Escort wagons formed the large bulk of the requirements at the start, but as the war progressed, the necessity was created for different designs of vehicles. So from time to time there were designed drinking-water carts and wagons, medical and ration carts, combat wagons, veterinary ambulances, sprinkling wagons, and various other types to meet special needs.
In the early spring of 1918 it was found that the wagon industry had about reached its limit so far as output was concerned, and that, if the war continued another year, new sources of supply would have to be developed. Then it was that the furniture industry was called upon to produce spare parts for vehicles. Under the presidency of P. B. Schravesande, president of the Grand Rapids School Equipment Co., the Furniture and Fixture and Light-wood Industry War Service Committee was organized to cooperate in arranging to have furniture makers enter the field of manufacture of spare parts.
It was arranged that the furniture manufacturers were to produce 75 per cent of the spare parts then requisitioned, totaling in value about $8,000,000. While the furniture industry was preparing its plants for the manufacture of these parts, the wagon industry continued to manufacture 25 per cent of the required parts in order to keep up a satisfactory flow.
When the armistice was signed practically all the furniture manufacturers had prepared to fill the spare-parts orders, but none of them had reached quantity production.
Automobile-wheel manufacturers were induced to turn out the immense quantity of wheels needed for escort wagons.
There were in all about 250 manufacturers of wagons, wagon parts, and wheels. Among the prominent wagon companies engaged in this work were: Bain Wagon Co., Oshkosh, Wis.; Columbia Wagon Co., Columbia, Pa.; Deere & Co., Moline, Ill.; Emerson-Brantingham Co., Rockford, Ill.; Florence Wagon Co., Florence, Ala.; Hackney Wagon Co., Wilson, N. C.; International Harvester Co., Memphis, Tenn.; Moline Plow Co., Moline, Ill; Mogul Wagon Co., Hoskinsville, Ky.; Owensboro Wagon Co., Owensboro, Ky.; Pekin Wagon Co., Pekin, Ill.; Peter Schuttler Co., Chicago, Ill.; Springfield Wagon Co., Springfield, Mo.; Stoughton Wagon Co., Stoughton, Wis.; A. Streich & Bros. Co., Oshkosh, Wis.; Thornhill Wagon Co., Lynchburg, Va.; Tiffin Wagon Co., Tiffin, Ohio; Eagle Wagon Works, Auburn, N. Y.; A. A. Cooper Wagon & Buggy Co., Dubuque, Iowa; Winona Wagon Co., Winona, Minn.; White Hickory Wagon Co., Atlanta, Ga.; Kentucky Wagon Co., Louisville, Ky.; Studebaker Corporation, South Bend, Ind.; American Car & Foundry Co., Jeffersonville, Ind.
Among the leading automobile-wheel manufacturers who were given contracts for escort-wagon wheels were the following: Mutual Wheel Co., Moline, Ill.; Roger Wheel Co., Aurora, Ind.; Crane & McMahon (Inc.), St. Marys, Ohio; Hayes Wheel Co., Jackson, Mich.; Imperial Wheel Co., Flint, Mich.; Kelsey Wheel Co., Detroit, Mich.; Binnel Spoke & Auto Wheel Co., Portland, Ind.; Archibald Wheel Co., Lawrence, Mass.; Chattanooga Wagon Co., Chattanooga, Tenn.; Hoopes Bros. & Dalington (Inc.), Westchester, Pa.; Prudden Wheel Co., Lansing, Mich.; Standard Wheel Co., Terre Haute, Ind.; Avoca Wheel Co., Avoca, N. Y.; New Wapakoneta Wheel Co., Wapakoneta, Ohio; Piedmont Wagon Co., Hickory, N. C.
Furniture factories that assumed contracts for making spare parts for horse-drawn vehicles included about 30 furniture manufacturers of Rockford, Ill., as well as the following: Grand Rapids School Equipment Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.; Sherman Bros. Co., Jamestown, N. Y.; Ramsey-Alton Manufacturing Co., Portland, Mich.; Connersville Furniture Co., Connersville, Ind.; P. Derby & Co., Gardner, Mass.; Ebert Furniture Co., Red Lion, Pa.; S. Karpen & Bros., Chicago, Ill.; Chas. T. Lambert & Co., Holland, Mich.; The Macey Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.; Thos. Madden Son & Co., Indianapolis, Ind.; Sidney Manufacturing Co., Sidney, Ohio; Basic Furniture Co., Waynesboro, Va.; Brecht Co., St. Louis, Mo.
| Number ordered between Apr. 6, 1917, and Nov. 11, 1918. | Value of orders. | Quantity delivered up to Nov. 11, 1918. | Quantity shipped overseas. | Value of quantity shipped overseas. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial vehicles | 181,077 | $41,247,911 | 89,024 | 28,918 | $7,247,522 |
| Spare parts | 39,690,255 | 2,551,642 | |||
| Total | 181,077 | 80,938,166 | 89,024 | 28,918 | 9,799,164 |
The following table shows the principal items listed under commercial vehicles, with the total number ordered, value of the order, and the total number delivered up to November 11, 1918: