Newspapers / Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.) / March 1, 1917, edition 1 / Page 1
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I .7. . .a .."Li - . VOL. XXVIII. IJOONE WATAUGA COUiNTY, THURSDAY MARCH 1, 1917. NO. 23. ILL PREPARED 10 SUPPLY ARMY United States Ready as Never Before to Make War Materials. SHOWN BY EXPORT FIGURES Plant Created by Demand From Abroad Now Capable of Turning Out Vast Quantities of Munitiona. The United States la equipped In private Industry as never before for the furnishing to the arniy nnd nnvy of almost everything thut nitwit he needed In time of wnr. In certain fin ishing processes, notably with refer ence to alrplunes, the resources of tills country are still far behind those of (Jreat Britain and France, but the gap ls being lessened gradually, i The data regarding the, exports of the United States durln the past year, ls Issued by the department of com merce, give a comprehensive Idea of the vast resources of the United States. The significant part of tltese figures, laslde from their overwhelming size, Is jthat the exports ore obviously our out Iput In excess of our domestic con sumption requirements. Thus It Is more or less interesting ito know that whereas in 1914 we sold boots and shoes worth $1S,000,OOO, In 1016 we Bent, uialnly to lOurope, $17, 000,000 worth. It Is even more tnter lestlng, from the viewpoint of Indus It rial preparedness, to know that In 0018 we sold abroad footwear for !,- r 0,000 pairs of feet. But we are prepared for the turning out of Titles and hand grenades as well. jThe federal government arsenals are Octnnlly negligible when the resources k)f the private munition plants are tuk jen Into consideration. Filling Huge Arms Contracts. A merger was effect isl of the old Ilemlngtoii Arms company anil the United Metallic Cartridge company, the consolidation carrying through the ompletlon the construction of the vast jilant at Bridgeport, vMiich alone Is iable to put out more si nail arms than tformerly all the AuierWnn plants com bined could niuka. It l now workiug ion a $0,000,000 contract for Itussia. The bu Pont Powdi.'r company, en larged Its plants In Wilmington, Del., ii ml at Haskell, Wuyiie and l'omplon Lake, near Patterson, N'. J. It took n little plaut south of the Potomac, which had been employing 2."0 men, land transformed it Into a n Industrial (City with HO.OUO on the piy roll. At New Brllaiu, Conn., the Aincri lean Hardware company's plant, which liad been turning out household and hop utensils and fixtures, suddenly opened au Important side line of spe cial parts in military equipment. The l"slde line" has become the doii.'Jiuiiit (part of the business. The Westinghnuse coinpimy enqfloys ,000 In Its Springfield and Chicopce factories In the mnnufuctnre of snill janns alone. More Submarines Being. Built. ' The Lake Torpedo Ituut company llias grown so swiftly under Its Euro lieau contracts that It Is uuw building fceven submarines fur the U nited States bavy. Tlie Submarine lip ut enrpora tion, successor to the old HI I'drle Boat (company, Is on important addition to jthe shipyards. I There has been no d evelopiiient (more thrilling than that of the Bethle hem Steel company, which now has u Icapaclty far greater than 'font of the (Krupps works at Essen, hi tticrto, the great ordnance factories of tine world. The department of cotnin nve has Is sued Its detailed figures ot iiy through eleven mouths of 1010. In cwcnparlsou jwith 1914, they show un tinaost In credible advance in our ejs.pww output kf munitions. Here are tuiuie of the more striking advauces: Firearms Explosives Copper Brass iAclds Bteel bars (billets). lAlrplanes lAutomobllei Wire ,.$ la 3,ono $a.4(S,ono ,. 1.1 i7,000 M.33.flli0 .. HO,' itS.OuO 2ttB.4fi4,0.W .. i 82I.M0 . 42.OM.0iw .. ' 6 4:iT.0 12i.r,7.00 .. 23 H.4ai,W) IM'i.M 4D,4ai,(Wt Ready to Suppt; Own Needs. Tha flpiirpa nra nfrtwutlva of what , " " - J J Rina tnkon nlnrv.. fi n nilxir Industries which could nt e so closely Wen lifted with theiitf al movement of the XUC AML't L11UI i. tinnv rollurn v yo.r. i.lmvn hnpii Klllltlied ' j -vain "(Hw abroad hod, 'for e rumple, no distant relation ; that cot to n manufacturers nearly trebled timi 1 vool nianufaetur- era quadrupled, tho it leather far more than doubled, that sta el manufactures as a whole roso fi m $184,000,000 to pm.000,000 all tb eseshow what the kar has done to i tut ft'ds country In la position to sup ply it s own needs should they arise. ' Foley kii mv?m Arizona Mightiest of All Fighting Vessels. The Arizona, the newest addi tion to the Uulted States battle ship division, not only Is the big gest of Uncle Sam's- sea fighters, but no other naval power has a fighting vessel that can reach It In si7.e. It Is larger by 200 tons that the Pennsylvania, the flagship of Admiral Mayo, of which It is a sister .si 1 1 p. 11 will be a damaging foe for an enemy to meet. Its twelve 14 ineh guns lire u broadside of 20, 000 pounds of steel, which can be directed accurately at u