The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-04-06
Much Has Beer, Achieued
 Ln First Year Of War
Just 12 Months Ago America Formally Entered Great World Conflict, md Candid Review of What Has Been Accom- pshed, Taken a Whole, Is Complimentary to
 and Indicative of Efficiency of Admins
 traton in Its Various Departments
By the Associated Press


 , been pushed with such rapidity that the United States is we'll on the way to a place second only to Great Britain as a naval force. and that in destroyers alone-most proved and deadly weapon of the submarine-the navy by next year will have the greatest fleet on the seven
 seas. Since the United States went to
 war, the navy has placed contracts for
 practically 1000 vessels, and besides that, took charge of repairing the seized Ger
 man and Austrian ships damaged by their crews at the orders of the German government
 The case of the great liner Vaterland now the United States ship Leviathan. is fair example of the efficiency and speed with which the naval engineers conducted that work. When the Ger
 mans finished their work of destruction the Netherlands commander remarked he would take his hat off to the Americans who could put the ship in shape in time to be of any service.
 Within six months from the time his words were spoken, the Vaterland was in running order and since, the navy has announced has carried numbers of American troops and great quantities of
 supplies to the fighting lines in France. By taking the ships and men of the coast guard into it's fleets. by the merg- ifng or naval NOiQHleeIS udNdl f1llH- tia, and with the growth of the Marine Corps, the navy has expanded its forces practically five times since the country went to war.
 CONVOYING OF TROOPS ! In it's immense task of conveying troops there have been some losses, no- taply the Tuscania and the Antilles. put the losses of life have been fortunately small in comparison with the numbers of troops transported. At the same time the American destroyers. working with the British i'll the submarine zone, have made themselves a terror to the undersea boats. How many of these craft they have accounted for remains a military secret.
 The treasury, concerned with financ ing the war, has raised from Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps sales more than $S.000, ,000,G00, and on this, the l first anniversary of the declaration of war on Germany, is launching the third l Liberty Loan Treasury estimates pun I the expense of the first year of the war l at about S12.00O 100000 exclusive of the advances of the allies.
 | These advances to all the allies have l totaled, up to the close of March, &, ,960 : l 0,000 The United States has been SC cured with the bonds or obligations ot l the countries to which the money was
 advanced More than s125, 000,o00 of the | sum went to Russia before the debacle
 Put the country out of the war. What return the United tSates will get, if any, l is considered. doubtful.
 1 Chairman Hurley of the shipping | board in a recent speech in New York, l at which he outlined the shipbuilding I programme fully for the first time, de- clared The great building programme
 which is to make the bridge of ships to
 France is 2S per cent toward completion. l He pointed out the magnitude of the task by recalling that the shipping board l is building in year a greater organiza- tion than the Steel corporation has been able to build up in more than 20 years The recent disclosure by the British ad- miralty that German submarines actually are destroying the worlds shipping twice as fast as it is being built is the spur which is expected to put the full force of the country at this vital task
 Besides the work of the executive de- partmentS or the government, the year has seen tremendous strides in the mo
 bilization of labor. industry, science and
 invention with the sole aim of winning the war. Hundreds of business and pro- 1essional men have given up private in- terests to serve the government at nomi nal pay. Bushes and manufacture has given the best of it's secrets Whateve, NiiiiSiolSlH HdS peeu made or the lack or coordination of all these tremendous resources and power, none ever has charged that private interest has with held them.
 What IS expected to be one of fhe mlghtiest weapons toward winning the War IS the war trade board created for the purpose of cutting off supplies to 1 Germany through the adjacent neutrals. As the war goes on, officials say, the If h. ic nrer ,4eye& ( &,,<.. estimated.
 A year of war. all officials concede, 1inds shortcomings and defects but it IS contended no more than might have been expected from peaceful nation suddenly reorganzed to a war basis President Wilson Tn a recent declara- tlon pronounced the present year the vital one in the winning of the war. AS
 the resources of America now being gathered, get to the battle fronts with a
 mighty rush, they are fully expected ia carry the allies through to victory.