The Lancaster Herald. (Lancaster, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, April 12, 1918 Page: 7 of 8
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THE LANCASTER HERALD
ONE YEAR
tnsion of Armed Forces Out-
standing Feature of Period.
1,528,924 MEN IN THE ARMY
KBEijfe; ;. -
w
Hk
Official Review of Twelve Months
.Aotivitiea Shews What Various
Departments of Government
IT ' Have Done.
Huy United States has been an ac-
i participant in the great world war
V one year. At the opening of the
«md year the government commit-
t on pttbllc information has issued a
riew of the first twelve months of
l&Htiea, showing what has been
ne by various branches of the gov-
tmeut to place the United States In
position to play an effective part in
ultimate defeat of Germany and
alQes. The committee on public
■ >n says that all statements
in the following summary of
w are authorized by the war
navy department, United
Shipping board and treasury
lent.
outstanding feature of the first
iiar of war, it la pointed out
the review, has been the transfor-
» of the standing army and Na-
^ Guard, composed of 9,524 offl-
I sad 202,510 men Into a lighting
• that now aggregates 123,901 of-
and 1,528,924 enlisted men.
A statement of the adjutant general
V shows that the regular army which in
Aprl£ 1*17, (comprised 5.791 officers
«Ad 121,797 men, now is made up of
10,698 officers and 503,142 men. The
National Gbard in April, 1917, includ-
ed 3,738 officers and 76,713 men, while
if comprises 16393 officers and
_ men. The reserve corps In
osrvtce one year ago Included 4,000
i; > men. Now it includes 96,210 officers
--^,77,360 men. The National army,
I drd not exist one year ago, now
des 516,839 men.
substantial vanguard (military
?ed|ency prohibiting publication of
pitl numbers) of this army is meet-
le enemy in'France today or is en-
there awaiting the call to the
i; In 16 cantonments and 16
And on numerous aviation fields
rln a variety of other schools in
of the United States the men
remaining army are hardening
Itfg for their part in the great
overseas.
the activities of this vast
lies a great Industry organized
face an adequate aupply of mu-
equipment, and provisions,
provide transportation to the
line, almost every branch of
industry of the country hav-
drawn upon to produce these
■>
requirements. /
Expeditionary Forces.
Military necessity particularly for-
a detailed review of the activities
American expeditionary forces.
Pershing and his staff ar-
ih Paris on Jane 14, 1917, 69
qfter the declaration of War. The
American troops arrived in
on gUae 26. On Jnly 4, in cel-
of our natal day and a new
for liberty, American troops pa-
the streets of Paris and were
aq the forerunners of great
in armies and vast quantities
of supplies and ammunitions.
On October 16;, 1617, 187 days after
the war was declared, American sol-
went on the firing line. In Jan-
jr American soldiers took over per-
ltly k part of the line as an
sector, and this line is grad-
lengthening.
the fighting line In Prance
lean forces have scientifically
a groundwork of camps, com-
ma, supply bases, and works
anticipation of operations by the
force of the army. They are
and have built railroads, hos-
ordnance bases, and docks in
They have constructed im-
barracks, erected sawmills, re-
agricultural lands, and car-
rard many incidental enter-
construction of an ordnance
is France, Costing $25,000,000, is
well under way. Great quantities
ised in the foreign con-
work have been shipped from
•lutes—from fabricated
; for an ordnance shop to nails
on
the
candidates, consisting largely of en-
listed men, have been in attendance.
Corps of Engineers.
At the beginning of the war the en-
gineer troops consisted of three regi-
ments of pioneer engineers, with
trains, one mounted company, one en-
gineer detachment at West Point. The
aggregate strength was approximate-
ly 4,125 officers and enlisted men. At
present the aggregate authorized
strength Is over 200,000, with an act-
ual strength of approximately 120,000.
