Arizona republican., 1918-01-29

detail to show that every precaution possible had been taken.
 Analyzing the efforts of the ordnance bureau, the secretary said that General Crozier had urged for years a great artillery preparations; that he at least had realized the time gun making re- quired. But even France herself with the enemy at her throat he added, had not been able to see what vast gun pro- grams the war would lead into.
 The secretary admitted that illness at Camp Bowie was perhaps caused by too many men being housed in one tent together with a shortage in clothing
 Our expectation was that the men in the tents would Dc safe but as soon as it was discovered that the boys were circumventing automatic ventilation by closing down the flap of the tents, additional tentage was ordered ADMITS CLOTHING AT
 CAMPS WAS INADEQUATE
 Isn't it likely the men would not have done this had they had adequate clothing?' asked Senator Hitchcock.
 T think that is entirely possible was the reply.
 Senator Weeks asked if the pneu- monia epidemis did not result from inadequate hospital facilities.
 T don't think so,' said the secretary.
 Secretary Baker said it was not bought at the first the base hospitals of a permanent character would be needed at national guard camps, from which troops would be promptly re- moved. Later he said, it developed that more permanent hospitals must be established. General Gorgas, he said, had not recommended permanent sew age and water systems for the national guard camps, for that reason, at first
 But when he did recommend them the orders were immediately given Mir. Baker said.
 The fact is.'' S1r. Baker said. "we were oveTtaken by epidemics before the base hospitals were ready at some
 lational guard camps. When General Gorgas made his inspections the con- ditions were remedied instantly.
 DETENTION CAMPS NOT
 ORDERED UNTIL LATELY
 After General Gorgas returned about the middle of December from his in spection, he suggested-for the first time-the wisdom of building deten-
 ion camps for observation of men ar irving, to prevent them from bringing in disease - for observation. His recommendations tn that end were not made earlier"
 Senator Reed asked him to explain recent orders prohibiting soldiers from writing letters for publication unless they are censored. He asked if that would prevent men from telling their families of lack of clothing or improper food.
 Absolutely mo-" said the secretary. | explaining that it was done to prevent soldiers from acting as regular corre- spondents for newspapers without cen sorship, but that men were encouraged to write for publication in their home papers after censorship.
 During his general statement of the war plan and how it was developed.
 Nr. Baker was rarely interrupted. He said:
 Secretary Bakers Statement Now, gentlemen, about the plan of the war. It will be remembered that this war broke out in August, 1914 We went into it in April, 1917. so that for two and one-half years. or more than | two and one-half years the war had | been going on. It was not as though war had broken out between the United States and some country, each of them prior to that time having been at peace | with one another and with everybody else; so that an immediate plan should be made in the United States for con- | ducting the war against its adversary, | but we were coming into war which had been going on for two and one half years, in which the greatest mili- tary experts, all the inventive genius | all of the industrial capacity of those l greatest countries in the world had foI two and one-half years been solving the problems of what kind of war il
 was to be and where it was to be waged
 Tt was not a thing for us to decide
 where our theater of war should be
 The theater of war was France. Ii
 was not for us to decide our line O, communications. Our line of cornmuni- cations was across three thousand mile:
 or ocean, one end of it infested with
 submarines. It was not for us to de.
 eide whether we would have the man. covering of large bodies of troops in tn,
 open. There lay the antagonists or
 opposite sides of No Mans Lahd in the
 trenches at a death grapple with ons
 another Our antagonist was on tn.
 other side of that line and our problem
 was and is to get over there and ge
 him.
 Must Consider Allies
 It was not the problem of doing i
 our way and letting everybody els.
 take dlre of himself. In the first place
 we are going to fight in France. no on our own soil and not on our adver
 sary's soil, and therefore at the ver1 beginning it was obvious that the thin,
 we had to do was not to map out al ideal plan of campaign, not to have tn war college with its speculative rd e Sf f Napoleon and everybody else, mal out theoretically the bes, way lO se at some other country, but it was tn
 problem of studying the then exhaust
 ing situation and bringing the financia
 the industrial and the military strengtl 5 of the United States into co-operatiol , with that of Great Britain and Franc : in the most immediate and effectiv 5 way. That problem could not be de ? cided here. I fancy in this audienc there are men who have been in tn : Ltrenches. The altogether unprecedent ; ed character of that problem is tn
 thing which every returning visito