Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-02-05

Tel
other great things have been left un-
done must be admitted. The credit
for the things accomplished can be
assigned to several individuals. The
blame for shortcomings ought not to
be laid upon any individual. Criti-
cism should be directed against our
system, or rather the lack of cohe-
sive system"
Recounting difficulties arising
through indiscriminate priority or
ders and competition in the pur-
of departmental red tape" and the
absence of power in the Council of
National Defense, the senator con-
tinued:
The plain fact is that we have no
agency in our government to-day
charged with the duty of projecting
its vision far into the future, antici-
pating the emergencies which rise
and laying the plans by which we
can meet and overcome them.
No one in his senses would pro-
pose that any other office be created
to take away from the President the
powers the constitution confdes to
him."
Referring to the committees war
inquiry, Senator Wadsworth said ii
had covered only part of the
ground and that to investigate all
Army activities which might justify
inquiry would not permit the COM
mittee to finish it's work during the
present session of Congress.
Heads Incapable
I'm both the ordnance and quar-
termaster's departments" he said,
"we discovered a distressing state
of affairs. Purchase and production
and initial distribution of the vast
amount of supplies must be essen
TALLY an industrial operation and
that military men, with rare eXcep-
ton, are incapable of bringing about
the best results"
Lack of preparedness before the
war, the senator said, is costing
many, many lives and millions of
dollars" besides prolonging the war.
He called attention to the existing
vast number of official, semiofficial
and purely advisory agencies, bu-
reaus and other bodies which, he as
serted, are not co-ordinated, consult
ing or harmonizing.
On the railroads the senator de-
clared. goods with blue tagged PRIOR
ity orders have exceeded normal
shipments and, in the east Sc per
cent of all freight was so tagged.
A Hopeless jam
What has been the result?" he
asked. "a hopeless jam and con-
gestion of our railway transporta-
ton facilities. A million three hun
dred thousand tons of munitions and
supplies are piled upon the docks
along our Atlantic coast. Some are
deteriorating rapidly"
Reviewing the governments han
ding of the coal industry, the sena-
tor said:
"As a result of lack of planning
we have great communities starving
for coal and an order issued by the
administration closing down thou
sands of factories and throwing out
of work hundreds of thousands of
men and women, costing millions
OF dollars in wages and delayed pro-
duct, and crippling for the time be-
ing, those very activities upon which
we must depend for the winning OF
the war"
"Other emergencies will overtake
u.s." Senator Wadsworth said. 'If
we are wise and prudent and far
sighted we shall establish some agen-
cy in our government, whether 1t be
called a war cabinet or by some 9TH
er name, whose members shall sit
around a council table and debate
their whole time and every ability
toward working out in advance the
methods Of meeting and overcoming
the emergencies"