Evening Star Newspaper, February 19, 1931, Page 4

INGT TRUNPH o - :==fi_—‘__: e s e [ i THE EVENING Liberty Motor Development| Glemaenceau Incensed at Held Outstanding Achieve- ment of War. This is the last of thres articles by Mas. Gen. George Owen Squisr. chief of the United States Air Seryice during the war. describing the labor invelved in Faising that service from the condition in which Gen Pershing found it to & remarkeble fighting machine. BY MAJ. GEN. GEORGE OWEN SQUIER, U. S. A: (Retired), Wart:me Chief Signal Officer and Chief of the American Alr Service At the time this courtry entered the war there were being built in th> United States only four makes of aviaticn en- gines that were developed so far as to be considered of any military value, and even these were useful only for primary training We had no engires at all suitable for gervices on the battle front. or evca for the advanced training of pilots The largest engine of domesiic manu- facture developed about 220 horsepower and had not proved satisfactory when | judged from the standpoint of comba service requirements. ‘The ofii ranged from 90 to 135 horsepower. It therefore, was evident that the exist-| ing American engines could be used for | preliminary instruction purposes only | and that their furthr manufacture should be limited to the training re- quirements, As we look back on the record of ac- complishments in the problem of ob- faining large numbers of high-powered | ative engines for our Army and Navy Air| Scrvices. both in this counury and, abroad, it seems to those of us who were | in close contact wich the work and the | difficultics more like a fairy tale than a siatement of hard facts Brilliant Chagpter in War. | On the face of things it certainly | would sesm to be the height of presump- | tion to assume that this country could, following its almost total neglect of Britivch-American Plan for Assigning Ulnits lo} English ' for Tratning.] MILNER ANSWERS 1 Separate for Combat Service.: 1} CHAPTER XXXIX. HE question of the shipment of American_troops, and particu- larly their allotment to the al- lied armies, had assumed ve of the allied leade Accordingly, a session of the Supreme war Council was called at Abbeville May 1, 1918, and Prime Minister Clem- enceau opened the meeting by referring forthwith to the previous recommenda- tion of the council’s military repre as to the disposition of Ame tro “The military representatives,” he be- gan, “expressed the opinion in their joint not> No. 18 that only infantry and machine-gun units should be sent to France for the present. Since then the agreement betw Lord” Milne and_Gen. signed at London April 24, 1918, hvs intervened. This agreement makes a change. Protests. Arrangement. “It had been understood at Versailles i FRENCH PREMUER Commander Reiteraltes Intention to Orgunize S. Armyy - | great importance in the minds STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, Wash day. The Yanks get a little hely #om lccal talent. THURSDAY, Fi My Experiences in the World Wa;' BY GEN. JOHN J{. PERSHING, Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces. allotment on arrival in France. We simply warked to hasten their coming.” Pershing Backs Milner. “In ing thd agneement with Lord Milner,” T interposed, “I had in mind | bringing troops as rapidly-as possible to | meet the existing situation. Lord Mil- |ner is quite correct in stating that aviation development in previous years, | inat America would ssnd 120,000 men | there was no agreemant as to the allo- have hoped to design, develop and pre duce in unprecedented quartiti’s an ac- ceptable aircraft engine of greater power | than had yet been evolved by any of | per month, which the French and Eng- lish Armies would share £qually. Under the Milner-Pershing agreement, it ap- pears, none go to France, The French cation of American tmops either to the British or French Artnies. There is no agreement between my’ Government and anybody else that a single American | the European nations. even under their |paue 'not been consulted. We might | soldier shall be sent fto either the Brit- spurs of governmental encouragement | and tremendous war demands. Yet just that and nothing else was the only thing to do, and the story of | its domng s one of the most brilllant|yich to protest that this is not satis- | to France chapters in the history of our country’s | part in the war. | One of the serious mistakes the allies had fallen into at the time the United States entered the war was the devel- opment of a muitiplicity of types of engines and planes which made it im- possible to have a large number of any one of these types. As a further con- sequence, the trained personnel on the ground to operate and repair the ma- chines had grown to such a