted only a portion of the large quan- tities of purchases of supplies and raw materials that were made, such as cotton goods, stoves, field ranges, bake ovens, and hardware of all descriptions. Many of these were largely entered into prior to the declara- tion of hostilities in anticipation of that event, and others at that time and thereafter. The gathering together of such large quantities of materials and supplies must necessarily be followed by an ample provision of means to take care of them. This was done by the construction of large warehouses, comprehensive plans of development being laid out, and the work rapidly pushed to completion. To handle goods incoming and outgoing it was necessary to in- crease the railroad trackage, putting in additional sid- ings and laying tracks along the new warehouses, and thus the Railway Transportation Department became a very important department in the Jeffersonville Depot, handling as high as 700 carloads a week. On account of the wearing effect of the motor trucks, and to insure traffic at all times, much road building in the Depot and its vicinity was necessary and thou- sands of cubic yards of cracked rock were utilized for this purpose. As an adjunct in securing supplies new shops were erected and shops on hand were enlarged. A modern and up to date harness shop was built to supplement the small one then in existence, and a new cloth shrink- 312 THE QTJAETERMASTEE CORPS ing plant, up to date in every particular, was installed. A large building was constructed for shoe repairing, and the carpenter shops and paint shops were placed on a large scale by new construction. But to handle this increased volume of business the necessary labor and office personnel had to be secured. This was done by consistently augmenting and carefully selecting the force until it had increased from some- thing like two or three officers and 150 civilian em- ployees in October, 1916, to something like 100 officers and 8,000 civilian employees in January, 1918, and this entirely exclusive of the women sewing on shirts. The increase in personnel again brought in new com- plications and necessities, such as means of transporta- tion of employees to and from the Depot, medical as- sistance in the form of first aid for the injured, ambu- lances, doctors and nurses, all of which was arranged. A large cafeteria was established to provide means of furnishing food lunches within the depot grounds. Immediately at the beginning of hostilities a secret service was established which operated in the neighbor- hood of Jeifersonville and Louisville and did very effi- cient work. This was supplemented by a depot guard to insure the security against theft and fire of the prop- erty in buildings and in open storage. This was in- creased as requirements proved necessary and formed a very efficient organization. Early in 1917, in preparation for the War, large orders for transportation were received at the Depot. These orders became so great that by the fall of 1917 QUAETERMASTEK DEPOTS 313 practically the entire vehicle and farm wagon industry, up to probably seventy-five per cent, of its entire output, was engaged in carrying on this work for the Jefferson- ville Depot. The entire industry as a unit was put be- hind tbe Government. The contracts were so far reach- ing that there was no available lumber, and in its proj- ect the Jeffersonville Depot had to look forward as far as the standing trees in the forest. It was practically the creation of a new industry, as very few of tbe contractors had previously manufac- tured these particular types of vehicles, and none in the magnitude involved. In addition there was much ex- perimental work since the drinking water wagons, also the ration carts, drinking water carts, hand carts and medical carts were all new types of vehicles, the necess- ity of which was developed by the war, and for the pro- duction of which only very indefinite descriptions of the essential requirements were given. The amount of harness required involved the use of a large quantity of leather, as well as a practical con- solidation and expansion of the entire harness industry of the country, as had been the case with the Vehicle and Farm Implement Association in the production of the necessary vehicles. This was accomplished through the assistance of the Harness Manufacturers' Association and with the same results that were obtained in regard to vehicles, that is, the production of harness was always in advance of the requirements. An account has previously been given, under the title 314 THE QUARTEEMASTER CORPS Remount Division and Remount Service^ of the arrange- ments made to secure the vehicles and harness which the Quartermaster Corps was called upon to supply, and reference has been made to the effort exerted to secure the necessary commissioned personnel to enable proper inspections to be made of the harness. The dis- advantages and embarrassments under which the Depot labored because the necessary personnel to protect the interests of the Government and insure the manufacture and delivery of supplies of suitable quality was not sup- plied are evident. A considerable amount of experimental work in the development of a suitable type of Rolling Kitchen had been done at the Jeffersonville Depot. During the prosecution of this work, Engineer W. A. Dorsey, at- tached to the Depot, devised an oil burner for use with the field ranges. This device was also applied to a type of rolling kitchen sent to the Mexican border for trial, and proved entirely successful. A duplex type of the Dorsey oil burner adaptable for field bakeries was also devised. The Dorsey oil burner is thus adaptable for use with rolling kitchens, field bakeries, army ranges, Sibley tent stoves, field ranges, etc., for heating and cooking purposes. There were manufactured during the calendar year 1917 by the sewing women at this Depot: Shirts Alone Bhirts 3,402,358 Jan., 1917 84,935 Bed Sacks 2,026,000 Feb., 1917 66,880 Barracks Bags 126,000 Mar., 1917 53,045 Coats 3,700 April, 1917 44,630 QUARTEEMASTEE DEPOTS 315 Coats, Denim 2,620,000 May, 1917 84,750 Mattress Covers .... 67,000 June, 1917 117,280 Trousers, O.D 155,000 July, 1917 293,220 Trousers, Denim 212,000 Aug., 1917 435,994 Sept., 1917 512,530 Oct., 1917 646,354 Nov., 1917 601,320 Dec, 1917 461,420 Total 8,612,058 Oct., 1917 646,354 Nov., 1917 601,320 Total 3,402,358 There were manufactured during the calendar year 1918: Shirts Alone Shirts, O.D 2,371,000 Jan., 1918 394,850 Bed Sacks 532,000 Feb., 1918 341,890 Barracks Bags 6,000 Mar., 1918 421,221 Breeches, Cotton 165,000 April, 1918 447,320 Breeches, Wool 65,000 May, 1918 371,480 Coats, Denim 123,000 Coats, Denim 121,000 Total 1,976,761 Mattress Covers 62,000 Trousers, Denim .... 465,000 Breeches, Wool 111,000 Total 4,021,000 The sewing women employed during the calendar year 1916 were 1,545. This number was increased so that there were on the rolls December 31, 1917, ap- proximately 22,000 women. In order to distribute shirts, secure the highest pro- duction, and accommodate employees in the neighboring country, which included that as far north as Indian- apolis and as far east as Frankfort, Kentucky, and similarly in other directions, there were established sub- stations, the first being at I^ew Albany, Indiana, on July 16, 1917. In the first week this sub-depot handled 316 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS the work of 3,000 operators. Other sub-depots were subsequently established as follows : Scottsburg, Ind., opened August 6, 1917; 1,050 sewing operatives, closed December 7, 1918; Frankfort, Ky., opened August 18, 1917; 2,366 sewing operatives; closed December 4, 1918; Louisville, Ky., opened October 1, 1917; 10,020 sewing operatives, closed December 20, 1918; Madison, Ind., opened March 14, 1918; 1,822 sewing operatives, closed December 2, 1918. These were all in addition to the sewing women whose work was handled at the Jeffersonville Depot proper. Shirts for all sub-stations were cut at the Jefferson- ville Depot, where the cutting capacity was increased to over 30,000 shirts per day. At two yards per shirt, this means 60,000 yards or 33.9 miles of shirting flan- nel cut daily, for seven days in the week. The records of this Depot show that during the month of April, 1917, $29,100 was paid to home workers for the manu- facture of shirts; that during August, 1917, this sum reached $198,900. Expansion of the Jeffersonville Depot Janua'ry 1, 1917 — 17.2 acres, including 251,620 sq. ft. covered storage. November 11, 1918 — 145 acres, including 3,711,690 sq. ft. cov- ered storage. Railroads January 1, 1917—2 freight tracks, total length 1,000 ft., car capacity 19. November 11, 1918—12 freight tracks, total length 15,365 ft., car capacity 348. Before the war, carloads handled in and out — 15 to 20 daily. During the height of the war, carloads handled in and out — 80 to 100 daily. Personnel January 1, 1917 — 2 Officers — 160 civilian employees— 1,545 sewing women. QUAETERMASTEE DEPOTS 31Y Spring, 1918 — 100 Officers — 7,500 civilian employees — approx- imately 22,000 sewing women. Office Space January 1, 1917—4489 sq. ft. November 11, 1918—59,605 sq. ft. Purchase April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918. General Supplies $100,521,185.53 Raw Materials and Paints 91,561.28 Clothing and Equipage 21,843,526.07 Total $122,456,272.88 Colonel W. S. Wood, Quartermaster Corps, was the Depot Quartermaster. NEW OELEANS : This depot was the principal source of supply for two camps. It was also the headquarters for shipping to the Canal Zone. The depot supplied approximately 54,000 men. NEW yokk: After the outbreak of the war theire were many Gennan and Austrian steamships interned at New York. Many of these vessels were berthed at the Docks at Hoboken, ISTew Jersey, owned or controlled by the North German Lloyd and Hamburg-American Steamship Companies. Anticipating the entry of this country into the war. Depot Quartermaster at New York, Brigadier General John M. Carson (then Colonel) Quartermaster Corps, wrote the Quartermaster General in December, 1916, urging that plans be prepared to seize the vessels and the docks on behalf of the War Department the instant that war was declared. Upon the declaration of war on April 6, 1917, the German vessels in the United States ports were immediately seized by the representa- 318 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS tives of the Treasury Department. The docks at Ho- boken of the two Geiinan steamship companies were, however, not included, except in so far as it was neces- sary to safeguard the seized vessels. An investigation was made by the Depot Quartermaster and it was ascer- tained that the docks were technically owned by domes- tic corporations that had been organized by the North German Lloyd and Hamburg-American Steamship Companies under the laws of the State of l^ew Jersey. The investigation showed that bonds had been issued and mortgages given which were owned or controlled by American financial institutions, and the Depot Quar- termaster recommended that the docks be taken under lease, at rentals sufficient to cover the fixed charges on the two properties. The Depot Quartermaster was di- rected to proceed to Washington and after a conference held with the Secretary of War, the latter presented the matter to the President who approved the recommenda- tion, made by Brigadier General (then Colonel) Bethel of the Judge Advocates Department, that the docks should be seized at once under the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved August 29, 1916. On the after- noon of April 16, 1916, instructions were given the Depot Quartermaster to take possession of the docks, by direction of the President, and to call upon the Com- manding General, Department of the East, for the necessary guard. The representatives of the l^orth German Lloyd and the Hamburg- American companies were informed by the Depot Quartermaster that he took possession of the properties in the name of the Gov- QUAKTERMASTEK DEPOTS 319 eminent from that day. On April 18, 1916, the Depot Quartermaster with a Battalion of Infantry from Gov- ernors Island, New York, took physical possession of the docks and relieved the representatives of the Col- lector of Customs, Port of New York, of further re- sponsibility in connection therewith. On May 21, 1917, instructions were sent from the Office of the Quartermaster General to the Depot Quar- termaster to the effect that orders would soon be made to send to France an Expeditionary Force, consisting of Infantry, Field Artillery, Medical Corps, Signal Corps and Quartermaster Corps troops, that would ag- gregate about 12,000 men and 2,000 animals, and that it was desired to embark the Expeditionary Force, if possible, on June 3rd. A list of vessels controlled by the steamship representatives in New York was fur- nished and the Depot Quartermaster directed to confer with the steamship representatives and the Com- mandant of the Navy Yard at New York, and select the vessels and have them properly fitted out, manned and armed for the voyage. Of the list of vessels some were in port discharging or loading cargoes, some were due to arrive shortly, and one or two were not due until June 1st. As a result of the conference it was reported that fourteen vessels would be required, ten for troops and four for animals and supplies, and that it would be impossible to prepare them to sail in convoy before June 9th and probably not until June 10th or 11th. June 10th was fixed as the date of departure and orders were issued for the concentration of troops and supplies 320 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS at New York. The composition of the Expeditionary Force was modified by substituting Infantry for Field Artillery and increasing the number of animals to 2,823. Immediately the various Supply Departments began shipping supplies to the Depot Quartermaster without first inquiring whether such supplies could be handled. One Supply Department alone shipped 12,000 tons. The Quartermaster General invited the attention of the Chief of Staff to this lack of coordination and pointed out that such action would result in the same conges- tion which existed at Tampa, Florida, in the Spanish War, unless steps were taken to prevent it. He re- quested an order directing that no supplies be forwarded to New York for shipment to France until the Depot Quartermaster there had been previously consulted to ascertain if the supplies could be handled. The Quartermaster General recommended the estab- lishment of a Port of Embarkation at New York, and the appointment of a Commandant of the Base to co- ordinate all matters pertaining to the shipment of troops and supplies to France. No action having been taken on this recommendation, it was renewed and request made that Colonel John M. Carson be designated as Commandant of the Base. This resulted in directions to the Commanding General, Department of the East, to designate a line officer to act as Commandant of the Base, and on June 6, 1917, Colonel J. C. F. Tillson was appointed to act as Port Commander. This ofiicer de- voted himself untiringly to the work both day and night, and remained in charge until July 31st when QUARTEEMASTEE DEPOTS 321 the Port of Embarkation was established at New York and a general officer designated to the command. Through the splendid support and assistance of the officials of the companies whose vessels were to be used, aided by their organizations, and the ^NTaval officers of the New York Navy Yard, the work of preparing the vessels for troops and animals was prosecuted day and night. All the shipyards in the harbor capable of hand- ling work of this character were called upon for as- sistance, and responded fully. It was found that the guns required for the armament of some of the vessels had to be shipped from places outside of New York, otherwise the vessels would have been ready by the date set by the War Department for the sailing. One ves- sel, the Finland, of the American Line, did not reach New York until June 1st, but she was unloaded, refitted and ready to sail on June 10th, as she had already been armed, and therefore the time required to mount the guns was saved. Practically all the troops forming this first expedition were brought from interior points, a large part of them from military posts and camps in Texas. There was no embarkation camp prepared for this concentration, and it was, therefore, necessary to regulate the arrival of troops so that they could march directly from the train to the vessel. It was also necessary to regulate, as far as possible, the arrival of equipment and supplies, as the docks, in spite of their large capacity, were not adequate to store all of the freight that was to accom- pany the expedition. 322 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS When the supplies were being loaded on the vessels, a strike for higher wages to be paid to the stevedores was threatened. Learning that men to replace them could not be secured in time to permit the sailing of the vessels on the date designated the Depot Quarter- master was authorized to make the advance requested. The Quartermaster General then requested authority to enlist a force of stevedores to handle the vessels in the Government service. This recommendation was op- posed by the labor leaders in New York and the author- ity was not given. Later these leaders withdrew their objection and a force to guard the docks and afford pro- tection against fire was organized. Its composition was such that there were men trained in stevedoring includ- ed in tlie organization. Shortly after the sailing of the first expedition orders were made to prepare for a second expedition to be em- barked as soon as the ships could be secured, and not later than the return of the ships which carried the first expedition. Colonel Carson had been assigned, in ad- dition to his other duties as General Superintendent Army Transport Service at New York, and commenced the organization of the Transport Office with two officers and four civilian clerks from the personnel of the Quar- tennaster Depot. The organization expanded rapidly to meet the constantly increasing demands, until on No- vember 1, 1917, it consisted of 63 officers and 588 civilian employees, exclusive of the stevedores employed on the docks in connection with the, loading and dis- charging of the vessels. QUAETERMASTEK DEPOTS 323 Mr. P. A. S. Franklin, President, International Mer- cantile Marine Company; Mr. H. H. Raymond, Presi- dent of the Clyde Line Steamship Co. ; Mr. Clifford Mallory, connected with the Mallory Steamship Line; Mr. A. G. Smith, President of the Ward Line Steam- ship Co. ; Mr. S. G. Schermerhom, Executive Vice- President of the United Fruit Company; and Mr. E. D. Page, Chairman of the Advisory Committee appoint- ed by the President of the J^ational Chamber of Com- merce and the officials of the New York Merchants' As- sociation, rendered most valuable assistance in the pre- liminary stages of the work. Under the management of the l^orth German Lloyd and the Hamburg-American Steamship Companies, all freight to and from the docks at Iloboken had been transported either by lighters or trucks. The docks of the North German Lloyd Company had been connected by track with the adjacent trackage of the Hoboken Manufacturers' Shore R. R., whose tenninal was a few yards north of the North German Lloyd docks, and this railroad had connection with practically all the railroads entering New York. While the track was in place the North German Lloyd Company had never allowed the Railroad Company to run cars on its docks. A representative of the railroad company called in May on the Quartermaster General and made the proposition to lease the railroad to the Government. The Depot Quartermaster upon instructions made a thorough investigation and recommended the leasing of the road for the period of the war. The matter was 324 THE QUAETEKMASTER COEPS submitted to the Secretary of War and decision made to purchase the Railroad at a price to be established by a Board of competent appraisers, payment to be made from the contingent fund placed at the disposal of the President. The Depot Quartermaster under instruc- tions took possession of the property on July 1, 1917, in the name of the Government. Steps were at once taken to extend the trackage to the yards in front of the sheds of both the North German Lloyd and the Ham- burg-American docks. The work of the General Superintendent, Army Transport Service, increased so rapidly that Colonel Carson was relieved as Depot Quartermaster on July 15, 191Y, by Colonel Thomas Slavens, Quartermaster Corps. By General Orders, 'No. 102, War Department, dated July 30, 1917, there was created in the office of the Chief of Staff a section to take charge of the embarka- tion of txoops and supplies for transatlantic transporta- tion and to exercise under the Secretary of War the di- rect control incident to this service. By direction of the Secretary of War, Primary Ports of Embarka- tion were organized at New York City and Hampton Roads, Virginia, and officers, with suitable staffs, as- signed to their command. By this order all control of all matters connected with the shipments of troops and supplies was taken from tJie Quartermaster Corps and imposed upon the Chief of Staff, upon whom the responsibility for the proper execution of the work also vested. QUAETERMASTEE DEPOTS 325 The New York Depot, located as it was