New-York tribune., 1918-06-28
More Procrastination

FecOnNeTSlOn mas SET DaCk 1Or HlOHJIS Ill
plans for putting the country on genu-
inc war basis.
Mr.. Baker could not overcome his
temperament To super-ingenious
and sophisticated mind like his fixed and
farreaching programmes are irksome.
They leave no play for improvisation.
They exclude the colorful element of
dramatic suspense. Our greatest mill
tary need to-day is thorough mobiliza-
tion of our man power for service in the
armies and in the war industries Such
a mobilization is impossible so long as
the present age limits of conscription
are retained. With exemption for every
man over thirty-one years of age, the
nation cannot begin to live up to the
wartime injunction: Eight or work"
In his argument for the postponement
Of legislation broadening the scope Of
conscription Secretary Baker was at his
worst. He covered over thej real issue,
treating it as one merely affecting the
the increase of camp contingents here
in the next six months. He said:
"The War Department has from the
beginning been expanding its military
programme. We many months ahead
of what was our original hope in regard
to the transportation of men. We are
constantly seeking ways to expand that,
and we are in the midst Of plan now
to expand it again Should we so expand
will need an increased number of men,
and it may turn out that the best we can
do won't require it. When we have
determined what is best we will then
ask Congress to provide additional money
and men,"
Why is the War Department "many
months ahead" of what was it's "original
hope in regard to transportation"
Simply because its plans were found
to be entirely inadequate Ludendorff
revised them.
The department hadn't anticipated
the results of the German offensive of
1918. After March 21 last it began to
speed up, and under the spur Of Allied
necessities in France it has been speed
ing up ever since in the way Of trans
portation and conscription.
Now it is limited that less transatlan-
tic shipping will be available after July
1. So the department expects to restrict
its draft calls after August next. In
August 100000 men will be called; in
September, 100000; in October, 150,-
900; in November, 10000. In Decem-
Der only $4,000 will be called. BY
shading the December quota Secretary
Baker expects to enter the new year
with surplus Of 1000 on the Class /
lists.
But what if the emergency in France
continues and we are required by the
events Of July and August to run still
further ahead Of the departments orig
inal programme? Then Glass J. will be
exhausted long before January /. Many
good judges say that it will be exhausted,
in any event, by the middle Of October.
There is danger in sailing too close to
the wind in our war calculations. Only
the other day President Wilson spoke
of raising an army without limit" The
country rose to that phrase. The army
we need for the fighting line and for
war work at home should be practically
without limit" 1t should include the
great mass Of our able-bodied popula-
tion. The maximum age limit for con-
scription should be forty-five or over.
But when Congress starts to trans
late President Wilson's phrase into law
Secretary Baker steps in and calls halt.
We probably have enough men in sight,
he says, for the needs Of the fighting line
in the next six months. Why bother now
about other military needs, which may
not arise in that period, though they are
certain to arise at the end of it? Why
bother about needs that have long existed
in the field Of war industry? Let us be
chary about deranging war industry by
miiitarizing it.
This is counsel of delay which Con-
gress ought to reject. 1t is the duty of
Congress to raise and support armies.
1t is its~duty to create war structure
Of industry, enlisting, If necessary, the
services of every able-bodied man. The
House Of Representatives was right
more than year ago when it fixed the
maximum draft age at forty. 1t unfort-
unately yielded it's judgment to the
War Departments. Now the Senate is
weakly yielding to another specous
argument for procrastination.
Ludendorff doesn't procrastinate. The
great lesson of this war is that half
way utilization Of man power gets no.