The Washington herald., 1914-11-08

furnished storemasters on requisition-
Witness this memorandum, issued by the
Paymaster General:
This prohibitory order applies to de-
hydrated products Of all kinds and to
every other variety Of near-nood which
various concerns have for years been try
ing to .foist upon the navy.
Enlisted men have no choice as TO
what they shall eat, being compelled by
the very necessities Of the service to take
whatever Is served out to them. For
this reason and because adequate and
satisfactory subsistence is the very
foundation, not only, OF real efficiency,
but Of discipline itself, there Is no class
OF purchases for the naval service that
than provisions-our men being no poi
son squad but human beings and Amer
lean citizens for whom we stand in the
relation Of trustee in 80 far as srelates
to the question OF food
1T Is therefore directed that every
effort to try on. the navy any experiments
or tests OF any food products whatever
shall be promptly suppressed. II being
distinctly understood that there. will not
under any circumstances be the slightest
deviation from this rule except in obedi-
ence of an act of Congress or acategOrical
order from other superior authority"
Paymaster General MCGOWAN, by the
by, Is working up q marked actively in
behalf OF economy efficiency in his de-
partment, as well as a proper considera-
ton for the men his department pro-
visions. He is issuing orders on three
minute schedule. -.
Here is one in which he follows Secre-
tary Daniels policy Of letting competitio
into all department purchasing:
"a. Go slow on waving competition,
even in cases where 1t b permissible. No
matter how lenient the law or regulations
In the case may be. get competition al
ways, unless manifestly contrary to the
governments best interests. Err II at
all. on the side of public competition
with emphasis on both words).-
''b. Stand by the lowest bidder whenever
possible. Having practically a vested
right to the award until II Is afiirmatively
established that his bid is defective in
some essential respect. he is entitled to
Just little more Consideration than any
body. else-or, rather, to fun and fair
consideration before anybody else. It is,
therefore, entirely inappropriate, to COM
pare his offerings on an equality with his
higher-priced competitors for the purpose
of deciding which is preferable-the only
question to be decided being as to wheth-
er his offering is satisfactory lin which
event all others are automatically re-
jected). After. the lowest bidder has been
disqualified for valid reasons then the
next bidder above him takes his place
and succeeds to al his original advantage
of position. And so on until, possibly,
the highest bidder may eventually become
the lowest acceptable bidder. y But -the
process needs to go step by step through
each Intervening bidder land 1t will not
often occur).. --r '-1s.-'.- -~--.s7- ---.
&C In all these dealings 1t is to be
borne in mind that bidders rights are not
necessarily in conflict with the govern
ment.s interests. On the contrary, 1t is
the best public policy Imaginable to ac-
cord to every business man the maximum
of consideration, provided Of course, the
interests Of the United States are care
fully and. constantly safeguarded
1T is scarcely necessary to add that con-
tractual rights carry with them contrac-
tual obligations on both sides; and one
Of these obligations resting upon the gov
ernment and all its servants dncluding
us) Is to help every contractor to make
good II he can-no matter who he is or
what he has undertaken to furnish-be-
cause once he gets a contract he ceases
to be a competitor Ito be critically COM
pared with other asptrants for that par
ticular order), but becomes to all intents
and purposes a fellow servant of and
co-worker for the government so long as
his good faith and well-directed work hold
out - -r
Whatever. else you do, never keep
anybody waiting for information or ac-
tion that he has a right to expect. Gov
ernment red tape" Is never Questionable
to honest men, except when II IL need
lessly wound up so tight and so long that
1t results In obstruction, and 1t is q fact
beyond question (mhch less contradic-
tion) that every avoidable delay is bound
to cost the government money in the long
run. Therefore. first know you are right
and then do 1t now. I"
The retirement Of Col John T. Thomp-
son, of the army ordnance department
on November 2, makes Lieut. Col. Charles
B. Wheeler and Mai. Kenneth Morton,
of the permanent personnel of that de-
partment. due for promotion and leaves
in the grade Of major asvacancy in ad-
dition to that which. has existed since
relief OF Mai William A. Phillips. OF the
on September L "A board of
ordnance officers to meet at the Sandy
Hook proving ground on November Il
VIII make recommendations for detail of
officers to MI these. vacancies Those
eligible include all officers with service
IN the ordnance department who have
as captains in other branches
of the service. OF course now serving In
the ordnance department the only ones