The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-12-24
BAKER WILL
ANSWER CRITICS
Secretary of War to go on Wit
ness Stand Before Senate
Military Probe
Committee.
WILL CLAIM PROGRESS
Pershins:s Men Have Five Rifles for
Each Man and Red Tape Is
Being Clipped
or.
WILL CLAIM PROGRESS

UNITED Press Leased Wire service.1 ]
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24.-Secre-
tary Baker is preparing to answer
critics Of the war department before
the senate military probe committee.
His testimony will show. admins
tration officials declare: Remarkable
progress in all the war work on the
face Of unusual conditions"
Despite vigorous critics of Chief
of Ordnance Crozier, Quartermaster
General Sharpe and Baker himself.
by witnesses before the committee.
President Wilson and heads OF the
war, navy and shipping departments
are optimistic at the developm ents in
the different congressional fnvestlga-
tions, it was officially stated today.
Baker will appear in person, prob
ably late this week, when the mill
tary probers resume operations.
Secretary Baker declined to discuss
Colonel Lewis charges against Cen
eral Crozier, ordnance chief, and the
system Lewis called "Crozierism.
The department attitude, which
probably will reveal itself In Bakers
testimony. follows: =,
Sufficient machine guns VIII Dc
ready when needed. It is not true
that the Browning machine gun has
never had a test, as Lewis claimed.
r. was tested in Springfield last
spring and found to work better than
other guns because of greater play
in mechanism.
Lewis statements are regarded az
-the outgrowth of personal fuel.
While the senate investigation mas
made it appear this government is
borrowing from the depleted frencn
supply the fact is the United States
IL sending over gun castings and parts
for use in French factories.
The main lack in the ordnance
situation is that Of heavy artillery.
Colonel Lewis claim that Perish
ings men are short Of rifles is un-
true. The Pershing force is supplied
with five rifles per man.
AS for claims of red tape hamper
ing work, the departm ment's answer IS
that 1t has been for some tlme 'fy.
ing to eliminate delays and that its
new war council is striving to CO.
ordinate relations between the de-
nartment and the force in the field
Moreover, 1t points out that much
of the senate testimony, dealing with
nast conditions, overlooks the enor-
nous readjustments in the Industrial
machinery of the country.
When the senate military ahafrs
ommittee resumes its inquiry We'd
nesday. Quartermaster General
sharpe will again testify.
Colonel Isaac Lewis charges Will
be taken up when Secretary Baker
is called It is likely Bakers testi-
mony will be saved until practically
the last.
One phase of the working Of Gen
eral sharpe's department, which Is
to be gone into this week, is the
amending of a large sum to build
houses for workers in munition fac
tories. Most Of this money has been
spent in a small district within
ra dius of 200 or 300 miles from Phil
adelphia, committeeman said today.
They want to know why the war de-
partment did not use some of 1t in
centers farther inland,
through Ohio, Illinois and western
Pennsylvania. They pointed out that
congestion of munitions workers
along the Atlantic seaboard has COM
nlicated difficulties of the shipping
board in furnishing places for their
workmen to live.