Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-06
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EXAMlNEDTOD|AY
have with him detailed sstatisacs sre-.
garding ay9ilable ships, but promised
Continued ssfssp. Pass il

M Continued sffpsp PraGe ~ u
have With him detailed sstatishcs sre..
3, ssg .nss,y s J; |tls ships, eut promised 's'd
Ths sHipplns board ana the war de-
parttpsntt. SeqrAtafy Baker said. are
N constant touch. exhaustively study
ing the Shipping situation. General
Bliss he said. tookASthe information
abroad ~ - baAis Of calculation In
connection with the shipping situation.
About 100000 tons additional have
recently been secured.
Senator: Weeks asked II It were true
that the war department had $4,000
tons OF ships available for transport
ing troops on February 4. Secretary
Baker did mot know but thought that
m undereStimate. $50:
In htss2ormer statement that mill
.t6SFrance this year, Secretary Baker
explained. she did not depend wholly
on American shipping In his calcula-
tons. a. ~
Senator Hitchcock said that on
November 80 the shipping board ad-
vised him the total gross available
American tonnage was $50 ships Of
i3,721,806 tons, including tankers and
former German and Austrian ships.
Secretary Baker said ne gould not es-
tirnateghow many troops that tonnage
would supply
THAT EDIToRIAL i !.
IS UP AGAIN.
The much discussed editorial in the
Metropolitan Mafexine OF which Col.
onSls. RAoseyAlt 'wkl1 associate editor.
attacking Observation-Disclosures prop
arAttonsstcs5ssaifkstroops to France,
came up again. \ 6ecretary Baker had
replied to the editorial in his first
statement BY saying the war depart
'ment5 had done more than the maya
zine commended: 1t should.
Did the editor have any informa-
ton other than an ordinary citizen
might have had at that time 2" asked
Senator Weeks.
"Oh. no." said Mr.. Baker, adding
that In August when the article APP
rearsd he had been quite certain that
the department could do more toward
training troopssthanait suggested and
also that there was good promise that
them to france than tho article pro-
posed. +.
MORE TROOPS ABROAD
THAN WAS PLANNED.
Senator Weeks asked ii tho war de-
|partrnent had succeeded in doing rs
much al 1t had hoped for In October.
u can answer that in this way" Mr..
Baker said. ION January / we had
transported to France. more troops
than our achedule had called for.".
Both con,hatant and non.combat-
ant troops?" asked Senator Weeks.
That is the aggregate" Mr.. Baker
Senator Weeks said he had heard
that5a military force ran about forty
per cent combatAnt troops.
Secretary Baker. said he did not
have. the figures but thought the
forces in France might show that
ratio. Hid agreed to furnish Senator
Weeks confdentially with exact hg-
ures 40 to tho number of mon shipped
and the proportion Of fighting troops.
100000 TONS
AN UNDERESTIMATE.
Senator Weeks asked what tonnage
the war department had available. He
said he. had heard that it. had $4,000
tons on February l.. Mr.. Baker did
not know exactly but thought that vas
an underestimate. ,s... H.. ~
Senator Weeks asked ii the depart
ment nguredsnn net gross or dead
weight tonnage. He. said that ha had
heard that the German statements OF
[tbnnass destructiorses BY suhhtarfhes
1tlens end the English on. net tonnage;
which made the apparently. divergent
figures glven by each side, very Gloss
together. In fact. Mr. Baker could
not >AnliShten the senator on the
point. BeforeaAGeneral :BMas went to
Europe, Mr.. Baker said, an exhaustive
study ssof the shipping situation waa