Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-02-04
KANSAS GOVERNOR
CENSUREs BAKER
FOR FAILURE To
SPE Ak T RANkEY
Says Enormous Casualties in
Thirty-fifth Division Were
Due Largely to Lack of Air
planes and Artillery Support,
WAR DEPARTMENT IS
BEF0GGlNG PUBLIC
Total Losses of Force, Largely
From Sunflower State, More
Than 1000 Men, Nearly All
in Single Battle.

Topeka Kan. Feb. Sin a state
ment issued tonight commenting on
the figures given out by General
March, chief of staff. Saturday, re-
garding major casualties, Governor
Allen charged that the war depart
ment is "evasive and vague" He
also charged that the war depart
ment knew when it issued the state
ment that uniformed people would
confound this with a full statement
of the casualties
The war department says the
statement, would have us forget the
thousands of manned and crippled,
few of whom are now coming home
but many of whom are suffering in
the hospitals of France.
1t has attempted to- divert atten-
ton from the real situation by call
ing attention to the fact that the dead
and missing in the 35th division are
only 1,T3S' and that this division suf-
fered less than some other divisions.
Why was it not frank in saying that
this division lost practically all of
these 1,133 in one engagement, while
other divisions with which ii com
pares the 35th were in several heavy
engagements? Why did the depagt-
ment neglect to mention that with
these 1.733, more than five thousand
wounded were in the casualty list of
the 35th division 2
Blamcs War Department.
Governor Allen again charged that
the losses were due TO lack of aerial
protection, shoWage of transporta-
tion and other inadequacies of ma
chinery,
IAN citizens of the country realize
that heavy casualties were inevitable
and the report which is gradually be-
ing uncovered reveals the fact that
our gloomiest expectations were more
than realized" the governor says in
conclusion. II believe that thousands
of men were lost because there was
lack of protection in the air, short
age of transportation which would
have made effective artillery support
possible at all stages of the battle,
and other inadequacies of machinery
which sent the American army into
that gloomy forest fighting the best
equipped army in the world, with lit
tie except infantry arms.
Why Withhold Truth?
These facts are well known at
Washington and are well known to
anu lHtH WHO are tDitllilS
home. There is no reason for any
controversy over facts. The country
is entitled to the truth, Why does
the war department withhold it?
The governor in his statement re-
fefred to the report of the division
officer in charge of the triage of the
35th division, stating that it revealed
that 6, sol wounded men passed
through his triage, nearly 5000 of
whom were from the 35th division.
This officer. the statement says, says
the transportation was so limited that
without waiting for ambulances,
trucks belonging to other divisions
and to the French were used to send
wounded men of the 35th division
straight through from the advance
dressing stations to the evacuation
hospitals without passing through
the 35th division triage. This report,
the statement further says, discloses
that the Unexpectedly heavy rush of
casualties made it necessary for men
to lie upon the ground in the mud
without litters or blankets and that
the unexpected shortage of transport
tation made it impossible to triage
all the men, hence the report of near
ly 5000 does not include them ALL