The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-10-05
No NEW CAMP
IN PROSPECT
At THIS TIME
Pensacola Committee so AS
sured But Get No Furth-
er Encouragement.
SECRETARY OF WAR
MAKES ANNOUNCEMENT
Delegates All Told That In
vestigations of Sites Was
Only for Future.
Washington Bureau,
The Pensacola Journal

Washington, D. c., Oct. 4.-The
War Department is not going to es-
| tablish a machine gun school and field
artillery range in Western Florida or
any other point in the near future,
Secretary of War Baker stated to-
day.
Following the rebuff received by
the delegation from Pensacola, De-
Funiak Springs, Bombay and Crest
view yesterday at the hands of the
war department this information
was given today to delegations urg-
ing the selection of sites at Mobile,
Fayetteville, n. c., Columbus, Ca,
Oklahoma City and other points for
locating the proposed machine gun
school, to train about 10000.
In order to obtain the fullest in
formation in regard to the true situa-
tion, The Pensacola Journal CORES
pondent today accompanied the dele
Columbus into Secretary Bakers
office and to the offices of the other
officials they visited, as a member of
those delegations, each delegation re-
ceived the same disappointing re-
buff and determined to give up the
quest for the present and return
home. Some of the delegations did
not go directly to Secretary Bakers
office but started from the bottom
and worked up. At all of the offices
they called they were told that moth
ing was known of the machine gun
camp proposal except that investi-
cations had been made of large
number of sites; that the reports
had been sent to the war college
and that it was improbable any such
stations would be established in the
near future.
1t was at Secretary Bakers Office
that the various delegations received
the disappointing information that
there is nothing but a tentative and
conditional plan on hand, and that the
department may never establish the
machine gun training camps in re-
gard to which they came to Washing
ton.
There is the substance of what Sec
retary Baker told the Western Flori-
da delegation yesterday and each of
the visiting delegations in turn today
after they had announced the purpose
of their visit.
There is nothing defnits in the
mind of the department in regard to
establishing a machine gun school
and field artillery range. said Mr..
Baker. ct am sorry that you gen.
tlemen have gotten erroneous i'm
preston of the departments inten-
tions, and have gone to the expense
of coming to Washington on useless
mission.
"This thing started in this way: We
have considered the advisability of
establishing such camps at some fu-
ture time. Recalling the difficulty
we had in locating our first camps
when we wanted them quickly and
had no information regarding sites,
each division commander was in
structed to have committee investi-
gate sites all over the country so
that if it is decided later to estab-
lish such camps of instruction, the
department will have the information
right at hand to select a site quickly.
Eve have not yet decided to estab-
lish such camps nor chosen the sites
and in fact we have not asked con-
gress to appropriate the money for
them.
Would Stop Delegations.
Secretary Baker issued a formal
statement TODAY right along the line
of what he told the visiting delega-
tions and which is quoted above. and
fContinued on Page Three.l