254 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
the government stud farms, after inspecting the convoys of horses
purchased by the Zemstvo Union, wrote letters praising their
quality and expressing astonishment at the low prices. In June,
1917, the Ministry of War itself requested the Union to buy for
the Ministry 80,000 horses for the artillery and transport services
at the average cost of 285 rubles per head. This order was accepted
for immediate execution and a special branch of the Union was
opened for this purpose at Chelyabinsk, Siberia.*
Automobile Service.
The automobile service of the Zemstvo Union, which was inaugu-
rated on a very modest scale, rapidly expanded into a vast and com-
plex organization. The Zemstvo Union, at the outset, found it nec-
essary to buy automobiles for service both at the front and in the
interior. In May, 1915, a special automobile department was or-
ganized, to systematize and cotrdinate the work of the automobile
services. At first this department carried on its functions in three
small rooms with only five men. A year and a half later, there were
already over 2,000 employees at work, distributed over several sub-
divisions, according to requirements. The automobile depots of the
Union in Moscow usually had in stock a million rubles’ worth of
spare parts and accessories, of about 10,000 different descriptions.
The central depot at Moscow did all the buying that was required
for the maintenance of the automobile service. At the front, special
shops were established for the repair of these automobiles, but hun-
dreds of machines proved incapable of local repair and had to be
sent to Moscow for a general overhauling. In November, 1915, an
automobile shop was opened at Moscow, and it soon expanded into
a regular factory with three hundred workers, who were engaged
not only in repair of machines, but also in the production of spare
parts which it would have required a great deal of time and expense
to obtain from abroad.
Permanent schools for chauffeurs and merchants were established
by the automobile department. At first they admitted only students
of the higher technical schools. Hundreds of chauffeurs who had
graduated in these courses were made available for work at the
front in the automobile service of the Union, and proved very valu-
¢ Jzvestia (Bulletin), Nos. 37-88, pp. 69-76; No. 48, pp. 29-82; Nos. 64-
66, p. 77; Kratki Obzor Deyatelnosti (Outline), pp. 63-65.
