Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1918-07-03
MILLION SOLDIERS
IN WAR;; 3 MILLION
MORE BY JANUARY
President Reveals Astounding Fig
ures; 100000 Americans
Now in Uniform, Armed
And Rationcd.
ONLY 291 LOST CROSSING

| ne SPcfFtsIN Oh WIN gave tilt hRut'F.
to the President on July |. The actual
total was lOI9,II5. The President
deemed the news OF such importance that
| he issued statement to the people ON
| it, including Secretary Bakers letter to
him.
Moreover, every one OF the million
| is not only completely equipped, but
there went with him a three months
supply of everything he may require.
In other words, if transportation across
the Atlantic absolutely ceased, the
| American soldier in France would know
no shortage for three months
STILL swAHMING OVER
| There has been no let~up in the trans
| port of men, so by this time the army
! in France il probably 100000 larger
than noted in the secretary's figures.
| In the face of this account the in
| vestirations and other troubles of our
| early war experience are r. hy-speclos
on a mirror The War Department
| has made good on the biggest contract
any warning nation ever essuiyed. A
| million transported acroes the ocean and
| the total losses at sea only 2p1. -Four
! hundred troop-laden Transports carried
] troops To France and only two Ameri-
| can ships the President Lincoln and the
| Antilles were caught by the 81 ibmarlnes,
| and these were on their way back after
! having delivered their loads Of troops
| Not a single troopship under American
| convoy was lost.
THE U-BOAT FAILURE
In June We sent 276.372 sold icrs over
| the water. Tins was the month when the
/ enemy U-boats came TO our coasts to
| discourage the transporting Of American
4 Ia bn nf all
| "thc German submarines operated
| of our coast in june. commented Sec
rotary Baker Our answer was 20
| ship more men.
| In this same ycsr our CASH aitlcS OF
| all sorts numbered :, f65 This does
| not include a thousand whose names
/ have been cablcd over who serc so
| slightly wounded that they were fixed
| IN over there and are now back in the
| fighting
first EsryMATr DOUBLED.
When he appeared before the military
! affairs committee before he made his
| visit of inspection aboard, Secretary
| Baker announced that he would have half
a million men in France early in the year
| and would have million and . half
available for service by 1919.
The actuality doubles the estimate
| Of last February and instead OF million
| and q halt availahles by the end OF the
| wear We have two and a half million
! availables now and by January we will
have 100000 men under arms.
R1GorR PROSPECTS AHEAn
| The War Department will not venture
on prophecy The accelerated program
for the dispatch Of troops that began IN
March with the German drive may or
NAV not continue SO far thcrc Is no
evidence Of It's sIackenIng In fact, the
indications arc that July will see more
troops sent abroad than did juno.
II the Allies, whose call for reinforce
| mcnts started the sudden increase in our
transportation plans, want them We Will
have 2OOOOOO men over there facing the
kaiser's troops bv October We have
| learned how To do it and the outlook Is
for a further acceleratlon rather than a
slowing up.
If they do not need them IN France,
there Is Italy, to which the troop move
| Inent has already begun. and perhaps
| Russia, for while q military expedition To
that country does not appear 10 be an
imminent purpose. sooner or later IT Is
believed that Russia herself will invite the
allied armies to help her in clearing out
the Germans and giving her back her
place among the nations.
A TREMENDOUS PROGRAM
How the program OF raising an un-
limited number Cf men Is progressing
was disclosed in the testimony of Acting
Quartermaster-Genera r. l. Wood
YESTERDAY in the report of the hearings
on the Deficiency bill.
we have got from the general staff, y
testified Wood, "the number of men who
L. 4
IL runs over 100000
eve have had to buy or contract for
the material to be used by the men in
the next six months, which will be an
| average of 500. 900 In the United States
and 900 overseas
The clothing allowance alone for these
men figures half billion dollars, for it
was disclosed that where the initial ex-
pense for uniforIning a soldier before the
war was SAB. it is now $3.50 and where
the maintenance allowance was S24 it
has now amounted to sl0S. The soldiers
peace shoe cost less than So; the heavy
field shoe OF the present equipment costs
$50.
$500 900 N UNIFORM
In one little colloquy during the
hearing the actual Intentions of the War
Department are CLEANED:
Mr.. Gillett from this table 1t APP
pears We will have 100000 men in
uniform by the first OF next January
Gen Wood Without revealing any
military secrets, ! know that We have
! 100000 men now.
Mr. Gillett But that is what this
table Is based on is ii not"
Cen Wood: Yes
Mr.. Gllett: so it is not a secret
was wondering whether that is what
YOU anticipated 7
Gen. Wood: We are buying on the
basis Of that number"
This record of million men sent over
seas, two and half million equipped, and
four millions In arms by the end of the
year is America S Fourth of July message
10 Germany, delivered III advance of the
Presidents speech.
1t may take away some of the enthusi
asm that is provoked at Berlin by the
, report of the sinking of the British mercy