USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume I > Part 36
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To meet the demand for water, the East Bay Water Company had to use money and engineering skill to draw on its underground re- sources. In a short time a supply of 19,000,000 gallons daily was de- veloped from underground sources, independent of the great catch- ment system already developed and in course of construction. Some difficulties imposed by war conditions had to be overcome. Pumps, motors, and machinery already ordered by the East Bay Water Com- pany were commandeered by the Government, but the immediate
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demands were met and throughout the public was inconvenienced less than by food and fuel restrictions.
Not only did the company meet the war emergency, but at the same time it continued its plans for securing to the East Bay region an ade- quate supply of water that would keep pace with future population growth. The San Pablo dam project was carried on in spite of con- stant embarrassment due to shortage of labor and building materials. More than three million five hundred thousand dollars had been ex- pended on this great work when its completion was celebrated in 1920. The waters of San Pablo Creek were impounded by one of the largest earth dams in the state and a storage supply of 13,000,000,000 gallons of water obtained. A remarkable feature of this supply system is the tunnel, 13,000 feet in length, cut through the Contra Costa hills, to bring the water to Oakland. The tunnel, used instead of pipe lines, is of concrete, and large enough to drive a small automobile through.
Besides the industries already mentioned which grew rapidly dur- ing the war period was that of automobile production. Progress in this field included the establishment of the largest assembling plant on the Pacific Coast as well as several plants devoted to the manufacture of accessories. During these years, also, the great Albers Milling Com- pany located in Oakland, using fourteen acres of floor space in its ware- house and mill. Expansion was also notable in the manufacture of in- ternal explosion engines, food products, electric lamps, aluminum, wooden tanks and pipe, serums, vaccines and anti-toxins, hides, iron and steel, cotton textiles, brass castings and other metal products, com- mercial book work, paints and roofing materials, stoves and tin-ware.
TRANSPORTATION
In transportation the most notable event in the East Bay during the war period was the consolidation of the various lines by the United States Railroad Administration; this made a union station of the Oak- land pier. Up to the time that the roads were taken over by the Govern- ment there had been keen competition between the five roads that enter Oakland. These roads, which enter Oakland from the north and south- east, have been an important factor in the development of the entire East Bay. Indeed, had the transcontinental railroads existed at the time of the discovery of San Francisco Bay, the East Bay would have developed much faster than the isolated peninsula which was destined to become the site of the western metropolis.
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Before the Federal Government took over the railroads the three systems of the Southern and Central Pacific railroads under one man- agement, had their main terminus at Oakland pier, coming from two directions, but uniting on the great Oakland mole. The Santa Fe sys- tem had its main terminals at Richmond, but had branch lines into Oakland. This road had just established a $2,000,000 freight terminal in the heart of the industrial section of the Oakland harbor front, when the Federal Government took it over. The Western Pacific had a pier of its own near that of the Southern Pacific Company. All three roads maintained elaborate passenger ferries. To meet the emergency and in the interest of economy, the United States Railroad Administration consolidated the service of the five roads on the Oakland pier, although it left the freight terminals where they were.
The trans-bay ferry service between Oakland and San Francisco also cooperated in maintaining efficient war time service. Between the federal controlled Southern Pacific and the independent Key System, passengers were carried as usual by electric train to every part of Oak- land, Alameda, Berkeley, Piedmont, Richmond, Albany, San Leandro, and Hayward. During the war the monthly commutation rate from all parts of the East Bay to San Francisco was raised from $3 a month to $3.30 by the increase but into effect by the Federal management. Single trips were raised from 10 to 11 cents each way.
In 1919 the Southern Pacific Railway began the construction of three wharves costing $400,000 south of the Broad Gauge mole with a view toward increasing facilities for handling trans-Pacific commerce on that side of the Bay. During the same year the Howard Company, which had for some years operated a private terminal on the Estuary, built a new wharf and shed to take care of increasing business. Dur- ing 1918 the Barron estate wharves, above the bridges, reported the largest business in their history, and in the same year preparations were being made for the construction of the concrete warehouses of the huge Parr terminal. Erected on the Key Route basin, these warehouses and tracks were one of the most important additions to Oakland industry and transportation during the reconstruction period.
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
So comprehensive and so varied were the war activities of stu- dents, faculty, and alumni of the University of California that they may with justice be said to have represented in miniature the war serv-
R. BENJAMIN IDE WHEELER President of the Uni- ersity of California, 1899-1919
HENRY MORSE STEPHENS Students' Friend
DR. DAVID PRESCOTT BARROWS Recipient of decora- tions from six for- eign governments
MEMORIAL STADIUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Built to commemorate the sacrifice of Californians in the European War
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ice of the Nation. From the 3,000 stars which shone brightly in the service banner of the institution to the laboratories in which methods for food conservation were being developed by patient research, every possible phase of academic life was stamped during 1917 and 1918 with the great effort put forth by the United States to win what was believed to be a war for democracy.
