The Sentinel=record., 1918-01-29
The Work That Has Been Done Should Cause the Heart of Every True American to Swell With Pride--- Army Department Prepared to Land a Million and Half Men in France This Year if Ships Are Provided.

said. the impression has gone out into the country. 10 some extent at least that the war department has follen dowl.
 "lt would he trasic3l thing if this tremendous effort, this wholly unpre- cedented sacrifice made by men were in fact to turn out to deserve the com ment that il had falen down."
 Never in the history of time, he- declared has an army of its size been raised equipped, trained and pre- pared for battle as had that of the United States Mir Baker took per sOnal responsibility for getting men under training before their equipment wes ready to the last shoe button !" Such officers as Major General Leon ard Wood, he said had urged this policy. He described conferences tha . evolved the ordnance program and it's fulfllment submitting documents to prove that France and Great Britain were supplying artillery and machine guns for the first forces at their own urgent request in order that ships might ne gsed for other purposes.
 In att that was done prior to the departure of the first troops General Pershing shared in the discussions and approved the decisions reached. MT Baker gaid, and now surrounded with a staff of regular officers who could il be spared for the great tasks at home Pershng is in France as the "cyes of the army Every step taken since has been founded on his long daily cabled reports of what is going on at the fighting fronts.
 Tables were cited 10 show that oyercrowdps ia the camps and can tonments had not been general and that the sickness had come mostly m the camps where medical opinion had agreed it was least to be expected. The history of the development and building of the cantonments was given in detail to show that every preeaution possible had been taken.
 Analyzing the effects of the ord nance bureau the secretary said that General CroHer had urged for years great artillery preparation; that he at least had realized the time gun making required But even France herself. with the enemy at he' throat" he added, had not been able to see what vast gun programs the war would lead into.
 During his general statement of the war plan and how 1t was developed NIr. Baker was rarely interrupted, He said:
 Now. gentlemen, about the plan Of war. 1t will be remembered that this war broke out in August, 1911. We went into r 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. 1t 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 im- mediate plan should be made in the United States for conducting war against it's adversary. but we were coming into war which had been going on for two and one-haif years, in which the greatest military ex- perts. al the inventive genius, all of the industrial capacity of those great est countries in the world had for two and one-half years been solving the problem of what kind ef war il