ACHIEVEMENTS OF U. 5.
TEN MONTHS CONFUCT.
Washington. Fab. S8.—Just what,
today, >fUn ton moatha la til* war.
la our situation with regard to rt
fles, machine guns, heavy ordnance,
aaununitioo aircraft? What quantitiaa
of each Kava wa unbar order and what
quantitkaa delivered?
What la our program In tha war?
J oat how doaa our war organisation At
Into tha Alliad fighting machine?
How did tha Ruaaian rollapaa and
tha Italian dafaat affect our war
plana?
How much of an organization hava
wa built up in France to handla our
man and supplies ?
Thiaga PiapU Should Kaow About.
Thaaa ara all matters about which
tha American people should know ac
tual facta, not vagua generalities!
Lack of Information at homa with
regard to moat of our war artivitiaa
may be much mora dangerous than
giving this information to tha enemy.
United and intelligent co-operation
will do more to speed up the war and
force it thru to a speedy and victortas
finish than any other one thing, and
the more intimately the people under
stand just what is being dona and
what is to be done, tha mora diligently !
they will pull together to finish the|
job in the shortest possible way. For
this is the people's war. And no peo
ple with which American people are
familkally in the dark I
Compared with Panama Canal.
•
This war, expert observers agree, ia
ma much an industrial and engineering
work aa • purely military undertaking
To guage just what we have done,
then let ua meaiue our war work in
«MM of the biggm single engineer
ing Job previoualy undertaken one
with which American people are fa
miliar—the building of the Panama I
Canal.
The United States took possession
of the Panama Canal Zone on May 4.
1904. Work of sanitation and actual
construction was presaed from the
a tart. Uncle Sam waa out to set a
new record in engineering feats.
The canal waa opened to commerce
August 15, 1914—ten years and three
months later. "Tta total coat was $344,
477,813.01, which included $40,000,000
paid the New French Canal Company
for its works and equipment, $10,000,
000 paid the Republic of Panama $20,
053,000 for sanitation, and $7,382,000
for civil administration of the Canal
Zone. Leaving in the cost of sanita
tion and administration as part of the
construction expense the expenditures
on the Panama job netted $294,87 .T
813.01.
Infinitely Bigger than Canal.
As measured in volume of expendi
ture, in variety of resources called
upon and in engineering-and technical
skill required. Uncle Sam has had an
infinitely bigger job In preparing thif
country for war with Germany lha«
he had in building the Panama Canal.
And the problem has not been one
years, but months!
The Ordnance Rureau alone be
tween April 1, 1917, and February 1,
1918 spent $2,305,550,573,86—or ap
proximately eight times the total coin
■trurtion coat of the canal—in provid
ing rifle*, machine guns, artillery ar
tillery tractor* anti-aircraft guns and
mounta special artilery railway cart
and scores of highly technical instru
ments of warfare. Of this sum $534,
322,6(1.33 has been paid out to cover
work already done; the remaining
$1,171,274,922.52 represents obliga
tion on contracts still running.
Big Population Housed and Fed.
The quartermaster-general's bu
reau, which It charged with clothing
and feeding our growing army of
lighter* and which handled the con-'
■traction of cantonments which hous
ed a population greater htan the states
of Delaware. Nevada, Wyoming and
Arisona combined with Alaska thrown
hi tm «w4 MNMKM. ha* since April
1 last directed work ^involving the ex
penditure up to February 1 of *",48S
44d.417.4A—also eight times Ifrseter
than the eon*truction coat of tho Pan
ama Canal. Of this lum *1,926,
"tij,15MJi4 ha a boon paid out for work
completed, outstanding contrarta cov
ering the remaining $6M,237,25«J»2.
Next consider aviation. The avia
tion section of the signal corps has
had even more if possible, than oth
er branches of the army, to build from
the ground up. Overnight it was call
ed upon to undertake the most ambi
tious airplane program ever projected.
It has literally been on the job 24
hours a day nines has designed and
produced the best airplane engine
known turned sco-es of factories from
normal production to specialised air
craft work, and has delivered and un
der contract aviation supplies and
equipment aggregating 9478,796,
07®.4#, with purchase requests ap
proved and pending involving an ad
ditional <256.294,164.08.
