The Nenana daily news., 1919-01-03
ANNUAL REPORT
 0F WAR OFFICE
Continued from Page D


 greater transportation difficulties of the Aemrican project.
 Recapitulating the total American casualties, 236,108 men as already announced, MT. Baker said the deaths due to battle alone were 36,000 and that half of the wounded reported probably suffered slight injury" He adds that Federal bat tie fatalities in the Civil War total led 10000; Japan lost 5000 men in the Russo-Japanese war; and Ger many lost 28,6OO in the Franco 1 Prussian war.
 ! Speaking of the selective service Mir. Baker makes this observation, without discussing the question of universal military training, soon to arise:
 i At that time (when his preced- ing annual report was issued) there was ample evidence that the select i've draft was swift, effective and just means of securing the mili- tary strength necessary for the con- duet of a great war The expe- rience of the past year has strongly re-enforced that conviction"
 Discussing the extensive engineer ing undertakings in France, the need for which has ended with the signing of the armistice, Mir. Baker gives this hint at the policy the government is pursuing.
 Steps have been taken to reduce orders and cancel contracts for such items as will not be needed in France. In this connection, how ever, care is being taken to assure ourselves that we are not depriving France of material which she so urgently needs to replace that worn out during her terrific self-denials of the past four years. We can not refuse to render all the assistance possible in the reconstruction of that heroic nation"
 Under the heading of Fighting equipment for the army" Mir. Baker gives a summary of what was ac- complished in providing ordnance for the army. When the armistice was signed 30,8S1 complete units had been contracted for. On Nov emberl, 10,634 had been delivered, divided as follows: Trench 5000; light (field guns) 3,85O; medium, l,O70; heavy, 695; railway, l9. The contracts were divided as follows: Trench 11,7OO; light, 1O,113; me- dium, 5,3S5; heavy, 3,472; railway .211.
 As to rifles, MT. Baker shows that 2,137,025 of the modified Enfields had been accepted prior to Novem- Der 1. Browning machine gun pro- duction is given as follows: Light, 47.019; heavy, 39,546. The follow ing cablegram is quoted to show the performance of the Browning guns in action:
 Experience of Seventy Ninth Division in offensive operations, September 25 to October 2l, Brown ing machine guns Thirteen ma chine-gun companies engaged, weath CT conditions continuous rain and mud. :. There was not one in- stance where the guns failed to operate due to muddy and wet belts. On the whole it may be said that the performance of the Browning machine gun and automatic rifle in active operation has been so satis- factory as to create an insistent demand for these weapons from ma chine-gun units and from division commanders.
 MT. Baker gives much space to the aircraft problem, including the production figures published from time to time in the past. He shows that 3,189 Dehaviland, and 1O1 | Handley-P Page machines were pro- duced in this country and 1,9OO planes had been shipped to France before the armistice was signed On the other side, 2,676 planes of | coy,xyico fupoc haI haap ,orox,;JoJ fox