in 1917, was necessarily so related to the equipment of new levies of troops and to the supply of the troops in France, that its expansion had to precede all other operations, and its development anticipate all increases in our forces. This was true in all its activities, including Personnel, Warehouses, Wharves, Clothing and Equipment, For- age, Fuel, Hardware, Transportation, both land and water. Stationery, Building Materials, Fire Apparatus, Cooking Apparatus and Utensils, etc., and all the ac- tivities depending upon them. The personnel at the beginning of 1917 was small — there was not to exceed ten officers and eighty em- ployees at the New York Depot. Within a few months, the number had increased to more than 300 officers and 11,000 employees, including about every known occupa- tion or trade, as the purchases extended to so many arti- cles and experts in all lines were required. The num- ber of different items purchased finally reached was near the 200,000 mark. Watchmen had to be employed and organized for guarding the various storehouses, wharves, etc., and fire organizations perfected, which required a large personnel. The New York Depot included activ- ities in New York City, Brooklyn, Governors Island, Hoboken and other cities outside of New York. Warehouses: The facilities available in New York and on Governors Island early in 1917 were hardly suf- ficient for peace requirements and totally inadequate for war. With the development of the Transportation Serv- ice for France it was determined to occupy a large 326 THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS amount of storage space of the Hamburg- American and North German Lloyd Steamship Wharves. This subse- quently proved to be inadequate, and besides the space was required for shipping purposes, so it was necessary to increase the warehouse facilities. Governors Island with more than 100 acres of land available, offered im- mediate relief. Other sites examined required much time and preparation, whereas the Governors Island project would permit storage facilities within sixty days. A plan was prepared for this, which was ap- proved by the Department Commander and by the War Department. Work was to be done in accordance with the plans, by the purchase of material, a construction firm to furnish the labor. The work was pushed rapid- ly, but was delayed for ten days, because of objection to the use of Governors Island site for Depot pui-poses, made by the Depot Committee of the Council of Na- tional Defense, which committee favored a site located on Newark Bay. The Depot Quartermaster had previ- ously examined the Newark Bay site and reported that, in his opinion, it was not suitable. A Board of Officers was sent from the Office of the Quartermaster General to investigate the site and submit a report. The re- port was adverse to the selection of the Newark Bay site, and the Quartermaster General approved the re- port and adopted the recommendation. The stoppage of the work was unfortunate as it delayed the com- pletion to some extent. When work was resumed, it was pushed so that some of the storehouses became available in a short time, QUAETERMASTEK DEPOTS 327 and by the end of the year the railway ferry, dock and storehouse afforded such facilities that the unprecedent- ed activities of the Quartermaster Corps could be car- ried on. Efforts to obtain storage facilities in New York City indicated that such as were required there could not be found, nor could such existing facilities be found that could be vacated in any reasonable time. Such buildings as could be utilized were rented or seized and taken over by the Government. These build- ings with such space as they afforded, and with the Governors Island Warehouse, gave storage space of more than 2,000,000 square feet in and about New York City. Storage space was rented also near the factories supplying articles for Government use, which relieved New York of a great deal of freight handling. In the Governors Island warehouse, the freight was handled with great facility — using, besides the railway, electric trucks, motor trucks, hand trucks, stacking devices, roller transfers, etc. Wharves: The facilities at Governors Island were entirely inadequate at the outbreak of war. Those of the Transport Service at Hoboken soon became con- gested, and it was necessary to increase facilities at Governors Island and secure more ship space in New York City. Furthermore, a line of ferry boats had to be established between New York and Governors Island. Wharves to meet these requirements were secured or con- structed, and this greatly facilitated the handling of in- coming and outgoing freight. Trucks went directly 328 THE QUARTEEMASTEK CORPS from New York to warehouse on Governors Island, the same as making deliveries in New York City. Clothing and Equipment: The procurement and manufacture of clothing and equipment had not been developed in the New York Depot, and consequently had to be initiated and firms induced to undertake the manufacture of articles of clothing, such as were re- quired by the Government. Furthermore the supply of cloth was a ruling factor, and all development requir- ing cloth, wool or cotton was directly dependent upon the rate at which the cloth could be supplied. The making of underwear was a great problem and required the united efforts of Imit goods manufacturers to meet the needs of the department. Many sub-depots were established, to inspect, receive and ship the pro- ducts of the manufacturers of clothing and equipment, and this expedited greatly the shipment of such articles, and relieved congestion in New York. Subsistence: The quantity of sugar, coffee, flour, etc., purchased by the New York Depot was enormous. Arrangements had to be made for storage of meats for at least 15,000,000 pounds and for approximately 30,- 000,000 rations. This alone was a gTeat undertaking, as practically all articles except meats had to be pur- chased by the Depot, so that the entire transport, pro- curement, storage and distribution fell on the Depot. The troops in France were supplied and the New York Depot had to prepare all shipments well in advance, so that space on transports could be secured. Much forage was handled. Hay was used for chocking, and QTJARTEKMASTER DEPOTS 329 a large haj yard was established in Hoboken to meet demands of transports for this purpose. Fuel, how- ever, was taken over by the Fuel Administrator and al- lotment made to the Quartermaster Department for its needs. Hardware: This was purchased in large quantities and included many items such as buckets and cans of galvanized iron ; carpenter, blacksmith and horseshoers' tools, etc. ; and many articles never before used in the Army had to be purchased. Transportation: Shortly after the beginning of the war this was established as a separate service. The Depot, however, retained Harbor, Rail, Motor and Horse Drawn transportation. The rail transportation proved to be a great task, and to avoid congestion, many warehouse stations were established outside of New York City. The Depot on Governors Island with the Railway Ferry relieved this so far as the Depot was concerned. It could and did handle the freight con- sig-ned to it. It was found necessary, however, to per- mit only such articles as were required to be shipped into the Depot. The Ferry established for trucks to Governors Island was not the least of the projects in transportation and greatly assisted the handling of freight. Stationery: The amount required was enormous and three storehouses 350 feet long and 60 feet wide were required to handle this business. Building Material: Building material required for 330 THE QUARTERMASTEK CORPS construction of Depot on Governors Island and many other projects were handled. Fire Apparattis: Fire apparatus in large quantities for France and for the cantonments in the United States was purchased. This was in complete sets, and included fire engines, chemical engines, hook and ladder trucks, etc. Cooking apparatus and rolling kitchens were sup- plied in large quantities. Rolling kitchens had to be developed almost from the beginning and a type adapted to the needs of the Army developed. The work required and time spent in this development were in themselves large items. Motor transports, trucks, autos and spare parts for same, and tools and materials for the great motor shops for France required special personnel and special num- bers, l^othing like this had previously been attempted by the Army. Colonel Thomas H. Slavens, Quartermaster Corps, was the Depot Quartermaster at New York from July 15, 1917, until the end of the year 1917. Shortly after that time he was assigned to duty in France. OMAHA : This was a purchasing depot for subsis- tence, fuel and forage. Lieutenant Colonel Frank A. Grant, Quartermaster Corps, was the Depot Quar- termaster, and was also in charge of the Signal Corps, general supply depot at that station. PHILADELPHIA : Philadelphia was wholly a manufac- turing and procurement depot. It had a large factory operating division, in which were made a large number QUAKTERMASTEE DEPOTS 331 of uniforms. It was the source of supply for the Army of chevrons, ornaments, flags, colors, kitchenware and tableware. Flags, colors and chevrons were, as far as possible, made in its own factory which was noted for the beauty and finish of the embroidery work produced by its operatives. This depot handled the procurement of all the tex- tiles required for the Army, and through the assistance of Colonel Harry J. Hirsch (one of the officers on duty at the depot, and who was assigned to assist the Com- mittee on Supplies of the Council of National Defense) all the contracts for the purchase of the cloth was made by this depot. The depot also arranged for the inspec- tion of the cloth on delivery, entered into contracts for making the unifonns, shipped the cloth to the manu- facturers who had been given contracts, supplied the necessary furnishings and findings required in making the garments, provided for their thorough inspection on delivery, and finally filled the requisitions for the gar- ments to the stations indicated. In October, 1917, a Quartermaster's Purchasing and Manufacturing Office was opened in Washington and Colonel Harry J. Hirsch was assigned to its charge, after which time the Phila- delphia Depot was relieved of the duty of making con- tracts for the purchase of clothing and equipage ma- terials and the manufacture of clothing and other sup- plies. Expansion of the Philadelphia, Depot during the World's War: In the early part of 1917 the Phila- delphia Quartermaster Depot was located on the Schuyl- 332 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS kill River at 2620 Gray's Ferry Road (the old Schuyl- kill arsenal established by act of Congi-ess, April 2, 1794). It covered about eight acres of ground, con- sisting of two sets of officers' quarters, an office building, museum building (the oldest, built in 1800), two large warehouses and a few smaller ones, with a total of ap- proximately 200,000 square feet of storage space. At the outbreak of the war the depot was charged with the purchasing and inspection of all clothing and equipage, including band instruments of every kind, furnishings and raw material which entered into the manufacture of clothing and camp and garrison equip- age, and the purchase of the supply of table china and glassware for the army. It became apparent that the facilities of the depot were altogether inadequate to meet the requirements and the Depot Quartermaster at once set about the work of expansion. Improvements were made in the Gov- ernment plant, which consisted in remodeling the mu- seum building and officers' quarters, fitting them up suitably for offices, and later the erection of a new three- story office building ; the installation of new freight ele- vators in the warehouse to permit the rapid handling of freight ; the constniction of a new elevated side track to allow the speedy loading and unloading of cars; the removal of small wooden structures to give clear road space and trucking areas; the conversion of the old stables into modem garages, and the erection of a brick garage ; the replacing of the old horse-drawn transporta- tion with motor-propelled vehicles. QUAETERMASTER DEPOTS 333 • In the early part of 1917, all the textiles required for the Army and the manufacture of the clothing and equipment were procured through the Philadelphia Depot. The following divisions and branches were es- tablished in the Office of the Depot Quartermaster : Ad- ministration ; Purchasing and Contracting; Inspection; Manufacturing; Supplies; and Finance. The purchasing was effected after advertising for sealed proposals and awards were made to the lowest responsible bidder, and contracts entered into with same. With the exception of shoes, which were de- livered and inspected at the Depot located in the vicin- ity of the factory manufacturing them, the supplies were all shipped to the Philadelphia Depot for final inspec- tion. After inspection and acceptance, certified vouch- ers were forwarded to the Finance branch for payment, and the supplies turned over to the Supplies branch for warehousing and eventual distribution to other General Supply Depots, or sometimes sent direct to camps and stations for the equipment of the troops. All textile materials of every description were re- ceived at the Philadelphia Depot where they were placed on perching machines, measured, critically ex- amined yard by yard, tested and every precaution taken to determine whether the materials complied with the specifications in all details. This required most expert and skilful work and was most carefully performed and its successful accomplishment was a great credit to the officers and subordinates in charge. Every piece of goods, woolen and cotton, before being cut up received 334 THE QUARTERMASTEK CORPS this minute and careful inspection at the Depot. Upon completion of this inspection the goods were warehoused at the Depot and eventually either used by the Manu- facturing branch or shipped to outside contractors to be manufactured. All band instruments were likewise shipped to this Depot for final inspection and each instrument was care- fully and critically inspected by competent men to de- termine if they were manufactured in accordance with specifications and were of the prescribed pitch. Under- wear, stockings, leggins and overshoes were inspected carefully garment by garment, and piece by piece, and all rubberized clothing received minute inspection. All uniforms manufactured by outside contractors came to this Depot for final inspection; also all crockery and many miscellaneous supplies including stationery, lock- ers, field desks, etc. All this work required considerable floor space and many employees at the Depot, but the results justified the labor and expense. It is a difficult task to describe in words the magnitude of this work and the skill and thoroughness with which the task was performed. The Supplies branch included warehousing, caring for requisitions for supplies, preparation of supplies for shipment, handling of transportation facilities and the clerical work incident thereto. It was a stupendous task and was well performed. The Manufacturing branch had charge of the factory at the Depot in which were made all the flags, colors and standards used in the Army; all the tentage and QTTARTERMASTEE DEPOTS 335 many uniforms. All special-sized work was done at this Depot and many flannel shirts were made there. The uniforms made there were of unusually good work- manship and were produced at less cost than outside work. It was not possible to secure sufficient appro- priations to construct buildings and equip them with the necessary machinery to manufacture a large pro- portion of the clothing required for the Army, nor was there adequate place on the Government reservation for such buildings. Moreover, it was a good policy to have outside contractors always engaged in manu- facturing uniforms so as to provide the means of having a large number of additional uniforms quickly made at reasonable cost when an emergency arose. The Manu- facturing branch was an efficient organization, and turned out excellent work at low cost and in large quan- tities and was a credit to the Depot and the Quarter- master Corps. The officers and the subordinates de- serve praise for the successful accomplishment of the many difficult tasks imposed upon them. The Finance branch was charged with the duty of accounting for the funds and supplies, and made pay- ments due under contracts, and also paid all the clerical, force, workmen, laborers and others employed at the Depot. When War was declared this Depot still continued to be charged with the responsibility of furnishing the clothing and equipage. All the other Depots were directed to assist and rendered most valuable aid, but the Philadelphia Depot had charge of the matter and 336 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS remained so until the middle of ]^ovember^ 1917, when a Quartermaster Manufacturing and Purchasing office was organized in Washington, D. C. After that time the functions of the Philadelphia Depot were similar to all the other Depots, but from March until Novem- ber, 1917, an enormous task was imposed upon this Depot. Tremendous quantities of every item of quartermas- ter supplies, known as clothing and equipage, were re- quired for the new armies and had to be supplied within a very short time. It was easy to figure the quantity of supplies required, but for a number of years the Philadelphia Depot and a comparatively small number of contractors were able to furnish all the supplies needed. Commercial goods are not suitable for mili- tary use in the field, except as a temporary expedient. The European War had drained the resources of the country in some important items. Commercial busi- ness was excellent and manufacturers were not par- ticularly anxious to change over to Government orders. The country as a whole had not recognized the stupen- dous importance and the vital necessity of devoting itself entirely to the winning of the War. Further- more, the demand for certain textiles necessitated changes in the looms and many additions which required time to install. There was a large demand for raw materials and in many cases the supply was short on account of the supplies under contract for the Allies. All this threw additional work upon the Philadelphia Depot and the force in all the branches was increased QUAETERMASTEK DEPOTS 337 enormously and provided with every possible means to rapidly and efficiently perform the tasks, but they could continue to function as formerly only on a greatly en- larged scale. It was seen immediately that it would be impossible to continue shipping the textile materials and other sup- plies to tlie Philadelphia Depot for final inspection. The country was therefore divided into zones and each Depot made responsible for the inspection, acceptance, payment and distribution of the supplies manufactured in its zone. A few additional depots were also estab- lished for tbis purpose, but the Philadelphia Depot still continued to be charged with the procurement of the clothing and equipment. However, the peace time method of advertising for sealed proposals and making awards on same was discontinued in most instances and open market purchases effected, so it had not only the responsibility of procuring the supplies but also the grave responsibility of deciding upon prices, selecting contractors and the exercise of good judgment in deter- mining the quantities which could be produced by con- tractors. Upon the officer in charge of the Purchasing and Contracting branch was imposed this great task, and when the Committee on Supplies of the Council of ITational Defense were by orders of the Secretary of War called upon to indicate where the supplies needed could be procured. Colonel Harry J. Hirsch, who was in charge of that branch, was directed to act in co- operation with the Committee on Supplies in selecting 338 THE QUAKTEKMASTEK COKPS the contractors and arranging for the payment of a just and equitable price for the supplies. In addition, all contracts for the manufacture of uniforms, tentage and other supplies continued to be made by this branch, on the responsibility of the officer in charge of the branch, Colonel Hirsch. The ability possessed by that officer and his excellent judgment contributed very greatly to the successful accomplishment of the work of the Phila- delphia Depot, and were also of material assistance to the Committee on Supplies of the Council of National Defense with which he cooperated. Anticipating the need of greater storage and shipping facilities, the new Municipal Pier on the Delaware River, with a storage capacity of approximately 150,000 square feet and all modern equipment for the loading and discharge of cargo from vessels, was taken over and utilized. This pier afterwards became the nucleus of the embarkation sei*vice which was established. The other buildings taken over and leased were as follows: The Merchants' Warehouse, Front and Federal Streets, approximately 30,000 square feet of storage space; The Commercial Museum at 24th and Spruce Streets, 125,000 square feet storage capacity; The Equitable Warehouse, 5th and Willow Streets, 75,000 square feet storage capacity; the third and fourth floors of the old Custom House at 5th and Walnut Streets, about 25,000 square feet; and, in