Norwich bulletin., 1918-04-17

l . " aShlngton, Aprll .l6.-Steeled 10 ! the work ahead of him by personal l knowledge of conditions at the battle fronts in Europe, Secretary Baker re-
 turned to his desk at the war depart ment tonight from his trip abroad. prepared to concentrate every energy on eXpediting the movement Of Amer
 lean fighting men to France.
 The war secretary, it is understood, is not inclined to under-es estimate the peril that further German successes ill
 the present terrific onslaught against
 the allied lines might involve. There
 is no doubt, however, that he believes adequate measures to checkmate the q German effort will come out of the
 pooling of all allied and American re- sources under command of General Foch. the impressive French com mander-in chief
 Mir. Baker had little to say for pub
 lication. On arrival early today at an
 Atlantic port he authorized this
 statement.
 |, Tabloid Statement.
 'T return with sense of pride and lconfdence at the achievements of the
 United States and allied troops abroad . that would justify many trips across 5 the water.'
 ] Whatever direct information the war
 secretary may have as to the plans of
 General Foch will be for the ear of l President Wilson alone.
 sl There have Ei1n many reports that n NIT. Baker went to Europe for the
 purpose of urging unification of all all | Fed armies under single commander. f He had no comment to make on this T point. Officials familiar with the f circumstances of his conferences with
 the British and French authorities and [ Urifh f(-nnprale, RliGc 1DI Doreti11rp = however, regard it as most fortunate n thing that he was on the scene when n the German blow was struck. His l. presence served to expedite greatly the decision to pool allied resources ir iel men and munitions in order to meei lO tue new peril.
 ns The prompt action of GseHeral Per. . shing in placing his men at Genera
 F'och's disposal is known to have met ,- with MT Bakers hearty approval. Tho al French general made a deep impres. Ia sion upon the secretary.
 During his trip, Mir. Baker visited
 England, France and Italy and saw tht ie battle fronts all along the line. ,a In Trenches Under Fire. le He has been in the American from
 line trenches under fire; once a Ger.
 man shell exploded close to his auto le mobile and on another occasion ht d stood in the window of @ battered ts building behind the allied line rG L. watch the high power missiles com'
 thowling to tear great craters in {
 field less than 100 yards away. r. As he sailed for home, the thunde D. of the British and German guns o, n, the Picardy battle front was stip il rt MT. Bakers ears. While that strug
 gle was in its opening stages hi
 lnorfJ- r1oc olo fhn ryhn Pr;ff ffcI ne line. covering 200 miles in two night r. and day of motoring. During al h- that time the British guns were drum ne ming constantly in their ears a steady
 terrible roar of destruction that wa :. with them widening or sleeping. nj Venice a Deserted City. r's Later MT. Baker saw another phas ng of war. In Italy he visited Venice II
 found it a deserted city, it's street
 and canals. f1anEed by palaces and al tic works of priceless value. were desert ct trd. An occasional soldier and her re and there a lingering civilian were tn to lonly people Of whom the party caugt
 Isight of Only one store. lace shol was noted by the party as being opel h. Return Trip Calm. oaa Mir. Baker sailed for Europe on a ~; American cruiser. He returned on HI famous liner, formerly German, br
 now an American transport. Tn = trip over was rough; but on the wa ,.r back calm weather prevailed and tll aSs5' ionly incident was radio call from .,,o' burning steamer, which the trans |" iport changed her course to answer.
 When he reached France, the wa .d secretary placed himself in the pos ri, ton of an American soldier, just al eS a rived at the goa, of his ambitio
 lover there" He wanted to know ev actly what preparations had been mad
 to care for the men from the tim , they arrived.
 lte Followed Life of Soldier. e. Beginning at the debarkation port d. Mir. Baker and his party under u an guidance of General Pershing's officer
 followed the life of an American so
 dier in France step by step. until the ,s- iarrived in an advanced listening po k in front of the American lines. ip, Turning back the party followed u ch wounded men through the dressir he stations, over the ambulance posts ar zen into the network of American hosp tals that have been erected. The
 probably 80 per cent. of all thol .x wounded in action win be restored such an extent that they will retul ,sa to duty It is only the remaining twel ,15 ty per cent. who will be sent home ,,,o be cared for and re-educated by u 5e government not to be returned to civ
 life until they are fully able to SUI
 port themselves and places have be-
 found for them,
 Vast Project Of American Operation uL The whole vast project of Amer
 can operations was mapped out befo ana the secretary. It represents one of t
 greatest undertakings any nation h
 ever engaged in.
 ice, The figures of the task are astoun ss.) ing. In the single item of warehou of es for American supplies in stora No behind the lines an almost unbeliev est able project is being rapidly comple the ed. If all the warehouses were strui ch- together they would stretch fire ur- Washington to New York as one Va use vault of war materials in reserve ?. Hundreds of miles of railway ha up, been laid, docks and jetties constru6 to ed until today transports have ma inc. the round trip to France in sixte ned days against the sixty or seventy da ally it took so often during the winter
 MT Baker returned more than ey