Evening star., 1918-04-23
Mr.. BAKER TELLS
COMMITTEE OF TRIP
Refrains From Discussing
With Representatives Army's
Size and Draft Age.
TO SUBMIT PLANS LATER

Secretary Baker of the War Depart
ment gave the House military committee
today confidential report on his trip
to the battle fronts. He spent the
morning with the committee in execu-
tive session going over the situation.
You can say" he announced. as he
entered the committee room, that am
here Just for an informal talk on the
conditions as l found them in France.
am not going to bring up the question
of the size of the Army or extension OF
the draft age You can go as far az
you like in the matter of unifed control
Of the allied' forces and in the sanguine
and confident belief in the success Of the
war"
Members of the committee were pres
ent in force, as it was the first meeting
of the Secretary with any congressional
committee since his return. Despite his
announced intention not to bring up the
question Of the size of the Army, Chair
man Dent and his colleagues were curl
Gus as to the Secretary's views along
this line and were disposed to accept
his recommendations. The Army appro-
priation bill has been held UP for months
to await the Secretary's return. Tne
Secretarys recommendations will be
made soon and the War Department al.
ready is preparing them.
Representative Shallenberger of Me-
brasks has prepared a bill to extend
the draft age from thirty-one to forty.
but has deferred pressing 1t until he
can ascertain the secretary's views:
At the conclusion of the COMMITTEES
session Secretary Baker stated that he
had not entered into a discussion Of the
increase in the size Of the Army and
had not taken up the question OF ex-
tension Of the draft age. He said he
would submit his recommendations to
time was devoted to a description Of
what he had found on his trip. and he
Ia ready to go before the Senate conn
mittee whenever 1t wishes.
In Doubt About Size of Army.
men altogether. more or less. instead OF
the present tentative provisions for q
totalof I, zoo. 900 men Secretary Baker did
not say, although members of the COM
mittee inferred from his allusion to the
necessity Of confining the increase to
the actual transport and subsistence
limitations that his recommendations
would not go beyond the 100000 mark.
He told the committee until he was
ready to make definite recommended
ton he would rather not even hazard
an informal opinion as to what, the Sise
shepid 70, snd - Assspepsr men after
ready yet to say anything on the SUBJ
ject. ~. ".
what he told the ,eomnittss 1salt
more with the details OF his observR-
tions, Of the conditions he found which
would be of value to the War Depart
ment in long judgment. and OF
matters of interest regarding the way
in which the war Is being directed at
the front and in the line of preparation
One remark that impressed the COM
mil ato ant
that in all his trip, In his conferences.
with leading men. who control the con-
duct of the war, he had not found a
single responsible officer in any one
Great Britain. France or Italy-who.
was at all pessimistic about the ul-
timate outcome Of the war. There was =
the most impressive unanimity of con-
fidence in the success of the allied
cause.
Praised Gen. Foch. -
Secretary Baker praised Gen. Foch,
who has supreme command of the allied
forces, and told the committee how
Foch regards the American forces.
Gen.. Foch told the Secretary that the
American troops could not be too high
1y commend
"Yop will find that am not given to
compliments" Gen. Foch told the Sec
retary at the front. "Eut ! want to
in the very highest terms of the Amer
leans under arms here"
He said the American aviators are
making good. Their performances over
there were really wonderful, he said,
and far more brilliant than any demon
strations made in the aircraft here in
this country. He told, by way of ex.
PLANTATION. how the American fliers per-
formed in mass formation in the air,
where their eyolutions had to be con-
Quoted with great skill in view of the
presence of such large numbers togeth-
err He said that the air sometimes was
full of them. all flying with great dex-
terity, equal to the flying work OF the
other allies. Every American combat
airplane unit is fully equipped. he said.
In all the sectors where the American
fliers are engaged there is plenty OF
combat plane protection against the en-
emy. The combat planes. he said. are,
of course. French machines. but the
Americans are just as fully equipped
with them as their English and French
allies. The Americans have not been
neglected in the provisioning of the al
f<~,, ~