Evening star., 1918-04-08
PART OFF US. IN WAR,
| MR.. CREEL'S THEME
Makes Optimistic Address Be-
fore American Lecturers Re-
garding Future Operations.
CITES WORK ALREADY DONE

"A moSg optlmlStlc message concerning
Americas future progress N preparing
for her great role in the world drama
was given by George Creel, chairman of
the committee on public information,
speaking this morning before the open
ing session of the National Conference
of American Lecturers at Memorial
Continental Hall.
He received round after round of ap-
plausc from the delegates when he told
either of something that has been done
or that will he done.
Mr.. Creel was the only speaker this
morning, former Ambassador Gerard, who
was scheduled to appear. being in Indiana.
where he will remain until the end Of the
week. and Bainbridge Colby Of the ship
ping board, an added starter" having
been detained by conference with Secre-
tary McAdoo.
Mr.. Creel's Address.
81 will be proud to my dying day that
my country was inadequately prepared
when it entered the conflict" declared Mr..
have given the lie to everything we our.
selves believed in and to our self-avowed
position before the world"
How far and how fast the country
has gone since it started. he empha-
sized. is Indicated by the fact that to-
day, a year after our unprepared en-
trance into the conflict. a portion Of our
Army, created since that time, is bear
ing its full burden, Notwithstanding the
fact that European nations far more
in rI-ar n a
their men battlefront work before a
years training has expired.
The liberty motor is today 100 per
cent perfect, and within week its
he asserted. The aerial program. he
added. will be announced to the country
within thirty days and will be a credit
to this great nation. He paid his re-
100000 airships. explaining that $500
on one side has been the maximum so
far
Country Owes Apology, He Says.
The whole nation owes Secretary
Daniels an apology for its undeserved
vilification of that official. Mr.. Creel
told his hearers. Furthermore, the
vast war expenditures have been made
without one cent OF graft. nor h4e
single life been lost by neglect. he
asserted.
What il q Jew overcoats were lack
nowhere and at no time been lacking.
We can all remember the typhoid
camps. the embalmed beef and the
paper-soled shoes Of 1887
Mr.. Creel took up in detail the criti-
cisms that have been made regarding
the early lack of rifles for troops. the
use~of French machine guns while the
Browning gun was being perfected and
the use of British and French made
ordnance. which, he said. was done at
the suggestion and request of those
governments in order that they might
keep their factories running, and that
the American transports might not be
incumbered with cannon. England and
France had more artillery than they
could use, and had the facilities to make
more, he said. They preferred to keen
on making them and have the benefit
of the money the United States paid for
them. They were really our guns. he
explained, and not those of the allies.
Improved Rifle Supplied.
"We could have put a rife in the
hands Of every soldier from the be-
criticised the equipment Of some of the
men with broomsticks while better
r1nes than any we were making for
our allies were being perfected. were
.h6 ~ VIII tILiS war; DuC an
other kind Of war at a later date
Now we have a rife that can shoot
two bullets to the German Mauser's
one"
Mr. creel was introduced by Monta-
vile Flowers. chairman, who presided.
as the man who made this conferences
possible" and in talking of the work
of the committee on public Information
told his audience of the numerous
them due. perhaps, not so much to lack %
of patriotism or even to pro-German-
ism. as to the distinctly American fault
of impatience. He told how important
Is the bureaus work in the maintenance
of national morale and in the combat
ing of the kind Of patriotism that is
nothing more than "Chauvinism," and
that shows tendency to lead to mob
violence