Charlevoix county herald., 1917-05-25

TullWhy OlnCe. ne has HppOluteu ltS
members. He has had the power to
demand and to prescribe lower than
the normal rates for the trarsporta-
ton Of provisions In case of emer
gency. He, in connection with the up
per house of parliament, may call for
the conveyance Of soldiers and the ma
terials of war.
Not long after the war began Ger
many called to the colors every avail
able man. This gave total of 1000
600 men in the field to be supplied with
food, clothing, ammunition, and every
thing needed for actual service. There
were probably 100000 horses also in
the field, and they too had to be fed.
The ammunition and the guns had to
be carried to the front by rail, and
much Of 1t was transported back and
forth several times. Germanys rail.
road arrangements had been complete
even before the war started. A war
timetable, revised as occasion de-
manded, has from the first been In the
possession of railway officers through
out the country, capable of being put
into force at the shortest notice. Short
strategic lines built by Germany on
the French and Belgian frontiers have
been Of the greatest Importance, and,
in addition, most of the main lines are
so located as to have the greatest ef-
ficiency for military purposes.
Every railroad car In Germany has
stenciled on II the number Of men or
horses II is expected to accommodate.
2 In Germany the world has Its most
railway. Bismarck worked for impe-
rial ownership. The foundation Of
such a net as we now see In operation
was laid In 1871, when the lines of
Alsace-Lorraine came to the empire as
a result of the Franco-Prussian war.
In that war Germany used her seven
railway lines In the north and three
In the south, only one having double
track, to transport 16 army corps,
numbering $4,000 men, to the frontier
and accomplished the strategic feat In
IL days. Today Germany has II dou-
ble-track lines grilling her broad sur
face, and the manner in which she has
made use Of them to prosecute the
world war has been striking exam
pie of the railroad as weapon for
offensive as we'll as defensive opera
ton.
Cut Passenger Service.
One of the first changes necessary
for American railroads to make, ac-
cording to men who have given most of
their thought to the situation since our
trouble with Germany threatened, Is
the curtailing of the passenger serv-
ice. Probably no other means avail
able, says one authority, can be used
more effectively to conserve the re-
sources of the railways Of the United
States.
The committee issued an order few
days ago which said In effect: I'm all
cases keep freight cars moving and set
tie differences of opinion afterward."
This was the first important step of
the railroads in carrying out their
pledge of April IL that during the war
with Germany they would coordinate
their operations in a continental rail-
way system In the effort to produce
maximum of national transportation
efficiency.
Already the roads are operating as
a unit in the interest Of national de-
Tense, and the detailed recommends
tons Of the board, worked out after
exhaustive conference, from the pro-
gram by which the administration ex-
poets to bring to basis of war eff
ficiency every portion of the 100000
miles Of railways which make up the
greatest national transportation sys
tenn in the world.