Of the special engineer units re-
cruited for service on railways and in
the maintenance of lines of communi-
cation, many are alrendy in France
and others are awaiting recruitment
to full strength In oriler to be ready
for overseas service. The first en-
gineer troops. 1.100 strong, to he sent
abroad, arrived in France about three
months after war was declared. Since
that time the number has been greatly
augmented. These troops have been
constantly engaged In general en-
gineering work, including the con-
struction of railways, docks, wharves,
cantonments, and hospitals for the use
of the American expeditionary forces.
They have, in some instances, in the
performance of their duties, engaged
in active combat with the enemy.
Ordnance Department.
Since outbreak of war the
commissioned personnel of the ord-
nance department has expanded from
97 officers, operating with yearly ap-
propriations of about $14,000,000 and
with manufacture largely confined to
government arsenals, to 5,000 officers
in this country and abroad, transacting
an unprecedented war program for the
supply of ordnance, the total direct
appropriations and contract authoriza-
tions for one year having been $4,-
756,503,185.
The ordnance storage properties
embrace separate warehouse buildings
and miles of railroad siding, all com-
prehended within the depot premises,
which are inclosed by electrically
charged wire barriers and lighted and
patrolled with unremitting vigilance.
One of these depots, now under con-
struction, will include 100 separate
buildings and 50 miles of railroad spe-
cially built to serve the depot’s needs.
The supply division of the ordnance
department handles material amount-
ing to approximately 10,000 carloads a
month.
While building the foundation for
greater production, the ordnance de-
partment has provided 1,400,000 rifles;
has brought the rate of rifle production
up to 45,000 per week, sufficient to
equip three army divisions; secured
deliveries on more than 17.000 ma-
chine guns; brought the rate of pro-
duction of machine guns from 20,000
to 225,000 per year; increased the rate
of production of 3H-inch to 9-Inch cali-
ber guns from 1,500 to 15,000 per year;
and has arranged for the manufacture
of ’home 35,000 motortrucks and trac-
tors for hauling heavy guns and am-
munition, which are being delivered
almost as fast as they can be shipped.
One billion rounds bf ammunition
has been purchased for the training
of troops in the cantonments alone.
An idea of the extent of the ord-
nance program may be gained from
the following {|pw items of purchase:
Twenty-three million hand grenades,
725.000 automatic pistols, 256,000 re-
volvers, 23,000,000 projectiles for all
calibers of heavy artillery, 427,246,000
pounds of explosives, 240,000 machine
guns, and 2,484,000 rifles.
•The ordnance problem, however. Is
no less one of quality than of quantity
production. The American soldier is
being provided writh weapons which
give him an additional safeguard to
life and a further guaranty of victory.
Achievements of the ordnance de-
partment include the Browning ma-
chine rifle, model of 1918, and the
Browning machine gun, heavy( type,
model of 1918, production of the for-
mer now being on a quantity basis by
machine process, while similar produc-
tion of the heavier type is imminent.
The heavy Browning machine gun.
water cooled, in a government test
fired 20,000 shots in 49 minutes and
16 seconds without malfunction.
Qu^armaster Corps.
The magnitude of the work of the
quartermaster corps is indicated by
the operation of the subsistence divi-
sion, which is charged with the re-
sponsibility of seeing that food sup-
plies for the army are available at all
stations from the Philippines to Lor-
raine. Purchases recently made In-
cluded 40,000.000 pounds dried beans.
116.000. 000 cans baked beans of the
1917 crop, 65,184,475 cans of tomatoes.
91.000. 000 cans of condsnsed milk, and
20.287.000 pounds of prunes.
The establishment of the subsistence
division centralized the purchases of
foodstuffs for the army, previous to
which such products wore distributed
through the depot quartermaster. Ef-
fective January 1, tha central control
system has resulted la greater effi-
ciency and a big saving. In January,
for instance, $100,000 was saved under
this system ns compered with the
prices obtained by depot quartermas-
ters, and In February a saving of
$36,740 was made so potatoes alone.
The central control system is still be-
ing perfected.
Production of 10,000 new automobile
trucks Is in progress for the army, la
addition to purchases of 8.520 passes
gar cars, 6.126 mot or cy else, and 8,040
bicycles, with appropriate repair and
replacement equipment.
