New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-02-01

little prospect that even the Who'll,
of this army can be landed in Franc,
this year. They lack a full equipment
OF rifles, of machine guns; and VIZ
lack ships. The war may be lost be.
lore we a strike an effective blow
We have laid down a huge ship
building programme. and even the
skeleton of the first ship to be fab
|ricated under this programme is not
yet complete. Our railway system is
greater than that of all Europe, and
it cannot get immediate materials to
the shipyards. And the yards have
not the labor 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 Ger
many and Britain combined, and near
to half this capacity is now idle for
lack Of coal. And the largest corn
crop in our history is threatened
with rot for lack of cars.
Strikes Without Parallel
Organized labor has proclaimed its
loyalty from the %housetops, and the
number of strikes, and of men in
volved since last April 6 has been
unexampled in our history. 1t is a
disappointing and un-Amerisan pic
ture-a nation of a hundred million
baffled and impotent.
1t is given to no man to possess
every variety of talent. President
Wilson may come to rank as one of
the nations greatest statesmen. No
'ood American withholds the full
need Of his praise. 1t is no de-
traction to say that neither his
temperament nor his experience has
been in the direction of business or
ganization and the effective handling
of the types of men who have built up
our industry and trad. His lifelong as
sociations have been in the shelter
ed paths of academic life, which in
many minds breeds a deep antipathy
md suspicion toward the business
md executive type of which we
speak. How far the President has
shared this distrust it is idle to con-
slider. He has had many harsh
Kings to say of Big Business"
Nor is there any need to speak here
of his seeming aloofness, nor the
fact that he is regarded in Washing
ton as the most inaccessible Presi-
who ever entered the White
House; o his apparent disinclina-
ton to gather around him and work
with men of strong and aggressive
Cabinet Wofully Inadequate
1t is no endeavor to discredit the
Administration to say that such men
are lacking now. We have a Cabinet
was not distinguished even for
peace times, and now wofully made
luate for the business of war. The
vital problem in this hour of need
S how to bridge this situation and
,ring the splendid talents of the ,
into contact with and col .
operation with the finest organizing !
md executive minds on the business :
industrial side that this country y
AN now produce. !
There is now before Congress a .
ill looking to this end. 1t is not a :.
ARTISAN measure. 1t has been franz :.
ID and is backed by conservative !.
Senators not hostile to |
he Administration. We believe it
will have the undivided support of +
WY WSI IulOI IIICu american Ill L
ouch with and cognizant of the ex- y
sting situation, whether Democrat =
n Republican. c
Council Indispensable g
This measure gives over the con- /,
roll and direction of the material :
ide of the war, the business of plan
ing and engineering, the getting of :,
n army and a tremendous store of 9
pod and munitions and aeroplanes {,
the Atlantic and into action. 81
t is not an innovation. To such II |.
war council England and France n
ave been driven by the same bitter g
experience we are now having. 1t G
identically such a board as Ger 81
lany created, not ten months or two &c
ears after the wal began, but long
=,
By its terms Secretary Baker and al
ecretary Daniels would be exclud- Ct
/ from membership in this council, p,'
nd with a wisdom which, we think, II
eeds no insistence. 1t is not the W
aker or the Daniels type, however &c
these types may be in other l.,
mes or under other conditions, Of III
hich this nation now stands in such
tai need. We do not want, for the
lccessful conduc, of the war, politi- 20