addition, numerous smaller build- ings and lofts were leased in various parts of the city for inspection purposes. In December, 1917, a site comprising sixty-five acres QITAETERMASTER DEPOTS 339 was selected on 21st and Oregon Avenues, in the Girard Estate, and leased for a term of years for the purpose of erecting thereon five temporary warehouses ; the con- struction of which was commenced about February 1, 1918, and completed about September 30, 1918. The first of these buildings was completed about April 1st, and was immediately occupied for storage and shipping. The combined storage capacity of the new warehouse aggregated 1,000,000 square feet. About July 1, 1917, a sub-depot was established in Baltimore to receive and inspect the articles manu- factured in that locality. This sub-depot was after- wards merged into the General Depot established at Baltimore. There were also sub-depots established at Trenton and Red Bank, New Jersey, and at Toronto, Canada. In April, 1917, there were six commissioned officers and 1,750 civilian employees at the Philadelphia Depot ; on December 31, 1917, this personnel had increased to 100 commissioned officers and 6,800 civilian employees. To take care of this personnel hospitals and dis- pensaries were established to care for the sick; rest rooms and welfare organizations established to care for the female employees; exchanges and cafeterias opened to provide the meals and lunches at midday for all. The following is a brief statement of the approximate quantities of uniform cloth, shirting flannel and cotton duck entering into the manufacture of uniforms and tents which were received, stored and issued during 1917: 340 THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS Yards Melton, 0. D., 16 and 20 oz 8,000,000 " " " 30 " 32 oz 5,000,000 Shirting flannel, 0. D 7,000,000 Cloth, cotton, 0. D 20,000,000 Duck, Khaki, 12.4 oz 10,000,000 8 " 6,000,000 Shelter Tent 7,000,000 In addition to tlie foregoing proportionate quantities of linings, trimmings, findings, etc., were purchased, stored and issued. The foregoing is only an outline of the growth and expansion of the Philadelphia Depot. The financial records of the Depot show that the disbursements for supplies increased in 1917 from approximately $200,000 to $22,000,000 per month. Colonel M. Gray Zalinski, Quartermaster Corps, was the Depot Quar- termaster. piTTSBUKG AESENAL : This was a storage Depot, and while included in the responsibility of the Depot Quar- termaster Philadelphia it was intended for the reserve storage of wagons and other supplies produced through the Jeffersonville Depot. In addition to the storage already at the Depot tem- porary buildings were constructed shortly after the out- break of the War, containing 1,329,500 cubic feet of storage space. PORTLAND, geegon: This was a purchasing depot for the camps in its vicinity. SAN FEANCisco : This Depot was the principal source of supply for three camps on the Pacific Coast, and had under it three sub-depots. The camps supplied by this QUAETERMASTEE DEPOTS 341 Depot included about 71,000 men. A large number of shoes and blankets and a great quantity of cloth were purchased and inspected by this Depot. The troops in Hawaii and the Philippine Islands were entirely supplied by this Depot, and in addition the line of transports operating between San Francisco and those Islands were under the charge of the officer command- ing this Depot. Colonel John T. Knight, Quartermaster Corps, was the Depot Quartermaster and General Superintendent, Army Transport Service, until August, 1917, when he was succeeded by Major General Carroll A. Devol, who continued at the Depot during the remainder of the year. SEATTLE : This was a purchasing and storage depot for the camps and posts in its vicinity, and also for the troops at stations in Alaska. The transports running to Alaskan posts were operated by the Depot Quarter- master. This depot also had a sub-depot at Tacoma. Colonel William H. Hart^ Quartermaster Corps, was Depot Quartermaster. Later he was succeeded by Colonel George Ruhlen. LOS ANGELES : A purchasing station for procurement of subsistence stores and such other miscellaneous ar- ticles of quartermaster supplies as were obtainable in that vicinity. Major Harry L. Steele was the Quarter- master. ST. LOUIS ; This Depot supplied four camps in which there was a total of about 111,000 men. It also pur- chased a large number of shoes and such clothes and 342 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS blankets as were manufactured in its vicinity, and su- perintended the making and inspection of a great num- ber of uniforms in the various factories to which con- tracts had been awarded. A large extension was made to the storehouses located at the Arsenal, and a thor- oughly modem and well equipped storehouse and office were constructed. Colonel William F. Clark was the Depot Quarter- master. Washington: This Depot supplied the local posts and departments. In this Depot was effected the set- tlement of all railroad bills of lading and transportation requests. The Depot Quartermaster also had charge of the new construction which was provided at Fort Myer, Washington Barracks, The Walter Reed General Hos- pital, the Engineer Camp, and Camp Meigs. This De- pot was also called upon to furnish transportation by motor trucks and of individuals in automobiles, and also assisted in moving the various offices to the new buildings when erected. Colonel George F. Downey, Quartermaster Corps, was the Depot Quartermaster. TRANSPORTATION DIVISION Rail transportation — Water transportation — Motors — Machine shop unit at Hoboken — Joint Army and Navy Board for the Inspection of Merchant Ships — Planning and designs for new army transports — Army vessel building program for construction of numeral small craft — Militarization of the U. S. Army vessel service — Motor transportation. BAIL, TKANSPORTATION In view of the great importance of transportation facilities in the problem of national defense, early at- tention was devoted to the establishment of a closer cooperation between the Quartermaster Corps and the various transportation interests with a view to coordi- nating in the movements of troops and supplies for the Army. During the spring and summer of 1915 the officer in charge of the Transportation Division, Office of the Quartermaster General, appeared before several of the transportation associations and outlined a plan of mutual cooperation which would be of benefit to both the carriers and the Government in case any emergency arose involving the transportation of large numbers of troops. These addresses were well received and the railroad men of the country became interested. On October 26, 1915, a letter prepared by the Quar- 343 344 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS termaster General was sent by the Secretary of War to the American Railway Association (an association com- posed of the presidents, and other chief operating of- ficials of the American railways) suggesting the estab- lishment within that Association of a committee of mili- tary transportation with whom the Quartermaster Corps could work in making such an-angements as might be necessary. Acting on this letter a "Special Committee on Cooperation with the Military Authorities" was ap- pointed by the American Railway Association composed of the following gentlemen: Fairfax Harrison, Presi- dent, Southern Railway; R. M. Aishton, President, Chicago & E"orth Western Railway ; A. W. Thompson, Vice-President, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad ; W. C. Bes- ler. President, Central Railroad of ITew Jersey. Conferences were held with this committee, and a general plan of cooperation outlined, to be placed in effect at the time of any public emergency, which pro- vided for placing a competent railroad official at each department headquarters, at each mobilization camp, at ports of embarkation and such other points as might be necessary. These representatives were tO' act as ad- visors to the officers of the Quartermaster Corps at these various points on any matters affecting rail transporta- tion and were representatives of all lines interested, thereby enabling an absolute coordination of all rail- roads. Sub-committees were appointed by the Committee of the American Railway Association to cover each phase of railroad activities. These committees met from TRANSPORTATION DIVISION 345 time to time with representatives of the Quartemiaster Corps and comprehensive plans were made to utilize to the utmost the resources of the transportation lines in providing for anj contingencies that might arise should it become necessary to mobilize and transport the mili- tary forces of the United States. Arrangements were made for centralization of all troop routing (other than inter-departmental move- ments) in the Office of the Quartermaster General in order that all movements might be coordinated and con- gestion avoided. Tentative routings from all regular army posts and from state mobilization camps to At- lanta, Gulf, Pacific and Mexican Border points were made up and placed on file in the Office of the Quarter- master General. Information was collected, collated and filed showing terminal facilities, such as wharves, docks, side tracks and railroad connections at all important ports on the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Coasts. Representatives of the Quartermaster General, the Surgeon General, and the Pullman Company drafted plans for a complete hospital train composed of an operating car, kitchen car, cars for litter cases, cars for ambulatory cases, and a car for the personnel attached to the train. With the authority of the Secretary of War, one of these trains was constructed by the Pull- man Company in 1916, and placed on duty on the Mexican Border, and this train formed a model for several other trains constructed during the World War. Working plans and diagTams were made for the con- 346 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS version of freight cars into temporary passenger cars, of Pullman cars and day coaches into hospital cars, and of flat and gondola cars for the transportation of light and heavy guns. These plans and specifications were on file in the Office of the Quartermaster General, and copies of them were also on file with the important railroad companies. Various transportation forms were drafted including cards to be placed on cars to identify their contents and insure expedition in movement. In conjunction with the sub-committees on passenger traffic, an agreement was entered into which provided for a distribution of military traffic on an equitable basis between all carriers; in return for which a reduction of five per cent, from the lowest rates otherwise avail- able was made by the carriers. This reduction applied on all military traffic, including individuals as well as troop movements, and resulted in a saving of thousands of dollars per year and the simplification of military passenger traffic. With the mobilization of the Regular Army and the National Guard on the Mexican Border in 1916, these plans, so far as applicable, were at once placed in effect and fully demonstrated their value ; minor changes only being found necessary. On the declaration of war by the United States the committee above referred to was enlarged to eighteen members and designated as the Special Committee on ISTational Defense of the American Railway Associa- tion. About a month later the committee was enlarged TEANSPOETATION DIVISION 347 to thirty-three members, certain of them being stationed at each department headquarters. With the outbreak of war the activities of the committee were extended far beyond what was originally contemplated, but the general plans were not changed. The railroads of the country were, so far as troop movements are concerned, operated practically as one system, and while there were some delays in the movements of troops during the win- ter of 1917-18, these delays were negligible and due solely to the exceptionally severe weather conditions during that winter. Perhaps the best example of these careful plans made by the Transportation Division of th.e Quartermaster Corps, in conjunction with the Railway Association, was in the transportation of the drafted men from their home to the mobilization camps. The records show that 2,287,926 men were transported from their homes to mobilization camps, these men came from thousands of draft districts in every part of the United States, thou- sands of them had performed but little, if any, travel before, but so complete were the transportation plans that all of these millions of men were handled without confusion or delay and without detriment to the regular train service. Some idea of the magnitude of the troop movement may be had from the following figures taken from the records of the Troop Movement Section of the United States Railroad Administration. From the date of the declaration of war up to and including the date of the Armistice 8,714,582 troops were moved by the r^il- 348 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS roads. This was in addition to over two million men who were carried on regular trains, being mostly drafted men en route to mobilization camps. A total of 16,535 special trains were necessary to carry troops, 245,529 cars being required for these movements. It is of interest in this connection also to note that over thirty per cent, of these men were handled in pullman cars, the balance being carried in coaches, and it was not necessary at any time to utilize box cars or other freight equipment for their transportation. For transportation overseas 1,758,033 men were moved into the Port of IsTew York alone. In all these vast movements there were sixteen accidents involving death or injury in which thirty-nine men were killed and 335 injured. That the plans made by the Quartermaster Corps for the movements of troops were well thought out and covered almost every contingency is amply demonstrated by the fact that after the Government took over the railroads, and my successor appointed one of the lead- ing traffic men of the United States as Director of In- land Traffic, absolutely no change was made in the plans that had been laid down during my administration for the movement of troops. From the foregoing it will be seen that definite plans for the movement of troops were made long before the United States entered the World War, that these plans were comprehensive, carefully thought out and proved highly effective in actual practice. That this was so is due solely to the fact that the transportation of troops was left wholly to officers of the Quartermaster Corps TKANSPORTATION DIVISION 349 who were familiar witli the matter and understood their duties. The same cannot be said for the trans- portation of supplies, or what is better known as Freight Transportation. That there was congestion and lack of coordination in the transportation of supplies during the fall and winter of 1917 must be admitted, but this was not due to any fault or lack of plans by the Quar- termaster Corps or its officers, as comprehensive plans for transportation of all supplies for the Army were made by the Quartermaster Corps in 1916. The great volume of all commercial shipments was moved to the Eastern Seaboard in order to meet the requirements for the contracts made by the Allied Gov- ernments for supplies, in addition the Shipping Board had enormous quantities of freight to move. This, added to the severe weather conditions and the heavy snow storms of 1917, caused the freight congestion in the E aft em part of the United States during that winter. WATER TRANSPORTATION" History, of all foreign wars by any nation, shows plainly that the movement of masses of troops by sea is always a determining factor. Plain as this fact may be, yet many military commanders have sought to ignore this teaching of history, for as always the transport of soldiers by ships is fraught with difficulties and by many not regarded as a military but a naval problem, hence many of the gi'eatest captains of the past have had their 350 THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS military record irretrievably blasted because they could not bring into their program of campaign the problem of the troop ship. The Spanish War was the object lesson in military sea transport which has set the pace for the United States War Department in establishing a definite mili- tary transport fleet, and for continuously maintaining it to the point of highest efiiciency. This U. S. Army Transport Service has from its very inception at the outbreak of the Spanish War been under the full administrative control of the Office of the Quartermaster General. At the outbreak of the World War it was not there- upon newly discovered as a new found toy to be taken up and experimented with, but instead it was a fully developed organization, time tried with the experience of twenty years and one war. It was not necessary for the Quartermaster General's Office at the outbreak of this World War to take the time to debate upon the de- sirability of an Army Transport Service, how it should be planned or administered, or the service it could properly undertake; as all this work had already been done in the past years. ITor was it necessary to call in the Navy for their advice or experience in this matter, for strange as it may seem the Navy had no experience in these matters, or at least none worthy of the name. In the minds of the older officers of the Quartermaster Corps it was recalled how at the opening of the Spanish War, when the then Quartermaster General, called upon the Navy Department to aid in the transport of troops TRANSPORTATION DIVISION 351 from Tampa to Cuba, the Navy replied that it had grave problems of its own and was in no position to worry over the subject of the movement of troops. Thereupon, without further debate with the Navy, the Secretary of War and the Quartermaster General called into be- ing the U. S. Army Transport Service which as a definite military unit has had an unbroken record up to the present. The Navy, during the Spanish War, operated a few occasional transports for the service of its own sup- plies and personnel, but at no time ever accomplished any War Department transportation of any kind. Fol- lowing this War, the Navy willing drifted back into its peace-time routine, and was only too glad to have the Army undertake not only all the Army's own sea trans- portation, but the Navy's sea transportation as well. Strange though it may seem, the U. S. Army has prac- tically kept alive the Asiatic Fleet of the U. S. Navy by the continuous transfer of supplies and personnel from San Francisco to the Orient. These facts of the past regarding the Navy are merely indicated to show that the War Department could not go to the Naval Service for professional advice on the subject of move- ment of troops over marine routes, but rather it appears that the War Department was in a position to offer the Navy recommendations based on study and experi- ence with this class of sea service of which the Navy knew nothing. That this twenty-year operation of the Army Trans- port Fleet was a success is best evidenced by the fact 352 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS that this Fleet as an organization lasted so long. The records of other nations in fact, show no such long period of operation after the original military necessity which led to the Fleet's creation had been passed. The Congress of the United States, shortly after the close of the Spanish War, gave careful consideration to the aspect of further continuance of the Transport Fleet, but each time, after careful scrutiny of the ap- propriations, and an analysis of figures for equivalent transportation by mercantile marine steamers, always returned to the conclusion that the maintenance of a fleet of transports was not only a military necessity but also that it was an economical procedure. Unpreparedness for War was never the condition in the Water Transport Branch of the Quartermaster Gen- eral's Ofiice; for as shown, the U. S. Army Transport Service had never been allowed to lapse either by Con- gress or the War Department. On the declaration of War with Germany the TJ. S. Army Transport Service was a very much alive and flourishing service. To be sure, it did not have many ships, but it had the nucleus of an organization which needed but the orders and the financial allotments be- fore it could be readily expanded to any extent de- manded. ISTo branch of the Quartermaster General's Office could boast of such continuous control and practice of principles as was accorded to the Water Transport Branch. I^ecessity in other Branches had often re- quired those rotations of officers and methods which in- TEAE^SPOETATIOI^ DIVISI0:N' 353 terfered with that continuity of means and practices which good administration properly requires, but with the Water Transport Branch from the days of the Spanish War until the opening of the World War, there had been very few changes in the commissioned personnel in charge of this important Division of the Office of the Quartermaster General. Another official who had a large influence in molding the policies of the whole transport and army vessel serv- ice, and who represented a continuous progTam of poli- cies from the Spanish War to the Mexican Mobilization, was Mr. George A. Anthony, the Supervising Marine Engineer and J^aval Architect of the War Department, who was appointed by Quartermaster General Luding- ton in 1898 and served in his capacity as general nautical adviser to each successive Quartermaster Gen- eral until 1916. In addition to these duties he also had control of the design and fitting of more than a hun- dred new vessels for the harbor boat service of the War Department as well as the supervising of personnel and repairs of all classes of vessels of the entire U. S. Army Vessel Service, In 1916 desiring to accept a position in civil life he resigned and his duties were transferred to Mr. Frank Van Vleck, who had during the Spanish War been an Assistant Superintendent Engineer of the U. S. Army Transport Fleet at San Francisco, and who had had in the meantime service in the Depart- ment of Yards and Docks of Mare Island Navy Yard, and later as Assistant to Admiral Melville, Engineer- in-Chief of the Navy at Washington. 