In throe men the the cantonment di-
vision of the quartermaster general’s
department built 16 cantonments, each
one practically a small city. cemprU
about 1,400 separate buildings and
quarters for 47,006 men.
of those 16 can
Individual build
wore erected fier
Che National
slightly more than twice the etmt ot
building the Panama canal. The con-
tractors’ profits on the several con-
tracts averaged only 2.98 per cent.
Air* Service.
The air service has been called
upon In the past 12 months to build
au enormous structure of the most
highly trained personnel and the most
intricate equipment with practically
no foundation to start from.
Three large appropriations, includ-
ing the $640,000,000 act passed without
a roll call, made a total of $691,000,000
available for the first year. All of this
has since been obligated.
Last iDffiil the air service had an
almost negligible force of 65 officers
and 1,120 men, 3 small flying fields,
less than 300 second-rate planes, prac-
tically no aviation Industry, and only
the most scanty knowledge of the ka-
leidoscopic development abroad. The
first two months of war were required
to secure Information, establish a staff,
and work out the program finally
adopted. The problem was twofold—
first, personnel; and, second, equip-
ment.
Today the personnel is over 100
times that of a year ago, practically
every member a skilled man who has
gone through an intensive course of
training. Schools of 11 different
kinds have been Instituted, courses
of instruction laid out, and instruc-
tors secured, Including foreign ex-
perts in a score of lines, as follows:
For flyers at ground schools and flying
fields; for mechanics at the flying
fields and at over a dozen different
factories? for photographers, balloon-
ists, adjutants, supply officers, engineer
officers, armorers, and instructors of
mechanics.
Development of Navy.
The development of the navy during
the first year of war has given the
greatest satisfaction. Its growth and
achievements during this period may
be epitomized ,in the following para-
graphs :
Strength of the navy today is
nearly 21,000 officers and 330,000 en-
listed men; strength a year ago was
4,792 officers and 77,946 enlisted men.
Estimated total expenditures of the
navy during first year of war: Dis-
bursements and outstanding obliga-
tions. $1,881,000,000.
Total naval appropriations, real and
pending. $3,333,171,665.04.
American destroyers arrived at a
British port to assist in patrolliug Eu-
ropean waters 28 days after the decla-
ration of war.
There are now four times as many
vessels in the naval service as a year
ago.
Nearly 73,000 mechanics and other
civilian employees are working at
navy yards and stations.
When war was declared, 123 naval
vessels were building or authorised,
and contracts have been placed since
that time for 949 vessels.
More than 700 privately owned ves-
sels have been purchased or chartered
by the navy.
Six new authorized battleships are
designed to be of 41,500 tons, the larg-
est battleships in the world.
Our 35.000-ton cruisers, 35 knots,
will be the fastest In the world, their
speed equaling the fastest destroyers.
Prompt repairs of 100 interned Ger-
man ships, partially wrecked by their
crews, added more than 700.000 tons
to our available naval and merchant
tonnage.
The navy has developed an Ameri-
can mine believed to combine all the
good points of various types of mines,
and is manufacturing them in quanti-
ties.
During the year the latest type of
naval 16-Inch gun was completed for
our new battleships; It throws a pro-
jectile weighing jl,100 pounds.
Navy has in its possession now a
stock of supplies sufficient for the
average requirements for at least one
year.
Several hundred submarine chasers,
built since the war, have been deliv-
ered to the navy by 31 private con- J
eerns and six navy yards; many of1
these boats have crossed the Atlantic, !
some in severe weather.
Naval training ramps have a ca- j
pacity of 102.000 In summer, 94,000 j
men in winter.
Shipping Board’s Progress.
Up to dste congress has authorized
$2,034,000,000, of which $1,135,000,000
has been appropriated, for the
United States Shipping board and
Emergency Fleet corporation; , cm
March 1, $353,247,955.37 of this sum
had been expended.
