South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-03-02
DEFENSE PLANS
ARE BEING MADE
Transportation Leaders Ar
range For Carrying of
Troops Where Needed.

WASHINGTON. March Heads
OF the country's leading railroad
systems met here Thursday with the
council OF national defense 20 APP
prove plans for giving the govern
ment the full cooperation OF trans
portatiOn interests i'm the event Of
war. They came at the call Of Dan
Tel Willard. president OF the Balti-
more a. Ohio. member OF the
councils advisory committee OF
seven captains Of industry. Thurs
day night they were returning home
10 work out cooperation details
with commanders Of the country's
-FOUR military departments
The more than 20 executives pres
ent comprised a special committee
on national defense OF the American
Railway association. and with them
met the national defense committee
OF the American Electric Railway
association. After a call on Sec'y
Baker the railroad men heard army
officers on transportation problems
and then discussed the situation
among themselves. Next 20 the
number and size OF guns. Sec'y Ba-
ker told them, the transportation
problem I'm war is the most import
ant the military viii face. OF the
Country's state OF defense. he said:
Grown Wiser.
I'VE have gone on in this cOun-
try for a long time in the some
what complacent assurance that the
Atlantic ocean is 5000 miles wide.
The Pacific $1,000, or something
like that and that we are separated
by nature as well as by traditions
and our own desires from any sort
OF difficulty But we have grown
lot wiser in the last few years on
that general subject; and while I
am quite sure that YOU regard the
state Of peace as most desirable, we
are nevertheless concerned as 20 the
means Of accomplishing It's continu-
ance.
Congress and the president have
enacted legislation that creates the
council OF national defense and its
purpose is 20 survey and coordinate
all OF the material and personnel
resources Of the country so that we
viii not be a Cfsorganized democra-
cy but an organized and effective
and efficient democracy. ready 70
turn its strength and its forces 10
anything that may be needed for ma
tional defense
Moving of guardsmen 20 the Mex
lean border, the secretary pointed
ou. was a small problem compared
20 what the country would have TO
face IL called ON TO move a force
OF half a million men.
Our problem there was to get
10000 men across this country
from various parts of the country
and 20 bring them together on a
front 500 miles hung" ne said. If
we were suddenly put to the prob
lem of moving an army OF 100000
from one coast 10 another. or 10 as
semble so large "a body of men as
that in any relatively small place.
the question of capacity OF the
tracks. the capacity Of sidetraCks
and terminals, and the capacity Of
cars and the amount of power
necessary. the way i'm which
everything would be assembled and
the effect on the country Of the sud
den mobilization Of so large a part
of the rolling stock facilities of the
railroads in this unaCcustomed Use
the farming that would occur-are
an problems of high strategy i'm an
art of which YOU gentlemen are
masters and of which we know only
as observers or users of these faciH-
ties"