354 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS It should be stated here that many months before there was any thought of the declaration of war, the Quartermaster General had issued instructions for the military examination and survey of every vessel under the American Flag that could by any means be adapted for the transportation of troops and animals. Therefore when war opened there was on hand and ready a list of every available American vessel suitable for charter or commandeer as a vessel of the Army Transport system. As indicative of the readiness of the transport fleet for sudden exigencies, it may be mentioned that late in 1916, a year before the German War, the second Mexi- can Border Mobilization was under full way, when a call was suddenly made upon the Quartermaster Gen- eral to be ready for a campaign by sea from a Gulf port for a destination unknown, presumably again Vera Cruz or Tampico. Lists of American ships in addition to the transports held in reserve at Newport News, Vir- ginia, were picked out as available and instructions were ready for issue in all detail to have these ships all fitted and ready for sea in two weeks for the transportation of at least one American division to the scene of action. Advices from the State Department shortly appeared stating that this proposed movement had been cancelled. Yet again early in May, 1917, shortly after the dec- laration of war with Germany, there emanated from the General Staff a request for a troop movement to an overseas destination unnamed, of a division or more, and in which each class of military unit for the voyage TRANSPOKTATION DIVISION 355 was designated. Here again, the Quartermaster Gen- eral's Transport Officer had ready in a few hours, the complete designation of all ships by name, their ap- pointed date of rendezvous at the general base, and all to be equipped and provisioned ready to sail in ten days or two weeks. Each ship was designated tO' carry cer- tain units and no others, everything had been deter- mined as far as possible in advance. This sudden troop movement did not come off at that time, but was evi- dently changed, as these preliminary plans for merely division movements were merged into the consideration of the larger projects for the now too evident move- ment of troops by vast units. Before the declaration of war in April, 1917, in- structions were issued directly by the Quartermaster General to Colonel Chauncey B. Baker, Q. M. C, in charge of the Transport Branch of the Q. M. C, to get in touch with the new Chairman of the Shipping Board, Mr. Denman, and to impress upon him that the Nation was rapidly drifting into war, and that the American War Department must have more ships avail- able for eventual transfer or commandeer as transports. Colonel Baker called attention to the fact that although the United States was not at war, yet certain depart- ments of the Army did hot propose to be caught un- awares, and that what few ships the Transport Service had were all of them busily engaged in necessary mili- tary transportation. This was especially so in the nitrate situation as the Ordnance Department realized late in 1916 that if war was suddenly declared, the ob- 356 THE QUAETERMASTER CORPS taining of Chilean nitrate might be completely cut off. As this contingency was too serious to contemplate, Army transports late in 1916 and 1917 were rushed to Chile for this very necessary constituent of explosives. Upon the declaration of War with Germany on April 6, 1917, all the German interned vessels at United States ports were seized and their German personnel made prisoners of war. The War Department at once recognized the im- portance of this move, as there was thus placed in the hands of the American government a large list of ves- sels of the most seaworthy type, which would make ideal transports. Still neither the War Department nor the Navy had control over any of these ships. The seizure was first effected by the U. S. Marshals attached to the Treasury Department and a few days later the U. S. Steamboat Inspection Service was instructed to proceed with their repair, as the Germans had left them in a frightful state of intentional damage. Then later the Shipping Board was instructed by the President to • proceed with the repairs, yet at this time the Shipping Board had no technical staff whatever to undertake what was to be a herculean task. Thereupon, the War Department was required to take over and start these repairs. Later, the ]N"avy Department, again by direct instructions of the President, took over this whole task of reconditioning. This fitting up work by the N"avy did not, however, entitle the boats to go into commission as navy troop ships. Their operation was under the orders of the Shipping Board. That the War TEANSPORTATION DIVISION 357 Department did not leave one stone unturned to quickly get hold of some of these ships is shown by a letter to Chairman Denman of the Shipping Board, asking that the following named German interned vessels be at once reserved for the use of the War Department for the early transportation of troops to Europe: As troops ships In Boston the S.S. Amerika " " " " Cincinnati In New York " " Princess Irene « " " " " Hamburg « " « " " Geo. Washington « " " " " Grosser Kurfui-st " " " " " Kaiser Wilhelm II " " " " " President Lincoln " " " " " President Grant In addition thereto there were to be added suitable vessels to form the Supply Train, the names and relative tonnage to be determined by the Shipping Board. Re- pairs and refitting now in progress, were to be con- tinued, except such alterations as might unfit the in- teriors for strictly military use. Costs and charges for this work of repair and refit, already performed and contracted for, were to be the subject for future adjust- ment between Shipping Board and War Department. In addition to the interned German vessels required for the Atlantic Oversea expeditionary forces, the fol- lowing were also asked for in separate communications, but are here consolidated into one list : For San Francisco-Honolulu Manila Service : At San Francisco S.S. Serapis " Honolulu S.S. Pommern " Manila S.S. Princess Alice 358 THE QUARTEKMASTER CORPS At Manila One Collier for relief of coal situation For Harbor and Local Transport and Mine Work: At Colon S.S. Prinz Sigismunde " Colon S.S. Savoia " Colon S.S. Sacksenwald " New York from Colon S.S. Grunewald For either transatlantic or coastwise transports: At Philadelphia S.S. Rhaetia " Philadelphia S.S. Prinz Oskar As in case of the transatlantic fleet, all repairs and refitting were to be continued, except such as reduced the military features or capacity. The Shipping Board's reply not proving satisfactory, the Secretary of War took the matter up directly with the President, and it was thereupon decided that all German interned vessels could be used by the Army, by direct request upon the Shipping Board, and thereafter there was no further trouble on that score. The dis- cussions with the Shipping Board had, however, con- sumed some of the most valuable early weeks of the War. There were old laws on the statute books which per- mitted the War Department to charter, commandeer or seize as circumstances required, any vessel flying the American flag. Colonel John T. Carson, the Depot Quartermaster at New York, also appointed as General Superintendent TEAN^SPORTATIOK DIVISIOI^ 359 of Army Transports, was ordered to be ready any time after the middle of April, 1917, to commandeer any available ships in that port and order them at once to ship repair yards for immediate refitting into Army troop transports, and was instructed that when such orders came down it was expected that each or all of the ships should be ready for sea in at least two weeks thereafter. As technical aides to Colonel Carson there were rushed across continent to him from San Fran- cisco, Captain Stinson, Marine Superintendent, and Mr. C. B. McCabe, Superintendent Engineer, both of the TJ. S. Army Transport Service. Both of these officials were experienced men of the old transport fleet, having been in the sei'vice since the Spanish War. They were both commissioned as Majors in the National Army and on arrival immediately took hold at Hoboken in organiz- ing for the first transport fleet movement. Other specialists in shipping were engaged from time to time as their sei*vices became necessary. The first transport of American troops to Europe^ was designated as the "First Convoy." Colonel Carsoni at New York telephoned on May 28, 1917, that the fol- lowing vessels, all of them American, had been decided on — many of the owners even then not yet being in- formed of the commandeer. Saratoga 1200 troops Havana 1200 " H. R. Mallory 1450 " San Jacinto 1129 " Lenape 1069 " Tenadores 1200 " 360 THE QUAETERMASTEK CORPS Finland 1600 troops Momus 1200 " Antilles 1200 " Pastores 1000 " (All of the above ships being able to maintain four- teen knots at sea.) Following were animal ships: Montanan I2V2 knots Dakotan 121/2 " El Occidente 14 " Edward W. Luckenbach 13 " Colonel Carson also stated that contracts would be made for repairs and alterations to refit them for troop transports, and that he would have them ready for sea, with steam up and supplies on board, in ten days. These ships were ready at the time specified. This feat, however, required extraordinary work on his part — for it was accomplished in a port already congested with freight, and with repair yards practically closed to additional orders. As previously stated there was lack of coordination in regard to shipment of freight to ISTew York to be transported on the First Convoy, each Supply Depart- ment shipping the supplies which would be required by its representative in France and without considera- tion being given by anyone as to the priority to be given in tJie shipment. Limited tonnage only was available; therefore it should have been apportioned among the various Supply Departments by some disinterested of- TKANSPORTATIOlsr DIVISION 361 ficer, and priority in the supplies of a department itself also indicated. One Supply Department shipped to New York to be forwarded on the First Convoy about twelve thousand tons of freight. As there were no camps in the vicinity of New York in which the troops could be held until such time as it was possible to load them aboard the transports, it became necessary for Colonel Carson to get in communication with the several posts throughout the country, from which the troops were drawn, and arrange train schedules to provide for the arrival of the troops at such times as they could be placed directly aboard the vessels, upon arrival of the trains. This necessitated keeping in constant touch with the troop tTains en route to New York. The construction of the cantomnents had not been started at the time the troops for the First Convoy were moved from their stations. The Quartennaster General recommended that no sup- plies intended for France be shipped to New York by the several Supply Departments until the Depot Quar- tennaster there had been communicated with, and stated that such supplies could be stored and properly handled. In order to provide a camp in which to assemble the troops for shipment abroad, insure proper supervision over all matters at the ports of embarkation, provide the proper coordination and supervision over the Supply Departments as related to shipment of supplies, and establish priority as to shipments, the following mem- orandum was prepared and submitted to the acting 362 THE QITARTERMASTEE CORPS Chief of Staff by the Quartermaster General ; and was approved by order of the Secretary of War: "June 20, 1917. "MEMORANDUM for the Chief of Staff: "1. It is recommended that ports of embarkation be established at New York, Newport News, and such other ports as may be found necessary. The port of New York to be designated for the transportation of troops and general supplies, and that of Newport News to be used principally for shipment of animals, forage and heavy ordnance. That a Commanding Officer be designated for each port of embarkation to be directly under the orders of the Secretary of War and be au- thorized to communicate directly with Chiefs of Bu- reaux of the War Department. "2. At New York there should be established a camp of sufficient size to accommodate one division, and the commander of the port of embarkation to be authorized to acquire such number of warehouses, and such storage facilities as may become necessary from time to time, the commander of the port at Newport News to be authorized to lease necessary land and to provide a depot for accommodation of approximately 10,000 animals with camps or cantonments for the sup- ply companies of a division and necessary storage fa- cilities for handling the field train vehicles, forage and heavy ordnance to be shipped from that port. "3. Bureau Chiefs will furnish timely information of contemplated shipments to the commander of the proper port of embarkation, advising as to the class, weight and cubic dimensions of such supplies. Upon determination of the space available the commander of the port of embarkation will notify each Bureau Chief of the amount of supplies from that Bureau that can TKANSPOKTATION DIVISION 363 be accommodated and of the date when such supplies should arrive at the port of embarkation. In the mean- time the shipment will be held at the point of origin and not forwarded until such time as will cause it to reach the port a day or two in advance of the date designated by the Commander of the port of embarka- tion. The Commander of the port of embarkation will decide upon the priority of all shipments. "4. Troops to be transported overseas will be sent to and held at the concentration camp at port of em- barkation a reasonable time in advance of time of de- parture. Their embarkation will be under the direction and control of the Commander of the port of em- barkation." HENRY G. SHARPE, Quartermaster General. APPROVED : By order of the Secretary of War. TASKER H. BLISS, Major-General, Acting Chief of Staff. Immediately upon the issuance of orders for the First Convoy the Quartei-master General recommended the establishment of a Port of Embarkation in New York and the assignment of an officer to its command. No action having been taken, the recommendation was renewed, and the Quartermaster General recommended that Colonel John M. Carson be appointed as Com- mandant of the Base. This prompted instructions to the Commanding General Department of the East to designate a line officer for such duty, and on June 6, 364 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS 1917, Colonel J. C. F. Tillson was designated to act as Port Commander. Shortly after the sailing of the First Convoy infor- mation was given that a second division would be sent abroad as soon as possible, and not later than the re- turn of the vessels in the First Convoy. Steps were taken to prepare for this shipment of troops and sup- plies and before the entire division finally sailed the following memorandum was received from The Adju- tant General under date of July 27, 1917 : "The Secretary of War has directed that Primary Ports of Embarkation be organized at 'New York City and Hampton Roads, Virginia, and has assigned a com- manding officer witb suitable staff officers to each. The main headquarters office of the former is at Hoboken, JNTew Jersey, and Brigadier-General D. C. Shanks, II. S. A., is to command it. The main headquarters of the other is at the Federal Building, Newport News, Vir- ginia. Colonel Grote Hutcheson has been assigned to this command. "These Ports of Embarkation are to be regarded by the War Department as single utilities, each made up, among other things, of five depots, one for each supply bureau where accimiulations of stores in quantity will be effected, classified, arranged and held in readiness for shipment the instant vessels become available. Each of these depots is to be in immediate charge of an officer of the corresponding supply department who will also be on the staff of the Commander of the Port. "The special utilities pertaining to each supply bu- reau should be arranged in harmonious relation with those of all the others and with the terminal and dock TEANSPOETATION DIVISIOlsr 365 facilities intended to serve all. In order that this con- dition may be brought about, the Secretary of War directs that you formulate the needs of your department at each Port and by direct correspondence with its commander arrange for the acquisition and develop- ment of the required facilities in accordance with a general plan embracing all the utilities needed to com- plete the Port of Embarkation as a whole. It is the intention of the Department to send experts upon ques- tions of layouts, construction, terminal arrangements, and all related questions, to advise the Port Command- ers in the initial stages of acquisition, organization and building, and prompt action by bureau chiefs, as indi- cated, is desired." Enclosed with this memorandum was an advance copy of General Order 102, which read as follows: WAK DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 30, 1917. "General Orders, No. 102. "1. To enable the Chief of Staff to exercise effec- tively his supervisory and coordinating powers in respect to overseas movements, there is hereby created in the Office of the Chief of Staff, for the period of the exist- ing war, a section to take charge of the embarkation of troops and supplies for transatlantic transportation and to exercise under the Secretary of War the direct con- trol incident to this service. The Officer in charge is designated as the Chief of the Embarkation Sei-vice and he will be given such assistance, commissioned and 366 THE QUAETEKMASTEK COEPS civilian, as may be necessary, with office rooms in the War Department building. "2. The function of this section is to coordinate all shipments of munitions and supplies of every kind and all troop movements whose ultimate destination is Eu- rope, and to advise and assist the Chief of Staff in ref- erence thereto. It will have direct supervision, under the Chief of Staff, of all movements of supplies from points of origin to ports of embarkation ; will supervise the operations of the latter, and will control the employ- ment of all Army transports engaged in the transat- lantic sendee and such commercial shipping as may be used to supplement that service. It will arrange with the Navy for convoy service. "3. It is made the duty of all chiefs of supply bureaux to keep the Chief of the Embarkation Service informed fully of the condition of supplies in their several bureaux, and to this end they will correspond directly with that officer. Direct correspondence be- tween the Chief of the Embarkation Service and the commanding officers of ports of embarkation is author- ized. Copies of all requisitions, requests and informa- tion of every character received from the Commanding General of our forces in Europe, or his subordinates, which bear upon reinforcements or renewals of sup- plies will be transmitted to the Chief of the Embarka- tion Service ; and, in general, under the supervision of the Chief of Staff, this officer is charged with the duty of arranging that all supplies for our forces in Europe shall be forwarded in the most expeditious and con- venient manner, and to that end he is authorized to call upon all supply officers for information and to exercise control in matters of shipment both within the terri- tory of the United States and in the overseas haul. "4. Brigadier General F. J. Keman, U. S. Army, TEANSPOKTATION DIVISIOIT 367 is detailed, temporarily, as Chief of the Embarkation Service, and Colonel Chauncey B. Baker, Quartermas- ter Corps, is detailed as principal assistant. (321.11,AG.O) "By order of the Secretary of War : "TASKEK H. BLISS, "Major General, Acting Chief of Staff." Official: H. P. McCain, The Adjutant General. The effect of this order was to take from the Quar- termaster Corps the responsibility for the shipment of troops and supplies to France, to take from it the providing and handling of the transports, the crews aboard them, and all activities in connection with their loading and discharging, and likewise all control of the wharves and all tugs required in the handling of the vessels. All of these duties were placed upon the Embarkation Service, a section of the office of the Chief of Staff established by this order. The Quartermaster Corps having thus been relieved of the activities in connection with the handling of transports, services which, under the laws were as- signed to