The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-01-28

carly SECRETARY BAKER Saiu.
$50, the determination ultimately
was upon an attempt to call men
needed for training. 1t was deemed
wise to put men into camp to learn
camp living and essentials OF a
soldiers life, little in advance be-
fore they could be fully supplied
with arms"
Regarding Senator Chamberlaln's s
statement that rifles originally sent
TO camp were q motley collection" "
Secretary Baker said he did not OBJ
Ject to the term but that the facts
were that I'VE had about 100000
Springfield rifles and something over
100000 krags.
Even Germans Use Old Rifles.
THE German army, best prepared
in the world" he added, furnishes
an obsolete rife for practice until
men learn to take care Of a better
weapon"
Il do not mean to say" he added,
that the question was decided
infaIlibly. 1t might have been better
to have used the English Enfield
But do mean 1t say that it was
decided Conscientiously and that now
every man in this country intended
to carry a rife has one, and a rifle
of better quality than If we had
adopted the existing type at the
time.
And" he continued, although we
have sent soldiers to Europe much
more rapidly than we ever thought
we would or could, every soldier has
not only a modern rifle but has had
practice with IL. That also is true
to every soldier who will go to
Europe"
The Machine Guns.
Turning to the machine gun ques-
tion, Mr.. Baker said that up to last
April the Lewis gun had not been
satisfactorily tested with American
although widely used by
The French, no said, never
took the Lewis gun in any large num-
bers.
The board he added. referring to
the board he appointed in the fall Of
1915 to test machine guns, 'never de-
layed for one second the procure
ment of additional machine guns.
He told of the navy's test of the
Lewis gun last April with an army
officer present, and added:
"As a result of that test, an
immediate order was given to the
Savage Arms company for Lewis
guns. Large orders Of the Lewis
guns have been given. We are ad-
vised, however, by General Pershtng
that he does not desire Lewis guns
for use on land. General Pershing
and his staff desire them only for
aircraft.
I'm the meantime, said Mr.. Baker.
the French government is able to
supply us with light French guns
and heavy Hotchkiss guns for the
troops that are abroad and that will
be sent for the present.
1--WE have ordered all the Lewis
guns we could get and have encour-
aged the company to extend its plant
for increased production. 1t has not
yet begun to expand to the extent
we would like. Our army abroad is
provided with the guns 1t has elected
rs adapted to it's use, and our sup |
ply is to supplement that"
Shortage In Camps.
obviously, he said, there were not !
as many machine guns for camp |
training as was to be desired, but no |
read a table showing that on Nov. |
each camp or cantonment had been |
thirty Colt, si&ty-ave Lewis |
and forty-fve ChauChat guns and,
n addition, each regular cavalry |
regiment had been supplied with ten
lewis guns and each infantry regi-
nent with ten Chauchat.
practically all of these were
shipped before the troops were ready
or them; that is. before Nov. J."
Mr.. Baker said.
Senator Reed asked If before the
rOOps were ready for them" meant
hat the men needed preliminary
raining or before they had been
nobilized.
Secretary Baker said he believed
hat it means that the ranges had
lot been completed and also that
training was necessary.
Senator Kirby asked why Lewis
runs had been sent to the camps
when it had been decided not to use
hem with the land forces.
Secretary. Baker said it was so /
he men might learn the complicat-
d mechanisms Of as many types as /
,ossible. Ia
on the question of big guns, Sec
etary Baker recalled that General {
,rozier, chief Of ordnance, had uAg- !
d congress and the various secre- I
aries of war continuously for larger s
Programs because of the time it {
ook to make the guns. The record I
erved. he thought, to show that {
General Crozier had realized the de- {
av that must be faced and sought
0 prepare in advance. I
Quickfirers Needed. /
Reading from a letter from NJ. s
'ardieu, French high commissioner, r
ecretary Baker showed that France 7
ntered the war with more than 5000 i
ieces of heavy artillery but only r
40 uuickfirers. Great effort was
lade, M. Tardieu said, to get the i
low firing guns from the fortresses S
ito service for the field and this t
olicy proved to be a mistake as
were, needed for field v
7ork. e
An appended list of orders for p
eavy artillery placed by France, t
ne secretary said, showed that ut '
i'd not lie in the imagination of a
nv one to realize what the ordnance s.
rogram Of the war would become
OF even France, the very seat Of the IL
lnfict, with the enemy at her s.
lrOat." Il
'.There are now in the United n
tates sixteen national army camps Il
nd sixteen national guard camps t
thirty two divisions of troops) fill b
/ with men ready to 60" said Sec
stary Baker. -
" I do not know how fast it may Il
necessary to send them to 81
rance" he said. Il know how fast Il
e have sent them and how fast
q plan to send them. What we =
led to do was to get the men out
! RAPIDLY as we could estimate on "
le production capacity Of the coun-
v being able to care for them"