proportion that it was estimated that from 30 to 50 men were required on the ground to keep each one gf the many types of planes in the air on the fighting line. | Manifestly, unless this large number of trained men per fighting plane muld] be reduced by scme means it would be | hopeless to expect within a reasonable time to put into the air thousands of | fiying planes, because a single thousand | ianes on this basis would require from | 0,000 to 50.000 men in attendance. ' The experience obtained in getting two foreign engines into production in this country and under our manufac- turing methods so thoroughly demon- strated the futility of attempting any such solution of our service engine| problem as to eliminate at-once its con- | tinued consideration. It was realized | that copies of foreign designs could not | be available in time and i adequate | sise or numbers to answer the demand | for an overwhelming air force at the front. American air performance | would have been very small indeed if | limited’ by such a handicap as this. | Wanted Engine of Our Own. Moreover, in spite of the fact that a | technical commission was at onee or- glml-d and dispatched to first ind information on the front and in the aircraft centers of Europe, it was unthinkable that this country should | sit idly by and wait perhaps months final definite report which decide the nature and extent of | our part in the allied aircraft program. | Since the most successful plan's are | des! around specific engines, and| as s penditure of time and effort in develop- ment, it was apparent to a few of us| who were in close contact with the| situation that it would in ail likelihood be possible ign, develop and pro- duce an entirely n:w American engine, embodying characteristics which would render it partieularly adapted to manu- facture under American conditions, in ba ts of service and production, lus the time to get it into production | this country. It was decided, therefore, that our efforts should be directed along both these channels simultaneously and in addition to purchase in Europe what- ever service equipment might be avail- able to tid: over the interval while we were getting into production. It is apparent that the fundamental unit of engine design or construction is the cylinder, and that the evolution of engine power rest:d mainly with the unit power ecapacity of that cylinder, which could be taken as representing the largest praeticable size sanctioned by the state of th- art at that time. The cylinder size of 5 inches bore by 7 inches stroke was selected, after a careful examination of the perform- anc: of both Ameriean and European engines of the then modern design, as being the largest thaf could be relied upon to give satisfactory service. While originally designed to produce approxi- mately 28 horsepower, this cylinder was | developed 50 as to yield more than 40 horsepower, as the result of somewhat inereasing the spied and altering the functioning characteristics. The stand- ard units of cylinders were to b~ used in engines having four or more cylinders | each, and baving outputs up to 335 horsepower for the 12 cylinders. Was Highly Standardized. ‘Thus, for the first time in the history of the aeronautic engine for military uses, a truly comprehensive design plan was evolved which in a simple and direct manner provided for the produc- tion of a whole line of engines of wide power capacities, but composed of units that were highly standardized and thercfore could be really manufactured, instead of being merely built. This was the only way in which this country could meet the requirements of this most vital part of the ggogram. It must not be thought. however, that such a revolutionary decision was easy to make, or adhere to when made. in the face of all kinds of adverse criti- cism, some of which seemed to based upon adequate grounds. The de- velopment of new types of aircraft en- gines heretofore had been such a time- consuming matter that it was generally regarded as a thing to be avoided if any ready-developed engine could found anywhere which would at all an- swer the requirements, Thus the numerical preponderance of opinion was against the possibility of a standardized American engine { M. Clemencau's statement | and suppose that in compensation the { American troops arriving in June would | be given to France. But it now appears | they are also to join tne British. 