. The emergency appropriation for this department for the
year 1918 was $3,000,000,000; a sum greater than the normal annual
appropriation for the entire expenses of the Federal Government on all
accounts. Another illustration can be drawn from the mere numbers of
some familiar articles. Thus of shoes more than 20,000,000 pairs have
already been purchased and are in process of delivery; of blankets,
17,000,000; of flannel shirting, more than 33,000,000 yards; of melton
cloth, more than 50,000,000 yards; of various kinds of duck for shelter
tents and other necessary uses, more than 125,000,000 yards; and other
staple and useful articles of Army equipment have been needed in
proportion.

[Sidenote: Resources, industry and transportation mobilized.]

To all of this it has been necessary to add supplies not usual in our
Army which, in many cases, had to be devised to meet needs growing out
of the nature of the present warfare. It was necessary, therefore, to
mobilize the resources and industry, first to produce with the greatest
rapidity the initial equipment, and to follow that with a steady stream
of production for replacement and reserve; second, to organize adequate
transportation and storage for these great accumulations, and their
distribution throughout the country, and then to establish ports of
embarkation for men and supplies, assemble there in orderly fashion for
prompt ship-loading the tonnage for overseas; and to set up in France
facilities necessary to receive and distribute these efficiently.

[Sidenote: Civilian agencies cooperate with government.]

The Quartermaster General's Department was called upon to set up rapidly
a business greater than that carried on by the most thoroughly organized
and efficiently managed industrial organization in the country. It had
to consider the supply of raw materials, the diversion of industry, and
speed of production, and with its problem pressing for instant solution
it had to expand the slender peace-time organization of the
Quartermaster Department by the rapid addition of personnel and by the
employment and coordination of great civilian agencies which could be
helpful.

[Sidenote: The Council of National Defense is aided by men of great
ability.]

The Council of National Defense, through the supply committees organized
by it, afforded the immediate contact necessary with the world of
commerce and industry, while men of various branches of business and
productio