mark 15 miles distant. The broadside is 0,000 pounds more tbau the combined broadsides of the Kan sas, Vermont and New Hamp shire, ships that have been placed in the reserve fleet. The displacement of I he Ari zona Is :t1,(il)0 tons. It Is pro pelled by oil-burning engines, which drive It ot a speed uveragL iiig 20 knots an hour. WAITS IN SILENT GRIEF FOR NEWS OF LOVED ONES Plight of Bereaved Englishman in New York Brings Home to Watchers Tragedy of New Warfare. New York. It took the silent grief of John M. Little, Hiiglishmnn, to bring keenly homo to the officials and clerks of the Anchor line olhces the loss of the California, one of Hie liners sunk as a result of (jcrmuny's new subma rine campaign. Modestly, almost dlflidcntly, Little, a spare, slight man, asked for news of his wife and four children, steerage passengers. The latest cable, he was told, reported his wife and one child missing the others had been saved. "But the wife and baby." be pleaded. "Can't you give me n word of hope?" No one dared reply. Tears welled from Little's eyes and rolled unre strainedly down his cheeks. The hus tling activity stopped and heads were bowed. Straightening himself with an effort Little squared his shoulders niid walked away, the tears still stream ing down his face. Not a word was uttered as the work of the busy ollico was resumed. 'V MARKSMEN ACCURATE terlcan Gunners Never Showed aa Great Proficiency as They Hava in Recent Trials. Data made public recently by the nnvy department show that at no oili er time In Its history has the marks manslilp of Hie United States navy been so good as It Is at present. The new superdreadnauglit Nevada gave an example of the general shooting clll clency of the Atlantic licet. In recent target practice this ship lired W5 shots from her 14-inch guns, and the target, at varying ranges, was smashed 'l.'l times, a record that Is believed to equal, if not surpass, any record with similar guns in any other navy. The following table shows at n glance what the gunners of the Atlan tic licet did with the big guns in the recent target practice: 14-1NCII-4S-CAL1BKR. p. r. ot Vessel. Blmts. Hltfl. lilts Nevada 6fi 43 7ii. New York (HI 41 tW.i (ininluiina. Gil itti lit.: Pennsylvania Mi !W 4-! Texas 6! 48 81.1 12-INCH-fiil-CAMBEU. Arkansas lITi 44 67.1 Wyoming 72 00 KU 12-INCH-45-CAUBER. Pelnware r. 45 V.: Florida DS 51 !3.l K:nnun 21 Vi !..' MichlKiin 4(1 22 i.( Minnexiitii 23 It m.! New Hnmpsblro 23 17 73.! South Carolina 4(i 3S S2.( Utah BH M Ml.; Vermont 21 12 67.1 8-IKriI-Cj-CAI.mER. Kannns 4S 37 77.1 Minnesota 44 2S 3.f New Hampshire 4K 2 ).( Vermont 44 28 63.t 7-INCH-4!i-CAUBER. Kansns 75 30 48.C Minnesota 89 41 40.1 New Hampshire 83 CO 72.3 Vermont W 39 4i.i 6-INCH-GO-CAUBEP.. Arkansas lfit 94 68.4 Delaware Ill 6( WVS Florida 1?4 70 MS Nevada 168 86 64.4 New York 18 130 77.4 Oklahoma 1 98 6S.J Pennsylvania 174 119 B8.4 Texas 187 10 63.fi Utah 115 6" 48.J Wyoming nil 9 68.5 v - Industrial Canvass Complete. Both the war nnd nnvy departments Imvo nvollnble the report of the com mittee on national defense, hended by Herbert Coffin, which made o thorough canvass of the Industrial facilities of tho country with n view to their utiliza tion and mobilization In time of wnr. It became known only recently that the government was making a careful In ventory of munition-making ruuchlnery In the hands of manufacturers through out the country. Whether this report has been completed at this time cannot t e said, . i TYPE OF BIG GUNS One of the great disappearing guns at Sandy Hook, which form part of the defenses at the entrance to the port of New York. The picture shows the gun just before being raised and fired. MILITARY SCHOOLS TO GIVEOFFICERS Many Cadets In Private Institu tions Available for War. CIVILIAN AID IS IMPORTANT Engineering, Signal and Aviation Corps of United States Army Could Be Quickly Recruited in Emergency. By KENNETH MACDOUGALL. New York In the event of the call ing out of militia and volunteer troops, there are iiiiiiiJ cadets In the various private military Institution!) in the United Slates who could speedily lie iiiihIp available for second lieutenan cies and some higher ranks in the vol unteer forces. One of the most prominent Institu tions In the country from a military Htandpolni Is Norwich university, at Norwich, Vt., which has graduated nu merous men Into the army as second lieutenants. The graduating class Is between eighty ami one hundred and twenty men every year, and the in stitution has kept fairly g I track of Its available suns after they have left college. At a conservative estimate, Norwich could furnish a thousand men who have passed tin examination re quired as entrance to the regular army OS second lieutenant of Infantry, live hundred secoud lieutenants of cavalry and about three hundred artillery sec ond lieutenants. Many of the men have kept well In formed in military matters, while oth ers, of course, would need considera ble brushing lit modern tactics. Norwich has maintained the same standards of study and execution of military drill that the cadets at West I'olnt are held to, and fully a sixth of Its gradual ing classes have followed on oriny career. In training, the graduates nre prob ably superior In knowledge and exec utive ability to two-thirds of the ml-! 