Bisbee daily review., 1918-01-22
President Denounces Proposed Legislation and Declares Baker Is ''the Ablest Public
 Official He Has Ever Met"
Rr Rerieu Leasea wIrel

WASHINGTON. Jan 21--An doubt as to President Wilson's view of pro posals in congress for reorganization of the governments war making ma chinery was swept away tonight by a statement in which the president said the war department had accomplished a task of unparalleled magnitude and difficulty with extraordinary prompt ness and efficiency: denounced the congressional war investigations and declared that reorganization by legis- latiOn was proposed after effective measures of reorganization had been perfected
 The presidents statement was is sued as a result of a speech in New York Saturday by Senator Chamber Ian, chiarmisn of the senate military committee and after he had asked the senator on the telephone whether he had been correctly quoted Senator Chamberlain's reference to -inactiOn and ineffectiTeness of the govern ment.- the president aatiy called an astonishing and absolutely unjgstifi- able unstorriOn of the truth" He said he regarded Secretary Baker as one of the ablest public officials he had ever met
 In the statement most observers at the capitol saw the collapse of what promised to be a historical struggle Senator Chamberlain. whose commit tee has framed bills to create a war council all powerful under the one man control of munitions and supplies declared he would continue to fight in spite of presidential opposition It was rather generally conceded how ever. shst the n1easures would have but little chance in the senate and probably none at all in the house
 Senator Chamberlain made a state ment in reply to the president say ing he spoke extempOraneOusly in New York and that his criticisms were directed al the war department only and not at other branches of the government
 wHs0n's Statement
 The presidents statement follows:
 When the presidents attention was called to the speech made by Senator Chamberlain at a luncheon in New York on Saturday. he immediately in ouired of Senator Chamberlain wheth CT he had been correctly reported and upon ascertaining from the senator that he had been, the president felt it his duty to make the following state ment:
 e. Senator Chamberlain's statement as to the present inactiOn an d inef- fectiveness of the government is an astonishing and absolutely unjustifia- bIe distortion of the truth As mat ter of fact. the war department has performed a task of unparalleled mag nitude and difficulty with extraordi- nary promptness and efficiency There have been delays and disappOintments and partial miscarriages of plans. all of which have been drawn into the foreground and exaggerated by the in vestigations which have been in prog ress since the congress assembled investigations which drew indispensi- bIe officials of the department con stantly away from their work and Of- ficers from their commands and con tributed a great deal 10 such delay and
  But by comparison with what has been accomplished. these things much as they were to be regretted were in significant and no mistake has been made which has been repeated
 Baker Praised
 co Nothing helpful or likely to speed or facilitate the war tasks of the gov ernment has come out of such criti- cism and investigation l understand that congratulations by legislation are to be prOpOsed-I have not been consulted about them and have learn ed of them only at second hand-but their proposal came after effective measures of reorganization had been thOughtfully and maturely perfected. and inasmuch as these measures have been the result of experience, they are much more likely than any other to be effective. if the congress will but re move the few statutory obstacles of rigid departmental organization which stand in their way
 The legislative proposals I have heard of would involve long addition al delays and turn our experience into mere lost motion My association and constant conference with the secreta- ry of war have taught me to regard him as one of the ablest public off cials I have ever known The country will soon learn whether he or his crit ics understand the business in hand
 ~'TO add, as Senator Chamberlain did, that there is inefficiency in every department and bureau of the govern ment is to show much ignorance of actual conditions as to make it impos- sibIe to attach any importance to his statement I am bound 10 infer that that statement sprang out of oppOsi- ton to the administrators whole pol icy rather than out of any serious in-
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