The spirit of these manifold activities is well stated in the fore- word to the University of California War Service Record for the Academic Year 1917-1918, printed in the University of California Chronicle for July, 1918. "The University of California," it reads, "responding with an instinctive loyalty and an eager patriotism to the nation's call for service, is dedicated to the vitally important task of training men and women throughout the state in war work. With upwards of three thousand stars shining from its service flag, the Uni- versity, through its several departments, its faculty, its alumni and its student body, is employing its full resources in striving towards the one great goal of bringing the war to a 'speedy and successful termina- tion.' On the firing line in France, with the nation's battle fleet, in the shipyards, in the laboratories of war science, in the mines and on the farms, at home and abroad, wherever the call to serve has come, Uni- versity men and women are at work. The university has given of its members, gladly and proudly. Not only are Californians listed on the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps rolls, but names on the lists of the Cali- fornia Council of Defense, the National Council of Defense, the United States Shipping Board, the Pacific Coast Research Conference, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Public Service Reserve, the War Trade Board, the Red Cross, and scores of committees and sub-committees of these and other organizations, bear substantial testimony to the part the university is playing in Amer- ica's supreme crisis."
Under the able hand of Pres. Benjamin Ide Wheeler, although both faculty and student-body had been depleted by the ready response to the call to the Colors, the university in all its departments cooperated ac- tively with the great public outside its gates in the task of winning the war. One of the first things Dr. Wheeler did was to insure the coör- dination of the work of the various military and naval schools on the campus by the appoinment of a board which should promote a harmo- nious relationship between academic and military activities. Thus the maximum of efficiency was obtained through the elimination of duplica- tion of governing bodies. The board represented President Wheeler
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in matters connected with the administration of military and naval affairs for the university. It cooperated with the Advisory Committee of Deans of the university, Prof. Charles Mills Gayley, dean of the faculties, Prof. William Carey Jones, dean of the Graduate Division, and Prof. Henry Morse Stephens, dean of the College of Letters and Science. The personnel of the board consisted of T. M. Putnam, Asso- ciate Professor of Mathematics and Dean of the Lower Division, chair- man; James Sutton, Recorder of the Faculties; Ivan M. Linforth, Associate Professor of Greek; Robert G. Sproul, Assistant Comptroller of the University, and Morse A. Cartwright, Assistant to the President.
One of the largest units of the Students' Army Training Corps in the United States was established at the University at the beginning of the fall semester, 1918. Work on the $200,000 barracks, mess hall, and auxiliary buildings was rushed to completion within a few weeks. The unit, which was commanded by Col. William Lassiter, U. S. A., retired, served its purpose until it was demobilized after the armistice was signed with Germany. The total enrollment in the Department of Military Science and Tactics in August, 1917, was 1,265 (forty- seven officers and 1,218 non-commissioned officers and privates). As a result of the selective draft and voluntary enlistment, by April 29, 1918, but thirty-eight officers and 810 non-commissioned officers and privates remained. Under General Order No. 49 of the War Depart- ment there was established at the University of California a unit of the Senior Division of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, in charge of Capt. L. M. Welch, Professor of Military Science and Tactics. Grad- uates of the Senior Division were eligible to enter officers' training camps. Students, if under twenty-one years of age, were required to attend the summer camps provided by the government.
In May, 1917, there was established at the University a School of Military Aeronautics, which during the war period graduated more than 1,500 flying cadets, many of whom saw service in France. Trained in the fundamentals of military subjects, signalling, gunnery, airplanes, engines and observation, these men gave a splendid account of them- selves above the Aisne and Marne and Oise. Seemingly in recognition of the School of Military Aeronautics on the campus, the War De- partment concentrated all ground school training of army aviators at the University of California and at three other educational institutions. George B. Hunter, Lieutenant-Colonel, Signal Corps, U. S. A., was in command. The school was conducted under a contract with the Government under which the University provided all instructors, all
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necessary buildings for barracks and instructional purposes, and labor- atory facilities, except special equipment such as airplanes and engines furnished by the United States Army. The Army was represented by the commandant, who was in direct charge of the cadets and the head of the school. The university exercised its control through an executive head known as the President of the Academic Board, who was directly responsible to the president of the university and the commandant. The course of instruction, prescribed by the United States Army, consisted of twelve weeks' training in the six departments. The university con- structed laboratory buildings for the school on the campus near the Mechanics Building. At the opening of the school, cadets were quar- tered in fraternity and boarding houses near the campus, but the uni- versity at once constructed adequate barracks for their accommodation. In 1918, when the school was at its height, eight airplanes were in use for instruction purposes, two being of the latest type of training ma- chine. A repair laboratory was also fitted up where cadets were given practical instruction in making wire splices of all kinds and in patching punctured and torn wings. In the department of gunnery, training was given cadets in all branches of aerial gunnery. Work was done both in the laboratory and on the rifle range to fit the cadet for the advanced training at the flying field.