1 factory. “I am not discusving the figure of 120.000 men: I am prepared to accept that these men go o the British in May. I am asking to veceive the same number of troops in Aune. There are close to 400.000 Amerisans in France at present, but only fiw> divisions, or about 125000 men, can be considered as combatants. That is' not a satis- factory proportion.” e Lord Milner arose, much’ incensed at ' which he considered quite unjust. “M. Clemenceau has intima ted,” he asser “that there was sqmething mysterious about -the Londor* agree~ ment. I believe that an explana tion is necessary. He appears to belfev' that the agreement we signed is a re\ ersal of the Supreme War Council's dech ion. I know only of a joint note embody ing the recommendations of the milita "y representatives, but ft is of no vali'e without the approval of the goverm- ments. “Besides, M. Clemenceau seems to be' undér the impression that half of the |, American troops were to go to France and the other half to England. I do not recollect any such decision. All that Gen. Pershing and I have urged is that infantry and machine gunners | should be sent to France. We had no intention of depriving France of any American troops. I do not know that anything has been said regarding their sembly drawings personally between midday May 29 and the afternoon of May 31, 1917, working in Col. E. A. Deed’s apartment in a Washington ho- tel in response to a request for a report on the aireroft engine situation. Proved Mself Quickly. and twelves was given as a result of the approval of the joint conference of the Army and Navy Technical Board the Aircraft Production Board The first engine, an eight-cylinder, was biult in one month as a result of the enthusiastic co-operation of some 10 manufacturers, each of whom produced those gm for which it was best fitted. The st sample 12-cylinder finished ‘its 50-hour endurance test 82 days from the time the order for samples was given, and the total elapsed time in this test was only about 55 hours, a record-breaking performance. The suc- cess of this endurance test definitely removed the emgine from the experi- g‘wnn'al stage to the realm of proved en- es. Those of us familiar with the diffi- culties and disappointments involved in the design, development and perfec- tion of any form of intricate mechani- €' device can readily appreciate the really remarkable accomplishment rep- resented in the Biberty engine. There- | fore it is not surprising that the repre- sentatives of the allies were for some time unable to believe the full truth of this accomplishment. 8o well recognized did the value of the Liberty engine become, however, that the allies had on order at the time of signing the armistice 16,741 Lib- erty engines, and were constantly en- deavoring each to Incr-ase their rate of monthly delivery. Planes were being countrics, and it was fast becoming the predominating acronautical engine of the allied cause. The record of production and de- velopment of the Liberty proved con- clusively the wisdom of the decision to concentrate all efforts on this one en- gine for the major part of our program of combat engines. In common with all similar machines, many possible im- provements and cost reductions became cvident as the manufacturing processes and tools evolved and as experience was acquired in the actual production. Outstanding Achievement. Eleven hundred Liberty twelves were produced in one year from the day that Cols. Vincent and Hall first met and started a preliminary drawing, and more than 15,000 were produced by the end of another six months. | It is, perhaps, to be expected that | many ecriticisms would be leveled at an | engine evolved under the conditions ob- |taining at that time and registering the Jarge success which it did, but all such have proved to be the result of misrepresentation regarding the condi- tions to be met, the fundamental ideas of design, or of lack of appreciation of the difficulties encountered in the crea- tion at a single stroke and without pre- el yious experience an aeromautical power plant so much larger than was then in existence. The Liberty engine stands today as {an acheivement which for daring, cor | structive imagination and far-sighted- ness will ever be a cause of pride for the American people. (Copyright, 1931, by North American News- paper Alliance.) being designed, developed and produced in large numbers in anything like as short a time as would be required to licate some European engine. Nation may well render thanks that its destinities in this particular ‘were guided by such a far-seeing and courageous roup of men, who had the ability to formulate such plans and ‘then enforce their realization. Lieut. Cols. J. G. Vincent of the Packard Co. and E. J. Hall of the Hall- Scott Motor Car Co. iaid down the gen~ #%p) features and got oyt the st s~ Subscribe Today It costs only about 1% cents day and 5 cents Sundays to ve Washington's best newspa- per delivered to you regularly f:ery evening and SBunday morn- 8. ‘Telephone National 5000 and “the delivery will start immedi- ately. The Route Agent will col- lect at the end