Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-04-04
MOBILIZATION
OF AMERICA
How Arthur Bullard,. Who Has
Studied the European Mis-
takes, Thinks We Can
Avoid Them

IITE HAVE been waiting for brief and
w lucid summary OF the blunders made
| by the Entente Allies In order that when
we were drawn into the war we might
profit by what had been learned at bitter
cost In the expensive school of experience.
This summary has been supplied by Arthur
Bullard, who has been on the ground In
both France and England, in a little book
called "Mobilzng America" published to-
day by the Macmillan Company, New York.
Mr.. Bullard made extensive notes FOR the
preparation of a large book describing the
way democracies get ready for war, but the
national emergency Is so pressing that he
has condensed the main points of the unfn-
ished greater work into l29 small pages.
The first and most disastrous blunder
which Mr.. Bullard notes was the assump-
tion that II was to be n short war. Nobody
believed Kitchener when he said that the
war would last three years. Both In France
and In England il was believed that this es-
! innate was the casual remark OF a profess
siona, soldier. I'VE know better" was the
thought Of the average citizen Because of
this fundamental bunder no adequate
preparation was made for munitions. 1t
was assumed that the greatest need was for
men at tho front, and every one forgot that
men engaged in work at home were serving
their country as genuinely as those in the
trenches, and no one remembered that un-
less hundreds of thousands were at work
providing the army with what it needed to
do effective work the army might as well
! not be in the field, Skilled mechanics have
been wccdcd out Of the armies. coal miners
have been called back TO the mines and
hotel managers have been put in charge of
the domestic affairs of the hospitals in
stead of being assigned to digging trenches.
hn h.t I.,, ,,,1, rpH hKy
the hotel managers is shown by the expert
ence of the expert surgeons from the Rock
efeilcr Institute, who were put in charge of
a hospital in Compiegnc which had been a
| hotel The surgeons had had no experience
| in directing the details of hospital house
| Keeping, and things were going wrong until
| they decided TO bring back from the front
| the man who had managed the hotel i'm time
| of peace. Within twenty-four hours after
| his return everything was running
| smoothly.
Blunders About Conscription
| Another bundcr was the failure of the
| Governments to make it clear to the people
| that they were asking for this that
! form of rc-enforcemcntS for the fighting men
| because they We're absolutely necessary for
| the prosecution Of the war. Because Of this
| failure there was a widespread suspicion
| that the politicians were playing politics
| and asked for Il conscrption measure in
| England, for example, in order TO save the
| Liberal party rather than to serve the
| cause of the nation. Akin TO this was n
| scattering of effort In making clear the
| great issues at stake. The workingmen
| and the capitalists both showed a splendid
| Willingness TO make any sacrifices neccs-
| sary if they were made for the temporary
| emergency of war. The Welsh coal miners
would enlist for the wage of a shilling a
\ day. but they would strike against "A re-
| duction of six pence a day in their wages
| especially when they discovered that their
| employers were reapng great profits from
| the increased price of coal
| Another mistake was the attempt of
| propagandiss to make permanent settle
| ments Of controversial questions under
| pressure of the needs of the crisis. Mr.
! Bullard believes that if the prohibition of
| the manufacture and sale of liquor in
| England had been proposed as war expo
| dient the manufacture could Dave been
| stopped But the prohbtionists thought the
| opportunity was ripe for wipng out the
business entirely and they met with the
| bitter opposition Of the brewers and dis
tlers Opponents of labor organizations
| thought they could kill the unions, and they
| failed as the prohbitionists failed.
America Warned
| Mr. Bullard warns us against the danger
| Of similar attempts here, 1t will be ncces-
! sary to do many radical things if we arc
| 10 make 1llc lull power ol lHS Hhtl'i l'lN
| in the war but If the advocates Of gov
| ernment ownership, a sound congressional
| budget system, the reform of the labor
| unions and what not seize upon the occasion
| to engage in propaganda, they will obstruct
! rather than accelerate preparation for what
| is to come. The lesson that Europe has
| for us is that all propaganda for tins or
| that social or economic reform should he
| abandoned and that the nation should con-
centrate itself on the single issue of mobiliZ-
ing it's wealth. its men and its industries
for the sole purpose OF winning an honor
able peace and bringing about triumph
| for democracy. When democracy has tri-
umphed the controversial issues can again
take their place in popular discussion and
be settled in their own gooc time.
Mr. Billiards. book Is of immense value
| in the present national crisis. 1t Is In
spired by the spirit of the Presidents ad-
dress to Congress at the opening of the
| extraordinary session, and it supplements
that splendid declaration of the allegiance
| of America to the cause OF humanity by
| multitude of suggestions of ways and means
for making that allegiance effective.
G.. W. d.