To aid the Signal Corps of the United States Army, in September, 1918, the university established a School for Radio Electricians. En- listed men were sent to this school in groups of 100 to learn elementary electrical engineering and radio operation, with a view to fitting them to serve as non-commissioned officers. Dr. B. M. Woods, assistant professor of theoretical mechanics and university examiner, and presi- dent of the academic board of the School of Military Aeronautics, was appointed administrative officer of the school by President Wheeler.
In January, 1918, the university undertook on its own initiative to offer courses preparatory for service in the United States Navy. The courses covering the subject matter required in the examination for the commission of ensign and two additional courses recommended as elec- tives were included in the curriculm. These courses were based on the curriculum of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, and in- cluded among other subjects, instruction in naval history, oceanography and marine meteorology, ordnance and gunnery, seamanship and ma- rine engineering. The work of instruction in these courses was carried on by members of the university faculty under direction of Dean T. M. Putnam. Rear Admiral Charles A. Gove, U. S. N., retired, was as-
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signed by the Navy Department to advise the faculty in the maintenance of the naval unit, which at the peak of enrollment numbered 500 stu- dents. Certificates were awarded those who completed the course in a satisfactory manner and it was expected that after practical training aboard ship the holders of these certificates would be given an oppor- tunity to take the qualifying examinations for commissions.
On January 15, 1918, the uiversity announced courses in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture. These courses continued through- out the half year under direction of Professor David W. Dickie, Lec- turer in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture. The students were permitted to use certain machinery of the Key Route Ferry sys- tem and were also given an opportunity to see actual operations in the shipyards of the East Bay.
During the war the university cooperated actively with the United States Shipping Board and with the United States Navy in providing facilities through its Extension Division for fitting citizens to qualify as officers in the United States Naval Forces and in the Merchant Marine. Following the inauguration of certain courses during the summer of 1917 by the Berkeley Astronomical Department and the Committee on Mathematical and Astronomical Investigations of the Pacific Coast Re- search Conference of the State Council of Defense, Government au- thorities decided to extend the Shipping Board's chain of Navigation Schools to the Pacific Coast. Farnum P. Griffiths, an alumnus of the university and lecturer in law in the School of Jurisprudence, was ap- pointed section chief of the Recruiting Service in California, with com- plete charge of the Shipping Board's Navigation Schools in California. Schools at Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Pedro showed an enrollment of more than 400 students by July 1, 1918. The fifth official course began September 23, 1918. Rear Admiral Ross, of the Bureau of Navigation, who was in charge of officers' training in the United States Navy, inspected these schools in April, 1918, and gave them his commendation. The Shipping Board opened an Engi- neering School at the university on May 20, 1918. These navigation schools had, up to June 20, 1918, furnished 191 students who had been commissioned as officers in the American Merchant Marine. Graduates from the California schools made encouraging records in the competi- tive examinations at Norfolk, Virginia, 75 per cent of the California trained men passing as against 52 per cent of the men trained else- where. California schools were rated as the highest in the country by the United States Navy's Bureau of Navigation.
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The Extension Division throughout the war gave enlisted men a special reduction of 40 per cent on all fees in the various courses and provided special classes to meet the needs of the men in the service. It also gave special lectures on "Problems Arising out of the War" in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Through the extension and other agencies the influence of the University of California was brought to bear upon the entire citizenry of California.
One of the busiest and most useful war-time institutions on the Berkeley campus was the military bureau, established under direction of Leon J. Richardson, Associate Professor of Latin, and Homer Havermale, Alumni Secretary, during the first month of the war. The bureau was organized to assist in carrying out the decision taken by the regents even before President Wilson's message of April 2, 1917, to place the resources of the university at the disposal of the Govern- ment in the event of war. The first business of the bureau, under date of April 12, 1917, was to ask all men of the university body-faculty, alumni, and undergraduates-to fill out a personnel index card. On this card was to be entered the nature of the work being done by the in- dividual concerned or which could be done by him for the general de- fense. More than 3,070 alumni responded, and nearly all of them of- fered services in one form or another.
As the months passed, the field of activiity of the Military Bureau grew until it was discharging three functions : it served as an informa- tion office, a personnel office, and as a liaison office between the uni- versity and various military departments and bodies. As many as 2,500 persons a month sought the Military Bureau for information and ad- vice. Information was there available regarding draft regulations, army and navy regulations, army and navy orders, and military pro- cedure and methods. The bureau also cooperated to such extent as was possible with committees and organizations engaged in war work, such as training, publicity, relief, or reconstruction activities.
