The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-05-14
OFFICIALS ANNOYED
BY OTTAWA MESSAGE
Earl Reading and Secretary Baker
Deny knowledge of Any Plan to
Hold Americans Out Of Fight
INQUIRY Is ANTICIPATED
Belief Grows That Rumor May
Have Been Started by Sympathizers
OF British General Recently Re-
tired.

Washin gton, May 13.--Earl Read
| ing. the British am bassador, is under
stood today to have made inquiry OF
his government concerning the origin
Of the Associated Press dispatch, car
ried T. ON Ottawa this morning. quot
! ing the British war cabinet as an
/ nouncing that the American army
wouldn't be fully utilized on the west
ern front. until its full strength had
beer developed.
A thorough investigation into the
circumstance OF the dispatch Is be
| lieved to be under way. Both Earl
Reading and Secretary Of War Baker
declared the statements in the dis
! patch to be utterly at variance with
what they know to he the facts. Sec
Rotary Baker issued the following
statement:
, The So terrent purporting 10 come
from Ottawa seems to say that Amer
team troops are not tn be used &C
lively in France for the present but
will be conserved until they constitute
a larger and independent army.
The facts are exactly otherwise
The American troops in France are
now being used actively in battle and
in the trenches. and while all of the
plans OF the war departm ent look to
the development OF the American
army as such and the creation OF i
distinctly American army. yet the VA =
rious elements OF il now in France are
being used in such ways are deem
ed most effective by General Pershing
and as approved by the British and
French commanders and the supreme
commander"
Earl Readings statement follows:
The statement attributed to the
British war cabinet TO the effect that
+ tho allies confident ha
ing been given the choice of a small
] imn ediate American army for defense
or waiting till they are reinforced by
a complete, powerful. self support
ing American army. they have chosen
the latter. is Numerically opposed to
all Information received by me from
the British war cabinet and to all the
requests which l have been asked by
them to make to the United States ad-
ministra ton.
II am quite in the DIRK as TO the
origin OF the statement At present
! all / can say is that 7 am convinced
! that the document has not been is
sued with the knowledge o. the prime
minister or the British war cabinet"
( On ali sides. among adnifstra alton
/ officials and entente diplomats. the
| announcement from Ottawa was char
acterized as most unfortunate Were
government would not only he placed
/ in the position OF disparaEing Secre-
( ;ary Bakers announcement of last
week that more than 500 900 American
/ troops were now in France, but OF
! rejecting without notice 10 this gov
! eminent the previously accepted offer
/ Of President Wilson TO brigade Amer
! lean troops with the American and
/ French. II entirely untrue, the
I opinion here is that the dispatch is
calculated TO do serious harm.
There was q disposition in some
official quarters to believe that the
statement sent from Ottawa i'm prop-
erly characterized as an osScial an
| nouncement. an unofficial report from
/ London. tempting 10 anticipate a
new proposal OF some kind from the
I British war cabinet concerning mill
! tsry coordination. In other quar-
tiers, II Is thought perhaps THAT the
/ communication in the original in
stance might have been inspired by
/ persons in the British war office hos
i tile to the Lloyd George government
and friendly TO General Maurice. the
| former director OF operations OF the
I British general staff. who was retired
! following his attack on the premier
/ in the London papers