of each month. ‘The order to build 10 sample eights | designed around this cngine in all allied | ish or French. “There is in_existence an agreement between Mr. Lloyd George and myself that six divisions «should be brought M. Clemenceau will remem- | ber that I spoke to him about going to London to arrange’ for the shipment of American troops to France and that he approved because it would expedite their arrival. I also spoke to Gen. Petain about it.” M. Clemenccau rzraembered my speak- ing of it, but, disregarding his previous | approval, continued his objections, say- ing “We have been informed that nothing had been decid:d on at Versailles, but | something has been decided on at Lon- don, and France was closely concerned in this. It was decided that six divi- sions should go to the British. | will not argue about that. You an- nounce to us artillery for the month | of June. “Where four are in alliance, two of | them cannot act independently. Noth- ing has been provided for France in June. “The appointment of Gen. Foch as | command-r in chief is not a mere deco- ration. This post involves grave re- sponsibilities—he must méet the present ituation; he must provide for the Auture. “I accept what has been dope for M v, but T want to know what is in- itemaded for June.” Reviews Situation. M.\ Clemenceau said the French had inot ra ed certain: specialists they had asked \‘or, and also quoted from the cenversa tion I had held with Gen. Foch with ref rence to sending over troops in May ad June. Mr. Lloy d George then said: “I am of M. Clemenceau’s opinion. The interes\ 5 of th> allies are identical; we must not lose sight of that, other- wise the urk'ty of command has Qo meaning. W& must consider what is best for the ca mmon cause. 3 “What is the' situation today? The | British Army h3s had heavy fighting and has suffencd heavy losses. All available drafts have been sent to France, and we AAhall send all who are available in May a\d June. This would be the case even A’ all the Americans who arrive in Europe during these months should be aasigned to the Brit- ish Army “At sent certain British divisions have been so s:vercly h andled that they unnot be reconstitub>d. Gen. Foch will remember the numier.” “Yes, 10,” Foch answared. we cannot agaio\ put them in line,” Mr. Lloyd Geory'e continued, “they must be replaced by new units. The Germans are now fgh\Ing with the obfect of using up our eflestives. If they can do this without exhausting their own rescrves, they willl some time deal us a blow which we shall net be able to parry. “In the meantime I suggest' that the decision for the allotment of the Ameri- can troops for June be taken up when 4 il i Al i il il to Lincoln 7th & D Sts. et il i well, 1| —at the Lincoln Na- tional isn’t measured by the size of your bank account. it Modest accounts meet the personality and sup- port that make endur- ing friendships. We value your good will as much as your account and aim to make this bank a bank where you will feel at home. We have the ability plus the desire to serve. May we be of service National Bank that month arrives. In May, W fact, either of our two armies may be hard pressed. That is the one which should be reinforced. It is mot desirable now to decide how troops arriving in June should be allotted.” ‘To this Foch replied: “It is undeniable that the British Army is now exhausted; so let it receive immediate reinforcements in May. But lately the French have had grave losses, notably at Montdidier, and both during the last few days have been fighting shoulder to shoulder. So American aid is now needed almost as| much for France as for Great Britain. Above this question of aid to the French or to the British is aid to the | allies. “We are agreed that the American Army is to reinforce the British Army at once; in June we, too, shall need in- | fantry and machine-gun units. So let us make the agreement for June at | once by saying the same shipment of | infantry and machine guns as for May. |If there is tonnage available, we shall | devote it after that to the elements necessary for filling up the American divisions. I am sure that Gen. Per- | | shing, with his generosity and his breadth of view, will grant the fairness of this view and will extend for June the agreement decided upon for May.” Whereupon Mr. Lloyd George gave | support to the principle, saying that | British recruits would not be available | until August and he understood it was the same for France, when both would be able to furnish their own recruits. He | then asked that the May program be | extended over June, in which M. Clemenceau <joined. Insists on Own Army. In reply, I said: “I do not suppose that we are to un- derstand that the American Army is to be entirely at the disposal of the French and