The Emergency Fleet corporation
had requisitioned March 1. 425 steel
vessels and contracted for 720 steel
veaaels, making a total of 1,145 steel
ships, of an aggregate dead weight
tonnage of 8,164,508 tons; It had let
contracts for 490 wooden vessels, ag-
gregating approximately 1.715,000
doad-weight tons; it had repaired and
put Id operation 788.000 dead-weight
tonnage seised from Germany and
Austria.
On March 5 the building program
of the Emergency Fleet corporation
was being carried on In 151 plants.
First Ysaris War Coat.
Total estimated expense of the
United States government In tbe first
sear #f war. without loans to the
allies, is $12,067,278,679.07.
To help meet this expense, the treas-
ury department floated $6,616,532,300
subscriptions to Liberty bonds.
Bonds, certificates ef Indebtedness.
War Savings certificates, and Thrift
stamps Issued by the treasury up ts
March 12. totaled $8,560,802,062.96.
Tbs United States government had
loaned to foreign governments asso-
ciated in the war on March 12, 1618,
$4,436,329,750.
To March IS the war risk Inaur-
ance bureau had Issued policies for a
total of $12,465,116,500 to the arasotf
HUNS USING FLAME PROJECTOR, AND FRENCH GUNS ON THE
Rh,
Tbe flame-thrower Ims uppeuled to the Hun’s lust for devastation. However it has only added to tbt ■
war without being particularly effective In either direct attack or defend. The photograph shows a flai
being used In a trench. Below are seen two of the huge French guns mounted on railway trucks in
the left bank of the Somme against the advancing Germans.
JUST AS ITS SHELL LEFT FOR THE GERMAN LINES
WiMmm
mm
■A.
ym
m
toil»***
This remarkable action picture shows one of the most powerful French guns, operating from a
Just at the moment that the shell left for the German lines. The gunners mid the men watching liava
fingers Into their ears to protect them fr.»m the great noise of the explosion, although their eura have
plugged to prevent Injury from the oonemtslon. • i
VE
NEW GUN TO REVOLUTIONIZE WARFARE
MUNR0E A LOAN
Here Is what is claimed to be the greatest death-dealing war weapon yet
conceived and its Inventor. Levi W. lombard of Boston. The machine gun,
sometimes called the centrifugal gun. has a maximum firing power of 83.000
shots per minute. Tbe ammunition Is fed In a cuplike attachment at the left,
and emitted through the slot just to tbe right of the top of the receiver. Tbe
gun has been tested and It la claimed It has been proven practicable.
Coco rut Macaroons.
One and one-half cups shredded co-
conut. one-half pound powdered sugnr,
whites of five eggs. Beat the egg
whites until stiff and very dry, fold In
carefully the powdered sugar and the
coconut. Mix very lightly. Drop by
tenspoonfula on oiled paper; bake In a
•low oven 20 minutes, take out of oven
Then a golden brown and. when cold,
moisten the underside of the paper so
that the marcsroona may easily be
removed.
Bull Associations Valuable.
Bull associations should be a potent
factor In the control of contagious dis-
eases. according to the annual report
of the bureau of animal industry. Unit-
ed States department of agriculture.
One of the aaaociatlona, of which on
June 30, there were 86 actively operat-
ing in 17 statea, has discarded all cattlq
that reacted to the tuberculin teat,
while other associations hare been suc-
cessful In avoiding contagious nod In-
fectious diseases of all kinds.
Jack Munroe. who gall
prize fighter when ha
fries for (ho heavyweight
ship of the world, only to
when the bout wna staged,
the United States helping
Liberty loan. Ha has bos
over there with tbe
1s now a oommlsslooed
right arm was
he atlll carrie* It IB a
•»rda and Boa
In connection with tha
•istant Secretary of tha
velt la experiencing la
propria te names for the
of mine sweepers It Is
on one occasion it woo
the admiralty that one of
cruisers should bo
name of tha groat
tbe British
long time tl
did sailor
■ • 4
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Tufts, Minnie Wetmore. The Lancaster Herald. (Lancaster, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, April 12, 1918, newspaper, April 12, 1918; Lancaster, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth543170/m1/7/?q=waco+tornado: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lancaster Genealogical Society.