Other signal corps development, in
eluding work of the radio section and
balloon division, brings the total work
undertaken in this branch up to |S99,
908,380.21—or more than three times
the money coat of the canal.
.. Building Transportation System.
Army in|in«ri, in providing rail
way tract*, dock*, warveo, cranes and
trucks for handling supplies both in
thin country and in Franc*, and in de
veloping lines of communication for
the American expeditionary forces
abroad, have handled a job involving
to date expenditures of $226,485,208,
27. Of this sum 1120,300,000 has been
spent by the director-gcneral of mili
tary railways in providing terminals
and lines of communication abroad,
and on equipment for them.
The* sugeoci-general's oOce, to pro
vide for the aick aa4 wwW. has
spent n OS,908,850 on hospital equip
ment and medical supplies. Small
compared with expenditures in other
departments, you may think. But
remember that the greatest amount
spent in any one year in the building
of the Panama Canal including admin
istration and sanitation expenses, wan
only $46,000,000.
Spending 29 Times ('eat of Canal.
In terms of money expenditure then
these Ave war department bureaux
have undertaken a work involving an
expenditure of $6,892,413,954.31, or
twenty times the total construction
cost of the canal. And they have
undertaken to handle this job in 10
months.
There were just 16 officer-' attached
to 0>e ordnance bureau of the depart
ment on April I, 1917, and the civil/
ian employes of the office numhernlj
237. On February 1. 1918, more than
800 officers and 5,336 civilian employ
ee were engaged in the Washington
office of this bureau alone, in addi
tion to all those on duty at arsenals
and nt factories engaged on ordnance
work thruout the country.
On April 1, 1917, the strength of
the Quartermaster's corps was 277 of
ficers 6,640 enlisted men and 12,683
civilians—-a total of 19,600. This had
been increased lately to care for our
troops mobilized on the Mexican bor
der. On January t, 1918, the Quar
termaster's corpa contained 6,22.1 of-l
Acers, 102,206 enlisted men and 5i,-'
871 civilians—a total of 167,336, or
an increase in officers alone of 6,972
and in total strength of 147,786.
The expansion in the signal corps,
engineers and ffurgeen general's bu
reaus has been similar to that in the
ordnance and quarterma'tar-general's
departments. Our avintion section
has developed, from less than 100 of-'
fleers to 6,100 officers and 83,000 en-]
listed men; our engineers from4,126
officers and men to 104,283. The exe
cutive and clerical furce in tfcJKftffice,
of engineers alone grew fr-m) It7 to
t,M4 between April i, last and Ttk
ruary 1. And the surgeon-general's
organiiatioe tyi expanded (ram laps
then 6t00ft dfc»sw And f*,70« enlisted
ML
A further difficulty has beer that
Ulan* hurwui, at the itmi time they
ware tremendously (iptndad their
imrodimI, war* required to develop
n*w sources of • apply for a vary I arc*
part of Utair requirement*. They were
unable to go into the Market and pick
and choose their purchases.
AIMea Already la Market.
Aatertra'a productive capieity for
war-maMag equipment waa virtually
preempted by our allies. We could
not take over or divert to our own
uaas plant* engaged in war contract*
for France and England. France and
England were in the trenchea, In act
ual contact with the enemy. Their
need*, of necessity, must be met ft rut
It waa necescary. therefore, before
we could provide equipment for our
selves, to secure the construction of
great new plant* and of big addition*
to existing plant*. Factories engaged
in peace-time manufacture had to be
converted and reorganised far ataking
instrument* of war. Industries of the
most technical nature had to he
brought from absolutely new begin
nings.
War Materiala Beginning to Flaw
Today the wheel* of this machins
arc gathering momentum. Plants that
war* not dreamed of on« year ago,
and planU that were engaged in turn
ing out peace-time trifles, ari begin
ning to pour forth a volume of war
material* that will increase progress
ively to meet any increasing demand.