British commands.” M. Clemenceau said that of course | this was not the intention. Continuing, I said: “Speaking for my Government and | | myself, T must insist upon our intention to have our cown Army. The principle of unity of command must prevail in our Army. 1t must be complete under its own command. I should like to have a date fixed when this will be realized. I should like to make 1t clear that all American troops are not to be with the British, as there are five divisions with the Prench now and there will be two more in a short time. “As to the extension of the May agrecment to June, I am not prepared to accept it. The troops arriving in June will not be available for the front before the end of July or the middle of August. 80 we have the whole month of May ahead before deciding whether an emergency is likely to arise in June. I have explained to Lord Milner and Gen. Foch why I do not wish to commit the American Army so long in advance. If need be, I shall recommend the ex- tension into June. I can see no reason for it now.” Mr. Lloyd George spoke again. and | sald that as a representative of the | SMITHS M FURNTURE O oo 1313 YOU STRI A PHONE NO.B?EZEI'S'?:; warmth of you? 17th & H Sts. “of the British and American azmies. British government he fully approved the principle of an American Army. Accepts Princigie. “It would not be reasonable or even honorable,” he continued, “to consider the American Army as a reservoir from which we can draw. It is to our advan- tage to have a powerful American Army as soon_as possible to fight beside us, and as head of the British government 1 accept the principle. Howewer, at present we are engaged in what is per- haps the decisive battle of the war. If we lose this battle, we shall need ton- nage ‘to take home what theve is left “What is our best hope of winning this battle? “The decisive months will perhaps be those of September, October, perhaps | later. If the American Army could in- tervene at that time it would wsuit us all. I have no reason to believe that these two opinions are incompatible, but we should not wait until the end of May to decide, for questions of tonnage are involved which we must go into now.” He proposed that the question of continuing the May program into June | be held in abeyance two weeks. He | then brought up the question of the use of slower ships for troops. and thought 30,000 or 40,000 might be transported in these ships. Both Ad- miral Sims and I had already pressed that point with the Government. Mr. Lloyd George calculated that the Eritish would be able to transport 150,- 000 per month as a maximum, and that we could bring over 40,000 to 50,- 000, which would allow us to include the auxiliary services required to com- plete our divisions and organize our own Army. But he asked that priority in embarkation be given the infantry and machine-gun units. Foch for American Army. 1 approved this request up to six di- visions, and stated that toward the end | of Miy we could decide whether the program was to be continued irto June. Then Gen. Foch announced that he, too, favored the formation of an Ameri- can Army. “Nobody is more for the constitution | of a national American Army than 1" he said, “for I know how much more an army is worth when fighting under its own commander and under its own flag. But now the needs are immedi- ate; there is a battle to be won or a battle to be lost. I ask for the con- | tinuation of the May program. ‘Gen. Pershing asks that we trans- port the elements necessary for the constitution of his Army. I am told that the tonnage will allow this: all the better, but in two weeks we shall all be dispersed, 50 we ought to decide today to continue in June what was decided on for May. I ask Lord Milner, as well | as Gen. Pershing, to join me after the | meeting to sign an agreement. | Replying that I was glad to hear | Gen. Foch express himself so stmngly\ in favor of an American Army and JBRUARY 19, 1331. ROGERS CALDWELL MAY LOSE HIS HOME Former Stenographer Says Deed to Palatial Residence Was Part of Bank Assets. i By the Assbciated Press. *NASHVILLE, Tenn., February 19.