The reader who has come to this point has before him the picture of the Nation's industry at war—the whole teeming effort in its main outlines, its myriad ramifications, its boundless activity, its ten thousand enterprises, its infinite toil, its hosts of workers, its wonders of scientific achievement, its attainments, even its failures—in short that humming complex of work, planning, ambition, disappointment, triumph, shortcomings, ability, and driving force which was a mighty people concentrated with all of its powers upon a single objective.
It remains now to describe the place occupied by this effort in the whole strategic plan of the war against Germany. We did not go into the struggle as if we expected to fight a single-handed war. Whatever we did either with military personnel or with munitions we did with reference to what the nations associated with us were doing or could do in the same respects. The whole plan was coordinated more or less perfectly, and these international understandings and agreements touched and influenced even the most trivial of our enterprises.
The reader who has in mind the record set down on the preceding pages is now prepared to comprehend the force and extent of the international cooperation in the war and to judge how well America played her part in the general scheme. Let us go back, therefore, and review the history of these agreements.
For many months before America came into the struggle, England, France, and Italy had been engaged in grappling with the scientifically organized forces of German military autocracy. The world war had become a conflict of materials, almost as much as of men. All participants had mobilized their industrial resources in a manner and to an extent undreamed of in times of peace.
The allies had marshaled all available raw materials and factory production in their own lands, and still faced colossal deficiencies in supplies for their military programs. They had been forced to reach out into the markets of the world to meet these deficiencies. They had come to America and placed huge orders for raw materials and finished products. The normal capacity of America's peace-time production had been insufficient to meet their overwhelming needs.
In August, 1914, the total factory capacity in the United States for the manufacture of powder was 6,000,000 pounds a year. In April, 1917, under the stimulation of orders placed by the allies, the capacity had been increased more than sixty-fold. England, France, and Italy were taking this entire production and asking for more. They had absorbed our entire output. A huge stream of materials, supplies, and ammunition was flowing steadily from America to the front line trenches in France. The allied governments had moulded their military programs in reliance upon the continuation of this source of supply. Their troops were on the front and in contact with the enemy. Failure of supply meant disaster.
The flow of materials from America to the armies in France could not, under any circumstances, be interfered with or curtailed. This fact was promptly recognized by the United States, and the allied governments were assured that America's military program would be formulated and performed without interference with the allied programs of supply from this country.
America's industrial contribution to the war, as a nation, was to be over and above the industrial contribution to the allies then being made by our individual producers. This fundamental plank in the interallied platform of cooperation was laid down at the very commencement of America's preparation, and it was strictly adhered to until the end of hostilities.
A comprehensive cooperative plan for America's industrial participation in the war remained to be worked out. A survey had to be conducted of the new partner's strength and weakness in supply. A determination had to be made of what the allies could give to the new partner, and what they must receive from her. This was done by the Interallied Munitions Council sitting in Paris, by the foreign missions in Washington in conference with the War Department, and by the allied war ministries and Gen. Pershing abroad.
An analysis of the facts of the situation disclosed that: