The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1918-05-31
WHY APOLOGIZE

The following is an editorial from
the Tiraes-Star:
Too many Americans are fearful over
our efforts in the war;
They bewail the failure" OF tho air.
plane program. the shipping program,
etc, etc They say that the United
states should have had five million
men in France before now.
II is easy enough to talk OF an army
OF five million or seven million or even
ten million American soldiers in France
But the War Department cannot wish
these men over; 1t must send them
across in ships and afterward provide
them with food, munitions, etc. in the
same way. In maintaining an Ameri-
/ can army of five million men in France
/ the constant service OF twenty million
/ tons of merchant shipping would be
required. And twenty million tons is
about two-thirds OF the total merchant
tonnage afloat in all the oceans in the
world before the war. We may have
that much tonnage left over after fill
| ing the essential requirements OF our
allies In the way of food transportation.
i etc, two or three years from now
| but 1t is unreasonable to blame oursel-
YES or our Government for not being
able to provide so huge a tonnage on a
moments notice.
OF course we have made failures in
our war prepars .oas There have
been waste, confusion and inefficiency-
How could 1t have been otherwise In
the case OF a people who for half CEN
fury had fostered the delusion that
million farmers, ready TO rush into bat
tie with shotguns in their hands. were
quite enough for a country Ike this
in a period when other nations werf
i spending much tirle and great sums OF
money in the careful training Of mod
ern armies and their equipment with
artillery and machine guns?
on the first of April, 1917, we were
still almost wholly a pacifist nation
We had little liking for our under
standing OF war. And then. In mo-
nent. we found ourselves in the most
gigantic conflict of history
Representative Caldwell. a member
Of the Committee on Military Affairs
made an interesting statement in the
| House on Wednesday relative to the
present size of our army. He stated
the well known fact that we now have
more than half million men in Framed
! and that there are a million more
ready to be shipped as soon as ships
: are ready to carry them
II america" said Mr. Caldwell, "ha,
| raised and equipped a bigger army II
shorter time, and now holds CREATE
D section Of the fighting front. transport
: ling her forces 1000 miles across an in
e tested sea than England was caparl
: OF doing across the English Channel
q less than 80 miles. We began with les
Z went further and arrived with NOR
: In shorter time, yet their motives va
necessity, and ours only desire"
No right minded American denic
n England credit for the splendid an
: tremendous military effort she Ia
l. made in this war But admiration 10
Il our Allies should not blind US to IN
L real ACCOMPLISHMENTS of cur own coun
d try.
nj Germany, with her years OF prepa
ration and her mania for war. ma
five and a half million men under arm
I The American army Is over two mil
r. lion strong today; # will be three mil
y lions at the end OF 1918 and four nil
II lion one year from now Why apo.o
: gize.
d The army which we now have
l. France is larger than any other arm
which has ever been maintained at
distance Of three thousand miles b
j. sea from its base. The British had
IT fairly large army in South Africa dun
N ing the Boer war. 1t was smalle
ID however. than the present America
n force in France: it had no U-boats
l. contend with: and the marine tonnae
of the whole world was. directly or IN
directly, available for its service
II is probable that by the early sum
mer Of 1919 there will be an Amer
" can army Of two million men in Franc
II that is the case the presence or
n many Of our men on the other SD
of the Atlantic win represent a mill
IN tary effort beside which the sending Z
the first German army into France
to 1914 was child's play.
For all of our ships and all OF OF
mistakes we are driving ahead IN u
I'D development of great military powe
So far from being apolegetic for Il
: record OF their country during the pa
fourteen months. Americans shonld I
in proud of what they are doing and VIII
they are TO do in the months TO com