Activity in Toronto..
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Mobilizing Canada's Second Contingent by Motorcar. A Packard Armoured and Armed Car. Big War Orders in Canada.
Capable of digging a post hole in seven minutes, of picking up a telephone pole and setting it into the proper position in about the same length of time, the three-ton truck shown in this photograph is a tremendous saver of time and money. The disc-shaped drill, the derrick for raising the poles and the driving gear of the vehicle, all receive their power from themotor motor of' the truck. It is claimed that the seven-foot hole dug by the new machine would keep a couple of men busy for a quarter of a working day, while by the present method a bole can be drilled and the ple set in 15 minutes, Machines of this type are in use in Weste n America.
On Friday, the 18th of Decemb r the mobilization by motorcar of t troops of the second Cana& n contingent, from the Exhibiti n Grounds to Queen's Park, in Toronto, was carried out without a hitch. The Ontario Motor Leag .e sent out letters to its members n Toronto, asking them to lend th ir cars for the afternoon for this tst mobilization. Five hundred e were required; over 600 were hand at the appointed time. It w s a lively sight for the city f Toronto. Cars of all sizes took pa t, from the Ford two-seater up to t seven-passenger Packard.
Undoubtedly the great attracti in this long string of cars was t Packard armoured oar, of which send photographs. This is one three armoured cars to go to t Front with the second continge from Toronto. This car is standard 38 h.p. six-cylinder Pac ard, built by the Packard Mot Car Co.. of Detroit, Michiga U.S.A., for their Toronto agen the Ontario Motor Car Co., 1 Bloor Street, E., to the order of t Canadian Government. The turret is on ball bearings, and can be turned to any angle. The operator sits on a bicycle saddle inside the turret, and can turn the whole thing with complete ease. This machine is equipped with a Colt quickfiririg gum Note the armoured shield in front of the radiator ; this can be opened or closed at will from the driver's seat. I understand that the Packard Co. have an order for eight more of these cars. I have had over two years experience in driving different models of Packards, and it is certain that if those which go with the Canadian contingents behave as well as the Packards do in peace time here, we in Canada shall look for great results.
The City of Toronto (Department of Public Health) has just added to its equipment a very fine 28 h.p. Russell-Knight ambulance built by
the Russell Motor Car Co., Ltd., of West Toronto. This ambulance isonly used for infectious oases. The Russell Car Co. is busy with war orders for trucks and armoured cars, thus making things brighten up for at least one "Made in Canada" firm.
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Co., of Buffalo, has an order for WO fiveton trucks at a value of $1,000,..,00 for another of the Allies. The Peerless Motor Car Co. are in receipt of an order amounting to about $1,000,000 for trucks for Europe. The last-named firm started night and day work at the Cleveland plant, which is now almost solely devoted to the manufacture of the war order, which will take up to July to complete, with probability of other business should the warcontinue that will keep the plant busy for at least a year. Other orders of the kind are on offer.