Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1917-05-12
GIVE US A REAL WAR MACHINE

| GIVE US a REAL WAX MACHINE
All of the nations at war are or
ganized for war except the United
| States.
The United States, potentially the
most effective war power of them
all, is organized only for peace.
Some steps were taken before the
declaration of war, and few after
ward, providing for the national de
Tense, but broadly speaking it is true
that the United States government
with the exception of the Treasury
Department has not yet begun to or
ganize itself for war.
Some of the steps already taken arer
| mistakes, and will have to be retrae.
| ed. Many of the piecemeal plans now
/ before Congress are not only made
! quate, but would tie the hands of the
government if adopted. They would
| have to be swept aside when the crash
came and the people turned to Wash
ington and demanded to know why
there was failure.
Congress is all-powerful in war. 1t
has no limitations in performing its
duty of defending the nation. Its
greatest service is to block out the
war powers of the government; to
bring into being the latent war ma,
chine. The executive will conduct
the war successfully, according to the
mandate contained in the declaration
of war, if the machinery is provided
| The executive cannot create this ma
chinery.
| In former wars no department OF
munitions was necessary, but that is
not a good reason why a department
of munitions should not be created
now Precedents ought not to be con.
sidered in the face of a condition
that has swept away all precedents
and is endangering civilization itself
4 What strength has the argument
against government control of food
if without such control the govern
ment itself perishes? If it is hard for
American business to contemplate the
government control of shipping and
raw materials, would it not be harder
/ to contemplate the substitution oil
Berlin for Washington as the nationa
capital?
i Call government control anything
you like, socialism or the antithesis
of socialism. What does 1t matter. il
government control is necessary fol
the survival of the United States?
This is not good time to discuss
theories of government. 1t is time
to strip for action to defeat an enem,
that is already stripped, which doe
not bother about theories so long al
II can smash its way to domination.
While the United States talks Ger
many sinks ships. This country i
unorganized, Germany is organize,
While Congress considers plans t
add patchwork war powers to peac
machinery Germany uses its govern
, ment as one colossal sledgefammer
, Let Congress create the machin
and then let the Prsidnt run the ma
chine. The work must be done fron
I the ground up. Advisory board
: reaching out for executive power
/ and the quarreling Of bureaus ar
; departments are the result Of the fai
! ure of Congress thus far to Great
: war machine. Able men are tryin
/ to help, but their efforts are mutua
a ly destructive.
v There should be a department {
e munitions, department of food col
n troll and department of transport;
g ton. The heads of these department
/ should sit in the cabinet, whic
J. would then constitute a real coul
J. Gil of national defense.-Washingto
l. Post.
One way TO relieve habitual const