The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1918-02-16
SOME RESULTS ACHIEVED IN THIS WAR

Hair-splittng criticism of minor errors in the conduc' Oh
this war at a time when broad-minded craftsmanship is re-
quired, will not add to Senator Hitchcocks standing before Tue
public. He charges the war department with having fallen
down in most of its important functions and states In particular
that Secretary Bakers sanguine prediction regarding the gov
ability to send troops to Europe was "exaggerauoh
of the widest sort"
Secretary Baker based his forecast of the number of Ameri-
can soldiers that can be transported to France this year on past
performances. Senator Hitchcock knows that more than 3OU-
900 men are "over there" and and that the number is probably
100000 men. This is the fulfilment of an earlier predlcuon
that we would have 100000 men in Europe in the spring. ano
it is a marvellous performance. Our war department has mace
good, no matter what meiculous senator's and offlce-seeKlng
politicians may say.
While Senator Hitchcock stood on his feet in the senate
chamber trying to prove that we are doing nothing and are
losing the war, the Atlantic cables were carrying the story
of our troops in action in the sector of the Lorraine front which
they are now holding and of the casualties incurred by them.
We have done more than was expected and our foes now
know that we have reinforced the western line with troops be-
hind whom a million more are coming into action. He cnarg-
es the war department with delay. The war department did
not wait for artillery, but sent the artillerymen to France and
bought all the guns they needed "over there" to avoid delay.
Their effective use Of these guns in Lorraine was the ing story
in the days war news. The lack of artillery made in America
is dc to tie refusal of congress to make the appropriation
asked by our general staff long before we entered the war.
Secretary Baker could not turn out big guns by magic, but ne
bought plenty Of them without delay.
What do Senator Hitchcock and his running mate, Senator
Chamberlain, propose? A war cabinet that would take the
rrlns ont of President Wilson's hands and hold up everything
while it's members studied the situation and got into their
stride! He calls for the appointment of a director Of munitions.
Can he name a better man than Surveyor of Purchases Stetti-
MUS, who was appointed days before he spoke? presumably
he had written his diatribe before that and was too INCIDENT or
unfair to change it.
at is not too much to say that the great transportation sys-
tenn of the United States has broken down. 1t is a gigantic
wreck today. Even travel has become difficult" Senator Hitch
cock recklessly declared. The railroads did not function prop
erly in the closing months of 1917 because congress had de-
stroyed their efficiency and railroad executives were threaten
ed with prosecution for pooling traffic and changing train
schedules by the attorney general of the United States and the
authorities of several states, of whom those of the states OF
Louisiana and Texas had taken action. President Wilson acted
promptly on December &c last by communicating all American
railroads and appointing Director-General McAdoo to control
them. What more could have been done?
Gould any war cabinet or congressional committee have
acted with such celebrity and energy? Senator Hitchcock's as
serion that 1--WE found a distressing amount of sickness in
most camps and an unnecessary mortality" is refuted by the
statistics which show that the mortality is below the average of
selected lives according to life insurance mortality tables.
Our best chance to win this war lies in letting President
Wilson act the part of COMMUNICATIVE of the forces with
out interference. AS Senator John Sharp Williams caustically
remarked: "f the president hasn't brains enough to run this
war, we certainly can't give him brains by act of congress-
New York Commercial.