New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-05-03
Troops and Shipping.
(NcW York Times }

L
Secretary Baker told the HIouSe
committee on military affairs, ac-
cording to Il Washington dispatch,
that lit was useless for us to send
men to training camps when we had
no way Of transporting a vast mum
Der Of soldiers to France" He add
cd that until he had studied the
transportation problem land other
Matters" ne would net make definite
recommendations about raising tho
draft age and about war Legislation
generally. Does Mr.. Baker under
Stanf~that he takes a great response
bllity when he advises Congress to 80
slow in authorizing expansion of tho
land forces? The Secretary himself
seems to be in no hurry to make
recommendations on the subject, AMI
time presses. Preparations should
now be making to train and equip
new divisions for service in France;
troops 10 be sent over not in 1913,
but early next year We have about
100000 men of all branches under
arms, a great part Of them still in
this country. Every month sees the
number in the home camps decreas-
ing. and by the end Of the year the
last division should be ahoat In
affairs committee on Jan. %, the Sec
rotary Of War said:
I'VE shall have more than half q
million men in France early in 1913,
and VIC have available. if the trans
portation facilities are available 10
us, and the prospect is not unprom-
Using, one and One-half million men
who in 1913 can be shipped to
France"
The transportation facilities have
been added to materially in the last
three MONTHS and as new ships will
soon be going into the water IN
groups each month. there will be
more and more older vessels Of large
tonnage to put at the disposal of the
War Departm ent. It is no secret that
Great Britain is rendering aid on
liberal scale. The problem of trans
porting troops to France in 1918,
with equipment and stores, is now
fun of encouragement. But in asso-
ciating it intimately with the raising
and training of renforcements Score
tarN Baker employs poor logic. Th2
aim should be to make a PROCESSION
Of transports across the Atlantic, All
of them carrying men who have re-
ceived several months of training in
the last contingent of the existing
army Of 100000 leaves our shores
troor trains should be moving TO the
Eastern seaboard to supply trans
ports in waiting at the dock. This
cannot be the case if Congress fails
to authorize the raising of new dlVl-
SiOnS without delay.
There are eight months Of the year
left. Six Of them would be needed
for training and equipping additions
to the National Army. IF Secretary
Bakers hope Of dispatching the re
mainder Of our present land forces
to France by Jan. |. 1919, is to ne
realized, no time, not a day. should
be lost in preparing to send new lev
les to evacuated camps and canton-
ments. And it would be the part IT
wisdom to build more cantonments
for the accommodation of drafted
men. The United States should plan
it's armies on the theory that the
war will go on until the Teutonlc
Powers are overwhelmed by lighting
mon When Germany sees that the
United States is determined to put
). 600 900 men. and even more, into
the field, to win this war and is max
ing its preparations rapidly, but with
fc1.red if the Allies in France are
holding Their lines intact, or if there is
q base port where American rein
forcemcnts can be landed.
IT would be q costly error to pa tier
with the crisis to cease to plan great
armies or TO permit any intervals OF
time between the training of large
bodies Of troops Mr.. Baker reasons
badly if he would make the opera
ton Of the draft dependable upon a
calculation that his department would
surely have ships enough at a certain
date to transport fresh reinforce
ments to France, that is to say, addl-
tons to our present land forces. RE
should consider that extra training,
of this division or that had to wait 4
few days for a ship, would not We
wasted energy. AS a matter OF tact,
infantry cannot be trained too mu'1
for modern warfare. The lmpera-
tive thing is that there shall always
be soldiers to forward to France un-
til reinfOrcem are no longer
wanted. MI. Baker should also &c
fleet that ships will be built faster t
the great army of mechanics at tho
Va rds knows that troop space VIII ne
in constant demand for the cam
paign of victory,