OCR Text |
Show 'PUHTTSPiOP" WORK HD11CE Every Possible Energy Will Be Devoted to Labor on Munitions. WASHINGTON. Jan. 3. Recommendation Recommenda-tion of the American war mission that troops be sent to France as rapidly as possible will not result in any change in the general plan of training the soldiers in the United States. This was made plain today by Secretary Baker in a gen- i eral discussion of the efforts of the war i department to promptly carry out the ; mission's suggestions. Every possible energy will bp devoted . tn speeding up productions of munitions . and equipment, and this, with the agreement agree-ment of the, aJlis to furnish the necessary neces-sary ships and equipment, is R:pected to result in the dispatch of the armies I abroad mu'-h sooner than was at. first : thought possible. Neither ships nor heavy artillery for any great force would : be available on this side of the Atlantic i for some time. Efforts to speed up the ordnance bu- i rea u's work were reflet-ted in Secret a ry I Baker's announcement of the reorganization reorganiza-tion of the bureau, with experienced business men at (he head of the several divisions which will have charge of the general work. Reorganization of the quartermaster's department under Major General Goe-thals. Goe-thals. acting quartermaster general, along I the lino obtaining some years ago when there was a commissary general and a paymaster general, also has been suggested. sug-gested. 'General Goethals is said to favor this plan, and in this connection it la understood un-derstood that Major General .lames Alc-'shire. Alc-'shire. the former paymaster general, and his assistant, Major General C. A. Devol, will be recalled to active service. Opportunity for changes in the department, depart-ment, It is pointed out, will be given soon by the retirement, on their own applications, applica-tions, of Brigadier General A. T. Smith and Thomas Cruz, assistants to the quartermaster quar-termaster general. Steps to increase the efficiency of the army machine also have been taken by the newly created war council of the department. de-partment. These are understood to include in-clude approval of a plan whereby the most efficient officers will be placed in i charge of the more important work in ; their departments, with removal of any ' officer regarded by his immediate chief as unsuited for the duties he is performing. |