New-York tribune., 1918-02-09
Warns Britain Not to Count
Tool Heavilyon AmericanAid
Archibald EIurd English Critic Says Senate Inquiry Is
Warning to the Allies-2 100000 Tons of Shipping
This Year Best Prospect He Says

has not furnished single piece of
artillery to the American force at the
front.
"(b) The armies now in camp in
the United States are without artl-
lery, and will not get it before next
summer.
"(c) Field artillery for the Amer
lean Expeditionary Force in France
is being furnished by France.
"(d) The United States have to-day
practically no heavy artillery in the
way Of howitzers-esscntial for an
effective offensive on the Western
front
"(e) Although the British armies,
after three years experience with
the American Lewis gun, have over
10000 Of these in service, the Amer
leans have been experimenting with
new gun (Browning>; it has never
been tested in the field, but the
ordnance officials have accepted this
gun and incurred the delay involved
in getting ready the gauges, jgs,
&C., necessary for its manufacture in
will make it impossible to furnish
the troops with the new Enfield until
they are due to start for Europe
"That statement represents the situ-
alton to-day as far as the American
army is concerned When Congress
declared for war American firms were
supplying the Allies with munitions in
vast quantities. 1t would have been a
simple matter, and would have promot-
ed interchange Of equipment, if they
had been permitted to carry on,' fur
rshing the American troops with the
types of heavy artillery, howitzers. ma
chine guns, rifles, etc, which had al
ready been tested under severe service
conditions.
Time was the essence of the mat
ter, particularly as it takes longer to
equip an army than to train men;
nevertheless, it was determined to man
ufacture new armament and equipment
Ihe result is that much delay has oc-
CURED, and the early drafts of Ameri-
can troops to Europe will be provide |
with arms and ammunition by the AL
lies. The matter will be adjusted later
on put IN the meantime the American
authorities are faced with the Difficult
ties Inseparable from so ambitious q
programme
The Shipping Prospect
"The anticipations as to the outru+
OF ships this year in the United States
VIII also not be realized. Confusion is
often created by the use of different
terms-deadweight tons, gross tons and
net tons; or, sometimes to make con-
!uslon worse COMPOUNDED, tons merely
is the word employed. l will confine
myself to net tons.
IN normal year the United States
built about 100000 tons of merchant
shipping. Soon after the war opened
orders to the account of British. other
AIMED and neutral owners were placed
IN American yards, the extension of
winch was begun to cope with the de-
mand. Then the United States entered
the arena, commandeered all tonnage
IN course of construction and set IN
struction. At first fleet of wooden
ships was to be built, but that project
had to be abandoned. Personal dif-
ferences have occurred on the Ship
ping Board, causing further delay. The
Army and Navy Register of Wash
lngton, has remarked:
, THE trouble with the Shipping
Board from the first has been in its
recAlessness Of promise of results, with
the disappointment that must come
from the inevitable failure to realize
the programme of construction.
1t would have been better, it is now
realized, to have placed the entire ship
building problem under the Navy De-
partment, which would have been less
careless in its assertion of results.
would have saved the great loss Of
time that has been wasted and would