New-York tribune., 1919-12-01
Baker Would Use Army
To School Nations Bows

armies of France, Great Britain and
Italy had borne for three years the
| furious and deadly assaults Of the
great German military machine, the
toll levied by battle upon the man
power of these nations had been ap-
palling, and it was becoming increas-
ingly difficult for them to maintain
their divisions at full strength The
submarine peril menaced the supply
Of munitions of war and of foodstuifs
to great civil populations.
"Meanwhile the German armies had
crushed long planned offcnsives by the
Allied armies with apparent ease, and
by the collapse of Russia were daily
being strengthened by divisions of
| trained soldiers brought from the East
crn front until the menace Of superior
numbers and apparently inexhaustible
supplies of the munitions of war
haunted the councils of the Allied
powers.
"But those who visited General
Pershing's headquarters during the
there was resolution and clear
sighted knowledge of the size of the
task. 1t would have been idle to plan
for small American. army. On the
other hand, it required imagination
and daring to plan for a large one
to take a million American men to
France, separate them from home by
5000 miles of ocean, and subject them
to the hazard of tbs uncertain and
diminishing food SUPPLIES of Europe.
And there still remained the further
overcome, could they be overcome in
time?
General Pershing and his associates
gave no room to doubt and accented
no counsel except that of determina-
tion. When the critical hour came an /
the combined energies of the United
States and Great Britain did surpass
all previous estimates and land
100000 men in France, the arrange
ments made for their reception and for
their maintenance were found ade-
quate; and had the war gone on and
the eighty division program been
carried out, the imagination and dar
ing of these early plans would still
have been adequate.
at is Wonderful story and ex-
hibits at it's best the confidence in
their institutions which Americans
may justly have"
Mr. Baker opposes creation of de-
partment of the air because of the
cessitating Federal regulation" as
well as because of military considera-
tions. 1t would be just as fatal TO
separate forces from the army, he
maintained.
Praises General March
Since June 80, 1918. the report
shows, it has been found necessary to
use Federal troops on sixteen separate
occasions to preserve law and order.
The incidents listed range from In
dustrial Workers of the World
activities in Arizona to recent move
ments in the coal fields. Mr.. Baker
concludes his report with an apprccia
ton of the services of General Peyton
c. March, chief of staff.
Il would be wanting" he said, "were
| to fail to refer to the broad imagina-
tion, the unrcmitting energy, the firm
ness Of purpose with which he has
pressed forward the program. Without
his strength and vision much that was
done could not have been done AS it
is, l can only record the successful
conclusion of the great war, the splen-
did efficiency of Americas participA-
ton, and an enlightened treatment e
postwar problems which has gone far
to restore the industry and commerce
of the country and to close up our
financial and business relations in an
harmonious ard satisfactory way"