From a few thousand per month our
production of rifles has this month
touched 8,000 a day—or 20H,000 a
month. Which means that our rifle
needs are met, for each man in the
army now has been supplied his rifle
and from now an we can supply rifles
faster than we can train new men for
tram port to Franca.
In July, 1417, the entire protective
rapacity of all the arsenals and ord
nance shops in the country was less
than 3,000 pieces of artillery a year,
of all calibres. This capacity has to
day been more than tripled, and by
July of this year we expect to bo turn
ing out artillery at the rate of 25,000
(funs a year.
MO,M0 Machine Guns a Year.
Last year, including chops making
machine guns for the allies, the limit
of our machine guns production was
less than 50,000 anuoally. This capa
city already has been doubled, and
new plants just beginning quantity
production are scheduled to increase
our production by April I to 200,000
a year and by July to more than 300,
000 a year.
f , W. S. S.
Turned Over to America
An Atlantic Port. March 2.—Twen
ty-one of the world'* largest tailing
ships, ranging in size from 2,800 to
5,000 tons, all bargs of full riggers,
have been turned over the United
States shipping officials by the French
government for use in the South Am
erican trade. The vessels are arriving
in this port in weekly divisions of two
to four, and, it is expected will re
lieve a number of steamships for the
trans-Atlantic trade. They will op
erate to Chile via the Panama canal,
carrying down coal cargoes and bring
ing back nitrate of soda for American
munition plants. Captain Louis He
gand ot Paris, ia here to direct the]
Spend Nine Million For Houses
Norfolk, Va., March 2.—On account
of the crewded conditions In Norfolk
and Portsmouth as a result of the im
mense influx of workers on Govern
ment projects the government will
-pend $9,000,000 here for houses. This
announcement followed a conference
of business men of the two cities,
Rear Admiral P. R. Harris and Gen
eral Grote Hutchinson, United 8tates
engineers corps. The government fa
vers building Its own community set
tlements, bat this view U not k har
mony with the ideas of the local pan
failings of the vessels.
W. 8.8.
ACTIVITY ALONG FRONTS
DURING THE PAST WEEK.
Weekly Rtrww Issued by War
Department Indicate* Hard
Blow* Are Expected at any
Washington, March 4.—Continued
preparatory movaei^ntj on the part
if tlM (Itnnana alone th« waatarn
front are noted today by the war de
partment in ita review of the military
•ituation for the weak ending March
2.
"The momentum of batti* ia In
creasing" the •tataanent declares, cit
ing throe attempt* by the enemy to
reach the line* bald by American
troopa aa an example of what ia tak
ing place on a larger acale along the
entire waatarn front. The definite
announcement ia made that the Amer
ican troopa have taken over a Meter
northweat of Toul and that a number
of detached unita are In action in the
Champagne.
Operation* in the eeatera theatre
a re expected to affect even thia in
Franca thru a modification of German
plana, the review intuaatea Six Teu
ton columns are operating in Ruaaia
and to only one of those—the column
moving towards Vitebsk—is any op
position noted.
Turkish fortes advancing in the'
Caucasus arc meeting with little re
sistance and arc massaorsing Armen
ian residents of the districts retaken
from the Russians:
The review follows:
"The third month of relative quies
cence on the western front has come
to a close. During this period both
belligerent groups have been massing
their forces.
"There is evidence that the enemy
cootunsaa to bring upgfresh units.
Owing to transportation dMkuM—
this has been a slow and laborious
process.
"The allied war council is now in
continuous session assuring complete
unity and flexibility of control.
"The British have extended their
front.
"Our own forces have taken over
a sector northwest or Toul. In addi
tion a number of our detached units
are in action in Otampaigne and
momentum of bxttle is increasing.
"We have to but note the occur
rence of the past teek in our ofm
sector in Lorraine in order to gain
an idea of what is taking place. Pa
trols have been ♦ery active. Karly
in the week the enemy made two at
tempts to reach our 'lines, but was
driven off by machine gun Are. On
March 1 the enemy developed a sharp
ly driven attack. After a shorf strug
gle the hostile detachment was re
pulsed.
