Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-02-08
COORDINATION
PLEA IS VOICED
BY WADSW!0RTA
Republican Senator Reframs
From Criticism of
Officials.
SAYS WAR SYSTEM
IS NOT EFFICIENT

Washington, d. c., Feb. 5.-Amer-
ica's war making machinery was pict-
ured as "conglomeration Of ambitious
and scattered agencies" incapable of
team work, in an address in the senate
today by Senator Wadsworth Of New
York, a republican member OF the
military affairs committee.
The speech renewed the debate over
war efficiency which occupied the SEN
ate all day yesterday after Senator
Hitchcock, democratic military af-
fairs committee member, had delivered
a similar arraignment of the lack of
co ordination in the governments
activities.
NO REPLY IS OFFERED.
In concluding Senator Wadsworth
said that without needed coordination
by a body to make and direct broad
war plans the nation is "cruelly handi-
capped" Apparently that closed the
subject for the day without debate and
the senate turned to the administra-
ton bill to provide for q moratorium
for troops.
RADICAL STEP NECESSARY.
Without detailing army conditions
revealed by the military committees
war inquiry, with which he said the
country is fairly familiar, Senator
Wadsworth confined himself largely to
T, an argument for the proposed legisla-
ton for Capitalization of war making
agencies. President Wilson cannot CO
ordinate these agencies, he said. and
with a long war in prospect, radical
steps to unity the nations efforts are
necessary.
THAT great things have been done
cannot be denied" he declared. THAT
other great things have been left I'M
done must be admitted.
CALLS SYSTEM WEAK
1.-THE credit for the things accomp-
lished can be assigned to several indi-
viduals. The blame for shortcomings
ought not to be laid up on any indi-
vidual. Criticism should be directed
against our system, or rather the lack
! of cohesive system.
1.-THE plain fact is that we have no
agency in our government today
charged with the duty Of projecting its
vision far into the future, anticipating
the emergencies which may arise and
laying the plans by which we can meet
and overcome them.
TOO MUCH FOR ONE MAN.
II realize that some may contend
that the president can make all these
decisions and therefore there is no
need for any additional element in our
war time machinery. Ny contention
is that be he ever SO able, no presi-
dent-no human being-can perform
! such a task. It is utterly impossible
for one man to examine into all these
intricate questions. The days and
nights are not long enough"
Referring to the committees war
| inquiry, Senator Wadsworth said:
"In both the ordnance and quarter
masters departments we discovered
distressing state Of affairs. Purchase
and production and initial distribution
of the vast amount of supplies must
be essentially an Industrial operation,
and military men, with rare exceptions,
are incapable Of bringing about the
best results"
UNPREPAREDNEss DRAes WAR.
Lack Of preparedness before the war,
the senator said, is costing many,
H6uy lives anu VI uOAoAS, OO-
sides prolong1ng the war.
On the railroads the senator de-
clared, goods with blue tagged priority
orders have exceeded normal ship
ments and, in the east, Sc per cent Of
all freight was so tagged.
what has been the result?' he ask
ed. "A hopeless jam and congestion
of our railway transportation facilities.
A million three hundred thousand tons
Of munitions and supplies ara piled
upon the docks along our Atlantic
coast. In some places locomotives,
boilers and great piles of shells and
other important materials have been
dumped out upon the ground and lie
rusting in winter weather"
MUST MEET EMERGENCIES.
He reviewed the government
handling of the coal industry and then
said:
"Other emergencies will overtake us.
III we are wise and prudent and Tar
sighted we shall establish some agency
in our government, whether it be
called a war cabinet or by some other
name, whose members shall sit around
council table every day, morning,
noon and night, and devote their whole
time and every ability toward working
out in advance the methods Of meeting
and overcoming the emergencies"
IN A~E~-S1