Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-06-15

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mann of IL
w linois and Representative Fitzgerald OF
w New York had a dialogue in the house
the other day. Mr.. Mann gravely inquired into the
methods of the committee on buying and supplies
Mr. Fitzgerald furnished the information the gen.
tleman from Illinois wanted.
"And am / correctly informed" Mr.. Mann
would ask, with sorrow in his tones. Mr.. Fitzger-
aid would admit that Mr.. Mann's facts were regret
tably straight. No moral was pointed. me com
mittee was not criticized Yet most of those who
heard the dialogue undoubtedly left the house feel
ing uncomfortable about what Is going on In the
Munsey building They felt that possibly that pal
Iaduim of our liberties the competitive bid system,
was being crushed over there. 1t certainly was
tough.
Perhaps it is being crushed now and then. There
are 900 of the better business men of the United
States in town continually internationally, giving
their services free of cost to the government They
know how to buy because buying is their business
and they sometimes think of little tricks in buying
that government officers have not thought or. IN
der the competitive bid system, for example when
the quartermaster general of the army learned
that he would have to furnish SHOES Tor naI1 mil
lion men and more Lis first thought undoubtedly
was to ask for bids. That Is the way buying mas
always been done for the army
wait minute" said julius Rosenwald of Chi
cago who is chairman of the committee on buying.
Let us execute flank movement"
The members of that committee knew precisely
what would happen to the leather market If bids
were asked for shoes in such quantities Every
shoe manufacturer would be forced to protect him
self by making of his leather before he put IN
q hid The first man to the leather merchants
might get his option at a reasonable figure, but the
second man who talked leather in higher mathe-
matics would find the price going up. So would
every other man.
Let us get that option ourselves said the sub
committee.
So they did 1t. The leather men of the United
States we're called in to Washington, and the situa-
ton was put before them frankly and they were
asked to give options at a reasonable price on
enough leather to build enough shoes. They gave
the options without murmur and at price that
maid them profit, to be sure, but not the sort of
profit that Uncle Sam must settle through the nose.
It was rather fine of the leather men, most people
think who know it. Then the shOemakers were
told to go ahead and bid the assurance that the
leather could be had at a fixed figure. The govern
ment got it's shoes at price that was cheap quality
and wartime prices being considered.
The makers of airplanes are dealing with the
government through men who know all about the
business. When Howard Coffin was first told to &c
out and buy q lot of airplanes for the government
he asked of the manufacturers how many airplanes
thew could supply in the next year. They were OPP
timists those manufacturers. They could Look at
the war and navy building and then remember that
their factories back home were just about the same
size, only bigger. There was no limft-positively
no limit--to the number of airplanes they could
turn out.
That's nice" said Coffin.
Then he sent out scout. That scout knows
the airplane-making business and the motor indus
tories and talked to the general managers. Tho