The Press., 1918-09-05
CONNECTICUT IS READY FOR ANYTHING

NUlNlNLO1AOUA 1O M
 State councils of defense and thet local agencies throughout the eOuntr! will have their activities and scope o work increased and brOadened in ac cOrtstnce with the suggestion or Presi dent Wilson to Secretary of War Ba ker, just made public.
 The President has asked the Secre tnry of War to communicate with all federal departments and adminlStra' tions his wish that. when they are considering extensions of their organi' Eations Into the states or new work tO be done tn the states, they consider carefully whether they cannot utilize the state council system" The letter of President Wilson tN Secretary of War Baker was tn reply to one writ ten to the President by the Secretary of War outlining the accomplishments of the state councils of defense and recommending that Increased use he UlNuN OI these WAT oI oIENlAthAN
 Urged by Connecticut
 This action Is one which Governor Marcus Fl. Hulcomb and the Connecti- cut State Council of Defense have been urging for many months. As soon as Connecticut's defense council organization was perfected to degree that made possible it's efficient ham ding of tasks assigned tO it H the federal government letters were ad- dressed by the t;ovrrnor to various de- partment heads in Washington advis- Ing them that civilian war work |" this state should be carried "u through the council The completion of COnneCti- cuts organization was in advance of that in ma iority of the other states. Consequently. awaiting the perfection of these other organizations, IL was impossible for the administration to suggest that state councils he general fy used throughout the country. In the meantime. however. the organIza- ton in this state. because Washington considered it efficient, has been made use 0f extensively.
 Connecticut lS Ready.
 When copies of the correspondence between President Wilson and Secre- tary of War Baker were shown to members of the Connecticut State Council of Defense and department heads yesterday the unanimous express sion was
 "We are ready to tackle any Job that Washington gives us. and we will do our best to put It through. Our whole organization is unreservedly at the disposal of the federal government in carrying through any part of the task of downing the Hun"
 The Presidents Letter.
 In reply to Secretary Bakers letter outlining the achievements of the state councils of defense President Wilson wrote:
 "My Dear Mir Baker:
 "I have read with great interest your account of the achievements of the state councils of defense and your general summary of the activities in which they are now engaged. It iS \ notable record. and I shall he glad tO have you express tO the state councils my appreciation of the service they have so usefully rendered. I am par tiCularIy struck by the value of ex- tending our defense organization into the smallest communities and by the truly democratic character of a na- tiOnal system SD organized.
 Fl believe in the SoundneSs of your contention that in the interest of econ Omy and efficiency such machinery as that provided by the state council sys- tem for the execution of many kinds of war work should be utilized as far as possible by federal departments and administrations. May | suggest, there fore, that you communicate to the heads of all such departments and ad- ministratiOns my wish that when they are considering extensions of their or ganizatiOn into the states or new work to be done in the states they deter mine carefully whether they cannot utilize the State Council system. thus rendering unnecessary the creation of new machinery. and that they trans init all requests for action by the state councils through the state councils sec tiOn of the Council of National De- fenseF
 Cordially and sincerely yours,
 WOODROW WILSON"
 Secretary Bakers Letter.
 The letter from Secretary Baker calling attention to the activities of the state councils of defense and out lining their ability to handle gar work efficiently, which called for the reply printed above, was as follows:
 -BIy Dear Mir. President:
 As Chairman of the Council of Ma siOnal Defense. | beg to report to you the noteworthy accomplishments Of the State Council of Defense in the fOrty-eight states of the Union. and to indicate the war activities for which they seem to me to be peculiarly fit- ted and peculiarly responsible, and to ask your advice and assistance in matter vital to their future effective ness.
 '"Fhe state councils of defense. as you are we'll aware, were instituted at the suggestion of the Council of Na- tiOnal Defense shortly after we enter ed the war. Almost from the day of their organization they took a prOmI- nent part in recruiting our armed forces. Since the early months of the great struggle they have rendered par ticularly valuable service on behalf of the Department of Agriculture In In- creasing the production of fOOdstuffs. Before the creation of the United States Food Administration they led the national campaign for food conser- vation. Most of them took a leading