that Corps, it would seem just that that Corps would be relieved from criticism concerning matters with which it no longer was permitted to function. The Quartermaster Corps was, however, blamed in cablegrams from France for matters regarding the load- ing of the transports and the failure to forward sup- plies called for on requisitions in accordance with the priority schedule; notwithstanding the fact that fre- 368 THE QUARTEEMASTER CORPS quent requests were made by the Quartermaster Gen- eral that the authorities in France be informed that the Quartermaster Corps no longer operated the Trans- port Service, but that it was under the Chief of Staff. The transport McClellan had been supplied with re- frigerating machinery, and had a storage capacity of 1,500 tons of frozen beef. This vessel and some other transports early in the year 1917 were turned over to the Shipping Board by direction of the President. Upon receipt of instructions for the sailing of the First Convoy, request was made upon the Shipping Board for the return of the McClellan, in order that a supply of frozen beef could be forwarded to France. Mr. Den- man, the Chairman of the Shipping Board, demurred, and inquired of the Quartermaster General what dis- position would be made of the vessel after its arrival in France. He was told that it would be held th^re until cold storage facilities could be constructed in France, as there were practically none in that country. Mr. Denman stated that after the arrival in France he de- sired to send the McClellan to Spain to load with a cargo of fruit to be brought to this country. He was informed that the vessel would undoubtedly be interned upon arriving at a port in Spain. After waiting for a long time, and receiving no reply to the request for the transfer of the McClellan back to the Corps, the Quar- termaster General directed the Depot Quartermaster to load the vessel with frozen beef and to sail in the com- pany with the other vessels forming the First Convoy. After arrival in France the McClellan was held there TEANSPOETATION DIVISION" 369 as a cold storage depot until the conclusion of the war, and was then sold to the French Government. The members of the French High Commission stated that it would be difficult to unload the vessels of the First Convoy at ports in France as the only stevedoring labor available there was provided by the emplojonent of women and children and a few Gennan prisoners. The problem was assigned to the Supervising Marine Engineer, Mr. Frank Van Vleck, to have 500 steve- dores ready in five days, and on board ships of the first convoy ready for France. Without precedent or previous organization he fonned a so-termed "Transport Workers' Battalion," composed entirely of colored steve- dores from the South, for there was at the time of formation a stevedore strike going on in the southern ports, and it was undesirable and impracticable to glean any of this class of labor from any northern city. General Pershing and staff were on hand to see the arrival of the First Convoy, and at once made note of these first colored men who handled ship lines and gear like old professionals as they were. As these men looked like soldiers and behaved like soldiers, and ap- peared under discipline, he thereupon cabled to the effect: "Send immediately eight hundred (800) more of these stevedores, but as they look like and behave as soldiers, therefore make them such." The sending of the next group as soldiers was not performed in five days, however, nor in five weeks, for there all the proper machinery of recruitment and enlistment had to be started. This Water Transport Branch did, however, 370 THE QUAKTEEMASTEK CORPS secure the services of the first commanding Officer, Mr. W. G. Austin of Savannah, who was thereupon commis- sioned Major, and shortly after as Colonel commanded the First Regiment of Stevedores. From one regiment this grew into four, and finally on representations from the Engineer Corps that steve- doring functions in France properly pertained to the Corps of Engineers rather than to Quartermaster Corps, this body of military stevedores was thereupon trans- ferred in France to the Engineer Corps. MACHINE SHOP UNIT AT HOBOKEN An interesting outgrowth of the stevedore regi- ments was the development of a unit of ship workers at Hoboken which later developed into the Military Ma- chine Shop Unit, U. S. A. Thus in forming the plans for a white stevedore regiment for use in ISTew York, it was decided to embrace in it a few companies or a battalion of special ship fitters, such as ship plumbers, wiremen, galley repair men, carpenters, etc. The or- ganization of this technical portion of a regiment was thus proceeded with, while the purely stevedoring bat- talions never were organized due to questions of ex- pediency prevailing at that time in the whole situation of labor and stevedore unrest in that harbor. Repairs and alterations on vessels of the first, second and third convoys were coming in rapidly and required careful analysis. The later efficient Machine Shop Unit at Hoboken was not then being organized. Large jbills of repairs were also coming in for the interned TEANSPOETATION DIVISION 371 German fleet, for at first the Navy had little or noth- ing to do with these seized vessels, and the Quartermas- ter Corps had suddenly thrust upon it the responsibility of getting these vessels ready for sea. The Water Transport Branch, under the old laws and regulations of the Quartermaster Sei*vice, continued also to act as the executive for all matters connected with the operations of the United States owned Army Transport Fleet of the Pacific, the Philippines and Panama serv- ices, and of the entire Harbor Boat Service of the United States Army then consisting of some 360 ves- sels of all descriptions. JOINT ARMY AND NAVY BOAKD FOB THE INSPECTION OF MERCHANT SHIPS This Board was formed before the opening of hos- tilities late in 1916, when it was found that both the Ai-my and Navy were gathering facts and statistics re- garding the possible conversion of the most representa- tive American steamers into troop transports or mili- tary freight ships. As it was found that both the Army and Navy were thus duplicating inspections and record files, it was thereupon decided to join forces and have constituted a Board, to be known as the Joint Army and Navy Board, for the inspection of merchant vessels. The orders establishing this Board specified that inspecting officers should be detailed in each naval district to act as inspectors to examine and review the qualifications 372 THE QUARTERMASTEK CORPS of eacli vessel as might be reported to it for examina- tion by the general Board sitting in Washington. THE PLANNING AND DESIGNS FOK NEW ARMY TEANSPORTS It was early appreciated by the War Department that there would be a deplorable shortage of troop transports to convoy the troops to Europe, and this was recognized even before the draft law was enacted which would surely result in accentuating this shortage. These facts were first presented urgently before the Shipping Board by Colonel, afterwards General C. B. Baker. The sug- gestion first was to ask conversion of a few ships already requisitioned by the Shipping Board. On examination of the plans of most of these ships it developed that they were totally unsuited for alteration to transports, due either to the fact of having unsufficient speed or being inadequately supplied with decks suited for troops. Two ships, however, were found admirably adapted for conversion, the steamers Orizaba and Oriente (later named Sihoney) then nearing completion at the Cramp Shipyard in Philadelphia, having been started on orders from the ~^. Y. and Cuba Mail, the Ward Line. Later these two vessels, together with the fast steam- ers Great Northern and Northern Pacific made the rec- ord for the North Atlantic for the greatest number of trips and the quickest "turn around." These two great American ships Greed Northern and Northern Pacific were purchased in the fall of 1917 under authority contained in an Act of Congress for TEANSPOETATION DIVISION 373 this purpose. They were no sooner placed in service on the North Atlantic than, owing to their high speed and their facility in making round trip voyages, they proved themselves of the highest military value in the rapid transportation of troops to France. ARMY VESSEL BUILDING PROGRAM FOR THE CON- STRUCTION OF NUMERAL SMALL CRAFT TJ. S. Army Mine Planter Graham. This vessel was designed and contracts let with the New York Ship Building Company to be constructed at their Camden Shipyard. The contract had considerable time to run but upon request of the Quartermaster General's Office the construction of the vessel was expedited and it was completed well within the time limit set by the contract. The trial trip was held late in December, 1916, and shortly thereafter the vessel was sent to Panama for station. El Aquador — intended for general freight and water service in San Francisco Harbor. The appropriation made for the construction of this vessel not proving ample, due to the increase of prices, the plans for it were modified after consultation with a representative of the Coast Artillery Corps. Twenty-seven D. B. Boats. By the appropriation act of Congress for 1917 allowance was made for the con- struction of ten D. B. boats, for use of the Mine Plant- ing Service of the Coast Artillery. While these boats were under construction it was decided to increase the 374 THE QUAKTERMASTER CORPS total number to twenty-seven, so that there would be a D. B. boat available for every harbor of importance on the N^orth Atlantic. Following delivei-y these boats were sent to their various stations from Portland, Maine, to Galveston, Texas. Q. Boats. In connection with the work of Coast Ar- tillery posts, it became evident early in the War, that the number of suitable passenger-carrying launches evened by the Army was entirely inadequate for the greatly expanded requirements. Contracts were there- fore let for twelve passenger-carrying launches of the Dowries, Neary, Cheney class; which class had proved to be acceptable. The class for convenience was desig- nated the Q. Boat. Some of these boats were sent to France on the decks of vessels of supply ships and were used in the harbors of that country. These were dis- tributed to posts from Maine to Texas, Fifty-one Mine Yawls. The appropriation for 1917 contained an item for a number of mine yawls for the use of the Coast Artillery Corps in performing work in the mine fields ; and it was decided to increase the num- ber originally ordered, so that fifty-one were finally constructed. The original design for these yawls was prepared by officers of the Coast Artillery at Fort Tot- teia, MILITARIZATION OP THE U. S. ARMY VESSEL SERVICE As the routine, uniform and discipline of the Army Transport Service savors of military command and con- TEANSPOETATION DIVISIOl^ 375 trol, it would appear to be to advantage to place all the transport civilians under a full military organization, and successive Quartermaster Generals have sought by law to have the militarization of this vessel service car- ried into effect. Congress has usually been friendly to the proposal, as it was readily seen that this military control would produce economy of operation and secure a better dis- cipline of the entire personnel. Opposition has been made by the General Staff because the plan would neces- sitate commissioning the seagoing officers of the trans- port fleet. A year before the War the Quartermaster General's Office inaugurated several attempts to have this service placed on a military basis, and various plans were sub- mitted but all failed to receive the approval of the Gen- eral Staff. In the past, instances arose on the different vessels of the Service, indicating insubordination on the part of employees through failure to obey orders, frequent absences from their duties without leave, and refusals to work from time to time without increase of pay, re- sulting in practically tying up the vessels when their services were urgently needed for immediate Govern- ment work. Such cases were reported as arising on the mine planters, harbor boats and vessels of the Trans- port Service. Following numerous recommendations from Depart ment Commanders, and others having the employment of such crews under their direct control, and in order to 376 THE QUAKTEEMASTER CORPS establish a service over which unquestioned authority could be exercised, with a recognized grade of pay, rec- ommendations were made as early as December, 1915. for the passage of a law authorizing an auxiliary corps of the War Department, with a view to including the civilian personnel on the vessels of the Service. This recommendation was finally put in the form of a bill which was introduced in Congress by Honorable W. S. Bennett, on January 6, 1916. In this connection, under date of March 20, 1916, the Commanding General of Eastern Department, in for- warding papers on the subject of the crews of Mine Planters, stated that in view of the fact that these ves- sels were engaged in accomplishing one of our chief defensive operations, (the mining of our harbors), the crews should be a part of the armed force and subject to military laws, and recommended that provisions be made at once to enlist a special class of American cit- izens for assignment to these positions on the Mine Planters. This communication was presented to the War Department through the Chief of Coast Artillery under date of May 22, 1916, suggesting legislation along the lines previously recommended for an enlisted serv- ice for these vessels. In iN'ovember, 1916, owing to the trouble which had existed for some time on board the Mine Planters on the Atlantic Coast, the Commanding General, Eastern Department, convened a Board of Officers "for the pur- pose of submitting a report upon conditions which have existed and now exist, with reference to the crews of TRANSPORTATION" DIVISION" 3Y7 vessels of this class, and to submit recommendations as to the best method of securing for vessels of this type the personnel dependable both in peace and war," and in submitting the report of this Board to the War De- partment, recommendation was made by the Quarter- master General's Office under date of January 12, 1917, through the Office of the Chief of Coast Artillery, that effort be made to secure legislation placing the officers and crews of these vessels on a practical working basis, attention was invited to the draft of bill to establish an enlisted vessel service in the Quartermaster Corps. Under date of January 30, 1917, the Quartermaster General submitted a memorandum to the Chief of Staff, outlining in detail the necessity for the enactment of a law to establish an Army Vessel Sei'vice for the pur- pose of bringing into the military service of the United States all persons now comprising the Army Transport Service and Harbor Boat Service, and now carried as Civilian employees. It was pointed out that the desir- ability of commissioning, warranting and enlisting the members of the crews of the vessels comprising the Army Transport and the Harbor Boat Service had long been considered, and during the existence of the pres- ent war, such desirability was rendered still more ap- parent; that difficulties with certain members of crews arising at almost every sailing of an Army Transport were constantly in evidence, and the same conditions were multiplying on the harbor boats, mine planters and cable steamers. On March 30, 1917, the matter was again brought 378 THE QUABTERMASTER CORPS to the attention of the Adjutant General of the Army, citing the case of the Army Transport Sherman, which had been put in commission for the purpose of trans- porting building material from Honolulu in connection with the construction of quarters at Schofield Barracks, and showing that although the vessel was all ready and under orders to sail on March 27, 1917, on account of higher wages being offered by lines operating in con- nection with the Alaskan Fishing Industry, the Sherman crew would leave the transport, unless an increase of wages was allowed, and that the increase had to be granted before the ship could sail. Recommendation for the establishment of a vessel service was renewed in a letter of April 3, 1917, on the subject of the crew of the transport Thom^as which re- fused to sail unless wages were increased ; in endorse- ment under date of April 7, 1917, in the case of the crew of the Mine Planter Schofield, reported by the Commanding General, Ancon, Canal Zone, stating that he was having difficulty in maintaining a reliable crew and under date of April 9, 1917, on report of the Quar- termaster at Newport, Rhode Island, to the effect that the crew of the harbor boats were about to resign, to enter the Naval Reserve because of better pay. On June 2, 1917, in an endorsement of the Adjutant General of the Army, reference was made to letter from the Chairman of the Committee on military affairs, in which it is stated that legislation for the creation of a Quai'tennaster Boat Service in the Quartermaster Corps and a Mine Planter Service in the Coast Artillery Corps TIlAKSPORTATION BlVlSION^ Sl9 would be taken up with the Committee at once. In this connection, it was requested that the opinion of the Judge Advocate General be obtained as to the possibility of drafting civilian crews of these vessels in the militaiy service, pending the passage of the legislation above re^ f erred to. By opinion, dated June 4, 1917, the Judge Advocate General decided that the draft authorized by the Act of May 18, 1917, does not contemplate the selec- tion of any pai'ticular persons, such as those comprising the present crews of Mine Planters and retaining them in the Sei*vice, and in his opinion, such crews could not be brought into the military service under the general draft act. As recited in the numerous cases above, the conditions were aggravated from time to time through the general demand, in all lines of shipping, for men of this class, with a consequent increase in commercial rates. With the rate of wages fixed by law, and based upon estimates prepared far in advance, the Department found itself seriously embarrassed and handicapped in undertaking to accede to the demands for increases, and in several instances an adjustment to meet the requirements of the crews had only resulted in a similar request from the same crew in a very short period, so that the De- partment was placed at the mercy of its employees, with no assurances whatever that an accession to one or two requests for increase pay would not be the forerunner of several such demands. A plan was devised by Colonel Chauncey B. Baker, Quartermaster Corps, for the formation of six Trans- 380 THE QUAHTEKMASTER COEPS port Regiments, Quartermaster Corps, for services as vessel "workers, under the authority contained in Sec- tion 2, of the Act approved May 18, 1917, which authorized the President to increase temporarily the Military Establishment. The plan was submitted by the Quartermaster General on October 1, 1917, but no action was taken on it. Late in 1917, the effort was renewed and a draft of a bill, which met the approval of a committee of the Gen- eral Staff, was presented to Congress, but it failed to be enacted into law. The mortification occurred of having the Government in time of war have four large ships at New York, with steam up and all military supplies on board, prevented from sailing while a handful of seamen wrangled over wages, which at that time were on a scale that had recently been increased. At !N"ewport iJ^ews a troop transport, loaded with troops, was held up for three days while stewards and seamen insisted an increased wage. If these men were alien enemies or sympathizers the Government would have been prompt to act and had authority of law for so doing. When the Quartermaster General endeavored to form a Stevedore Battalion for duty at Hoboken, the Union leader objected, and permission was not granted. Later the same union leader requested the Quartermaster Gen- eral to organize a battalion for duty there, stating that the men were getting beyond his control. His request was declined as there was no intention of assisting him to remain in control of the union. TEANSPORTATION DIVISION 381 The Quartermaster Corps being unable to secure civilians for seagoing ships at constantly increased wage scales, and seeing that the demands of the sea-unions could not be met, the Navy volunteered to man all Army vessels and operate them with Naval crews. The Navy were enabled to undertake the work and did it splendidly, because their crews were enlisted. It would seem that the lesson to be drawn from this is the necessity of legislation effecting the militarization of the Transport Service, for on the occasion of another war the entire Navy personnel might be required to perform its own work. MOTOR TRANSPOKTATION Prior to 1916, the use of motor transportation in the Army had been confined to service at the Depots of the Quartenmaster Corps, Department Headquarters, and a few of the larger posts. In June, 1915, the Army pos^ sessed the following motor vehicles: 35 passenger cars, 88 motor trucks, all classes, and 25 motorcycles. The advantages to be derived from the use of mechan- ical motors for the supply of an Army in the field had been stated in my book entitled "The Art of Subsisting Armies in War," published in 1893. It will be noted that that antedated the development of the internal