1 1 1 Id captains and some majors In the National Guard. They have served under military of ficers of the highest type for a four year course, and duriug that lime have had to work hard and faithfully In or der to graduate. 7,000 Men Available. A like condition is true of perhaps twenly-tive other prlvnto military Rcliools in the United States designated by the war department ns "distin guished institutions." These schools could bring to the colors, about 7,(MK) fully or partially-trained lieutenants. Hesides these there are some ten thou sand college men who have attended training camps like Maltsburg, and who In a short time could be whipped Into good enough shape to take com maud of volunteer infantry. The Culver school at Culver, Ind., Is perhaps a close second to Norwich uni versity as regards cavalry materlul. The showing made by Culver boys while stationed on the border In tho recent mobilization attracted wide spread attention among army men. The Engineering corps of the regu lar array could be reudily recruited In officers and men from the civil popu lation engaged In similar pursuits as a dally occupation. The supremacy of concreto construction In this country would indicate there would be no troo- ble In securing enough capable engi neers and non-commissioned officers tot erect or construct necessary guu em plucemeuts and additional defenses. The European war has shown that it does not take long to Instruct mili tary aerial observers and these could be trained lu a short time. Transport Difficulties Small. As for transport and quartermaster corps there would be little or no dilli culty in finding plenty of business men ,who Jvoudh cupuble of handling THAT GUARD NEW YORK these branches of service in lilting manner. The system of supply and transportation might be slow at llrst, but wheu one is acquainted with (lie fact that in New York state alone there are :ilO,4.r)7 automobiles, fully half of which could be unlisted us light or heavy transport trucks, and the re inaluiler converted Into cars for olll cers and for courier service, It will lie understood Hint there nre no very great obstacles in the way of supply trains. Kailroiid transportation on account of the length of our coust line would present some dllliciilties at llrst, but without doubt could he remedied with great speed. The mohlllzutiou of the manufactur ing industries of the nation has already been worked out by (be authorities at Washington. Of meu we have plenty. Materials in the crude state we have KUlllelent, but rllles, heavy artillery and aininu nitloi) enough, let alone uniforms, blankets, equipment, medical supplies, etc., are a (IllVerent story. The lted Cross has plenty f nurses to put on tin! Held for die first line hospitals. Ambulance corps such as were formed in France could he quick ly put Into commission mid would un doubtedly do good scrvhv. The ml I i I iik of the country is prob ably In better sliupe from a military standpoint than it ever was in the his tory of its organization. If enough regular army ollicejs were available to distribute among the various com mands,' It would ho a fairly ellicient lighting force. Unfortunately (here are many ollicers in the militia of tho country who have no rinlil from mili tary or menial qtialillcatioiis to wear shoulder straps. American Legion Intact. The American I.ckIoii, while olllclal ly disbanded, is still intact. On the books of (he orgaiiiKatiou, which have been preserved, are the names of some lS.IHiil men who have seen active serv ice In various parts of the world, ei ther as ollicers or enlisted men. Cata logued under proper headings are about :i.'l,IKKI men or boys who are experts at some trade necessary to the army. There are telegraph operators, miners, high explosive men, railroad engineers, civil engineers, ammnuilloii makers, dniiiglilsmeii, wagon makers, automo bile mechanics and drivers, cowboys, hotel stewards, men in all branches of life suitable for the commissary de partments, electricians, etc. This list should be of decided value to the war department. These are but few of the ways, mnn licrs, men and materials which can lie. called Into play if the country Muds It necessary. la conclusion, I would call attention to the Hoy Scouts of America, who could help In the event of war in any number of ways, and who, I am sure, would rise to the emergency In the name plucky manner as their little brother scouts have done in every coun try lu Europe. That the women of America would shoulder their share of the burden, no true American for a minute doubts; they hnve done It in the past and can do It In the future. To mobilize all the industries, men, organizations, etc., would of course re quire more time than It has lu tin