Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-01-28

was native Of Lifa, Ohio, 60 year
! old, and resided in Oregon since 1875
After several terms as state senator
he was elected United States senate
in 1903, retiring in 1909 to practice Law
here.
live capacity of factories making En-
fields for the British
''The decision came at IL O'CLOCK
on night late in May in my office
The officers pres5ift, including Gener
al Pershing and General Crozier, were
unanimous in selecting the modified
Enfield"
General Woods Advice
Major General Wood suggested the
calling out of a large army before
rifles or other supplies were ready, Ba
ker said. Baker told Wood that would
be foolish, in view of the dearth OF
arms and equipment, he said.
General Wood told me, Bake!
said "that the men called out would
need many things before they needed
rifles. He said they needed to learn
how to live together, how to keep STEP
and how to observe rules OF campI
sanitation.
The decision arrived at was to put
the men in camps that they might get
these elemental underlying principles
of soldering, even before we had the
rifles. "
Baker took exception to the state
ment in Chamberlain s speech that the
United States had motley collection
Of rifles.
over 100000.
Gas a matter Of fact, we had six
hundred thousand Springfields, the
best army rifle in the world, - said
BAKER.
"eOur decision to use the modified
and interchangeable Enfield may not
have been infallible. 1t was made
thcughtfully. We might have bought
British Enfields from factories making
them in this country, so as to give
every man a gun when he went into
camp. But the Germans, recognized
military experts, give new men OBJ
solete rifles when they start training
! "The result of our decision to sun
ordinate great speed in rifle produe-
tion to excellence has been that not a
man has gone to France who has not
rifle and had training in the use OF
lit. Many times the number of men
have gone to France than it was eX-
pected would be there by this time
! And not a man will go 20 France with
out a first class rifle and training in
! its use. -
+ Many Machine Guns
! Discussing the machine gun situa-
| tion. Baker declared that criticism OF
the department over the Lewis gun
! has been baseless.
He said General Pershing did not
desire the Lewis GUN for ground work.
% Every effort is being made to get
1.-THE manufacturers of the Lewis gun
to speed up production for aircraft
work (" Baker said.
He submitted figures to show that
14O machine guns had been shipped to
each camp about November l.
| Senators Wadsworth and Hitchcock
interrupted to ask about 1900 Lewis
GUNS which General vrozier has testl-
fled were in storage.
''Those Lewis guns have new been
shipped to camps, said Baker.
Passing the machine gun situation,
Baker returned to cannon.
Artillery Situation
He pointed out that since 1906, Gen
eral Crozier has been urging ampler
provision for artillery in view of the
| long time needed to make field guns
and the increasing Importance of ar
tillery
British and French operate on an
entirely different theory of artillery
warfare, Baker said, and the United
States decided to figure out and stand
on the best theory of our own.
"We sent our best men to France
to study this problem" j" Baker said.
4" We found last June that French
artillery production had reached such
proportions that it was evident that
! the wastage would not nearly equal
the production, 1u,,.
13 to supply us with seventy fives ana
1855 .millimeter howitzers. The French
realized the Importance of having Am
erica s troops on the front as soon as
possible. -
Senator Reed interrupted;
elf | oct you, the war department S
view was that France had built big
ger factories than she needed and that
you thought it better to use her ia
eilities that were already in quantity
production than to wait until we got
going ourselvesl'
. "Fxactly - said Baker "and l m
telling no secret when say that ton
mage is the erux of the whole sltua-
ton. and we saved tonnage by buying
in France. -
"Was the arrangement any detrl"
ment to Francel' asked Senator Beck
Imam.
"On the eontr.Ny, I think it was a
benefit said Baker.
Men What they Wanted
seWhen General Bliss went to France
with the House mission he asked what
America could do best and quickest to
win the war.
"Both France and England stated
that they had supplies, and ordnance
production and urged that America
should hurry troops across while the