"The German* are now using gas
along our front. Our men are be
coming accustomed to this weapon.j
Our gas masks arc efficiently pro
tective. Our artillery was very busy
-thelling enemy dispositions and in
flicted considerable damage to gun
and mortar emplacements.
"Important troop movements took
place behind the German lines oppo
site our front.
"In spite of the low visibility hos
tile aircraft continued active and
made frequent incursions over oar
linn.
"In the region of tSe I hemm de*
I)ames lively encounters took place.
A French raid against the German
outposts in which a number of Ameri
can volunteers participated was very
successfully carried out.
"On February 24 the French ex
ecuted a coup de main, destroying
hostile defensive works shelters
near Aspach In Upper Aisace. Small
raids in Champagne ml l.orraine
were also recored. The enemy also
was driven back while attempting to
react In the vicinity of the Llutte du
Mesnil and the Ch+min den Damev
"The boldest enterprise undertaken
by the enemy daring tho week tec*
place north of EMxmode. Here, after
prolonged artillery preparations, the
'n«my rtwti av <red It throw a bridge
Mini the Y wmt. TW Belgian- mh
eaeafully p' vented m cenaecutive
attampta to puah thia opnttiM to •
aucresaful conclusion.
"The naw trend of twrti in Rue
aia no <luubt aiodlfled German
plana to • rer&ta degree. For tKa
lia»e being the rntmy continuea to ad
vanra eaetward. Following the high
way»" anil railroad* ma columna of tn
vaaion along a 700 mila front ar< op
« rating m careful co-ordination. In
Eithnnia tha anem> haa reached a
point approximately 100 mliaa (ran
I'rtrograd. In Livaaia, Jurgv, 1A0
milaa aaat of Riga haa haan entered.
Tha column moving no Vitohak ia ad
vancing at an avaraga rata of atx
toan milaa daily and haa paaaad be
yond Paov. Thia force haa mat with
him oppoaition. Aftor tha captura
of Minak tha hoatila army operating
in thia area continued ita advance and
ia apparently headed for Smolenak
and ita ultimate objective ahould it
continue to And ita course unimpeded
would be to cut off and poaeibly to
occupy Moacow.
"The flfth column operating in the
P' Tet lector ia alao converging on
Smolensk wtih Moacow as a Anal ob
jective. The sixth column rompoeed
of Austrian force* operating in Vol
hynia haa been able to advance more
than 200 milee into the interior and
is reported to be within sixty miles
of Kteff.
"The Runsian* arc believed to b«
preparing to stem the tide of invas
ion. Petrograd in being prepared to
withstand a siege.
"In tit« Caucasus the region from
the Lake of Van to the Black Sea ia
again in Turkish hands. In the dia
trieta re-occupied by the Turk* it >•
stated that they are maaaacretng the
A rmenukna.
"la Palestine the British are in par
suit of the Turks who are retreating
northward thru the valley of the Jor
dan. In Mesopotamia the British are
advancing up the Euphrates and have
arrived in the vicinity of Hit, which
ia reported to be evacuted by the
Turka."
W. S. S.
MORE ATTENTION
PAID TO POULTRY.
Order of Food Administration
to Increase Number -of Eggs
in Country—Raising Chick
ens Urged in All Back Yards
It »eems like a very drastic meas
ure when National Food Administra
tor Hoover stopped the sale of hen;
and pullets for market until the 1st
of April. In many parts at the coun
try it is difficult to get grain enough
to feed one's hens, and still the sale
it not permitted. On the. whole,
though, the Food Administrator's or
der is justified by the necessary of in
creasing the masher oCiegg^ in the
country. For a year past farmer*
have been selling off their bens until
the situation had become alarming. J
The shortage was not evident to the
public because the cold storage plants
were filled, and prices were n<# parti
cularly high. Next year,, with the sur
plus disposed of market conditions
will be quite different. Already eggs
are being imported from foreign coun
tries, even as far away as China.
