The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-05-04
WANT HUGE ARMY OF 2,29S,OOO BY
 FIRST OF JULY Bakers $15, 900, ,0OO,OO0 Esti- mate Based on Plan to
 Refill Camps. 1885, ,OOO MEN
 NOW IN U. $. ARMY All the Army Camps and Cantonments Are to Be
 Materially Enlarged.

Washington, May 4.---The admins trat1on's plans for raising an army large enough to insure victory were submitted in detail to the House Com mittee on Military Affairs yesterday, which has begun the preparation of the army appropriation bill carrying $15;OcQ 100000 to finance the army dur ing the next fiscal year.
 Secretary Baker refused to go into the question of figures involved in the proposed increase in military man power, but it became known at the Capitol that the estimates he submit ted were based on a f1orce of not fewer than 3,000,0 900 men and 160, 900 officers being in the field by July 1, 1919. The plan contemplates having 10000 officers and 2,168,0O0 men, or total of 2,298,O0O in the field and in camps by July 1, 1918, and approd- mately an additional million to be placed in the field before the end of the fiscal year.
 'T don't want to say anything in figures" said Secretary Baker when asked how large an army was con- templated, because I don't want to be tied down to numbers. My objec- tion to using numbers grows out of the fact that we want to raise just as large an army as will be needed, and want the American people to feel confident that we are not going to be handicapped by numbers but intend to raise an army that will be large enough in every respect.
 All of the army camps and canton ments are to be enlarged, and very materially enlarged, to take care of the training of the men to. be raised in the next F months. Secretary Ba- ker said that the General Staff had this question under careful consider ation, and that the idea was to in crease the size of existing training camps rather than establish new camps. These camps, it is estimated, now have facilities for training close to a million men at one time.
 Secretary Baker also made it clear that the total of $15,000, 100000 in- volved in the estimates as revised for the new army bill did not cover the whole cost of the army for the next fiscal year. The $15,000, 100000, he exlained, was in addition to the large sums that would be carried in the Notifications Appropriation bill, which covers the cost of heavy ord- nance both here and overseas. Nor does it include the Military Academy bill. It was emphasized that al- though estimates were submitted on the basis of an army of a certain size, Congress was being asked for blanket authority for the president to raise all the men needed, and the approximate figures of S15, 1000, O,o00,0 could be in creased by deficiency appropriations.
 It was brought out in the committee yesterday that the transportation ser vice had improved and that the War Department was able to send more men to France each month. It is esti- mated that if transport facilities con- tinue to improve, close to 100000 fighting men will be on the western front by the last of this year. @
 This country now has in camp and in the field, it was explained to the committee, the following enlisted men and officers:
 Enlisted men,. ... Il, ,765, 900
 Officers ............ 120,000