combustion engine. Congress was, however, not very liberal in making appropriation for the purchase of motor transportation. In 1907 an officer of the Corps de I'Intendance of the French Army, after having given 382 THE QUAKTERMASTER COUPS a very elaborate and thorough description of the French system of supply of troops in the field, stated that as Motor Transportation had been adopted in the French Army it would be necessary to investigate the system again after the expiration of about two years, as there would be many changes made in consequence of the adoption of Motor Transportation. The ofiicers of the Quartermaster Corps who were at- tached as students to the Ecole de I'Intendance made note of these improvements, and one of those officers, Captain (now Colonel) F. H. Pope applied them to the motor truck trains which were formed in Texas in 1916. During the preceding years a series of tests and ex- periments had been made of motor trucks by the Quar- termaster Corps, with the view of ascertaining the type most suitable for the service, and to establish specifica- tions which the motor trucks must fulfil to meet the requirements of field service. When in 1916 the Punitive Expedition was sent into Mexico it was necessary on account of leng-th of the line of communications, and because the country was so deficient in water supply, to furnish motor trucks to carry the supplies for the expedition. When, later in the summer of 1916, the National Guard was called into the Federal service and sent to the Mexican border for duty, it became necessary to provide motor trucks and other motor vehicles for its supply and transportation ; and as a result the Quarter- master Corps had on hand at the outbreak of the War, in storage and in operation, the following motor vehi- TRANSPOETATION DIVISIOK" 383 cles; 437 motor cars, 3,041 motor trucks, and 670 motorcycles. Due to the fact that no motor vehicle equipment had ever been prescribed for the Army, no organization for the handling of this class of equipment had been pre^ scribed by the War Department. This subject was therefore referred by the Quarter- master General in the fall of 1916 to the Office Board with instructions to make a study of our experiences on the Mexican border, and such reports from our Military Attaches as related to the subjects of motor equipment and organizations in the French and British Annies. This Board submitted a full report on the various or- ganizations required in the Quartermaster Corps based on those studies, and this report, as has been previously stated, was submitted to the proper authorities in De- cember, 1916, but was never acted on. The plan pro- posed an organization for motor car companies, motor truck companies and motorcycle companies, and also for motor repair companies. The plans for these organiza- tions were prepared together with an outline of the duties of the members, at first in mimeographed form and distributed to the various officers of the Quarter- master Corps. Later these instructions were expanded and distributed in printed form, prescribing the blanks to be used in the operation of the vehicles and those to be used for their repairs. When the motor vehicles were first purchased in 1916, it was necessary to hire civilians to operate and repair them, as there were few men in the Army who had had 384 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS such experience and training. These men were em- ployed by the assistance of the motor manufacturers, at or near the point of origin of the shipment of the motor vehicles. It soon became evident to the officers on duty with these organizations that the services of civilians in these capacities, attached to an Army were unsatisfactory, and all such officers endeavored to have them replaced by enlisted men as soon as the latter could be transferred to the Quartermaster Corps and instructed to operate and repair the vehicles. This necessitated an increase in the enlisted personnel of the Quartermaster Corps, and as new rates of pay had to be established for such men, opposition developed to the project. The training and development the men received on the Mexican border in the use, operation and repair of motors, and in various other matters connected with Army service, was of inestimable value in assisting in the formation and training of the men required for the Army in the World War. Tests of Motor Vehicles. During the time that the troops remained in Mexico opportunity was afforded all reliable manufacturers of motor vehicles to test their products, with the view of determining their suitability for military purposes. These tests were made along the line of communications in Mexico. After the withdrawal of the Punitive Expedition from Mexico a test station was established at Marfa, Texas, from which place the vehicles were operated to TEANSPOETATION DIVISION 385 points on the Eio Grande, over a distance of about one hundred and twenty miles. The results of the tests furnished valuable data, and, from them was compiled a list of commercial motor vehicles which would best stand the severe usage such vehicles would be subjected to in the field service of an Army. Repair Facilities. The establishment of a repair shop at Columbus, I^ew Mexico, was necessary as soon as trucks began operating along the line of communica- tions in Mexico. This shop was first equipped with machinery and supplies for the ordinary minor repairs of motor vehicles. When, however, the results of their service over the almost impassable roads began to show^ it was necessary to expand this shop so as to enable it to be possible to make a complete overhaul, or rebuilding of these vehicles. This shop was later removed to El Paso, Texas, and was there expanded and developed for the more com- plete work required of it. Other shops were also estab- lished at Fort Sam Houston, and at Fort Brown, Texas, and to these shops were sent the motor vehicles which required repair or overhaul after the recall of the Na- tional Guard from border service. Equipment for American Expeditioruiry Force. Spe- cial provision was made for the equipment of the Head- quarters of the Expeditionary Force, in accordance with the desire of the Commanding General, and the equip- ment was purchased and shipped by the Depot Quarter- master, New York. 386 THE QTJARTEEMASTEK CORPS Similarly special provisions were made for the equip- ment of the First Division. Purchase was made of part of the motor transportation required, and the balance being shipped with the troops on their departure from the Southern Department. A suggestion had been made of the desirability of standardizing all motor vehicles so as to keep the num- ber of spare parts to the lowest possible limit. It was reported that the English had purchased about sixty different makes of motor trucks which necessitated car- rying several hundred thousand spare parts. In order to be able to provide the motor trucks required, it was thought advisable to purchase as many of the various types of motor trucks which met the tests on the border, as could be produced in a year, before attempting the work of standardization. Consequently, the Depot Quartermaster at Chicago was instructed on May 7, 1917, to advertise for proposals for from one to 35,000 each of Class A (1^/2 to 2 ton) and Class B (3 to 5 ton) trucks, specifications for which had been prepared in the Office of the Quartermaster General. Shortly there- after schedules for motorcycles, motor cars and trucks of % to 1 ton capacity (termed type AA) were similar- ly established. As it was necessary to make provision for motor trans- portation facilities abroad, before it was possible to bring about standardization, it is evident that some com- promise arrangement had to be made. This compromise arrangement consisted in providing modified commercial trucks that were immediately obtainable in the smallest TEANSPOETATION DIVISION 387 numbers that would serve the needs of the Army until the time that standardized trucks would be available; and it was found that a sufficient number could be ob- tained from six companies. About July 14, 1917, the Acting Chief of Staff ap- proved a memorandum of the Quartermaster General authorizing the purchase of approximately 17,000 type A and B trucks, and on July 15 and 25, 1917, the Depot Quartermaster at Chicago was directed to make awards to the Packard Motor Car Company, the Locomobile Company of America, The Pierce Arrow Company, The Garford Motor Truck Company, The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company and the Nash Motors Company, the total deliveries under the contracts to be completed by June 30, 1918. As the Class A (11^ ton) truck was not desired for use in France, on December 17, 1917, 1,000 five-ton trucks were ordered from The Pierce Arrow Company, the deliveries to be made of 500 in January and the same number in February, 1918. From the time of the sailing of the First Convoy to France, there were motor trucks awaiting shipment abroad at the Ports of Embarkation. There were also overhauled trucks at the Motor Re- pair Shops at Fort Sam Houston and at El Paso, Texas, likewise available for shipment abroad. The factories producing trucks under the contracts above referred to were obliged to store the trucks because of the congestion on the railroads. All of the motor transportation referred to above was intended for the equipment of the overseas forces. In 388 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS justice to the Embarkation Service it must be stated that recently information has been received to the effect that that service claims that the depot established at Baltimore, Maryland, for the purpose of crating motor vehicles, failed on occasion to have the vehicles crated in time to enable the shipments to be made. Convoys. Congestion of railroad transportation in the East, caused as indicated in the section treating of Railroad Transportation, forced the Quartermaster Corps to convoy many trucks from the factories to the Overseas Depots and the Ports of Embarkation. The first convoy started in one of the v^^orst snow storms of that severe winter and encountered many difficulties, but came through successfully. Thousands of the motor vehicles all loaded with government freight, were thus driven overland. Convoy driving was given as one of the last features of instruction to the members of all the Division trains that were available. Domestic Supply. Allowances for the Divisional and other camps throughout the United States were estab- lished by the War Department. These were filled in part from the vehicles on hand in the Southern Depart- ment and the balance by purchase on the open schedules created under authorization of May 7, 1917, to the Depot Quartermaster, Chicago, Illinois. When the con- gestion became so great at the Ports of Embarkation, Overseas Depots, and the factories, that more vehicles could not be accommodated, some of the trucks con- tracted for oversea service were diverted to domestic use, large numbers being required for training purposes. TKANSPOETATIOI^ DIVISION 389 Equipment of Tactical Units and Special Organiza- tions. The War Department having failed to announce a policy regarding the motor equipment to be allowed tactical units and special organizations, and efforts to secure this information by conference proving unsuc- cessful, the Quartermaster General on June 8, 1917, addressed the following letter to the Adjutant General : "It is recommended that this office be informed as to the policy of the War Department in regard to the formation of Divisional trains, the number of divisions to be equipped with motor transportation, and the amount of motor transportation to be furnished to each division; that is, shall it conform to the new tables of organization of 1917 ? Each divisional train must con- sist of one type and make of truck. In view of the short hauls involved, it would seem unnecessary to supply the full allowances prescribed in Tables of Or- ganization. "However, it is thought some wagon and pack trans- portation should be authorized for each division, and a special table prepared showing the allowances, all kinds, per Infantry Division, for the guidance of all concerned. "The above information is desired promptly in order to make the necessary awards for deliveries beginning July 1, 1917, and to effect other preparations." This paper was returned under date of August 24, 1917, witli the following indorsement: "The Secretary of War directs that the Quarter- master General be informed as follows: "That the transportation to be procured by the Quar- 390 THE QUAETEEMASTEE COEPS termaster General include the following for the equip- ment of Divisional, Corps and Army Trains: Divisional Trains (a) 42 Ammunition Trains organized as prescribed in the enclosed table (omitted here) 42 Mobile Ordnance Eepair Shops 42 Supply Trains, motorized, organized as pre- scribed in table 34, Tables of Organization, 1917 42 Sanitary Trains organized as prescribed in table 37, Tables of Organization, 1917 42 Engineer Trains organized as prescribed in table 45, Tables of Organization, 1917, omit- ting the Searchlight and Pontoon sections. Army Corps Trains (b) 6 Supply Trains, motorized, organized as pre- scribed in table 34, Tables of Organization, 1917 6 Supply Trains, motorized, transport trains for motor troops, organized as prescribed in table 34, Tables of Organization, 1917. Army Trains (c) 15 Truck Companies, 3 ton trucks 10 Truck Companies, emergency reserves 4 Truck Companies, motor repair shops. "That the transportation provided in each IN'ational Army Cantonment and I^ational Guard Camp includes the field trains, and one ti-uck company with such addi- tional trucks and other motor vehicles as may be found necessary for purposes of local supply and administra- tion. "That for the present, motor vehicles, wagons, and animals, less those to be purchased in France by Gen- TEANSPORTATION DIVISION 391 eral Pershing, be shipped abroad in such quantities as will permit each division to be equipped with its trains upon its arrival in France ; but that as soon as the state of supply of motor vehicles will permit such action to be taken, the Quartermaster General arrange for the establishment of a camp at which instruction can be given to the motor personnel of a division designated for service abroad, for about one month prior to its em- barkation. It should be noted in this connection that it is contemplated that the initial organization of the personnel of divisional trains will be effected in their respective divisional cantonments or camps, and their training carried forward in the full extent permitted by the facilities available in such cantonments or camps." The following are the total number of motor trucks required by the above instructions : Ammunition Trains 101x42 4,242 Supply Trains 187x30 5,610 Sanitary Trains 22x42 924 Engineer Trains 12x42 504 Supply Trains (Corps) 187 x 6 1,122 Transport Trains 187 x 6 1,122 Army Trains 25x29 725 Trains Cav. Div 296 x 1 296 14,545 It will be observed from the above correspondence that it took from June 8 until August 24, 1917, two months and a half, to secure a reply to a most urgent re- quest for information. Such information was necessary in order to make the contracts, as the proposals had specifically stated that they expired on July 1. This was met by the spirit of cooperation and assistance dis- 392 THE QUAKTERMASTEE CORPS played by the manufacturers. But the delay was vital as relating to the possibility of the Quartermaster Corps to make the other preparations required. The effort to establish a Training Camp for the Quartermaster per- sonnel and the delay in authorizing it, have been previ- ously recounted. The steps taken to provide the com- mercial motor vehicles have been stated. Several factors have an important bearing on the ultimate success of a motor transport service. The first requirement is that the different designs and makes of tmcks in use shall be confined to the fewest practicable number. Another requirement is that the fewest pos- sible changes in construction details of the trucks be al- lowed, once they have been put in foreign service in large quantities. If it were possible to have all the trucks of a given size of one design, the ideal condi- tion would be fulfilled. The concentration on one model considerably facili- tates the instruction of drivers and repair men and in- sures better handling and maintenance of the unit. It also reduces to a minimum the number of repair parts necessary to be kept on hand, thus greatly conserving storage and transportation facilities. The above considerations forcibly advanced by the well qualified assistants and experts in his office induced the Quartermaster General to submit a memorandum to the Chief of Staff on July 16, 1917, on the subject of the standardization of motor trucks. In that memoran- dum it was stated that for two years with the assistance of the Society of Automotive Engineers various stand- TEANSPOETATION DIVISION^ 393 ards specification for the purchase of motor trucks had been prepared. The cooperation and assistance received from the leading automotive engineers in the country and the So- ciety of Automotive Engineers had resulted in many conferences. The memorandum stated that during the last confer- ence with the engineers which was held at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, on July 9 and 10, 1917, it became evident that it would be thoroughly practicable to effect the complete standardization of each individual unit in all its details in a short time, thus resulting in the complete and thorough standardization of every individual part of which the motor trucks will be composed. It was recommended in that memoran- dum tJiat the sum of $175,000 be alloted for use in com- pleting the standardization of motor trucks at the ear- liest practicable date. The recommendation was at once approved by the Secretary of War. On July 21, 1917, a meeting was held at Columbus, Ohio, under the auspices of the Society of Automotive Engineers. All truck manufacturers were invited to at- tend that meeting and were requested to bring their eng- ineers with them. The Army representatives at tJie meeting were Major C. B. Drak and Captain W. M. Britton, and the convention went on record officially as thoroughly in accord with the progi-am for standariza- tion, rendering every assistance possible in the prosecu- tion of the work. On July 30, 1917, fifty engineers ar- 394 THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS rived at Washington and the actual work of truck stand- ardization was commenced. The committees of the Society of Automotive Engi- neers which were in charge of the design of the various elements of trucks were represented in most instances by the majority of their membership in the group of engineers, who came to Washington on July 30, 1917. The chairmen of these various committees were con- stituted into an organization known as the "schedule committee." This was in effect a general executive com- mittee and decided not only the dates and order of pro- cedure, but also policy on important matters of design and contested opinions coming up between different com- mittees. The committee was under the chairmanship of A. W. Copeland, of Detroit, and with Coker F. Clark- son as secretary. Between September 10th and October 1st the work of completing the drawings, checking them, combining them into the classes designed, and the manufacture of the parts themselves went rapidly forward. The keep- ing record of this part of the work was under the charge of Major Edward Orton, Jr., former Dean of the Scien- tific Section of the Ohio State University. In the de- sign of the type B truck about 4,000 blue prints were needed, but over 10,000 had to be prepared because of the changes made necessary upon more thorough study. The enormity of the work performed in such a short time is indicated by that statement. On September 20, sample parts began to be shipped from the various manufacturers to the two firms Gramm- TEANSPORTATION DIVISION 395 Bernstein Motor Truck Co., Lima, Ohio, and the Selden Motor Vehicle Company, Rochester, New York, which had been selected to assemble the first two sample trucks. By October, practically all sample parts were completed and delivered to the assemblers, and the assemblers had completed the greater portion of the small parts which had been assigned to them for manufacture in their own plants. The work of assembly proceeded rapidly and the first truck was actually assembled October 7, 1917, three days ahead of schedule. The second truck was finished about two days later. The trucks, upon completion, were given short tests at the respective factories and were started for Washington overland. The truck made at Lima, Ohio, reached Washington, Sunday, October 13, 1917; and that made at Rochester, New York, reached Washington, Tuesday, October 16th, having crossed the mountains in the first snow storm of the season and encountering very bad weather. Neither truck had any breakdowns or me- chanical difficulty other than slight running adjust- ments. Both trucks arrived in Washington in excellent condition. The two sample trucks were fonnally presented to the President and the Secretary of War on October 19, 1917, for their inspection. The methods adopted in the work of standardization proceeded along two lines. The larger units, such as engines, front axles, transmissions, clutches, controls, frames, wooden