Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1917)
'" ' ' ." . C S The Commoner it 21 t l i y j: K k ,'". i $ Br 'V' r Fighting Men and Industries Win War A. Washington dispatch, dated May 5, says: "Modorn war means that battles aro won not alono by fighting mon, but by fighting industries. War has ceased to bo a profession to which military mon alonjaro called. On tho contrary, it onlists tho spe cialists of every industry and every sclonco from tho firing luo clear back to the last lino of defense. "In tho words of Howard Coffin, who started tho movement for mo bilizing tho industrial forces . of America, 'Twentieth century conflict demands that tho blood of tho sol dier must bo mingled with from three to flvo parts of tho Bweat of tho man in tho mills, mines, and fao . tories of the nation in arms.' Hence tho first and last watchword of the Council of National Defense is or ganization and again, organiza tion." Thus Grosvenor B. Clarkson de scribed today tho work of the ma- chine of highest brain power ever assembled the Council of National Defenso and tho Advisory Commis sion which must match and pr.evail over tho great fighting machine of tho Gorman empire if tho United States Is to triumph. In tho 100 days of the life of the Council of National Defense and the Advisory Commission, a work of or ganization similar to that which it has taken the German empire two centuries to perfect has been put un der way, and tho genius of the entire country without price and without thought of personal fontune-r-is be ing enlisted in the most compre hensive scheme of raising an unpre pared nation to war strength ever conceived by the mind of man. A Record That Might Well bo Fabled Mr. Clarkson, who', as secretary of tho Council and of tho AdvlBory Commission, has noted every step in tho growth and operation of this great man power and brain power machine, furnished to "Tho San Francisco Examiner" a record in part of Its work that might well be fabled were it not fact. It is a record that should bo read with renewed con fidence by the people that America will rise to any great crisis. The men behind the record, who aro just beginning to feel their ma chine thrill withtpower, are prepar ing for greater things. The fact that any day the call may come for tho mobilization of probably 80 per cent of the industries of America in tho production of the many elements of twentieth century warfare does not daunt the members of tho coun cil and the advisory commission. Under the Council- of National Defense, made up by virtue of the high offices they hold, of the secre tary of war as chairman, the secre tary of the navy, interior, agricul ture, commerce and labor, boards have been formed as follows: N '. Munitions Standards Board Frank A. Scott, chairman; Chester C. Bolton, secretary. Commercial Economy Board A. !w, Shaw, chairman; Edwin F. Gay, V. D. Simmons. ' General Munitions Board Frank iA. Scott, chairman; Chester C. Bol ton, secretary. ,, ta.to Organizations George C. Porter. ;;, ;Food Herbert C. Hoover. v.-Tho Advisory Commission Is made ip of "Daniel Willard, chairman; Bernard M. Baruclr; Howard . E. Collin, Hbllls Godfrey, Samuel Gom pers, Dr. Franklin H. Martin and Julius Itosenwald, and has the fol lowing organization: Director of the Council and of the Advisory Committee Walter S. Gifford. Secretary of the Council and of the Advisory Committee Grosvenor B. Clarkson. Committees Transportation and Communica tion Daniel Willard, chairman. Munitions Manufacturing, includ ing Standardization and Industrial iiuiut.ons iuoward E. Coffin, chair man. Haw Materials, Minerals and Met als Bernard M. Baxuch, chairman. Sub-Committees Oil, wooi, steel, nickel, copper, leather, rubber. Labor, including conservation of health and welfare of workers, Sam uel Gompers, chairman. Supplies, including food, clothing, etc., Julius Rosenwald, chairman. Sub-committees, cotton goods, wool len goods, shoes and leather. Science and research, including en gineering and education, Dr. Hollis Godfrey, chairman; Dr. Henry ,E. Crampton, vice-chairman. Medicine, including general sani tation, Dr. Franklin H. Martin, chairman. Medical section, Dr. F. F. Simp son, chief. Labor section, James W. Sullivan, chief; These men, whose services could not be purchased at any price outside their own great business connec tions and professions, are the inner cogs of the wonderful machine that stretches from one end of the coun try to the other, embracing tho con trol oi every artery or natural re sources, trade and industry, through committees and sub-committees, all actively engaged in the work of or ganization necessary for a successful prosecution of the war. More Tonnage for Shipment to Allies There is a committee on shipping. It consists of Chairman Denman of the Federal Shipping Board,. P. A. S. Franklin, president International Mercantile Marine; H. H. Raymond, president Coastwise Shipping Asso ciation; Eugene T. Chamberlain, Commissioner Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce; D. T. Warden, manager of the foreign shipping department, Standard Oil Company; L. H. Sherman, vice-pres-idunt W. It. Grace & Co.; E. M. Bull, oc uu.t ana jrranic u. Munson, presi dent Munson Steamship Company. The function of tho committee on shipping is to advise with the United States Shipping Board and to report through Mr. Denman to the council as to the best methods of increasing tonnage available for shipment to our allies. There Is a committee on women's defense work: The council, realizing the inestimable value of woman's contribution to national effort under modern war conditions, appointed thireomniittee of women of national prominence to consider and advise how the assistance of the women of America may be made available in the prosecution of the war. Its membership Is as follows: Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, chairman Mrs. Phillip N. Moore of St. Louis, president National Council of WR men. Mrs. Joslah 13. Cowles of Cal ifornia, president General Federation of Women's Clubs. Miss Maude Wetmoro of Rhode Island, chairman National League of Woman's Service. Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt of New York, president National American Woman's Suffrage Association. Mrs. Antoinette Funk of Illinois. Mrs. Stanley McCormack of Bos ton. Mrs. Joseph R. Lamar of Atlanta, president National Society of Co lonial Dames. Miss Ida Tarbell of New York, publicist and writer. At the call of Daniel Willard, president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and chairman of the advis ory commission of the council, more ,than fifty executives, representing the 250,000 miles of American rail toads, met in Washington and made plans to, meet the transportation needs of the government in the pres ent emergency. A committee composed of Howard Elliott, president New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad; B. F. Bush, receiver Missouri Pacific Rail road; Jacob M. Dickinson, receiver Rock Island System; Fairfax Harri son, president Southern Railway, ana Judge R. S. Lovett, -chairman Union Pacific Railroad, offered the follow ing resolution, which was unani mously adopted: "Resolved, That the railroads of the United States, acting through their chief executive officers here and now assembled, and stirred by a high sense of their opportunity to be of the greatest service to their coun try in the present national crisis, do hereby pledge themselves, with the government of the United States, with the government of the several states and with one another, that during the present war they will. co ordinate their operations in a conn tlnental railway system, merging during such period all their merely individual and competitive activities in the effort to produce a maximum, or. national transportation efficiency, "To this end they her.eby agree to create an organization which shall havo general authority to formulate in detail and from time to time a policy of operatipn of all or any of the railways, which policy, when and as announced by such temporary organization, shall be accepted and earnestly made effective by the sev eral managements of the individual rauroaa companies here repre-, sented." A committee on plan made up of Julius Kruttschnitt, chairman of the executive committee of the board of tho Southern Pacific Railroad; A. H. Smith, president New York Central Lines; L. F. Loree, president Dela ware and Hudson Railroad; Samuel Rea, president Pennsylvania Rail road,, and George M. Slade, vice-president Northern Pacific Railroad, in their report recommended, a reference of the whole matter to the special defense committee of the American Railway Association, headed by Fairfax Harrison. Mr. Harrison's general committee Is divided into six departments, each to correspond with one of the mili tary departments of the- army. The six committees include twenty eight railroad executives. Their work is to be supervised by a central executive committee composed of Mr. Harrison, Samuel Rea, Howard Elliott, Julius Kruttschnitt and Hale Holden, president -of the Chicago Burlington and Qulricy Railroad, Mr. Willard Is a mombernfflT" thte contral committee. offlcl r Enlisting ot Hoover a Brlliw R. t Enlistment of the sertte !? bert C. Hoover in tho J 0f fler" task of bringing the f nL BtupenJoua der control was one of L8Upply brilliant moves $ Hoover command, n , ... . CI. Mr. nnn nnn , z. " ouuut or ssnn. "-- r Kf WXA13 III - r f i rt , -- flfl nnn J.1- . gineers oTVe wor da TV His time freely to he relt? 8 g v Belgium. He promntlv , Work l call of the CouncU of fense .however, and JJf benefit of his experience ab oad the matter of food production . servation and prices, and w U, JfiT ways and means of assi atlj th! lies to meet their food needs and t prevent tho evils arising from lation and manipulation PCU To name all of the men enlisted in E nalnS?rice by the council wouS be to call the roll from the America! Blue Book of industry and trade and suiting is-Just entering Cfi The council has yet to find a shirker or a slacker in the call t serve the government without re muneration, efficiency being their sole object and American! w only motive. The last important move of tho council is for a national defenso conference of delegates, one nnnnfnf. ,ed by the governor of each state, to iiieoL m wasnington on May 2. Afl an outcome it is expected that each state, following the lead of New York, Maryland, Massachusetts. New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode i island, South Carolina and Wiscon sin, will form state counoils of defense to co-operate with the Na tional Council of Defense. Walter S.v Gifford, director of the council and the advisory commis sion, is one of the officers of tho American Telephone and Telegraph Company. He is devoting his entire time to the work of organizing tho country and avoiding the mistakes of the nations who went unpreparcq into war. Mr. Gifford said today: "The experience of European countries has shown that it is fatal to allow the skilled mechanics to be sent to the front when they art needed much more in the factory. A soldier may be made in somo months, while a skilled mechanic can not be made under some years. "As regards raw materials, min erals and metals, and supplies, in cluding food, clothing, etc., we aro finding out the approximate amount of materials that will be needed to put any number of men into the flew, and the amount needed for each njnety days of service in the field. With this as a basis it will bo pos sible to estimate the amounts oi raw materials that will be neeflej and to discover the weak spots ana make recommendations of wna must be done to meet the needs oi the moment. "The council contemplates tno organization, if possible, of burin as into industries so that each WW try may appoint a committee " represent that industry in deaM with the council on matter or Ltional defense ana ,u "vhnn a balance among an ""meri the period of war or national emen gency." MORE APPROPRIATE Admiring Suitor-When .we . J engaged, I can kiss you right your mother's nose? f0fl Bishopthorpe l a r ?hiSr would kiss me under mine, delphia Ledger. . v. : TT d
