Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-03-11 | Page 4 | More Guns Needed

MORE GUNS NEEDED. The army ordnance bureau has asked congress for an urgent deficiency appropriation ap-propriation of $-100,000,000 for the manufacture of ordnance, principally heavy guns. Although haste was urged by the acting chief of ordnance, senate leaders are said to be disposed to delay action and let the appeal take its usual course through the house, w-here all bills involving the expenditure of money are supposed to originate. There is an urgent deficiency bill pending in the senate, however, and if the senators felt so inclined they could amend it so as to take care of the extra $400,-000,000 $400,-000,000 asked by the bureau. But such action upion the part of the senators is highly improbable. During the recent re-cent " drive " against the war depart ment the ordnance bureau came in for considerable criticisim for not having all the guns needed on hand, but thero was less disposition to criticize after it had been shown that congress hail always been parsimonious regarding appropriations ap-propriations for such purposes, and was in fact largely to blame for our lack of ordnance at the outbreak of the war. Senators who indulged in such criticisms now have an opportunity to aid the ordnance bureau in its work of fully preparing for the great struggle in France and thereby show their good faith.' Now that the Germans and Ans- trians have captured most of the Russian Rus-sian guns they will be superior to the Allies in that particular in the west, and it behooves the United States to begin the manufacture of more guns as soon as possible. We are making them at the present time, but it now seems we must continue the work indefinitely.