wheels, springs, and some other parts, were such as could be designed without fear of in- 396 THE QUARTERMASTEK CORPS fringing the various patented constructions, and the engineers designing these units could go ahead with no other thought than that of securing the very best results. A strict adherence to the policy of eliminating all experimental features in the desig-n was insisted upon. The trucks embodied no novel or freak con- struction. Every unit and part was typical of the best American practice, and did not differ in principle from those of many commercial trucks. On the other hand, various parts, such as radiators, rear axles, steel wheels, differentials, steering gears, electric parts, storage bat- teries, lamps, universal joints, magnetos, bumpers, and numerous other parts and accessories were such that practically all meritorious constructions in the market were found to be covered by patents or proprietary de- signs. It was desired that the truck when completed should not embody patented constructions or proprietary designs on account of legal objections, and also to the advertising advantages which would be conferred by the use of such parts, and accordingly much time was devoted to devising constructions which would avoid this necessity. Groups of manufacturers of each of the different units were called together, and the problem of arriving at a design of that unit without sacrificing efficiency which would nevertheless not infringe the proprietary construction of any of them was requested. This was a matter of extraordinary difficulty in some instances and involved unselfish reversal of all ordinary commercial procedure. These manufacturers met this test splendidly and in practically all units of the truck TKANSPOKTATIOE" DIVISION 397 a non-proprietary design was reached which was efficient and, in some instances, superior to the best commercial designs. The spirit displayed by these American manu- facturers in abandoning their commercial rivalry and giving up their vested rights and producing what was needed without selfish thought in the matter was ab- solutely unique in American industrial history, and too great praise cannot be given them for the manner in which they have accomplished their task. Placing of orders for Prodtiction. The placing of orders for the production of the three-ton standardized truck began very promptly after the completion of the samples and before any extended test of the trucks themselves was possible. This was necessary in order that tnicks might be available during Janua,ry, 1918. It was thought that revision of the design might pos- sibly create the necessity of throwing away tools or fabricated parts, but that the military necessity would justify this, if the completed trucks should be ready according to schedule time. Accordingly the first meetings for the allotment of trucks were called for October 12th, and from that date until the latter part of December, meetings of manu- facturers in Washington for the allotment of the dif- ferent parts of the truck occurred at frequent intervals. Two organizations were created to handle the pro- curement: First, a board of officers to act as a Pur- chasing Board to allot the business. Second, a production board with branches dealing with: (a) Raw materials; (b) Inspection of plants 898 THE QUAETERMASTEE CORPS as to their suitability for taking part in this program; (c) Supervision of parts plants; (d) Supervision of as- sembly plants; (e) Inspection of parts and products. The production organization w^as used ; first, to secure preliminary information as to the names of the pro- ducers for the different parts of the truck ; second, the selection of producers whose plants w^ere best suited for producing the parts of this special truck, v^ith due reference to geogTaphical location; third, acquainting these prospective producers v^^ith the material to be produced, and assisting them in formulating their bids ; and fourth, furnishing the necessary information for the Purchasing Board. Each producer was required to make a careful statement, not only as to the ability and condition of his plant to do the work, but also as to the material cost of each part upon which he was prepared to submit figures. This information was then taken to the Purchasing Board, and a joint meeting of the Board of Producers arranged for. The constitution of the Purchasing Board was as follows : Chairman: General C. D. Baker Colonel Charles B. Drake Lieutenant Colonel James W. Furlow Major Edward Orton, Jr. Captain L. H. Coart Mr. Coker F. Clarkson, General Manager of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Production of the standardized type B trucks was directed by the following men, who were called to Wash- ington: Christian Girl, head of the Standard Parts TRANSPOETATION DIVISION" 399 Co. of Cleveland; James F. Bourquin, Continental Motor Co., Louisville, Ky. ; Percy W. Tracy, of the Premier Motor Co., Indianapolis; Walter S. Quinlan, of the Maynard H. Murch Co., Cleveland ; Guy Morgan, of the Mitchell Motors Corporation, Eacine, Wis. ; J. G. Utz, of the Standard Parts Co., Cleveland; G. W. Randies, of the Foote-Burt Co., Cleveland; and A. G. Drefs, of the Miller-Franklin Co. In general, it was the idea to have at least three or four sources of supply for each part that went into the standardized truck, as a result 150 parts manufacturers were given contracts. One firm offered to erect and install a large plant at Detroit if given the contract for assembling the trucks. This offer was refused as it was desired to have as many assembling plants as possible, and avoid possible congestion in shipments from parts manufac- turers, or in shipment or convoy of the trucks. The allotment of the business of assembling the trucks was by all means the most difficult, as it required the division of 10,000 trucks among plants potentially able to manufacture several hundred thousand. There were approximately 160 plants which had been investi- gated as possible assemblers. Among the plants which were found to be strongest, best equipped and most fa- vorable ones in the country for that purpose, a tenta- tive allotment of the assembly was made, no plant be- ing allotted more than 1,000 trucks. Later the Committees undertook the development of plans for the standardization of the 1^-ton and %-ton 400 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS trucks and also for the standardization of the motor- cycle and the bicycle, but none of these standards were ever placed in production. The production of the order for 10,000 type B trucks was delayed by the shortage of coal and the freight con- gestion in 1918. In May, 1918, an additional order for 8,000 was placed and in September, 1918, a further order for 25,000 was placed; but on account of the sign- ing of the Armistice no trucks were delivered under this last order. Spare and Repair Parts and Accessories. Immedi- ately after orders were placed for vehicles, orders for spare and repair parts and accessories were placed. These orders were based on the amounts necessary for a period of six months for one hundred vehicles, and for convenience of access were divided into comple- ments. The allowance of items was carefully prepared by an officer who had experience with the operation of motor vehicles and with the cooperation of the service managers of the factory manufacturing the vehicles and they were then reviewed by one or more other officers of experience. Organization. The administration and supply of motor transportation remained in the miscellaneous branch of the transportation division of the office but a section had been created, and officers who had had ex- perience with the operation of motor vehicles and shop experience and others familiar with organization were assigned thereto. TEANSPOETATION DIVISIOE" 401 This motors section carefully studied the require- ments, and in cooperation with the General Staff per- fected the organization of and equipment necessary for motorcycle companies, motor car companies, motor truck companies, machine shop units, repair units, water tank companies, etc. Personnel. An early estimate was made of the per- sonnel required for the operation and repair of the motor transportation which had been authorized and effort was made in cooperation with the personnel branch of the ofRce to get the requisite number. How- ever, only a small portion of the number estimated as required were allowed and there was therefore at all times a lack of trained mechanics and chauffeurs avail- able with which to organize the units required overseas. Training. The instructions transmitted by the Adju- tant General, Aug-ust 24, 1917, placed the responsibil- ity on the division commanders for training the units operating with combatant divisions. Other organiza- tions of the Quartermasters Corps were to be trained under the direction of the Quartermaster General. For this purpose a camp was established at Camp Joseph E. Johnston, near Jacksonville, Florida, but to provide for the first motor repair units a cantonment was erected at Camp Meigs, D. C. These camps were used until the Armistice for the training of Quarter- master personnel and special units. To provide for the receipt of trucks from factories, for their preparation for overseas services, their over- haul after receipt from factories by convoy, and for the 402 THE QUAETEKMASTER CORPS repair of and rebuilding of vehicles rendered unserv- iceable in operation in the northeastern and eastern states and to provide additional accommodations for the training of personnel, a cantonment repair shop and crating shop was erected at Camp Holabird, Baltimore, Md. Smaller shops were also erected at Camp Jesup, Georgia, Camp ISTormyle, Texas, and at Camp Boyd, Texas, with the necessary cantonment buildings for the personnel of the repair units to operate and for the men undergoing training. Expert mechanics and chauffeurs were turned out from these schools in large numbers. XI CAMP JOSEPH E. JOHNSTOI^, ELORIDA Object of the camp — Instruction — Administrative personnel. The effort made in June, 1917, to secure authority for the establishment of a Quartermaster Corps Train- ing Camp, and the delays in obtaining it have been previously described. It was not until September 6, 1917, that the final decision was made that the pro- posed camp would be established at Black Point on the St. John's River, about fourteen miles west of the city of Jacksonville, Fla. Lieutenant Colonel Fred L. Munson, Quartermaster Corps, was on August 26, 1917, designated as Com- manding Officer and Major Frederick I. Wheeler, Corps of Engineers, Reserve Corps, was assigned to as con- structing Quartermaster of the Camp. By the end of September the construction of roads and buildings on the camp site were finally begun whereas, as previously set forth, it had reasonably been anticipated that the construction work would be com- pleted by that time and the school in operation. OBJECT OF THE CAMP The Object of a camp of this character was to central- 403 404 THE QUAKTEKMASTER CORPS ize the newly commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Quartermaster Coi-ps in order that the many and various organizations composing it could be uniformly disciplined, trained, and equipped. Prior to the authorization of this scheme of central- ization attempts had been made to mobilize and train, in the many scattered divisional camps, such of the newly acquired organizations as laundry, butchery, fire hose and truck companies, base spare parts units, etc. But it was soon shown that this latter plan was un- necessarily expensive, slower in producing satisfactory results, more costly in instructor personnel, and that it resulted in a lack of uniformity in the system of in- struction. To have constructed separate barracks and school buildings at each of the divisional camps for the care of our many new organizations was out of the ques- tion. Hence the importance of a large centralized plant for Quartermaster Corps personnel. Camp Johnston as originally planned was intended to accommodate a maximum of 11,500 officers and men. By the middle of February, 19 18, the total population of the camp had reached 17,000. The overflow had to be housed in tents. Owing to the overcrowded condition of the large re- cruiting depots in the north, and to the severity of the winter weather in that part of the country, several thousand Quartermaster Corps men were shipped to Camp Johnston fully two weeks in advance of the date they were expected, and before their barracks and mess halls were completed. CAMP JOHNSTON, FLORIDA 405 The wisdom of having selected the camp site so well to the south was being proved daily during these winter months. The above mentioned problems and numerous others were met and successfully solved by the experi- enced, efficient, and loyal staff of the Camp Commander. This staff was largely composed of Captains of the Quar- termaster Reserve Corps who had received their basic training while Quartermaster Sergeants of the Regular Army. The transportation problem for passengers between the camp and city of Jacksonville was solved by a merger of the several owners of public auto. vehicles under one management. A similar arrangement was made with the owners of steamboats on the St. John's River, thereby establishing a water route to and from the city. The camp and city were also connected by an electric street car line. INSTRUCTION Officers. Of the 1,500 first and second lieutenants of the Quartermaster Corps who had been sent to Camp Johnston from the various divisional camps only 1,100 were enrolled as students. The 400 remaining officers were either assigned to duty with the many new Quar- termaster Corps units which, at this time were rapidly being organized, or else assigned as instructors in the many different schools for enlisted men. The school for officers began December 27, 191Y, Its curriculum consisted of a sixty days' course in the 406 THE QUAETEEMASTER CORPS following named subjects. Finance, Administration, Construction and Repair, Transportation, and Supply. Each student who remained long enough to complete the course received twelve days of intensive theoretical and practical training in each of the above five sub- jects. Owing to the constantly increasing demand for Quartermaster Corps officers for duty with the Ameri- can Expeditionary Forces abroad not more than 250 of the original 1,100 students completed the entire course of instruction. Enlisted Men. As rapidly as enlisted men arrived in camp they were temporarily assigned to provisional re- cruit companies. While in these organizations they were uniformed, partially equipped, and drilled in the school of the soldier, and school of the squad. It was also during this period that the men received frequent lectures by the Camp Commander on the subjects of discipline and customs of the service. At the close of two weeks of military instruction all men of a recruit company would then be grouped and assigned to units according to trade or profession. For example : All men who had had experience as butchers, or who had expressed a desire to learn the butchery trade, would be quartered together and organized into one or more butchery companies. There were separate schools for cooks, bakers, auto mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, farriers, teamsters, fire fighters, typewriters and clerks. All scholastic work was daily supplemented by at least two hours of military training. Organizations CAMP JOHNSTON, FLORIDA 407 armed with the rifle, such as motor truck, and motor- cycle companies, were also instructed in rifle practice on the Camp range. Throughout all the instruction of the men most careful and special attention was given to discipline and good soldierly appearance. That the men from Camp Johnston who were sent overseas were a credit to both the Quartermaster Corps and to their Camp is evidenced by the following ex- tracts from two separate reports rendered by Major E. B. Cassatt, Inspector General, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, 'N. J., to his Camp Commander under dates of March 10 and April 4, 1918, respectively: (a) "For completeness of equipment, for general soldierly bearing, and evidence of efficiency and interest on the part of the officers in charge, these four Fire Hose and Truck Companies from Camp Joseph E. Johnston, are unexcelled by any organization inspected by the undersigned at this camp." (b) "The attention of the Commanding General (Camp Merritt, N. J.) is invited to the uniform ex- cellence and completeness of equipment of the detach- ments of the Quartermaster Corps arriving here from Camp Joseph E. Johnston, and of their generally good military appearance. "It is suggested that this information be communi- cated to the Commanding Officer, Camp Joseph E. Johnston." December 31, 1917, the administrative personnel of the Camp was composed, in part, of the following named officers : 408 THE QUAETERMASTEE COEPS Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Fred L. Munson, U. S. A. Adjutant: Captain Jacob H. Spengler, Q.M.U.S.E. Assistants: Captain Andrew C. Larsen, Q.M.U.S.E. (Personnel) Captain Charles Van Buren, Q.M.U.S.E. (Or- ders) Captain Edward P. Dojle, Q.M.U.S.E. (Corre- spondence) Captain Jackson Middleton, Q.M.U.S.E. (Trans- fers and Assignments) Quartermaster: Major James E. Ware, Q. M. Corps. Assistants: Captain Charles B. Franke, Q.M.U.S.E. (Finance) Captain Dennis McSweney, Q.M.U.S.E. (Sub- sistence) Captain N'els J. Thorud, Q.M.U.S.E. (Property) Captain John C. Christophel, Q.M.U.S.E. (Cloth- ing) Captain Asa Irwin, Q.M.U.S.E. (C. and E.) Captain William M. Larner, Q.M.U.S.E. (Trans- portation) Surgeon: Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Y. Porter, M. C. (22 assistants) Exchange Officer: Captain Daniel E. Eajmond, Q.M. u.io.E. * Mess Officer: Captain Lewis B. Massie, Q.M.U.S.E. Signal Officer: First Lieut. John T. McAniff, U.S.E.* Ordnance Officer : Captain Eajmond C. Keenev ' O D U.S.E. '^' * ■ Headquarters Guard : Captain William F. Eock, Q.M. U.S.E. Eeceiving Division: Captain Henry J. Eath, Q.M. U.S.E. Captain E. B. Snyder, Q.M.U.S.E, CAMP JOHNSTON, FLORIDA 409 Captain S. J. Ellis, Q.M.U.S.K Captain S. W. Shaffer, Q.M.U.S.K. Captain M. McMahon, Q.M.U.S.R. Captain J. S. Walker, Q.M.U.S.R Captain T. Kenney, Q.M.U.S.R. Educational Director: Captain John C. Duncan, Q.M.R. Captain John G. DeMuth, Q.M.U.S.R. (As- sistant) Director of Correspondence School : Captain Thomas J. Berney, Q.M.U.S.R. Captain Richard Gibbons, Q.M.U.S.R. (Assistant) Officers' School (Construction and Repair) : Captain Charles S. Tinunins, Q.M.U.S.R., Senior In- structor (9 Assistants) Finance and Accounting: Captain J. M. Clark, Q.M. U.S.R. (Senior Instructor) Second Lieutenant Frank E. Parker (Assistant) Administration: Captain James L. Greene, Q.M. U.S.R., Senior Instructor (7 Assistants) Transportation: Captain Osman Freeman, Q.M.U.S.R., Senior Instructor (9 Assistants) Supply: Captain Walter L. Sherman, Q.M.U.S.R., Senior Instructor (10 Assistants) Auto Motive School : Captain Jeremiah W. O'Mahoney, Q.M.R., Senior Instructor Motor Cycle School : Captain Harry Diffenbaugh, Q.M. U.S.R., Senior Instructor Remount Depot : Captain Timothy H. Murphy, Q.M.R. The complexity of Quartermaster training may be judged from the variety of technical and special organ- izations sent out from Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jack- sonville, Fla., the largest of all Quartermaster mobiliza- 410 THE QUAKTERMASTEK CORPS tion and training camps. Records show that during the 13 months in which Camp Joseph E. Johnston trained enlisted and commissioned personnel, 82,070 men passed through this camp. Among the more common Quarter- master units organized at this camp were supply com- panies, butchery companies, salvage units, graves regis- tration units, clothing and bath units, typist and steno- graphic units, railhead detachments, motor-truck trains, miscellaneous Quartermaster units, sales commissary units, and units consisting of mechanics, plumbers, painters, and electricians. Student officers were trained as specialists in contracts ; water, rail, and motor trans- portation; money accounts; property accounts; general administration and company administration; supplies, subsistence, and clothing and equipage; construction and repair; motor truck; motor car; motorcycle; and personnel. In addition to the many men sent directly overseas, large numbers were assigned to camps and posts in the United States. In all 8,152 were sent from Camp Johnston to other camps for special assignment. Two thousand seven hundred and forty-six officers re- ported from other stations for duty, and of this num- ber 2,397, up to November 27, 1918, had left the camp for duty elsewhere. The greatest strength of the camp was on August 22, 1918, when there were stationed at Camp Johnston 27,661 men and 944 officers. Three hundred and sixty special technical units were organ- ized in this camp and sent overseas. The total number of units organized in this camp, including those for CAMP JOHNSTON, FLORIDA 411 overseas, was 405. (Report Quartermaster General for 1919.) The citizens of Jacksonville, Florida, evinced a genu- ine interest in Camp Joseph E. Johnston and did every- thing possible to promote the welfare and contentment and provide sources of amusement for both the officers and the men at the Camp. CONCLUSION Almost every one of the subjects touclied on in this book would, if