The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-02-05
EXPLOSIVE MOOD
OF CONGRESS
tContinued from page L.

sight; that we shall travel a long
hard road before we reach the goal,
| he said Il feel certain that the
strain will grow more and more Sc
we're as the months go by.
Americas effort must constantly
expand; we must send more and more
| troops abroad, must build more and
more ships to carry them, must grow
more and more food to feed them anu
| to feed the allies and we must make
use OF an ever-increasing percentage
| of our mines, transportation facilities
and manufacturing facilities.
in short, | am convinced that we
are only on the threshold of this
tremendous undertaking. ! am not
satisfied that we have the kind OF
organization and machinery that can
stand the strain
Firing the second volley, designed
to rake the war administration OF
Secretary Baker, Wadsworth declar.
ed that blindness" found this coun-
try pathetic in its unpreparedness
at the opening Of the war.
Since then, he added, this great
giant (the war machine) has been
stumbling, cropping, exerting his tre-
mendous strength, without always
knowing what he was doing or where
he was going
He deplored the shipping situation
and declared the transportation ia
cilities were hopelessly jammed and
congested. Conditions today, he said,
are "glaring results Of the lack OF
centralized directing authority"
Pointing out that the government
did practically nothing during the
year preceding the entrance of the
t,,to fhr, n
for the inevitable, Wadsworth de-
clared:
eve were so blind as to permit one
of our government rifle factories to
operate much below it's capacity, all
through the year 1915, and other FAC
tories to cease altogether making
rifles during that period"
The condition of the two factories
is but one example of our neglect,
he declared In the broader field OF
industrial preparation little, If any
thing, of an effective nature was
done.
LAS we look back now, we have
learned, l hope, a great fesson-a
lesson learned at the expense OK
many lives and millions of dollars.
We have learned that our failure to
see beyond the end of our noses, has
prolonged this CHASTITY war and post.
poned that day when mankind shall
be released from it's terrors and the
future of this republic made absolute
ly sure"
Turning to the committees inves-
tigation of the ordnance and quarter
masters departments, Wadsworth De
clared that the testimony forced the
conviction that military men were
not fitted to handle vast industrial
problems. This, he said, was conpii-
Gated by the Anticipated red tape sys-
tenn prevailing.
I'VE became impressed with the
conviction that the purchase, pro-
duction and initial distribution of the
vast amount of supplies must be an
essentially industrial operation" he
said, land that military men, no mai
ter how distinguished and capable
in their profession, are, with very
rare exceptions, inexperienced IN
such matters and therefore incapable
of bringing about the best results in
the shortest time.
eve found also that in addition to
this fundamental handicap these sup
ply bureaus were handicapped and
very seriously by conditions which
springs from routine operation,
regulated and checked, down to the
last crossing of the It and dotting OF
an Il which condition is popularity
ascribed to red tape
"In word, we found the machinery
slow and creaking and in some i'm
portant instances the engine stalled.
From the testimony of manufac-
turers who appeared before the COM
mittee we gathered that there was
H. ,oIr ~ Ln a M
facturers' problem on the part OF Of
fetal Washington; lack of co-ordina-
ton and inability to reach prompt
decision; in fact the system itself
was faulty In the extreme"
Wadsworth declared that able
civilians who were called in to assist
and who had watched the working of
the war machinery for months said
the defects which members of the
committee suspected, existed.
Some of them have suggested one
or more remedies; one or more i'm
provements, and all their suggestions
are in the same direction-proper
Capitalization of authority; an author
ity established preferably by statute,
whose decisions may be promptly
reached and accepted as final" said
Wadsworth.
This great American giant has
been stumbling and cropping, exerting
his tremendous strength without al
ways knowing what he was doing, or
where he was going.
1--WE have known some of the things
we wanted to do and have tried to do
them" he said. 1--WE have forgotten
some of the things equally important
that we ought to have done and it has
been nobody's business to think of
them.
Several groups Of distinguished
men, official and unofficial, have en-
deavored to plan things out in adj
vance but it has often been the case
that the plans of one group did not CO.
ordinate with those OF another group
and there was no place in Washington
where the needs of the situation and
the plans to meet them could be
brought together and co-ordinated."
Asserting that 1t was humanity i'm
! r. ri ~ ,,y,,x