Bisbee daily review., 1918-11-26

channel service undoubtedly is com pletely occupied with the transporta- tion of returning British forces.
 Before General MaTch's announce ment, Secretary Baker discussed with the newspaper correspondents the return of American troops from France. The homeward movements is dependent almost entirely upon the limitation of transportation facilities both at sea and in France.
 Besides employing in this work the German liners in this country, Dutch vessels taken over and all other available transports, MT. Baker said, some part of the British transport tonnage employed in carrying troops to France will continue to be used in getting the men home. He pointed out, however, that Great Britain will need many of her ships to carry home Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and other colonial forces which have been in France longer than the Amer ican armies.
 The secretary said the great British liners Mauretania, Olympic and Aqui- tania have been in the American transport service for a year and that the Mauretania still is so engaged. He could not say whether the other two had been withdrawn.
 German liners now in German ports, MT Baker said, may offer a means of eXpediting the return of the American forces. Present plans are to use these vessels to carry food to Ger many and the secretary said it might be found possible to make some ar engagement under which some of Gen eral Pershing's men could be sent home on them. Before sailing for Europe to arrange for the return of the troops, Chairman Hurley of the shipping board said it was the pur- pose to use ships now idle in German ports. MT. Baker, however, did not indicate today that any definite steps to that end have yet been taken.
 With the removal of the submarine menace the war secretary said it will be possible to bring home many sol dieTs in cargo vessels. The shipping board is commissioning many such vessels from day to day, and they will be added to the fleet available for the return of the army.
 For the next few weeks Mir. Baker expect returning troop ships to be laden entirely with sick and wounded men and those not immediately avail able for military service such as the men who have been discharged from hospitals in France, but have not fully recovered their strength. They will be organized for purposes of transportation into provisional com panies of from 100 to 150 men with the requisite number of officers and will be sent to designated camps to be mustered out. It is assumed that efforts will be made in France to put into each provisional company men from the same general locality in the United States in order to ease the demobilization transportation problem on this side
 Secretary Baker also revealed to- day that a general principle to gov ern the payment to be made to Great Britain to services rendered by her transport fleet or cargo craft in trans porting or supplying American forces had been reached. He said that in conference with Lord Reading, the British ambassador, it had been agreed that payment to be made by either government to the other for such service would be made on the basis that no profit was to accrue to either Great Britain or the United States.