Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-02-16
The World Wide War Trust


valued at $l.sO0,064 We are saving
sS7s.s40; or. in other words, we are
saving approximately $1,000. 900 on q
$2.0OO.000 order as compared with
what IL would have cost had that con
tract been awarded the ammunition
ring. Does not a showing such as this
warrant policy of turning the really
big orders over to government manu-
facture instead of allowing the war
\ trafiickers to charge us practically any
price they may agree upon between
themselves.
In a recent speech before congress
President Wilson stated that like
good stewards, We should so account
for every dollar of our appropriations
as to make ii perfectly evident what
IL was spent for and in what way it
was spent" Surely no such thought
was in the minds of the army and
navy officials who have been doing the
purchasing for those departments.
Realizing the government was being
overcharged for turbine rotary drums,
Secretary of the Navy Daniels-who,
with one exception, is the only secre-
tary of the navy that i can find any
trace of who has ever made a real
fight to escape the extortions of the
armor and ammunition rings-induced
an Independent English firm TO sub
nit a bid. The Bethlehem and Mid
vale companies bid s169,5eS and $780,
272. respectively, while the English
firm offered TO furnish the drums for
S57.436, a saving of s102,s36 to the
government over the lowest bid of the
~ 4
NOR, because the secretary has not
been able to obtain armor abroad
Recently the secretary awarded
contract for building 100 torpedo
TASKS. including heads. He induced
a new firm to slip in with a bid. and
was able to purchase for S5S.246 ma
terials which under normal conditions
would have cost $115.O75. The bids
OF the Bethlehem and Midvale com
panies. under real competitive bidding.
showed q reduction of "a per cent as
compared with bids for similar forg-
ings submitted by these companies
only four months previous.
Personally. l believe that these Off
GERS who, in the expenditure of the
peoples money. have been paying
S115.0T5 for supplies which could have
been obtained for s5s.246. should. /
or in some manner. be re-
quired 70 make a public accounting
for their acts.
The thing that riles the blood con- /
corning the manner in which the mill I
lions have been squandered by our I
army and navy officers is that this I
money did not come from the pockets /
Of the rich. but that it has been wrung
from the poorest OF the poor. All OF 4
these wasted millions have been col
lected by tax on the things that the /
people eat. wear. and use. none of it .
having been collected by direct taxa
ton. but every cent of il having come
through the custom houses and inter
nal revenue offices. which means that
he people have been paying the cost
of militarism in the form of increased
cost OF living.
BY the most ingenious maneuvering
among the war traffickers, Secretary
has been able to save some
=. 100000 from the clutches OF the
greedy patriots OF profit But. alas,
he war trust has at last forced him
nto a corner. and he is again wholly
4 its mercy. To eiucidate. / am in
that before the outbreak of
he European war Secretary Daniels
ought, by inquiry, TO ascertain from
in the ring the price of a
ertain projectile. A price of $500
vas made him. The secretary then
invited the representatives of indie ,
endent foreign companies to visit
i'm and submit prices. at the same
ime taking extreme care that the do
nestle bidders should hear of his sup ,
osed intentions. The result was the
ing reduced its prices from $3.50 10
325. and the secretary made his pur- ,
bases at that figure. Since the Euro
can war broke out, Secretary Daniels.
am told, decided TO purchase more
I the same projectile. but to his
stonishment. was quoted price of =
i25 The mountaineering bidders.
eing business men as well as patriots,
ad taken advantage of the fact that
mere is no possible chance of the
ecretary obtaining anything in the
ay of war materials from Europe as
ing as the present war holds out. and
posted their prices accordingly.