countries of Europe, but It would be done. The American people have a habit of taking a lot for granted, but when an emergency arise s they gen erally ure able to meet IL Banks Are Prepared. "There Is no reason to expect any crisis in our own affairs," declared Frank A. Yanderllp, president of the National City bank of New York, in discussing the possibility of war. The money market is lu the best possible shape. We could not have been better prepared for such au emergency than we are at the present time. We have every reason to feel easy. The banks are prepared to absorb the pressed $3W).KiO,UUU government treasury note Issue without a muiulur, and more If needed. PLAN MOBILIZATION OF CIVILIAN ARMY War College Heads Prepare for Handling of Great Vol unteer Force. RAPID TRAINING PROPOSED Special Attention Given to Selection of Officers Qualified by Experi ence to Lead Men Properly. Washington. The war college dl vision of the general slalf of the Unit ed States army has complete plans prepared for the mobilization of a cltl zens' lirmy. These plans were com plclcd some time ago in anticipation of the time when Hie United Slates might lie called upon to enter Into hostilities against a lirsl-class power. These plans were basedi it Is said, up on the possibility that the llrst call for volunteers might be for -1.1KHMHW men. The war college recently pre pared an ollicliil paper dealing Willi the raising of a volunteer army. "Under existing laws and under con temporaneous conditions therewith," says the war college, "It has hereto fore been assumed that in the event of a war with a llrst-class power the United Stales would require not less than half a million of men for the llrst line, behind which could be prepared the greater army of cltlr.cn soldiers upon whom our main reliance for na tional defense Is conditionally placed." Subject to President's Call. The orgaiilxnllon of volunteer armies can only be undertaken follow ing the presidential proclamation stating the number needed, and on this subject the war college says: "Volunteer forces may be raised, or ganized and maintained only during the existence or Imminence of war, and only alter congress shall have au thorized (he president to raise such forces. Congress could, however, by legislative enactment, authorize the president lu wise such forces in time of peace. "When so authorized, the president will issue Ids proclamation, stating the number of men desired for each arm, corps, or department, within such lim its as may be lixed by law. It Is prob able thai tlie proclamation will also re cite the causes that make the call necessary ami will state that I he en listed men shall be taken, as far as practicable, from the several stales, territories ami IHslrict of Columbia lu proportion to ibe respective popula tions I hereof, "Following the cull of the president for volunteers, tlie secretary of war liotilics the governors, etc., as In a call for militia, iiit'ormiug them of Hie quo ta for lliclr respective slates, the exist ing inililia orgiinizatlons that will be received into Hie volunteers, tlie new organizations that it is desired to raise, and (lie maximum and minimum strength of organizations." All terms of iiilislniciils, It Is point ed out. "will be Hie same as that for the regular army, exclusive of reserve periods," and no person can be en listed for the volunteer forces "who Is not effective ami able-bodied," mid who Is not within the ages stipulated for that service under the law as It exists at Hie time of (lie president's rail. Neither can any man be en listed wlio does not speak the English language, while persons under eight een years of age can be accepted only with Hie signed approval ami consent of the parent or guardian of that per son. Recruiting, Rendezvous and, Depots. The war college continues: "Willi a view to recruiting and main taining nil organizations of the laud forces as near their prescribed slreinjlh as practicable, the necessary rendezvous and depots will be estab lished by the secrelary of war and will be directly conl rolled by him. Here the recruits will be enlisted and trained. For the purposes of Instruc tion und discipline, the troops at the recruit depots may be organized Into companies and battalions, at the dis cretion of the secretary ot war. The noncommissioned ollicers and privates will be of such grades and numbers as the president may prescribe, "It Is apparent that the recruits at tlie rendezvous and depots ure intend ed to form a reserve battalion for each regiment or equivalent thereof of reg ulars and volunteers only; for the act also provides that lu order to main tain tlie land militia organization at their maximum strength the recruit rendezvous und depots In any state or territory may, at the request of the governor thereof, enlist and train re cruits for land militia In tlie service of tho United States from such stnte or territory. All the ollicers required for such recruit rendezvous und depots will be volunteers of the proper arm of the