Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-02-06
BAKER TESTIMONY
MAY BE WITHHELD
IContinued from First Page.l

the Secretary of War disclose the ar
guments in public.
!, The upshot of it was that the
question of ships was left to be pre-
sented in detailed exact statements
to the committee or in secret session
tomorrow and the cross ton
went on to other subjects of n gen.
eral nature.
Senator Hitchcock, who has at
tackled particularly the Secretary of
Wars statement that the United
States could put a million men in
France this year-in addition to 500,-
600 there early this spring-was in
sistent that MIR. Baker should show
the committee what grounds he had
for believing there were ships avail
able for their transport and supply.
Secretary Baker replied he did not
have the exact figures in his mind,
but that his statement was made on
figures which had been prepared by
experts who took in the condition
at the disposal of the Shipping Board
as we'll as what ships might be avail
able from neutral and foreign
sources. The Secretary made PLAIN
that he was not counting wholly on
American ships to transport the
troops.
Secretary Baker did say. however,
that probably the form of his orig
inal statement to the committee,
which has been made the basis of
attack, was unfortunate in that il
expressed his general opinion of a
broad situation rather than the exact
statement of experts dealing in de-
tails.
The misfortune for me, if 1 may
call it SUCH" said Secretary Baker,
lays in the fact that l attempted to
give opinions OF the broad general
situation as / saw il when the infSr-
nation law in details that ought to
have been gotten from the experts
in direct charge, or in statistics Civ
ing specific facts. l was attempting
general survey. 1t was misfortune
for me to do that"
An estimate of $4,000 tons of
ships available for transportation
February l, the Secretary said he
thought was small rather than too
large.
The Shipping Board, Senator
Hitchcock said. had advised him that
on November l there were availa BILE
$50 American ships, all of more than
1000 tons each, including tank ships
and the German and Austrian ships
taken over.
Mr.. Baker did, not know how many
troops that number of ships would
transport. but promised to inform
the committee later.
Lacked Deailed Statistics
Transportation of fighting troops
was temporarily reduced. Secretary
Baker said, in discussing the ship
ping situation, by the necessity of
sending larger engineering forces.
He did not have with him detailed
statistics regarding available ships,
but promised to supply il.
The Shipping Board and the War
Department, Secretary Baker said,
are in constant contact. exhaustively
studying the shipping situation.
General Bliss, he said, took the in
formation abroad as basis of cal
culation in connection with the
shipping situation. About 10000
tons additional have recently been
secured.
Secretary Baker said he had not
determined whether troops would be
kept in the southern camps next
was as extreme as this winter has
been, he said, some would have to
be moved.
American Losses Slight
American tonnage losses, Secre-
tary Baker said, have been exceed
inglys light. The service the Navy
has rendered in the protection of
the Army" he said, has ben un-
exampled."
Secretary Baker gave the opinion
that new legislation would be desira-
BILE to give the President general
powers to transfer and coordinate
nf NJ.
conditions arise
Senator Weeks said he had re-
ceived a letter in which it was
charged that many men in the Army
are of German sympathy and that
many Officers and men in CONVEX
sations expressed pro-German senti-
ment."
The writer of the letter. he said,
cited an instance of an American
officer being sent home from France
by General Pershing for that rea-
on. The senator said he had also
heard of a chaplain who had been
dismissed for similar reasons.
Secretary Baker said he had re-
ceived no information of such con-
ditions, but would make inquiry.
Broad Powers For Stettinius
Possibility that the actual pur-
chasing power for the War Depart
ment may be largely placed in the
hands of Edward r. Stettinius, ur-
veyor general, was indicated by Sec
retary Baker.
Mr.. Stettinius is relied upon to
do this thing" he said.
Statements attributed to Lord
Northcliffe, saying that preparations
were being made in America for
raising an army but little was being
made to provide for its transporta-
ton across the ocean, were read by
Senator Hitchcock
Secretary Baker said he had not
heard of the statement and could not
remember if the subject had been
discussed in conference with Lord
Northcliffe.
Declaring that everybody knows
about one-half of the men, both Of
ficers and enlisted men, in the camps
have never been trained with artil-
lery or machine guns" Senator Nc
Kellar asked the Secretary if he
thought ii wise to send men to
France unframed.
Secretary Baker replied that many
artillery officers were being trained
in France at a school turned over by
the French. and that it took more
time to train artillerymen han of
Ulcers.
THE plan of he Department"
the Secretary added. "is to give as
much training in this country as
possible by concentrating artillery
supplies in units likeliest to go first
TO France, but in no case for them
to be used in combot until their
training is completed on the other