Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1918-01-30

and half years, in which all the
military capacity, the inventive ge-
MUS and the Industrial resources of
these other greatest OF countries had
been engaged on the problem of what
tho war was to be.
1T was not for us to decide the
theater Of war. That theater was in
France. 1t was not for US to decide
the line OF communication. 1t was
5000 miles away, with one end in
tested with submarines. It was not
for US to decide whether manoeuyers
In the open should be ATTEMPTED,
Men already were in the trenches in
"a death grapple.
["Our problem was and is to get
over and get at the enemy. 1t was
not for us to lay out, at the war
college. an ideal plan OF campaign, q
theoretical plan. Our problem was
to get into cooperation with Great
Britain and Trance and our other
friends In the Most immediate and
efficient way.
THAT problem couldn't be decided
here. It can't be described in words.
1t Is so extraordinary and so vast
that 1t must be seen and studied on
the ground before it can be compre-
hended at ALL
Mr.. Baker told Of the coming OF
the British and French missions with
Balfour and Uoffre. These men were
seen in the halls Of Congress, but
few people saw the STATS of trained
experts they brought with them and
who distributed themselves through
the Department.
They were the most brilliant men
in their armies" he said. "Every
COlntrV uo "a o1,,k
perts."
Story Old as They Talked.
Even as these experts talked, Sec
retary Baker said, the story they told
grew old. Weapons they had helped
to develop had become obsolete be-
fore they could be gotten to the
front.
"This is moving picture" he
said. 'It was necessary that we have
eyes there to see and report, and we
sent Gen. Pershing and the major
part OF the trained personnel OF the
army-that pitiful handful Of train
ed men,
100000 Men Soon I'm France.
''We will have 100000 men in
France early in 1915" he added,
"and we will ,have a million and
half ready to ship to France during
1913"
Chairman Chamberlain asked the
Secretary why he could not take the
public Into his confidence in the mat
ter.
Secretary Baker replied that he
hesiBated to do that. He referred to
a statement by Gen. Won Hindenburg
to the effect that America was adj
vertising her intentions.
"But isn't It q fact that Germany
has known all about this?" persisted
Senator chamberlain.
"No, replied Secretary Baker.
"The German government is still
mystified regarding the number of
men now In France. They know
what is doing at the front, but Ger
many Is still ,mystified regarding the
number OF men now in France"
His statement, Mr.. Baker added,
was made on the basis OF the most
reliable confidential reports received
by the War Department.
secretary Baker went on to ex-
plain that such things all warning
countries try to keep entirely con-
f1dentiai.
why, do not believe | could
even get the number of men Great
Brttain has In France or at home
now or could even get that informa-
tion from France" said he. "That
may be unnecessary, but it is a pre-
caution followed &by all military
men,"
If the whole regular American
army had been sent into battle at
once, Secretary Baker said, like Eng
Lands 1t would have been destroyed.
IN eloquentSWords Secretary Baker
described how France welcomed the