Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-02-08

ueCLlOH WIN the SNlpplnS SltudtIOIi
About 10000 tons additional have re
Gently been secured.
COUNTS ON ALLIES.
Senator Weeks asked if it wer'
true that the war department had 791
900 tons of shipping available TO
Transporting troops on February 1
Secretary Baker. did not know, bu
thought that an underestimate. In hi
! former statement that a million me1
more probably could be sent to France
this year, Secretary Baker explained
he did not depend wholly on American
shipping in his calculation.
| Senator Hitchcock said that on No
vember 80, the shipping board ad
vised him the total gross available
American tonnage was $50 ships Of
3,721.O06 tons, including tankars anG
former German and Austrian ships
Secretary Baker said he could not es
innate how many troops that tonnage
would supply.
RECALL PRINTED CRITICISM.
! The much discussed editorial in the
Metropolitan magazine, of which Col
Roosevelt was associate editor, attack
ing the war departments preparations
to send troops to France, came w
again. Secretary Baker had replied
to the editorial in his first statement
! by saying the war department had
done more than the magazine con
tended it should.
did the editor have any informa
ton other than an ordinary citizen
might have had at that timer" asked
Senator Weeks.
"Oh, no." said Mr.. Baker, adding
that in August, when the article ap-
peared, he had been quite certain that
the department could do more toward
training troops than it suggested and
also that there was good promise that
more could be done toward getting
them to France than the article pro-
posed.
PROGRAM EXCEEDED.
Senator Weeks asked if the war de-
partment had succeeded in doing as
much as it had hoped for in October.
Il can answer that in this way" Mr..
Baker said. ION January we had
transported to France more troops
than our schedule had called for"
Both combatant and noncombatant
troops?" asked Senator Weeks.
THAT is the aggregate Mr.. Baker
said.
BAKER LACKS FIGURES.
Senator Weeks said he had heard
that a military force ran about 40 per
cent combatant troops.
Secretary Baker said he did not
have the figures but thought the
forces in France might show that
ratio. He agreed to furnish Senator
Weeks confidentially with exact fig
ures as to the number OF men shipped
and the proportion Of fighting troops.
Senator Weeks asked what tonnage
the war department had available. He
said he had heard that it had $4,000
tons on February /. Mr.. Baker did
not know exactly but thought that
was an underestimate.
TONNAGE QUESTION RAISED.
Senator Weeks asked if the depart
ment figured on net, gross or dead
weight tonnage. He said he had heard
that the German statements Of ton
mage destruction by submarines were
based on dead weight calculations and
the English on net tonnage which
made the apparently divergent figures
given by each side very close together
in fact. Mr.. Baker could not enlighten
the senator on the point. Before Gen.
eral Bliss went to Europe, Mr.. Baker
said. an exhaustive study of the ship
ping situation was made. 1t was re.
viewed before he went back the sec.
ond time to attend the sessions Of the
supreme war council.
The secretary said the war depart.
ment had kept in closest touch with
ho oh ho
war council had the data on which to
rely.
MORE SHIPS SOON.
els there any prospect of more tom
mage becoming available at an early
date?" asked Senator Weeks.
ooh, yes" Mr. Baker replied. II
recall now that 10000 tons additional
has become available during the last
ten days"
The vessels were withdrawn from
various lines where they had been re-
placed by neutral shipping. Much OF
the tonnage originally available for
men and supplies had been diverted
to the harbor and arsenal projects
abroad, he said, and the purchase Of
artillery abroad had served to relieve
shipping somewhat, although the ne.
cessity of transporting raw materials
for the guns had figured in the final
result.
REED ASKS EXACT FACTS.
Examination of Secretary Baker
was interrupted while senators dis
cussed going into executive session to
permit the secretary to furnish con-
information. The discussion
was precipitated by Senator Reed.
who thought the committee was enti-
tied to exact information, number of
men now in France and on other sub
jects.
Chairman Chamberlain. as well as
Senator'S Hitchcock and Mcclellan IA
vored an open session and to let the
indicate what questions he
would rather answer in private. AS
Bakers statement, on which
be is being cross examined, was made |
at an open hearing. Senator Hitch
cock said, he thought the committee
would make mistake in not exam |
ming him at similar hearing.
HITCHCOCK ASKS PROOF.
81 think the committee and the pub
ic are entitled to know where he pro-