The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-05
THE ARMOR PLATE CUES.
TON.
An E%nslishmsn's Impressive state.
nent OF British Experience.

mont OF British Experience.
To THE EDITOR OF THE srN--Sir: An
Englishman can wish nothing better
for America than that she may profit
by British experience in this war. II
] might venture an opinion based on a
twenty years acquaintance with the
United States I should say hat both
In what we have done and In what we
have left undone during the past
eighteen months there are some les
sons we'll worthy of American atten-
ton. One OF those lessons. perhaps.
indeed. the supreme iesson. is the
vital Importance OF encouraging dur
ing the years a. peace as many private
manufacturers as possible to engage
in the production Of war material.
II that Ii really a desirable end.
and all the belligerent nations have
learned in a pretty hard school that
II Is the alpha and omega Of pre-
~parcdness, then I cannot help think
ing that the armor plant bill now
before Congress defeats IL. I cannot
help thinking that instead Of in
%creasing II positively diminishes your
Industrial readiness for war.
Neither car I help giving thanks
to Providence that the British Parlia-
ment was never tempted TO act as
the American Congress o appar-
entity contemplates acting; that II
never thought Of legislating the pri-
vate armor making firms out OF ex-
istence and OF putting all its naval
Eggs in the basket OF a Government
plant: and that when the storm burst
we were able TO turn TO immediate ac-
count the organization and he skill
and the equipment and the unequalled
practical knowledge OF q host Of firms
that knew the armament business
from top to bottom and that a wise
public policy had induced TO keep
themselves In a state Of instant efl-
cheney and responsiveness.
Let me say without a moments hes
itation that We could not have built
up the British fleet on any other
policy: that IL. and II alone, has en-
abled us TO turn England into one
vast arsenal Of war; and that nothing
but a disastrous confusion and delay
could have ensued had VIC depended
exclusively upon a Government plant
for any of the indispensables OF naval
or military material.
Suppose that five or ten years ago
the British Admiralty had called to-
cether the heads of tho making
firms IN the United Kingdom and adj
! dressed them thus: Look here. YOU
are making too much money. You
are not charging us a reasonable price.
You form a ring among yourselves
and you have ceased "a compete with
one another. We are not going &c
stand II II longer. We are going
10 put mp "a Government plant and
make our own armor. The fact that
We begged you 10 go into the business
and encouraged you TO p~ersevere In II,
to invest new capital and to build new
shops to meet our requirements, no
longer weighs with us. We are
through with You: and SO far as We
are concerned you can dismantle your
plants. disband your organization. turn
all your skilled workmcn adrift and
onvert your shops into purely indus
trial establishments"
Suppose the British Admiralty had
taken this stand, what would have
been the result? The result would
have beer that in August. 1914. out
side of Il solitary Government plant
managed. OF course. as negligently and
inefhciently as all such bureaucratic
enterprises must be. we should have
had neither the men nor the machines
to make even a single plate. All the
skill and experience which our private
firms had amassed would have been
dispersed. All the plant that the!
had accumulated, plant that is use.
less for any other purpose. would
have been scrapped or sold. Instead
OF half a dozen splendid organiza.
tons. on which TO build and from
which to expand, We should have had
but one-and that one. by It's very
nature. wrapped in the comfortable
stupor of o~f'icialdom. inelastic. un-
businesslike. totally incapable OF ris'
Ing 10 eVen half the height Of SO ire
mendous an emergency.
What would it then have prohted
us Ia have saved a few thouSanC
pounds in time Of peace IL when The
war came We had 10 squander millions
of poun * in a vain effort to recover
all we had thoughtlcss,y cast away
How should We have gained II IL
Topping OF the profits Of the armoi
makers we had imperilled the nation
Could any one conceive a more per
feet example of the penny wise ant
pound foolish policy than one which
IN the name of economy. weakened III,
navy, risked an !rreparable defeat an'
prevented us on the day OF Arranged
don from utilizing the country's in
dustrial resources
or course nothing of the kind &c
Cured, or Was ever wen thought Of
We have in Great Britain. | believe
fivc or six armor making firms. Thu
Admiralty experts consult with then
continuously, apportion the worl
among them. grange the price-Par
Lament very wisely never attempts t.
NEEDLE with such details and driv,
the best bargains they can In the in
terests of the nation. With common
sense and "a rational spirit Of give an,
take on both sides the system work.
admirably.
Very possibly these private CON
panies earn large and liberal prott'
on their Government contracts. L
they do. what OF 1t? Every English
man Is well content that they should
because every EnGliShman knows tina
by merely remaining in existence an'
in a condition TO iii the Nd
miralty orders they are rendering thu
nation a supreme service. This wa
has taught US that there is M imagin
able profit which II would not hav'
been well worth our while to pay owe
to the m making firms simply 4
keep them in being: and hat no say