New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-06-01
War Productions,
Then and Now

Then and Now
In all of the early wars of the
world, in fact, until very recent
times, it was generally possible for
armies engaged in conflict to find
means Of subsistence in the countries
through which they were operating.
That was true from the time that
Joshua overcame the enemies Of
Israel until Sherman made his great
march to the sea. In modern war
fare that is no longer possible. 1t
has been variously estimated, and it
is only an estimate because no one
has made a scientific survey to de-
termine the facts, that it requires
anywhere from six to ten workers
in the rear to maintain one soldier
in the trenches. Because Of that
labor became very important fac
tor in all of our war activities. 1t
became necessary for US to take men
and women from industries that
were not considered essential and
place them in industries that were
considered imperative for the con-
duct of the war, for the production
of material necessary for our armies.
With the signing of the armistice
it became our task to take those
workers who had been moved from
non-essential industries into essen
tial industries and bring them back
into their normal peace-time work !;
and that, in general way, has come
to be spoken of as reconstruction.
The term Reconstruction" as ap-
piled to postwar activities we get
from Great Britain. AS early as
1916 the British War Ministry be-
lieved that they had a reconstruct
ton question confronting them and
they appointed committee to in
vestigate the subject matter and re-
port on solution of the prospective
problem. But in a report made by
the War Cabinet last year they very
frankly admitted that there were
so many phases of the situation that
could not be determined until after
peace had been signed that it was
impossible for them to develop any
working programme of reconstruct
ton until that time. But Great Brit
ain has entirely different conditions
to deal with from the situation
confronting us, and she means
something different and something
broader when she uses the term
Reconstruction" than we have had
in our minds in dealing with the
same problem. The British people
from the beginning of the develop
ment Of the modern factory system
have had to depend to a very great
extent upon access to raw materials
for their factories. They have not
had within the limits of their own
country the things needed to supply
the factory system of Great Britain
and they have had to go out to the
colonies and to other countries ia
get their raw materials. That is
not the case with US. Nearly all
: the raw material we need in our in
dustrial system is available in our
own territory, and some of those
that were not available at the begin.
ming Of the war we have developed
methods of producing since the war
began. The matter of raw material
therefore, is not one Of our problems
,. Of reconstruction. With Great Brit
ain very large proportion of the
products of her factories has had tt
find market abroad. She has beer
interested in her foreign trade ane
her foreign commerce, because for
elgn commerce is essential to the
continuance Of her industries. With
1 US only small proportion of our to
3 tai product has been sent abroad ant
, in the natural order Of things al
4 they exist among us we can onl,
: spare a small proportion Of tina
> which we produce for foreign ship
. ment. Whatever access to foreign
markets may be necessary for tn,
9 welfare of our industries we hat
already taken steps to provide befor,
e we engaged in the war.
= The first thing needed in develop
I ing a foreign trade is to find on
= where the trade is 10 be had, an,
1 we had organized recently, blu
prior to our engaging in the war, ,
, system of commercial attaches t.
our embassies, legations and consul
! ates whose duty it was, and is, II
, locate the opportunities for foreign
business and report the same t.