— Rogers Caldwell, the banker who has lost his bank and the horseman who has lost his horses, stood in danger to- day of losing his $500,000 palatial home outside of Nashville as a legislative in- vestigating committee started inquiry into the deed of Brantwood Hall. ‘The first witness today was Miss Helen Cecelia Baker, who said she was a former stenographer in the offices of Caldwell & Co. and the Bank of Ten- nessee and that during her employment from February, 1928, to July, 1930, she bad the custody of a deed to Brentwood Hall, made out to the Bank of Tennes- see. “I kept the deed in a voucher holding the bank's real’ estate assets,” she explained. She said in the Spring of 1930 she showed the deed to bank examiners and could not explain how the deed listed then as assets for the Bank of Tepnes- see was not listed among the bank’s as- sets in the following September, as she left the employment of the concern in July. The committee claims that Brent- woed Hall should be thrown into the assets of the Bank of Tennessee and be used to lquidate claims of the State for large State funds carried down with the bank’s collapse. L] MEMORIAL TRIBUTE PAID T0 MUSSOLINI'S MOTHER Many Wreaths Placed Upon Grave of Humble Country School Mistress. By the Associated Press. PREDAPPIO NUOVA, TItaly, Febru- ary 19.—The memory of Rosa Maltoni Mussolini, mother of the Duce, was honored today in placing of numerous ‘wreaths on her grave in the local ceme- tery. Foremost among those tributes was that of her son, who on a number of occasions has testified to all that he owed to that humble country school mistress, wife of Alessandro Mussolini, a village blacksmith. Other garlands of flowers came from Arnaldo Mussolini, the Duce’s brother; the original Fascists of Milan and the party organizations in this province of Forli, where the premier has his Sum- mer home. The school children of this township and of Forli, the county s-at, where Mussolini —attended normal school. came in special pilgrimages, dropping rosebuds on the tomb, that no one more fully appreciated the present situation, I said that it did not appear necessary for the council to de- cide today. ‘Tomorrow: Foch asserts rights as commander in chief, but Pershing won't give in on troop disposition. (Copyright. 1931, in all countries by North American Newspaper Alliance. rights reserved. including the Scandin: Reproduction in_whole or in p: the vorld Back to Pre-War Prices $1 .50 Baltimore and Return—7-day Limit ATURBAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY Washington's Birthday | $ 1 .25 Tickets good returning until Monday Night. W. B. & A. 12th and N. Y. Avenue REICHSTAG RECONVENES National Socialists and Netionalists Are Absent. BERLIN, February 19 (#).—Neither the National Socialists nor the Na- lonalists were in their seats this after- \noon when the Reichstag resumed its Bessions after a week’s recess. The Nationalists were engaged !n party deliberations in another part of the House when President Loebe called the session to order. There have been reports that both parties, which threat- ened to boycott the Reichstag sessions until their presence was demanded by an. important vote, would return today. EX-PUBLISHER DIES George Warren Willder Expires in New York at Age of 65. NEW YORK, February 19 (#) George Warren Wilder, former Presi- dent af the Butterick Publishing Co. and a New Hampshire State legislator, died here yesterday at the age of 65. Stricken with tuberculosis in middle life, Mr. Wilder defled doctors who ad- vised him to live in the West, and re- turned to New York. Apparently cured after some years, he founded the “Linger Longer Lunger Club,” and de- voted much of his life to health work and child welfare. final ARTenarr'y for only-- Beginning today and up to Monday at One P. M. Art- craft offers every remaining sale shoe at this final clear- ance price. Shoes that have selling at 14.50 to Shoes for every oc- been 18.50. casion, all colours, all styles, all heel heights, all sizes, but not in every style. Early shopping is advised. ARTCRAPT'S ARCHITECTS WOR ON SEVEN PROJE( ans for Jobs Remaining on trict Schedule Will Be Read i by March 15, Architect’s plans for the seven struction jobs remaining on the i trict’s schedule in the current |priation act will be completed by 15, according to Municipal Arc Albert L. Harris. There is ogly school building contract—that of Powell Junior High School—rem: to be let. This calls for an eight. addition with combination gymna assembly hall, for which an appr tion of $225,000 is available. Work is progressing on a_revisi the specifications for the Wester Dunbar High School athletic field Bids for both were rejected when exceeded the available appropriati The other jobs as yet unfinished domestic service plant and garage District ‘Training School; Nort| branch library; Columbia Juniot School auto repair shop, and cow and blacksmith shop at the Inds | Home School for colored children, sale three days 550 , ' formerly to 1850 323 T B e Heating Specialists for Over 25 Years Automatic Heat —for vour home, at a Proven Economical Operating Cost, is what you want and WHAT YOU’LL HAVE, when United Qil Burner Get the facts from any “U. S.” owner To all those interested now offer United States Special Low Price For Immediate Installation * @And ONE PRICE covers COMPLETE IN- STALLATION—no extras. 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