TRENCH PROBLEM SOLVED.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 February 1918, Page 5

TRENCH PROBLEM SOLVED.

MACHINE TO DO AWAY WHS-SQlr'-DIER LABOR. .An article which appears in the latest i issue of The Uiiitcd States Field ' Icry Journal, the official bulletin of tWi;-'' United States Field Artillery ABsoela* '' tion, indicates that the treneh-dlggJU*,,'-,' problem has been solved and that Anw«K' cans a"re now manufacturing niachijjjja /;' which is a ievv minutes can do the Wotfc J, of scores of soldiers. , '. ' } "Xot ion},' ago," .says The Journal, <'lai/ a street in one of our Ohio cities a4Upb ! „i digger was moving along steadily 4p ).', grade, at the rate, of something betttt, " than a yard a minute, cutting through •. a heavy macadam road, the prepaxeii ','.' surface ami food of which was in perfect s i condition, it excavated a ditch $ feei;'« wide and 5i feet deep. The excßJ&tesAj earth was poured out of the machine ifl..', one side of the ditch, where it rose t£) "I a height of some three feet 'ji normal surface. t "This macliino was preparing a. icon-, * tinuouß excavation for the purpose of V lay this pipe in the bottom of the-"dit& that no gang of workers, with the pipe' already stretched along tlio route, coold lay this pipe in the bottom of the ditch -/ and join it ami-execute the filling as Sast * as the machine could travel The TetvU- v " was that the machine worked but a few \ hours a day, the pipe-laying detail . working all day. _ i> . ■ "Kffieient machinery is coming tO».she front these days in many ways to--assist 'i in warfare when the opportunity offers. ~ Trench digging is ono of them. ft knows how important Irench»s are in-? modern warfare. Machinery origijiallju designed for the quieter pursuits £,}■• with little or no modification, put ill ime for (ihe defence of a nation, and they'', exhausting manual labor is spared th» r \' soldier, or ho is put at some other task ' .'- that no' machine can yet Tbere are many types of machines me- v hil for earth excavation, practically •!)>■; of which would be material aids to> tl» '.* military man in preparing positions for, defence- Steam power is tued itt MBM>' ' of these machines; gasoline in others/", , . - These machines, are flelf-coffitttai-, -< cd, and travel along oil' Caterpillar tinuous treads." >V',. The article next refers to twoAtjo»fc' of ditch diggers wMfch are citSt tl'>\, examples of what the machine xEtcli ' digger can do in the way o£ trench' % digging. One of these known as the Buckeye and the otkeras' the Austin excavator. Of the lattersba>sj; ■Journal says: * ,' £* /'Figures wbidh give tlie capacity "for pj

oil' fi- capacity tfar,, ixcayation of certain of these •_,» and which bhow their power as T*eH -g may be accepted as follows: 'A tranche f can he formed 5\ feet deep, 2 i ect *t}TOg( ,S the ibottom, and 14 feet across the top.V l with t-ho aides and excavated earth i:\jt about a 1 oa 1 slope; other mvVji chinea will excavate a ditch 2 feet wida fi and 10 feet deep For military vat, fu ,'& excavated eartili is employed in giving cover to those who occupy the and depending upon the cross-section 0f,;., the ditch diicj, will \ary in height. A" ' very good idea of the 'unount of cut and p height of excavated earth nbove &o / natural noil may he obtained by their' t comparison in picturta with tao relative „' lieight of a man. ' , *.' "The Buckeye excavator U9es cutting "* buckets on the circumference- of a. lsige * wheel, whereas on the Austin type booms carry buckets on an endless chain.) ' It is chimed tint (\emtors can not'"/, only make a perfect (nneli at one-cut, . hut that grades mn 1 e maintained oc- 4 eurately nnd cuuc- i - dialed as "Wll In some eas.es lhe\ II npernlo on 10 to 15 per eei.t cnadi ~1 when special " means are used tli. -.ill climb grade* C' ns. steep as 10 pel ic"t " '( Dependent upon ih.. t,pe of machine '"j w-rf, iiuu-huio ditii eim i n some instances cut tienc! -> it the Tate of* % three yards i miiini, The,e are a Yard '-4 across the llip () f ].' feed deep, wMIe-i* otlier ditclici- will eu'UMiti at about the .a sumo speed ~ neiuli )■> f M t acioss the-* top and f>l feel deep '•'So much' the aidcle concludes, "for the trench di-ci- fl„ ,mm-I,c. Tho day % of the inotoi-piopilhd i u .\,\ batten' has % arrived. What .ue „,. , O .n R t „ () o our tractors after thv\ ],n\e placed our j guns in position' !( L ,„, huidly be,cx-, J j petted that, we i„ -rune cinerjwney/ i they will be used i„ fi,r,i,.i, powt . r f or our ammunition supiv, since the battery, .' would then be left innble to mo\o If' in a defiladed position, (hue w opnor- l t'.mity for tlieii tin lln ,we, u should > he seized. 1- ,( p o . siu i„ to add to the / design of the Held irl.'Vn ITACIor an auxiliary wln.l. ,» n be iifi.-. 1 i,v !H,t « excavation wl.en tl,. mm, mne itself" jg'A not needeil foi (urt,,. ~..< ~ ' r,n d*vs v " -(-yen monll,B~b,,tteiies m.iv imne h„fc '■{ ;;■!''■ -an «■• „,, ~„ Illlllir , ~„ ' their l„t ,„ t |,e M lnn „ , ns „_ wl nnd add *on„. ,„. ~„ „, ~f „ ( l t „ n cannoneers 1„ 1,.. ]> ~ ~ ~ „,„„■,„. ments nnd t,p r-. ; „ ~„. „ v . Jt seems n lc.e.fiimu,. ~,',1,,,,, f f „. o , lr j ; ventors and desipie -(„ « m | „ion" ' j