The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-01-10
Engineering and Mining JournaD

OF the inefficiency of his country as
warning power2 We are the nation
that was going to do things as they
ought to be done We were going to
prosecute the war with the same cell
Gritty and capabiity that characterized
our developments in science and arts.
We smiled at the slowness OF our
British cousins in getting their gait
In warfare, at their ineptness in adj
ministration, at their waste OF money
and resources, and vowed that we
would give them q lesson, and after
nearly nine months we find ourselves
as badly muddled as they were at the
corresponding period We have not
even their excuse of novelty in the un-
dertaking, for we had the teachings or
three years of the experience of Great
Britain and France.
It Is true that we have accomplish
ed good deal for which we may take
proper credit We have financed our
allies with promptness and generos-
ity, we have aided them with embar-
kOeS Oll EOOuS W TIC NHSiiyt We ''o'S
dispatched an expeditionary force to
France and naval force to British
waters with surprising speed, we have
adopted consumption without any fuss
and have begun the organization of
great army with a minimum of de-
lay we have taken steps of funda-
mental Importance in maintaining in
ternational food supply, we have re-
paired the informed German ships and
we are well along with great pro-
gram of new naval construction. We
think me may take some pride, more
over In the Liberty motor, that Is
now being turned out in steadily in
creasing numbers.
This is our favorable report. Now
for the unfavorable. Our whole sys-
tenn Of railway transportation Is
creaking badly. The whole country Is
suffering from shortage of fuel sup
ply. After long period of disgrace
full wranging we have just begun to
build the ships that are so vitality
needed. The arming of our new mill
tary forces is dangerously delayed,
Their equipment is imperfect. The
sanitary provisions for them are not
what they ought to be. These facts
have been disclosed in the congress
sional investigation, which has shown
in high quarters in the supply and
ordnance departments of the army a
horrifying indecision, inability to plan
and incapacity to do things Left to
themselves the manufacturers of this
country had been for three years pro-
viding the armies of Europe with
rifles, machine guns, big guns, am
munition and supplies of all kinds. We
had comfortable feeling that if our
country ever should become involved
> In the war these plants and this ex-
perience would be Immediately avail
able and would offset the negligence
of congress to enter upon the policy of
preparedness that had been preached
by prophets who had talked to deaf
ears. Yet such has been the inept-
ness in administrative quarters that
the usefulness of these manufacturing
plants has been all but paralyzed
Mechanics in Connecticut have been
playing checkers in working hours
while officers in Washington have been
debating and vacillating respecting
non essential matters. The Washing
ton bureaus have been trying to or
ganize the war on principles that
would wreck business enterprise. In
the matter of machine guns for ex-
ample, the Browning may turn out to
be the best ever, the Lewis may have
failed in certain ordnance tests (the
failure may have been insignificanD,
vet the fact remains that the British
have been using 1t to the number of
10000 or so, our navy is adopting It,,
and our manufacturers We're ready to
make it, and We're not ready to make
another kind The attitude of GEN
eral Crozier in this matter is like that
Of the lawyer who, after listening to
the story Of an incarcerated client.
said to him: why, they can't put
YOU in Jail for this" whereupon the
y iSPiiSo' pul tiiVN uiN
I'm here" 1t is fact VS. theory.
Now who is responsible for this sit
uation and what are we---the people
going to do about it? Congress is
looking around for scapegoats, and
doubtless they will be found and will
be thrown overheard to satisfy pop
ular clamor But this will be simply
removal of manifestations, not eradi-
cation of the trouble Congress It.
self is more responsible, though it
will not see 1t, but the real respon-
sibility lies with the people and their
leaders. The department heads are
merely victims of a vicious system
created by congress in it's ignorance,
a system of red tape, circumlocution
and absence of business methods. The
revelations lately made in the congress
sional hearing are merely fragment
airy. The same conditions have pre-
vailed In many other departments,
and discussion of them has been go
ing on for months among men who
know.
But while congress may be respon-
sible for the creation of a system,
Just as for the creation of a non -un-