The Washington times., 1917-12-22
GEN. CROz|ER TO
BLAME FOR WAR
DELAY, SAySLENIS

UELAl,MSLEMN
CONTINUED from First PaCsJ
but Lewis has never received from
the War Department any Gcknowl-
edgment OF its receipt.
"The way ! know II was accepted"
he said. "is that my bank told me
so."
No Baker Reply.
Before the check was accepted,
General Crozier, Adjutant General
Mccain, and Secretary OF the Treas
ury McAdoo were asked for rulings
whether II could legally be taken by
the Government. Lewis testified.
Baker has not replied to Colonel
Lewis latest letter. Offering TO turn
over all royalties.
What prompted you to make this
offer to the Government in the first
place, and to keep IL alive ever since?"
asked Senator Mcclellan.
That's a hard question to answer"
said Lewis. 81 told q friend OF mine
about my latest offer before I made
II, and he said IL was a very hand
some and patriotic thing to do.
asked him II that was what he really
thought, and he said no. I said he
thought I was fool, and he agreed he
does.
81 guess my reason is largely
psychological. The Government has
prosecuted me and 1 want to pay the
Government in good hard money, that
I've earned"
Government Fooled.
Gun manufacturers sponsoring the
Browning machine gun are 'fooling
the Government" A. E. Borie, of the
Savage Arms Company, told the Sem
ate investigating committee today.
Borie's company makes the Lewis gun,
adopted by the allies.
The Browning gun looks good
enough on paper, he testified, but mo
body knows what II will do" Manu-
facturers who say IL IL q peerless
arm, the best in the world" he added.
"are fooling not only themselves, but
the Government"
"Mr. Hansen, OF the Colt company.
who testified before you that guam
tity delivered OF the Browning gun Is
to begin soon, is mistaken in my opin-
ion. All the manufacturers who think
they will soon begin producing
Browning guns In large quantities
are going to fall down. If you'll in
vestiEate q contract taken by one
company for several thousand Wick
ers guns, many months ago. you'll
find they haven't all been delivered"
Borie sharply criticised War De-
partment officials for changing their
minds SO often.
They never knew what they want
ed" he declared. They told me last
August there would be no more
Lewis guns made after next July.
Five weeks later, they ordered thous-
ands more, enough to keep my plant
busy all next year. Then in Novem-
Der, they changed their minds again,
and forced me to change my whole
equipment, to make Lewis aircraft
guns, instead Of the trench guns they
had ordered"
This policy OF yacillation and
changed orders" Borie said, had
cost him S1o0, 900, and the Government
some deliveries. He believed other
manufacturers had suffered likewise.
Refused Lewis Guns.
fused to take Lewis guns firing
British ammunition, although he
could have delivered 10000 of them
by this time. This, he estimated,
meant q loss to the American
forces OF the equivalent of 500, 900
rifles, as one machine gun is held the
equal OF fifty rifles.
Borie's testimony brought the total
of machine guns the army might
have had today to $4,000. L. z. Stod-
dard testified this week his COM
pany could have furnished 10000 Colt
machine guns by this time, but the
Government wouldn't have them.
Putting a "he-man" in charge OF
munitions production and supply is
the only way the United States Gov
ernment will solve the problem OF
getting necessary quantities OF guns
and ammunition in time to win the
war, Borie told the Investigators.
"Cut the Red TaOe.-
"Cut out the red tape, put a herman
like Schwab or Farrell in charge, tell
him to drive the thing throuEh-in
other words, create a ministry of mu-
nitlons. or We will never get any
where" declared Borie.
Senator Chamberlain asked whether
Secretary of War Baker doesn't have
the power to put things through"
"If he has, he doesn't use it," said
Borie.
Committee members asked Borie
why he was so positive in his support
of the Lewis gun. Borie said the
Lewis gun covers a wider field both
in offensive and defensive work than
any other gun now made.
Denying assertions made by other
arms makers that the Lewis gun
could not synchronize with the pro-
peller in aircraft use, Borie said Il
would sychronize as well as any
other type OF gun.
Borie said experience Of military
experts in this war proved the Lewis
gun "the best killer they have"
Senator Chamberlain asked BorIe
why he believed manufacturers who
had testified earlier would fall
down" on their predictions OF GUAM
tity deliveries early next spring.
They've underestImated the diff
culties." said Borie.
Dozens, Not Hundreds.
Instead OF turning out hundreds.
they will turn out dozens. They will
eventually get there. but II won't be
as soon as they have estimated"
Senator Chamberlain asked Borie