service. Appointment of Officers. "All volunteer olheers are opjiiduted by tlie president, but the number and grade of such ollicers shall not exceed the number and grade of like ollicers provided for a like force of the regu lar army, und they will be subject to such assignment to duty and trans fers ns the president may direct. "In order that the lives of those patriotic citizens who may volunteer for service muy be safeguarded and conserve? end not risked under per sons lacking In experience lu the care of soldiers In camp uud In battle, tho war (lepartmenr nun n-c;r.f3 nnu on noiinced that the appointment to vol unteer commissions will o made from those clasyes of our citizens wh.) Imve had 'such experience, and lin t from those classes the selections vii! be made In the following order: (A) Persons who have had expen- i ence ns commissioned ollicers In the regular army of the United States and ex-olllcers of volunteers of proved ex perience and ellicleiicy. (I!) Non-coinnitssloned officers of experience in tlie regular orpiy. (C) I'ersons who have had experi ence as ollicers lu the mllltin. (I ) Persons who have qualified according to law under prescribed ex aminations to test their fitness to command and control men in the Held. (E) Graduates of educational In stitutions of military standing to which regular army ollicers nre de tailed as professors of military science under the law. , (F) Should the necessary number of volunteer ollicers required not be furnished from the above elusses, the war department will give civilians lacking in actual military experience an opportunity to appear for examina tion to test their Illness for commis sions, before boards which tlie war de partment proposes to creute in the several states. Begin Training at Once. Under the caption "Training of Vol unteers" the wur college pamphlet reads : "The training of volunteer troops must begin without delay after their, Induction into tlie service. No time must be lost. It should begin nt tho company rendezvous, without waiting for complete mobilization. Under our traditional policy of relying princi pally for defense upon citizen sol diers, the larger part of our land forces will not be fully trained on tho outbreak of wur. It is more than probable that we shall have to employ some of them with little or no train ing as soon as they can be assembled, in suitable units. "The amount nnd character of the training will at llrst be directly pro portional to the time consumed, pro vided a rational scheme he followed. How much time will be available It is Impossible to predict. It Is reason able to assume, however, Hint lu tho event of a war with an oversea enemy it will be Hie time required for our enemy to establish at least a partial control of the sea siillicient to open Hie way for lauding of expeditionary forces. "Any system of training, however, good In Itself, will fail to bring the de sired results unless there are avail able a siillicient number of trained In structors, ollicers mid nonoo:;;, sinned ollicers. The blind cannot lead the blind." Referring to the mobilization of the volunteer armies, the war enlleire p.'inls out that all points of mobil'y. i tlon have been selected, one In each state of the Union, and that these pre liminary arrangements have bet u un proved by Jjoth the federal and state authorities. These plans provide for the necessary buildings, for wuter sup ply, and all other essential needs which will arise, . SHIPBUILDERS TO RUSH WORK ON U. S. WARSHIPS Big Firms Double Their Forces and Put Contracts for Navy Ahead of All Others. Washington. Construction of nnvy craft by the Newport News Shipbuild ing and Drydoek company, the Fore Itivcr Shipbuilding company und the Electric I tout company will be speed ed up to the limit of the plants. Work on two battleships nt the plant of the Newport News company, at Secretary Panlels' suggestion, already is proceed ing under doubled crews, und the of fers of the other two companies to take similar steps met with the secre--tary's hearty approval. At the Newport News plant It Is estimated that the battleship Missis sippi, recently launched, can be com pleted by midsummer Instead of Jan uary 1, 11)18, us culled for In the con tract. The keel of one of the four new battleships recently contracted for will be laid on the slip vacated by the Mississippi Instead of a merchant vessel, as had been Intended. Itepresentatlvcs of the Fore Itlver nnd Electric ISoat companies called on Mr. Daniels, offering to rush work on destroyers and submarines for which they have ontracts, setting aside oth er private work to that eud. They were told to go ahead at full speed. The plan Is to get the vessels launched os soon as possible, freeing stocks for the new set of destroyers and subma rines to be authorized in tho peudlug pavy bill. , "v
Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.)
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March 1, 1917, edition 1
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