As a liaison agency between the Adjutant-General's Office of the War Department and the University family, including faculty, alumni, and students, the Military Bureau performed a valuable service. From the Adjutant-General's Office requisitions for skilled men came to the Military Bureau. These calls came also from various department chiefs at Washington who looked to colleges for their personnel. Typical calls follow :
June 9, 1917, a call for an alumnus in each of the following cities: Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. The men
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selected were to be on committees whose functions were: (a) To in- vestigate the ability, reputation and association of any one desired for special work by the national government in order to make sure of fit- ness and loyalty; (b) to assist in discovering for the national govern- ment men in various occupations who could be induced to leave their work in special cases where their ability was particularly desired by the government; (c) to arrange with local firms and organizations to release certain of their trained help when the need by the government was very great and probably could not be satisfied in any other way.
May 9, 1917, a call came to supply for service in France an am- bulance unit consisting of a first sergeant, second sergeant, corporal, two orderlies, two clerks, twenty-four drivers, three mechanics, and two cooks. Men were selected and enlisted for these positions due to the aid of the bureau. The University of California unit was headed by Lieut. John F. Edwards, and was officially designated as Section 86 of Battalion 21, U. S. A. Ambulance Service. The needs of the men were looked out for at home by "The Friends of Section 86," an organization of parents and friends, who sent to France clothing, read- ing matter and other things needed by the men.
October 5, 1917, a call to obtain three or four assistants in the War Trade Intelligence Division of the Export Administrative Bureau.
A call for women to serve as nurses in France; a similar call for telephone operators.
A request to examine, induct, and assign to Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, one hundred chemists.
A request to supply men for the Enlisted Specialists' Preparatory School at Fort Winfield Scott, San Francisco.
These calls were made known to the public through the newspapers and University and Alumni publications.
Besides acting as a personnel agent at the specific request of the Government, the bureau also undertook to find positions for men and women in the national service. More than 1,100 were assisted in this way.
As liaison office, the Military Bureau served as a contact point be- tween the university and military offices and boards. Through the cooperation of the summer session, the bureau registered and assigned more than 200 volunteer registrants for the September 12, 1918, draft.
The bureau also kept war records of all the alumni in the service. This was done in cooperation with the Alumni Association and through the American University Union in Paris, London, and Rome. News
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of Californians in the public service was printed regularly in The Cali- fornia Alumni Fortnightly.
In the important field of food conservation the College of Agri- culture and the ancillary natural science departments of the university rendered important service. As early as February 7, 1917, Dean Thomas Forsyth Hunt of the College of Agriculture wrote President Wheeler suggesting that in the event of war, faculties and facilities of the university should be placed wholly at the service of the Federal Government. On April 8, 1917, the President, having been authorized by the regents, directed the Department of Agriculture to assist the State Council of Defense through its committee on resources and food supply, of which President Wheeler was chairman. Thenceforth the staff and facilities of the College of Agriculture were devoted to the paramount task of increasing food production. In this they cooperated with Ralph P. Merritt, comptroller of the University and Federal Food Administrator for California. The College of Agriculture also worked with the United States Forest Service, the State Commission of Hor- ticulture, State Board of Health, the State Veterinarian, the Sac- ramento Valley Development Board and the California Fruit Growers' Exchange. In cooperation with these government and civilian bodies, the Department of Agriculture conducted an inquiry between April 16th and 27th, 1917, with hearings in fifty-five counties. Certain de- finite recommendations were made to the State Council of Defense.
On May 12, 1917, Dean Hunt submitted to a joint meeting of the Committee on Resources and Food Supply of the State Council of De- fense, and a committee of the State Board of Education, a plan for the mobilization of the high school boys and girls for agricultural and other industrial work. A canvass made in cooperation with the State Board of Education in June, 1917, revealed that 3,300 boys and 2,400 girls were available. During April, 1918, a list of all available boys and girls in the high schools was made and all boys of high school age, not in high schools, were urged to enlist in this boys' working reserve. To increase crop production, ten members of the faculty canvassed the high schools of the state in May, 1917, and called upon boys living on farms to join the agriculture clubs as war members in order to grow crops for their own profit and for the nation's benefit. Twenty thousand boys were addressed, 988 responding by the planting of approximately one thousand five hundred acres.
The College of Agriculture also devoted its attention to the ques- tion of aiding the farmers in obtaining an adequate supply of labor.
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In May, 1917, a plan was outlined by which Professor R. L. Adams of the Department of Agriculture would be jointly employed by the United States Department of Agriculture and the University of Cali- fornią as farm help specialist, and that through the Committee on Re- sources and Food Supply he should represent the State Council of Defense in its farm labor activities. In order to bring together all agencies dealing with farm labor, a public meeting was held at the University in Berkeley on May 31, 1917, at which a thorough discus- sion of the labor situation took place.
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