Because of the order compelling
poultrymen to maintain their flocks,
the egg yield of the country will be
kept fairly normal although, of course
much depends upon the way the hens
Ira fed and cared for. Nearly >6 is
now being paid for grain which coat
11.75 before the war. In aome parts
of New England the sate of oats for
poultry ia being forbidden because tile
oats are needed for horaes. Barley,
however, makes a fairiy good substi
tute, and barley ia more plentiful. Aa
a mater of fart, American poultry
keepers are learning that many of
the theoriea about poultry feeding are
breaking down under war time condi
tions. It ia reported for sraaipU that
in an egg-laying conteat in fiwi,
excellent results are hateg i>iiilM< fey
•i A dry nmmk romirtiif of wheat
bran. atoarta, baaf acrapa, ami rhar
coal la kept before the birda at afl
timr- while rrmrkad com ta fad anaa
ar lava • day When oata ara at
tainable they ara aprouted and half
to radaca the total caet.
The Hrttiah fiovernment haa Hat
Edward S. Brown. tha leading pool
try expert af Mtgland, to tkia country
to organiae a plan for aupplying Eng
liak breeder* with thoroughbred atock
aftar tha war. Mr. Brown aaya that
in thia country tha fact haa baa*
laamad that poultry do vary wall aa
much laaa highly concentrated fooda
than waa thought naraaaary to keep
tham in higit production. They anb
ntitutc green faada, potatoaa, tumipa,
and avan banana peelinga, at a great
•vinf of grain. According to Mr.
Brown, egg* were tailing at 12 canta
apiece when ha left England, with a
likelihood that home ronaomptio*
would be wholly forbidden in ordar
that every egg produced might ha
uaed for tha woundad. Ha aaya that
England and other European coua
triaa ara looking to tha United Statea
to raeatabliah tham m the poultry Sua
inaaa a/tar tha war ia over. In Prance
and Belgium, aa a well aa in England,
poultry intereata have auflared great
ly and comparatively littla good atock
ia left.
Last year the pessimistic attitude
<>f American poultry keepers reached
a climax. The tide Mem* to ban
turned now, and increased activity can
be noticed in poultry plant* every
where. Only a few day" ago one man
placed an order for 10,000 day-old
chickens to be iiied in estaMlAing a
poultry bum nee*.
Probably more floclu have been
broken up in New England than in the
Middle West, where grain is easier tc
•Mate. The result is that those pool
try men who remain in business will
have an unlimited sale for their prod
ucts. Even in normal times Ma%ta
chusetts produces only $7,000,000
worth of poultry products a year,
while it consumes over $3<?,000,000
worth.
The Food Administration has in
augurated a campaign for poultry
keeping similar to that which it con
ducted last year to increase the num
ber of back yard gardens. The slo
gan is, "A (lock of hens in every back
yard." The fact is pointed out that
even a dozen hens will keen the aver
age family supplied with eggs. It is
only necessary to have a lot 25x30
feet to accommodate a small flock.
Such a (luck can be started by buying
laying hens, or by purchasing day-old
chicks. If the latter plan is to be fol
lowed, the chicks should be ordered
at once, delivery to be made early in
April. Early hatching is important
in order to have pullets which will be
gin to lay next fall.
me necessary Tor more hen* u al
io recognized. Another slogan is
being presented to the farmers. It
reads: "A hundred hens on every
farm and a hundred eggs from every
hen." Farmers can do much to re
lieve the feed shortage by growing
more corn, oats, buckwheat and sun
flower*. There is no reason why pra
ctically enough grain cannot be pro
duced on the average-farm to keen a
hundred hens the year through.
Poultry can be rawed for market
tjuicker than any other kind of meat.
VTr. Hoover appreciate* that fact,"
which is the reason why he is p'^'ng
so much emphasis on poultry as a
source of meat mipply. Truly the
American hen has cone to occupy a
position of importance such as she
never knew before. It ia important,
too, that American poultry keepers
rive increased attention to breeding,
because upon them will devolve the
Mceaaity of supplying the world with
breeding stock whoa the war cM*
have passed.
LIHC AND BUUPHUB mMm k»
both "yrH powdar fan ■—
a the time te bay. T. L tattk BWA
•m Co.