as fully and exhaustively treated as its importance warrants, make a separate book of itself; and some subjects would require several volumes to com- pletely describe them. The entire subject was of vast and vital importance due to the enormous numbers of men in the service, the fact that the activities embraced such great number and variety of items and covered so large a portion of the world, and that the distances were so great. Further, the amount of money largely ex- ceeded the great sum which would be involved by a com- bination of the financial statements of many of the greatest corporations in this country. In fact, the total amount of money appropriated by Congress for the Quartermaster Corps in the year 1917 was nearly four times the total of all the expenditures of our Government for the year prior to our entry into the war. It has been a considerable task to treat all the sub- jects in a clear and comprehensive manner and keep this book to a reasonable size, and still bring out the salient features of the work accomplished. In outlining the work performed by the Quartermas- ter Corps in the year 1917 in the World War it has been 412 co:n^cltjsion 413 necessary in many cases to take the entire results ac- complished by various organizations or activities then first established. It was not possible to terminate the statement with the end of the year 1917, for many of the contracts made in 1917 and many of the activities then inaugurated were not concluded until late in 1918. Particular pains have been taken, however, to avoid claiming credit for any organization or activity devised in a subsequent period. In reviewing the summary it may fairly be main- tained that the site was cleared and prepared ; all the foundations laid; the superstructure planned and a large portion of it constructed and actually occupied. The modifications of the superstructure later effected were, however, erected on the foundations previously laid, which proved adequate to bear the superimposed load. The immense plant drew men from every branch of labor and of science to aid in its completion and assist in its effective operation. The failures were few, and are negligible in comparison with the enormous amount of work accomplished. The personal knowledge of the large part contributed by the Quartermaster Corps in 1917 to promote the physical welfare and comfort of the men behind the guns has inspired this statement of the facts as a tribute to the loyalty, efficiency and untiring devotion to duty of its members and civilian personnel. HENEY G. SHARPE, Major General, U. S. Army, (Formerly Quartermaster General.) INDEX Adams, Lieutenant Colonel John H., 128 Adams, Laurence, 116 Agent oflacers, 77, 78 Aishton, R. M., 344 Alsberg, Dr., 101 "America's Race to Victory," by Lieutenant Colonel R^quin, quoted, 35, 36, 88 ; on develop- ment of National Army, 186 American Can Company, 306 American Railway Association: Committee of, on transporta- tion of troops, 203, 344, 347, 348 American Telephone and Tele- graph Company, 291 American Woolen Company, 164, 165 American Wool Growers' Asso- ciation, 73 Animals: purchasing and ship- ping of, by Remount Division 254 et seq.; tables showing purchase and losses of, 267- 269 Anthony, Mr. George A., 353 Appropriations : statement of (1918), 77-80 Armour Emergency Rations, 306 Army: creation of Supply De- partments in, 4; problem of financing, 68 et seq.; pay of, 81 et seq.; system of, pay allotments, 73, 74 Army Reorganization Act: in relation to Quartermaster's Corps, 26, 27 Army Transport Service, 321 et seq., 377 et seq. Army Vessel Service, 377 "Art of Subsisting Armies in War, The," by General Henry Granville Sharpe, cited, 93 Atlanta: Quartermaster Depot, 301, 302 Atwater, Professor, 101 Austin, Colonel William G., 65, 370 Auxiliary Remount and Animal Embarkation Depots: list of, 256 et seq. Aviation Section, 8 Baily, Harry L., 179 Baker, Colonel Chauncey B., 355; plan of, 379, 380 Baker, Secretary Newton D., quoted on Army food, 127, 128, 152, 153, 157; letter of, quoted on equipage and clothing for recruits, 183- 185; correspondence of, with General Sharpe on equipment, provisioning, etc., 187 ; state- ment of, to Congress on tech- nical troops, 194 et seq.; letter of, to Senator Cham- berlain, relating to clothing shortage, 229-231; testimony of, before Senate Committee of Military Affairs, quoted, 232, 284 Bakery Branch: expansion of, 117 et seq. Balfour, Mr., 198 415 416 INDEX Baltimore : Quartermaster De- pot, 302, 402 Barnes, J. Lee, 116 Bates, Colonel, 269 Bennett, Hon. W. S., 376 Berney, Captain Thomas J., 409 Besler, W. C, 344 Bifield, Mr. Joseph, 114, 128 Bliss, Mr. E, J., 146 Bliss, Major General Tasker H., 39, 46; opinion of, on enlistments in Quartermas- ter's Corps, 56; cablegram from, on transportation prob- lem in France, quoted, 58; letter to Quartermaster Gen- eral, 86; correspondence on maintenance of Army, 86, 87, 157, 166, 199, 367 Board of Control of Labor Standards for Army Cloth- ing, 182 Boomer, Mr. L. M., 112, 116 Boston Quartermaster Depot, 277 et seq., 302, 303 Boston Wool Trade Association : patriotic resolution of, 173 Bourquin, James F., 398 Bristol, Colonel Matt C, 270 Brown, Mr. Jacob F., 176, 179 Brydges, Captain, 269 Caderwald, Major A. A., 270 Camp Boyd, 402 Camp Devens, 278, 302 Camp Holabird, 302, 402 Camp Jessup, 402 Camp Joseph E. Johnston: 26, 66 ; Remount Training at, 262 et seq., 401; work of, 403- 411 Camp Meigs, 342, 401 Camp Merritt, 66 Camp Normyle, 402 Cantonment Division: 14; ac- tivities of, 297 et seq. Carson, Brigadier General John M., 128, 317 et seq.; troop transportation work of, 358 et seq. Cassatt, Major E. B., 407 Casualty Camp, Governors Isl- and, 66 Cemeterial Branch, 66, 67 Chamberlain, Senator George E., Chairman Committee on Military Affairs: letter to, on clothing shortage, 229-232 Channing, Major Haydon, 269, 270 Chefs' Association, 114 Chicago Quartermaster Depot, 303 et seq.; 388 Chief of Staif: relation of, to Supply Departments, 10, 11, 15. See also General Bliss Chittenden, Professor, 101 Christophel, Captain John C, 408 Civil Service Commission: in relation to civilian personnel, 18 Civilians : status of, in Quarter- master General's Office, 17 et seq. Clark, Captain Frederick S., 180 Clark, Captain J. M., 409 Clark, Lieutenant Colonel Wil- liam F., 128, 342 Clarkson, Major Coker F., 394, 398 Clothing and Equipment Branch, 129 et seq. Clothing and equipage: state- ment of, shipped overseas, 234 et seq. Clyde Steamship Company, 323 Coart, Captain L. H., 398 INDEX 417 Coleman, Lieutenant Colonel Sherrard, 112, 115 Columbus, N. M., 385 Columbus, Ohio, 393 Commission to Investigate the Conduct of the War Depart- ment in the War with Spain : report of, quoted, 4, 5 Committee on Supplies, 179, 180 Comptroller of the Treasury: finance work of, 71, 74 Congress: in relation to the Quartermaster's Department, 5-16, passim; and the Army Appropriation Bill, 68, 80; relation of, to troop trans- portation, 352 ; appropria- tions by, for Quartermaster's Corps, 412 Copeland, A. W., 394 Conservation Branch: establish- ment of, 16 Construction Division : func- tions of, and work accom- plished by, 292-300 Continental Congress: and the Supply Department, 4 Corps de I'lntendence, 25 Council of National Defense: 72, 149, 154, 155; agreement between, and leather dealers, 253; 326 Couste, Colonel, 269 Davenport, L. M., 116 Davis, Preston, 269 DeMuth, Captain John G., 409 Deficiency Act, 77, note Deficiency Bill, 68 et seq. Deitrick, Colonel Leonard L., 108, 109, 128 Denman, Mr. William: 355, 357; and the transport MoClellan, 368 Detroit, 394 Devereux, Major Frederick L., 290, 291 Devol, Major General Carroll A., 128, 341 Diflfenbaugh, Captain Harry, 409 Downey, Colonel George F., 342 Doyle, Captain Edward P., 408 Drake, Colonel Charles B., 398 Dravo, Colonel E. E., 240 Drefs, A. G., 399 Duncan, Captain John C, 409 Ecole de I'lntendence, 23, 99, 382 Eddington, F. R., 79 Eisenman, Charles, 179 El Paso Quartermaster Depot, 309, 385, 387 Ellis, Captain S. J., 409 Elting, Major Stewart C, 115 Eppley, Eugene, 116 Embarkation Service: duties of, 367 et seq.; 388 Engineers' Corps, 8 England: attitude of, toward reclamation of materials and supplies, 240 Fair, Colonel John S., 269 Federal Reserve Bank, 71 Field Bakeries, 99, 100 Finance and Accounting Divi- sion: expansion of, 68 et seq.; problems of, 70-89 First Convoy: ships compris- ing, 358 et seq.; 387 First Division: motor equip- ment of, 386 Food Administration, 94, 101 Food Purchase Board: activ- ities of, 95 et seq. Ford, Mr. Henry, 279 Ford Motor Company Assem- bling Plant, 302 et seq. 418 INDEX Fort Bliss, 245 Fort Brown, 385 Fort Keogh, 245 Fort Reno, 245 Fort Riley, 107-109 Fort Sam Houston: 109, 245; Quartermaster Depot, 309, 385, 387 Four Wheel Drive Motor Car Company, 387 France: transportation prob- lem in, 57 et seq.; stevedores in, 65 ; financing disbursing Quartermasters in, 75; atti- tude of, toward reclamation of supplies, 240; installation of ice plant in, 294; trans- portation of troops to, 359 et seq.; motor transportation in, 381, 382 Franke, Captain Charles B., 408 Franklin, Mr. P. A. S., 323 Frazier, J. M., 116 Freeman, Captain Osman, 409 French High Commission, 369 Front Royal, Va., 245 Fuel Administration, 239 et seq. Fuel and Forage Branch: 16; work of, 239 et seq. Furlow, Colonel James W., 296, 398 Gallagher, Colonel Hugh J,, 128, 302 Garford Motor Truck Company, 387 General Deficiency Bill: pro- visions of, for Quarter- master's Corps, 80, 82 General Staff: advocacy of, by Secretary Root, 10, 380 Gibbons, Captain Richard, 409 Gifford, Mr. Walter Sherman, 269 Girl, Christian, 398 Godfrey, Brigadier General E. S., 107 Goethals, General George W.: memorandum of, on inspec- tors, 49, 50 Goodwyn, Colonel Carey E., 65 Government Printing OflSce, 21, 22 Governors Island: facilities of, 326 et seq. Grade, Lieutenant Colonel W. B., 176, 303 Gram-Bernstein Motor Truck Company, 394 Grant, Colonel Frank A., 330 Grant, General Frederick D., 113, 114 Greene, Captain James I., 409 Gregg, Mr. Cecil D., 114, 128 Grocery Division: problems of, 304 et seq. Grove, Colonel W. R., 128 Gunning, General, 269 Haight, F. E., 180 Hamburg-American Steamship Company, 317, 318, 323 Harbor Boat Service, 371 Harrison, Fairfax, 344 Hart, Colonel William H., 341 Hathaway, Major C. Emory, 115 Hegeman, Colonel, 296, 297 Heron, General Thomas, 295 Hess, Captain R. H., 290 Hight, F. S., 116 Hill, J. Stacey, 116 Hindenburg, Field Marshal von, 232 Hinoldi, Colonel, 269 Hirsch, Colonel Harry J., 154, 161, 173, 331, 337, 338 Hoboken: stevedore troubles at, 380 INDEX 419 Hoboken Manufacturers' Shore R. R., 323 Holbrook, Colonel Lucius R., 107 Horton, Colonel W. H., 239 Hotel Keepers' Association, 114 Ice Plant Company, 294 Interim Bond, 74 International Mercantile Ma- rine Company, 323 Irwin, Captain Asa, 408 Jacksonville, Fla., 26, 401, 403 Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot, 309 et seq. Joflfre, Field Marshal, 179 Joint Army and Navy Board for the Inspection of Mer- chant Ships: activities of, 371-381 Jones, Colonel S. G., 110 et seq. Kaplan, S. M., 179 Keene, Captain M. S., 286 Kelley, Mrs. Florence, 182 Kenney, Captain T., 409 Kernan, Captain F. J., 366 Kimball, Colonel Amos W., 302 Kirstein, Louis C, 182 Kitchener Army: equipment of, recruits, 184, 185 Knight, Colonel John T., 341 Kniskern, General Albert D., 128, 309 Konesi, Captain Walter E., 182 Lawrence, Arthur, 180 Langworthy, Professor, 101, 106 Larner, Captain William M., 408 Larsen, Captain Andrew C, 408 Lemly, Major H. R., 69 Locomobile Company of Amer- ica, 387 Los Angeles Quartermaster De- pot, 341 Ludington, Quartermaster Gen- eral, 353 Machine Shop Unit, 370 Mallory, Mr. Clifford, 323 Martin, D. D., 179 Massie, Captain Lewis B., 408 McAniff, Lieutenant John T., 408 McCabe, Mr. C. B., 359 McClellan, transport, 368, 369 McElwain, J. F., 180 Mcintosh, Lieutenant Colonel J. N., 128 McGlynn, 116 McMahon, Captain M., 409 McSweney, Captain Dennis, 408 Medical Department, 8 Melville, Admiral, 353 Metcalf, Mr. Stephen O., 176, 179 Mexico: 24, 64; Pershing ex- pedition into, 68, 255; puni- tive expedition to, 382 et seq. Middleton, Captain Jackson, 408 Milton, Major Alexander M., 115 Mine Planters, 376 et seq. Montgomery Ward & Co., 309 Morgan, Guy, 399 Motor Transportation: 381 et seq.; development of, 383 et &eq.; organization, 400; per- sonnel, 401; training, 401, 402 Munro, 270 Munson, Colonel Fred L., 403, 408 Murphy, Captain Timothy H., 409 Murray, Captain M. S., 107 420 INDEX Nash Motors Company, 387 National Army: work of Quar- termaster's Corps in supply- ing and equipping. See Sup- plies. National Council of Defense, 269. See also Council of National Defense. National Defense Act (June 3, 1916) : 29, 26, 36, 51, 60, 149, 154, 155 National Guard: bonding of, 74; equipping of, 131 et seq. Navy: and convoy service, 218; part played by, in troop transportation, 350, 351; De- partment, and reconditioning of interned vessels, 356 et seq. Navy League, 104 Negroes: stevedore work of, on First Convoy, 369, 370 New Orleans Quartermaster De- pot, 317 New York : Quartermaster's Depot, 317-330; shipment of freight to, for First Convoy, 360 et seq.; 380 New York Merchants' Associa- tion, 323 Newport News, 380 North German Lloyd Steam- ship Company, 317, 318, 323 Office of the Quartermaster General: organization of, 13 et seq.; civilian personnel of, 17 et seq.; transportation plans of, 343 et seq. Officers' Reserve Corps, 29 et seq. Officers' Training Camps, 31 ef seq. Ohio State University, 395 Omaha Quartermaster Depot, 330 O'Mahoney, Captain Jeremiah W., 409 Orton, Major Edward, Jr., 394, 398 Orton, Major J. R., 296 Overman Law, 7, 9 Packard Motor Car Company, 387 Page, Mr. E. D., 323 Panchard, Mr. Edouard, 112, 114 Parker, Lieutenant Frank E., 409 Pegram, Major James C, 115 Perkins, Major George F., 290 Pershing, General John J., 23, 24; and transportation in France, 59 et seq.; 62; expe- dition into Mexico, 68, 81, 88, 89, 104; cablegrams from, calling for clothing for troops overseas, cited, 209, 210, 212, 213, 214, 215, 218, 219, 220, 221; attitude of, toward negro stevedores, 369 Personnel: Civilian, of the Office of the Quartermaster General during the World War, 17 et seq.; commis- sioned, 22 et seq. Philadelphia Quartermaster De- pot, 330 et seq. Pierce, Major Charles C, 67 Pierce- Arrow Company, 387 Pope, Colonel F. H., 382 Porter, Lieutenant Colonel Jo- seph Y., 408 Portland ( Ore. ) Quartermaster Depot, 340 Powers, Lieutenant Colonel Robert B., 302 Preistman, Howard: quoted on reworking wool for Army use in England, 227, 228 INDEX 421 Presidio, San Francisco, 107, 109 Program for organizing the National Army, quoted, 191 et seq. Puckle, Colonel, 219 Punitive Expedition into Mex- ico, 148, 382 et seq. Quartermaster Boat Service, 379 Quartermaster Corps: 4; crea- tion of, 11; functions of, 12, 13; personnel division of, 22 et seq.; Army Reorganization Act in relation to, 26 et seq.; legislation relative to expan- sion of, 42 et seq.; full strength of, 44; Finance and Accounting Division of, 68- 89; strength of, before World War, 51 et seq.; difficulties attending organization of certain units of, 60 et seq.; list of special organizations of, 64, 65 ; Finance and Ac- counting Division of, 68-89 ; Supplies Division, 90-240; Remount Division of, 244 et seq.; Warehousing Division of, 271 et seq.; Construction Division, 292-300; Canton- ment Division, 297 et seq.; and the stevedore question, 369, 370; transportation ac- tivities of the, 343-405; and motor transportation, 381 et seq.; training camp, 403-411; appropriations of Congress for, 412 Quartermaster Depots, 301-342 Quartermaster General: in re- lation to personnel of Reserve Corps, 36 et seq.; memoran- dum of, regarding supplies for the First Convoy, 361- 363. See also General Henry G. Sharpe, 361-363 Quartermaster's Officers' Re- serve Corps, 36 Quartermaster Training School. See Camp Joseph E. John- ston. Quinlan, Walter S., 399 Race, Arthur L., 115 Randies, G. W., 399 Rath, Captain Henry J., 408 Raymond, Captain Daniel R., 408 Raymond, Mr. H. H., 323 Rector, J. B., 116 Red Cross, 198 Reinach-Werth, Captain, 269, 270 Remount Branch, 15, 16, 314 et seq. Repair Shops, 241 et seq. Requin, Lieutenant Colonel, quoted on the making of the National Army, 35, 36, 88, 89, 186 Revolutionary War, 9 Robins, Mrs. Thomas, 111 Rock, Captain William F., 408 Root, Secretary: in relation to division of the Quarter- master's Department, 5 Rosen wald, Julius, 179 Roosevelt, Theodore, 143 Ruhlen, Colonel George, 341 San Francisco Quartermaster Depot, 340, 341 Schermerhorn, Mr. S. G., 323 Schofield: case of the mine planter, 378 School for Bakers and Cooks, 28, 29 Scott, Albert L., 179 Scott, Rufus W., 179 422 INDEX Seattle Quartermaster Depot, 341 Secretary of War: relation of, to supply departments, 9, 11, 14, 15; in relation to ex- pansion of Quartermaster's Corps, 42; in relation to Transportation Division, 346. See also Newton D. Baker. Seelbach, Otto, 116 Selden Motor Vehicle Company, 394 Selective Service Law, 156 Senate investigation of clothing situation, 221 et seq. Service of the Rear, 62 et seq. Shaffer, Captain S. W., 409 Shanks, Brigadier General D. C, 364 Sharpe, Greneral Henry G. : letter of, on Quartermaster training camps, quoted, 31- 34; memorandum of, regard- ing inspecting personnel, 47, 48; memorandum of, to Chief of Staff, 86; memorandum of, to Secretary of War in relation to equipment, 167; letters and memoranda of, relative to provisioning and equipping National Army, 186 et seq.; program of, to supply War Army, 188, 189; quoted, 200-202, 207-209 ; conference of, wii;h Adjutant General regarding shipment of clothing to France, 209 et seq.; letter, quoted, 298, 299, 319 et seq.; and the stevedore question, 322, 413 Sherman: case of the Army transport, 378 Sherman, Captain Walter L., 409 Shipping Board, 349; activities of, in the matter of troop ships, 355 et seq.; work of, in troop transportation, 356 et seq. Signal Corps, 8 Slavens, Colonel Thomas H., 128, 324, 330 Smith, Mr. A. G., 323 Smith, Ray, 116 Smith, Major William H., 115 Snyder, Captain E. B., 408 Society of Automotive Engi- neers, 393, 394 Spanish War, 27; influence of, upon establishment of trans- port fleet, 351, 353 Special Committee on Coopera- tion with Military Author- ities, 344 Special Units: list of, 201 Spengler, Captain Jacob H., 408 St. Louis Quartermaster Depot, 341, 342 Steele, Major Harry L., 341 Stevedore Battalion, 380 Stevedores, 65, 369, 370 Stevens, C. B., 179 Stevenson, Mr. Robert H., Jr., 176 Stimson, Captain, 359 Street, Mr. 0. D., 281, 290, 291 Strook, S. F., 179 Subsistence Branch: work of, 90 et seq. Supplies: distribution of, in United States, 237 et seq.; conservation and reclamation of, 240 et seq. Supplies Division: 90 et seq.; Clothing and Equipment Branch of, 129 et seq. Supply Corps, 6 Supply Department's: 3 et seq.; provision of, for First Con- voy, 360 et seq. Supply Depots, 72 et seq. INDEX 423 Talbot, Major Ralph, 115 Thayer, Mr. H. B., 280, 281, 291 Thompson, A. W., 344 Thorud, Captain Nels J., 408 Tillson, Colonel J. C, 320, 321; appointed Port Commander, 364 Tilson, Mr., quoted, 125 Timmins, Captain Charles S., 409 Tracy, Percy W., 399 Transport Workers' Battalion, 369 Transportation Division: in re- lation to moving National Army, 204; study of, 343- 402 Transportation: relation of, to war, 3; General Bliss on, problem in France, 58 Transports, 217 Troop Movement Section of the United States Railroad Ad- ministration : magnitude of work of, 347, 348 Troop Ships: conversion of German interned vessels into, 356 et seq. See also Trans- portation, Transports. Trucks: 385; standardization of, 395-397 Trulock, W. N., 116 Tyrrell, Percy, 116 United Fruit Company, 323 United States Army Transport Service: birth and develop- ment of, 350 et seq.; condi- tion of, at outbreak of World War, 352, 353 United States Railroad Admin- istration, 347, 348 Unmacht, Lieutenant Colonel, 308, 309 Urgent Deficiency Bill, 80 Utz, J. G., 399 Vail, Mr. Theodore N., 291 Valentine, Colonel, 270 Van Vleck, Mr. Frank, 353; formation of Transportation Workers' Battalion by, 369 Van Buren, Captain Charles, 408 Vehicle Program, 250 et seq. Vehicles: table showing, pur- chased by Remount Division, 267 Wadsworth, Senator : quoted on feeding the National Army, 125, 126 Walker, Captain J. S., 409 Walter Reed General Hospital, 342 Ward Line Steamship Co., 323 Ware, Captain James E., 408 Warehousing Division: creation of, 16; duties of, 271 et sieq.; functions of various branches of, 282-284 Washington Barracks, 107-109, 342 Washington Quartermaster De- pot, 342, 394 Water Transport Branch, 369 et seq. Wehle, Mr. L. B., 293 Wells, Major Frederick B., 290, 291 West, Major W. W., 270 Western Electric Company, 280, 281, 291 Wheeler, Major Frederick I., 403 Whitmore, Sam J., 116 Wiley, Dr., 101 Williams, Major A. E., 281, 291 Williams, Lieutenant R. H., Jr., 269, 270 Williamson, Colonel George McK., 128, 303 Wilson, Miller, 179 424 INDEX Wilson, President: in relation raittee on Clothing Situation, to troop ships, 356 222 et seq. Winter burn, Colonel, 270 Wood, Colonel W. S., 317 Wonson, Major H. S., 180 Wool Purchasing Depot, 171 Wood, Colonel John P.: before Senate Investigating Com- Zalinski, Colonel M. Gray, 340 Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: „^Y ^flOl PreservationTechnologies A WOHLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 111 Thomson Partt Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (7241 779-2111