Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-01-11
ed as rapidly as those already in
training or transported.

ed as rapidly as those already in
training or transported.
"2. The army has been enlist
ed and selected without serious
dislocation of the industries OF
the country.
"3. The training of the army is
proceeding rapidly and its spirit
is high. The subsistence OF the
army has been above criticism;
it's initial clothing supply, tempo
rarily inadequate, is now sub
stantially complete and reserves
will rapidly accumulate. Arms of
the most modern and effective
kind-including artillery, machine
guns, automatic rifles and small
arms, have been provided by
manufacture or purchase, for
every soldier in France, and are
available for every soldier who
can be gotten to France in the
year 1918.
"a. A substantial army is al
ready in France where both men
and officers have been addition
ally and specially trained and are
ready for active service.
VI COAA~
munication and supply vast stor-
age and other facilities are in
process of construction in
France.
&c. Great programs for the
manufacture of additional equip
ment and for the production of
new instruments of war have
been formulated"
TO AVOID MISTAKES.
81 make this statement" continued
the secretary, fully aware that there
have been produced before members
of this committee some expressions of
doubt, difference of opinion and dis
approval. The war department has
spent eight months hearing similar ex-
pressions, analysed them and the con-
ditions out of which they grew per-
fecting it's organization to prevent its
and all the while driving
on to the accomplishments OF the
main task.
"In the foregoing statement there
are two exceedingly significant fig
ures, namely, that on the first day Of
April the ordnance department con-
sisted of 81 officers and the quarter
master generals department of S47
officers, while they now respectively
1904 and 6,431 officers.
There was no ready trained body of
men in the country who could have
been selected suddenly to assume the
highly technical and specialized work
Of these two divisions. Men of some
what similar training had to he chos-
en-. AS the work proceeded, subdivi-
sion and resubdivision became pos
sible.
REoReANIzES DEPARTMENT.
ION December IS, was, therefore,
In a position to announce general
accomplishing the fol-
lowing results:
81. Created a war council upon
which General Crozier, General
Sharpe, General Weaver, General
Crowder and the chief Of staff
have been designated to sit with
the secretary of war and the as
sistant secretary Of war, and to
which councilmen of capacity
either from the army or from civil
life, will be added from time to
time. The purpose of the council
is that its members, being freq
from the burdens of detail, can
take large supervisory view of
all questions Of organization and
supply, and give to the govern
ment the highest value of their
talents and experience.
"2. Under General Wheeler,
with the advice of his military as
sistants and of Industrial ex-
perts, the machinery of the ord
nance department is being thor
oughly reorganized in preparation
for the new phase of its work up
on which it is now entering. 1ts
several operations will be con-
Quoted under the direction either
of officers already in the service
who are now in position to give
their entire energies to their ad-
ministration or by men specially
chosen from civil life because OF
their experience and capacity.
"3. The quartermaster generals
department is in process of sim
liar reorganization and subdiyi-
sion under General Goethals, who
enjoys the unique experience OF
having worked out at the Panama
canal problems Of transportation
and supply of magnitude never
until now approached in the his
tory of our government.
AIDED BY CIVILIANS.
Here also the efficiency Of the de-
artment is being strengthened by the
alling from civil life of men Of the
:~Lo,% ,oD, oifu to odmiDiStrata Ger.