Five Million Soldiers' Garments Made by American Women
A recent bulletin of the American Red Cross contains a report showing that up to Feb. 1, 1918, this organization had supplied 3,431,067 sweaters, mufflers, wristlets, helmets, and socks to the soldiers and sailors of the United States. Of this total 1,189,469 articles were delivered to the fighting services in January of this year. Though official figures were not available for later months, it was estimated that the total to the end of March was in excess of 5,000,000 garments, all knit by American women for the Red Cross. The same bulletin reported the distribution of 5,000,000 francs contributed by Americans for the relief of those French soldier families which have suffered most from the war.
War Department's Improved System
Summary by Benedict Crowell
Assistant Secretary of War
A year of war has changed the United States War Department from a military group to a closely organized business concern. The vast difference between its methods at the time of our entry into the war and at the beginning of our second year of hostilities is summarized in the appended statement and chart, which were given to The New York Times by Benedict Crowell, the Assistant Secretary of War, in March, 1918. Mr. Crowell is one of the business experts called into the department last Autumn to reorganize it. In describing the changes made he said:
A year ago there were eleven officers, all strictly military men, and about 1,000 privates in the aircraft work. Now in that branch of the war business we have thousands of officers and 100,000 men. But 96 per cent. of those officers are trained business men and engineers from big civil enterprises. Most of them are in military uniform, but that is merely a matter of form that does not go to the substance of the business.
The great military work of America, the work of the soldiers, is being done in France. In this country we have settled down to the purely business undertaking of producing men and material out of which to form the armies.