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Show BAKER ARRIVES Ofl OTHER SIDE Secretary Accompanied by Officials, Including Brigadier Brig-adier General Hines. Latter Goes Over for Purpose Pur-pose of Relieving Con-I Con-I gestion at Docks. By Universal Service. WASHINGTON', Sept. S Secretary of I War Newton D. Raker has arrived safely in France, the war department announced ! tonight. He was accompanied by a party ' of war department oTTicitls. The secretary's trip, the second h has made to Europe this year, was made aboard a transport which carried the usual ouota of Ur.ited States troops. The offl- , cial announcement follows: ; "The secretary of war h;is arrived in France on official business. News of the safe arrival of Mr. Baker and an official party was received at the war department depart-ment today. The voyage was made aboard a transport which carried the usual ruota. of United States troops. The j secretary was accompanied by John D. Ryan, second assistant secretary of war (director of aeronautics); Major-General Y. C. Gorgas, surgeon -gen eral of the army; BrUradier-Gcneral Frank T. IIAncs, chief of the embarkat.'on service, and Lieutenant-Ookinel George H. Baird, military mili-tary aide to the secretary of war." Object of Trip. Before Secretary Baker left for Europe-he Europe-he stated Informally that when the personnel per-sonnel of his party became known the im-ponaiK;e im-ponaiK;e of the trip would be disclosed, J as If automatically. The object Ls acceJ- i eration and high-power expansion m war , munitions and men. It was known that Edward R. Stet- Urdus, former second assistant secretary of war, and recently relieved of these : duties In order to give his entire time to army work in France, had preceded the ; secretary abroad- Mr. Stettinlus is vested vest-ed with extraordinary powers over sap- ' p!les and perioral service behind the lines-One lines-One of he moat important members of the secretary's party clearly is John D. Ryan, who only recently was given almost al-most unlimited authority over both aircraft air-craft production and the practical appli- ; cation of airplanes in war time. The supply sup-ply of aircraft for the present million and a haJf men of Pershing's army and its future four million Ls the greatest problem In the way of supply that confronts the war department. Able to Advise Pershing. Mr. Ryan went over with the exact knowledge of the production capacity In this country, and he and Mr. Stettinius will be able to advise Genera! Pershing just what may be expected, and when, in the way of the required number of machines ma-chines for the ultimate army of from four to five million men. The presence of General Hines is almost al-most self-explanatory. There have been from time to time reports that there was unnecessary congestion ftt English and French docks. It is understood here tonight to-night that, if it he possible, General Hines will suggest some means whereby, when the United States begins to send overseas over-seas the finished product of the new draft, the record of 2S5,000 men a month to France will be broken. Work of General Hines. The war department, in fact, is committed com-mitted to a policy of having on the western west-ern front eighty divisions by July 1, 1919. The work of General Hines will deal with that demand of the general m staff as a problem that must be met. Similarly the 4 visit of General Gorgas has to do with the vast increase of the army in the near future and the consequently conse-quently necessary increase in the hospital facilities. It is likely that General Gorgas will select sites for new hospital build- ings rather than advise enlargement of the existing facilities by multiplication of beds tn any one Institution. In many cases where the United States has rented French private buildings the capacity now ts at maximum use. The great part of tbe new construction work, whether for hospitals or supply depots, undoubtedly will be in what are known as the American sectors. These sectors extend from the Swiss border to the sea. |