Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1917-12-02
SloWnesS of Movement Due to
Lack of Transportation and
to Unframed Condition of
Men in Various Camps.
ALLIES NEED SUPPLIES
MORE THAN SOLDIERS
Huge Force Will Be in France
by Summer and One of Re-
spectacle Size viii Be There
for Spring Campaign.
Especial Dispatch From Milton Bron-
ner of Our Washington Bureau.)

ncr of Our Washington Burcau.)
Washington, Dec. Premier
Lloyd George the other day asked how
soon America would have one million
men in France and the following day
a New York newspaper, hostile to
War Secretary Baker, belabored him
because it claimed people thought we
already had 100000 men over the
seas.
The truth is that Lloyd George was
not frank and the New York newspa-
per not honest.
1t has been known to British au
thorties from the start that we could
not put a million men into France in
a hurry and this has been thoroughly
understood in this country, too.
Right after our entry into the war,
missions came from England, France
and Italy to see what we were going
to do and to tell our government what
they would like to have done.
England wanted food, munitions
and, above all, money credits. 1t was
tired of giving high interest in loans
floated by J. p Morgan and his asso.
GATES.
Italy asked for food, steel and coal.
France asked for food, munitions,
money credits and men, with the ac-
cent decidedly on athe men. Joffrs
hammered away at this persistently.
The administration, anxious to do
its full share as quickly as possible,
was confronted by conditions created
by the German U-boat campaign.
There was a shortage of ships and
the vessels could not carry supplies
for our allies and men and supplies
for an army. too.
The result was a compromise plan
We fixed money credits, and sent food,
some munitions and some coal. Also
we sent some soldiers. The latter
were rushed over so France might
have visible evidence that we were in
the war. And as fast as we could
send them and ships had to carry
them, we have been dispatching more
troops.
But we are also limited by the
number of trained men we have.
1t is very we'll to say that we have
100000 men in our regular army and
over 400, 600 in our federalized nation
a. guard and nearly 100000 in our ma
tional army. But nearly two-thirds
of the regulars are rockies who
have Joined since we entered the war.
Nearly half the national guard are
in like case. And, of course, all of the
national army is made up of selective
service men.
This means that huge job has to
be done before we can send them to
France. They must be graduated
from training camps. Rifles, pistols,
machine guns and equipment must be
manufactured. This takes months.
We will have very respectable
sized army in France by spring; quite
large one by summer. And it will
keep growing fast as hard working
war department can manage. Plans
have been made for long war, a war
in which the talk is of millions and
not of hundreds of thousands. But
army officers are not proclaiming what
they are doing. AS fast as a body of
troops is ready for intensive training
and as fast as ships are provided
they are sent.
And they land in France where a
vast amount of preparatory work is
being done. New docks and piers are
being built, warehouses and munitions
dumps erected, railroads and auto
roads constructed. This takes an
army of workmen--and the workmen
are over there on the job.
Some day, when the full story can
be revealed, the nation will realize
that Newton d. Baker has been doing
something more than sit inside an in
ner office and twiddle his thumbs.