New-York tribune., 1918-07-08
Con,placency
By c. w. Gilbert
wv ASHINGToN, July THE pl.,.
w so far as any exist here In w..h

10 Anure lardlcu tHaL thIS country Will
have 100000 men in France by the ens
of the year u the present rate v.,.
maintained 100000 more men could +.
sent by the first Of 1919. But a falii,.
off is contemplated.
The plans Of the War Department a..
to call 900 men to the colors in n.
last six months of this year II ia in.
possible to call only $4,000 men and
transport twice that many. And II !,
impossible to call 100000 or more with
out extending the draft age, and .bs
War Department has just said it has M
plans to extend the draft ages With
10000 men, the latest estimate, unds,
arms on January l, it would be impossbls
to have 100000 in France, as all plan.
contemplate an army here about eo.al
to that abroad.
AS matter of fact, the War Depart.
ment's plans regarding the rest Of ths
year are hazy. The Shipping Board is
working on the basis of 100000 men
by the end of the year. And that vss
the figure which the Senate was given
to understand would be shipped over bv
January L. And not many more than ths.
can be sent over if the plan of calling
only 875,000 men this year is sd
hered to-
The knowledge that the existing rate
is not going to be maintained will cause
some disappointment to the country, for
the duration of the war will depend upon
the speed with which the American aruv
he T.
tion of the slowing up of future shin.
ments it is said more vessels will hence
forth be required for supplies Conse.
quently shipping will not be available
and the rate at which can be sent
across will decline
1t is impossible to go statistically be.
hind the face of these statements. No
one not in the confidence Of the British
government can know just what sacrifices
were made to provide ships to carry 400.
000 100000 American troops to Europe
since the great German drive began. Tn
der pressure the tonnage suddenly be-
came available. Before that time it was
believed, both here and abroad, that
Britain had barely ships enough to keep
her own forces at the front and ward
off starvation from the people at home
And SO elastic is this question of the
use Of shipping that even now it is said
by British representatives that if the
need of men still remains during the rest
of the year the main need on the West
front, ships will be provided to continue
the rapid flow of Americans abroad
Certain criticisms n1fura lfu ri IN mind
If it possible to send 100000 men 8
month to France during May and June why
was it not possible to have done SO earlisr.
The available shipping has not changed
much in quantity during the last six
months. The ships were in existence
Why was not the big German drive an
ticipated? Why were not the 500 900 men
moved in the second quarter of this wear
moved in the first, even if it is true, as now
said that the rate of the last few months
cannot be maintained in the future? Why
do we wait and our allies wait until we
are driven by fatal necessity?
Apparently the availability OF ships is ar
elastic thing. You have few ships You
make plans to get 100000 men abroad BY
the end of 1918, which is what Mr.. Baker
did. A great emergency arises and you =
have 100000 men over six months sooner
than you expected to- One million men hy
January /, 1919, was supposed to be the
utmost possible only three or four months
ago Is there any better reason for thinking
that 100000 by the end of 1918 the present
estimate, is any nearer accurate as a meas
ure Of utmost capacity than the figures that
have just been exceeded?
The lesson of the last few months is that
when the will to them for purely mill
tary purposes is supreme the ships are TO
be had. The use of ships in r. democracy
represents compromise. This is true of
cur own ships and of our allies ships
When it is proposed to take one for mill
tary purposes the State Department is heard
from, insisting that its diversion from its
present uses will disturb relations with
some important neutral. The War Trade
Board has reasons why it should not be
taken. The business interests of the coun-
try heard from in loud protest. The
War Industries Board may enter the debate.
Some one, or more likely several of these,
can prove that the ships cannot be spared
apparently "haI happened IN England
when the German drive began was that the
government listened to no voice except the
voice Of the army crying for reserves. Thus
the ships were found. A military dictator
ship, such as Germany has-granted that
1t is an evil thing-would find ships now,
abroad and in this country. The use Of
SHIPS would not represent compromise
among various interests, but the will of men
charged with obtaining victory.
The moral of being six months ahead Of
programme is that the present estimates