The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1919-03-04
KANSAS AND CASUALTIES

ed lie about it, If it had not, the reports
such as the report of Gov. Allen of Kan
sas, would not be so astonishing nor so
horrifying.
Until November the public conception
of the army allowed no criticism of any
thing to do with the army. The admins
tration did not permit any impression of
waste or inefficiency to go abroad. 1t
dared not The administration had been
luke-warm about preparedness. 1t had
tolerated Hay as chairman of the COM
mittee on military affairs in the house, as
it now tolerates Dent. 1t had tolerated
Daniels reluctance in the matter of naval
construction already authorized and
showed no enthusiasm about authorizing
new construction for the navy The adj
ministration forces could not be critical
of any Of the results of unpreparedness
because they had been guilty of unpre-
paredness. They had to be enthusiastic
and they were.
They used Mr.. Creetand his writers to
make the senators and congressman, and
also the ordinary citizen, believe that our
army was equal to the French in train
ing, in the education Of its officers, and
even in equipment That is why reports
like the Allen report get two columns in
the newspapers instead of two sticks We
believed that the army->Yas perfect
army; our congress believed that 1t was
great army and fighting army, but
not well equipped, well organized, or
perfectly trained amy.
Gov. Allen says that our artillery shot
up our own troops. He says there were
not enough hand grenades and not en-
ough trench mortars. He says the Kansas
infantry was killed because of inefficien-
cy in the army.
Artillerymen will not deny that upon
occasion infantry was shot up by our own
artillery. Circumstances beyond the con-
troll of the army compelled the American
divisions to engage before the infantry
and artillery had learned to work togeth-
err. Even in the regular army before the
war there had been no maneuvers, and
military precision such as is required in
modern war cannot be improvised. Am
erican generals and general staffs were
called upon to direct divisions, army
corps, composed of six divisions, and ev-
en- armies of several corps, although none
of them, thanks to our pacifists, had ever
seen, to say nothing of having maneuver-
ed, division before. For their inexpaS-
fence American soldiers had to die. AM
erican pacifists did not die. American
soldiers had to face hardships and accept
battle losses which the well prepared
French troops were spared.
The censorship, we repeat, created an
erroneous impression about the army
which was glorious in spite of It's hasty
and hit-or-miss assembly. 1t is that erro-
neous impression which gives Gov Aliens
report the effect of scandal.
The scandal-and there was scandal
originated not in Gov. Aliens report,
but on conditions ancient when the Kan
sas troops were modified.
But if French soil could give up the
dead, they would not point fingers at the
army. They would not point fingers at
the artillery. They would say ''The army
was not at fault. 1t is blamed for the
faults of an administration and the con
gress which did not prepare. 1t is blamed
| for these faults because an administra
ton censorship created lie about it. We
fought. But they who sat at the desks il
Washington would not accept response
bility for our deaths, although we were
not prepared. We were the fighting spir
! it of America, but we were misled. AnC
America has been misled about u.s."
The most terrible injustice to the Am
erican army and the American fighting
spirit was the censorship which created ;
lie about it, and the policy which would
not create the army until it had to fight
Chicago Tribune.