Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-10-09
WAR AIMS ARE DESCRIBED TO BUSINESSMEN

their time to the government until
this supreme emergency is past.
'At the outbreak of the war we
were curiously situated. We had de-
veloped a civilization which flowers
in peace. The greatest struggle of all
was to give up individual right for
the good of the community. This
feeling pervaded the business at
mosphere. Business suspected the
government, and the government suS-
pected business,
Greater Democracy
Over night, almost, the emergency
came, and it found every suspicion
gone or suspended. To-day Washing
ton is the center of perfectly CO.
ordinated and united country. To-
day, this country Is a greater demo-
cracy, stronger nation and u great
er hope for mankind than 1t has ever
been in its history.
ITO me, war is essentially waste
full thing, but this nation, welded
before the war and in the war, will
after the war give place to a perma-
nent peace" said the Secretary.
The different characteristics OF
our people and the size of the coun-
try was pointed out as one of the
problems with which the government
had to cope in welding together this
great people. Some idea of the
vastness of America may be gained
from the fact that If all of the
people of the world, in India, in
China, the savageS who have been
numbered and those that are un-
numbered, were placed in the State
of Texas. there would be but seven
persons to an acre." said Mr.. Baker.
Foreigners from all parts Of the
world, this seething mass of peo-
pie, have been thrown into the melt
ing pot of democracy and have been
welded into a tremendous effective
agency for the speedy conduct OF
the task before this country"
The Great Work Done
Briefly Secretary Baker touched
upon the accomplishments of less
than a year. When war was declar-
ed, this great country, with trouble
on the Mexican border and other
perplexing problems, had an Army
somewhat larger than the metropoll-
tan police force of London. To po-
lice the Panama Canal zone and the
Mexican border it was necessary tc
call to the National Guard, consisting
of from 10000 to 400, 900 men. lr
the entire situation, there was one
ray of light.
For almost 100 years West Point
that ever has been on the face oi
the earth. 1t produces soldiers-anc
men of honor. The Regular Army
small though it was, has shown mar
| velous possibilities in development
| Within the next few months we shat
| have, in training camps, on the wa
ter or in France, at least 100000
men. THE old method was to go ou
with fife and drum, playing MARTA
music. the young girl saying to hel
| sweetheart, Jimmy, aren't you go
ing?' All that has changed. Within
n few months we registered ten mil
lions of selected men and handed
! over to the government an immens'
Army to be trained.
THE selected men will compris'
sixteen cities of 10000 to $4,000 mel
each. Yaphank, N. Y, when com
pleted, will be the fifty-first city il
the United States.
Despite the immense amount o
work involved, in securing lumber, il
constructing sewers, laying waite
lines, in perfecting electric light sys
TENS and in building hospitals capa
BILE of caring for the three or fou
| thousand sick should the occasion
arise, when the first drafted me-
were called. every camp but one wa
ready.
"The feeding of our Armies is
giant task, compared with the feed
ing of armies in former days. The
the quartermaster took his marke
basket upon his arm, and went fror
store to store. So vast is this Arm
that the market doesn't have enoug
if we took il all.
take for instance, the item G
blankets. Last month we purchase
more than 100000 blanket
Shoes, coats and stockings are sc
cured by the tens of millions tn
stead of by the hundreds of thou
sands.
AS to Rifles
Every now and then, you'll dis
cover from the newspapers that som
particular item is short. At tn
start of the war there did exist
shortage of rifles and large artiller!
But I would say that when tn
American soldiers reached Franc
there were five rifles for every ma
waiting for him on the other sid
while every soldier in the Regula
Army and in the National Guard ha
n rifle. When our Army takes il
place on the other side of the oceal
it will be as we'll equipped as til
best, and better than most of ii
armies engaged in this war.
Here is n word regarding mori
atmosphere of our camps that ougf
to make all of us thrill When til
war started, Congress gave the Pres
ident the right to protect cantor
ments from the perils formerly re
garded as being part of the trainin
of q soldier. With the cooperate
of the Red Cross, the Y. M. G.
and the knights of Columbus, ii
Armies are being gathered undC
m nrn NhnlnSOme. more uDlifting an