Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-02-06
CR|T|CS'F FIRE
FAILST0JAR
FACTS GIVEN
ross-Examination Of Sec
rotary Shows War Work
Ahead of Schedule.

Washington, Feb. Gross exam
nation of Secretary of War Baker on
his recent statement before the senate
military committee was begun at q
public hearing by the committee to-
| day.
| Secretary Bakers cross examination
was begun by Senator Weeks of Mas
sachusetts, Republican, in connection
with the number of troops to be sent
abroad this year.
On Jan. 1, Secretary Baker said.
more troops had been transported to
France, including both -combatant
and fighting forces, than had been
/ planned.
| Secretary Baker and Senator Weeks
agreed that it was improper to dis
close the number of American troops
now In France.
Transportation of fighting troops
was temporarily reduced, Secretary
Baker said, in discussing the shipping
situation, by the necessity of sending
larger engineering forces. He did not,
have with him detailed statistics re-
garding available ships, but promised
to supply 1t.
More Ships Added.
The shipping board and the war de-
APARTMENT, Secretary Baker said. are
in constant touch, exhaustively study
ing the shipping situation. General
bliss, he said, took the information
abroad as basis of calculation in con-
nection with the shipping situation.
About 10000 tons additional have re-
Gently been secured.
The much discussed editorial In the
Metropolitan magazine Of which Col
onel Roosevelt was associate editor.
attacking the war departments pre-
parations to send troops to France.
came up again. Secretary Baker had
replied to the editorial in his first
statement by saying the war depart
ment had done more than the magazine
contended it should.
did the editor have any informa
\ ton other than an ordinary citizen
might have had at that time," asked
Senator Weeks.
Deeds Outstrip T. r. Words.
ooh, no." said Mr.. Baker, adding
! that in August when the article ap-
peared he had been quite certain that
the department could do more toward
training troops than it suggested and
also that there was good promise that
more could be done toward getting
them to France than the article pro-
posed.
Senator Weeks asked II the war de-
= partment had succeeded in doing as
:. much as it had hoped for in October.
Il can answer that in this way" Mr..
:, Baker said. ION Jan. l we had trans
ported to France more troops than
= our schedule had called for"
. Both combatant and nOn-combatant
troops?" asked Senator Weeks.
: THAT is the aggregate" Mr.. Baker
: said.
Senator Weeks said he had heard
:. that a military force ran about forty
u per cent combatant troops.
Secretary Baker said he did not
have the figures but thought the forces
= in France might show that ratio. He
!. agreed to furnish Senator Weeks con-
e dentially with exact figures as to the
t number of men shipped and the pro-
v portion Of fighting troops.
: Weeks Asks About Tonnage.
O Senator Weeks asked what tonnage
d the war department had available
y He said he had heard that 1t had 791,
900 tons on Feb. 1. Mr. Baker did moi
know exactly, but thought that was an
underestimate.
Senator Weeks asked II the depart
ment figured on net gross or dead
weight tonnage. He said that he haf
I heard that the German statements o
tonnage destruction by submarine,
tons and the English on net tonnage
=. which made the apparently divergen
"a figures given by each side very clos
: together In fact. MIR. Baker could no
enlighten the senator on the point
Before General Bliss went to Europe
:, = Mr. Baker said, an exhaustive study Q
=, ~ the shipping situation was made.
was reviewed before he went back tn
~ second time to attend the sessions @
"a the supreme war council. The secre
, tary said the war department had keI
~ in closest touch with the shippin
r, board and the supreme war cOunc
rs had the data on which to rely.
Of rs there any prospect Of more tor
mage UCSOniA6 dsdh0OtC 81 OIL Cos
date?" asked Senator Weeks
NJ "Oh, yes" Mr.. Baker said, Il n
ii call now that 10000 tons additions
has become available during the las
10 days"
Q. The vessels were withdrawn frol
various lines where they had been n
iplaced by neutral shipping.
ny Much Shipping Diverted.
NJ Much of the tonnage original
TO- available for men and supplies ha
nd been diverted to the harbor and n
lsenal projects abroad. he said. and u
sst purchase OF artillery abroad had SER
ed to relieve shipping somewhat. =
les though the necessity OF transportin
raw materials for the guns had Ill
,ured in the Anal result.
at Examination OF Secretary Baker vi