Evening journal., 1918-01-23

] lu tic NdIs
President Wilson has back OF him
loyal and undiN ided nation It's great
mass have only one thought, one wish.
! mat is TO win this war. and toward
! that end TO throw the whole of its
great strength With high felicity and
unflnching clearness he has tated our
| ans No living man could have done
this more effectively. whole nation
has affixed its resolute approval We
are proud Of our hlgh minded spokes-
man. lie has won for MS an enviable
place in the councils Of our allies. The
! position Of America throughout the
/ world has been heightened by his
! wildly American utterance No states
man could have done more.
When we turn from this splendid
pc sonal achievement 10 the results at
taincd since our entry into the war.
in the grim business Of organizing a
vast fghtlng machine, this pride falls
II is not disloyalty, II is not super
criticism, to say that these results have
fallen far hort Of what we might
reasonably expect Of American genius
Tor organizatiOn. our people have no
more salient or distinguishing charac-
teristlc than this latter And a nation
NNAAl AAu1 UuAAh MI AANUNlIh MDlN tile
greatest industrial machine in the
world has a right TO believe tnat the
industrial and business conduct OF the
war shall be on a plane Of the highest
American capacity.
10 has not been We have been at war
ten months And for more than ten
months before that 10 was fatefuIly
clear that our entry was inevitable
We have raised an army Of a million
and a half-an admirable effort but
one that England, with only two-nfths
orr nrhtin~ stren~ih had in the same
time equalled or surpassed And Of this
number one million two hund ed thou
sand are stlll idly tramping the train
ing camps II is saying nothing that
Germany does not know. and that Ger
man newspapers have not printed day
after day, that there Is now little /
prospect that even the whole OF thls I
army can be landed In France this .
year. They lack a fun equipment Of I
rifles. OF machine guns; and we lack .
ships The war may be lost before we /
can strike an effective hiow.
We have laid down a huge ship
building prog ANNE. and even the
skeleton Of the FIRST ship 10 be fabr-
Gated under this programme Is not yet
complete, Our railway system is greater
than that Of all Europe, and 4 cannot
get Immediate materials 10 the ship
yards And tie yard have not the la
Dor needed to carry out the schedule
We produced last year, possibly, more
coal than all Europe, and we have a
coal famine. Our steel product in 1916
equalled that Of Germany and Brila n
combined, and near to half this capa-
city IS ncW idle for lack Of coal And
the largest corn croI in our history is
threatened with rot for lack Of cars.
OrgaLiZed labor has proclaimed It's
loyalty from the housetOps, and the
number Of strikes, and Of men in
yolyed since last April 6 has been un-
examplcd in our history 10 is a dis
appointing and un-American picture-a
nation OF a hundred million baffled and
lmpotent.
II Is given 10 no man 10 possess
every variety Of talent President Will
son may come TO rank as one or the l.
nations greatest statesmen. No good
American withhods the fun need Of
his praise. Il Is no detraction 10 say
that neither his temperament nor his
experience has been In the direction Of
business organization and the effective
handling Of the types Of men who have
built up our industry and trade His
lifelong associations have been in the
sheltered paths OF academic life, which
In many minds breeds a deep antipathy
and suspicion toward the bu mess and
executive type OF which we speak
How far the President has shared this
dstrust II is idle to consider He has
had many harsh things 10 say Of Big
Business" Nor Is there any need TO
sneak hore o. his seeming aloO'ness,
nor the fact that he is rega ~ded in
Wash ngton as the most inaccessible
President who ever. entered the White
House: nor his apparent dis.nclnation
10 gather around him and work with
men OF strong and aggressive charac-
ter.
It Is no endeavor TO dlscrodt the Ad-
mlnlstratlon 10 say that such men are
lacking now. We have a Cabinet that
was not dl tlngulshcd even for peace
times. and now voefully inadequate
for the business Of war The vital prob
lem IN this hour Of need is how to
brld1e this situation ana bring the
splendid talents Of the President into
contact with and cooperation with the
finest Organlzlng and executive minds
on the business and industrial side
that this country can now produce.
There Is now before Congress a bill
looking to this end It Is not a partisan
measure. It has been framed and Is
backed by conserN alive Democratic ,
Senators not hostile 10 the Adm,nistra-
ton. We believe 10 will have the un-
divided support OF every well Informed
American in touch with and cognlzant
Of the existing situation, whether De-
mocrat or Republican
This measure gives over the control
and direction Of the material side Of
The war the business Of planning and
englneering. the getting Of an army
and a tremendous store Of food and
munitions and aerorlanes across the I
Atlantic and into action. lt is not an
innovation To such a war council
En~land and France have been driven
by the same bitter experience we are
now having. It is identically such q ]
board as Germany created, not ten ]
months or two years after the war be- &
gan but long before.
BY its terms Secretary Baker and