Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-09
HOWEXPERTS ARE SAVING
UNCLE SAM MUCH CASH
Buying for Army and Navy in Hands
of Men Who Know Tricks
Of Trade"
BY HERBERT COREY.

Representative Mann OF limos ana
Representative Fitzgerald of New York
had q dialogue in the House the other
day. Mr.. Mann gravely inquired INTO
the methods of the committee on DuH-
ing and supplies. Mr.. Fitzgerald 1ur-
nishcd the Information the gentleman
from Illinois wanted.
And am l correctly tnformed-:
Mr. Mann would ask. with sorrow IN
his tones. Mr.. Fitzgerald would adj
NIT that Mr. Mann's facts were re-
grettably straight. No moral was
pointed. The committee was not
criticised. Yet the most of those VINO
heard the dialogue undoubtedly lett
the House feeling uncomforta bic
about what is going on in the Nun
sey building. They felt that possibly ply
competitive bid system. was being
crushed over there. 1t certainly was
tough.
Perhaps It is being crushed now and
business men Of the United States in
town. continually or 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 Off
GERS have not thought of. Under the
competitive bid system, for example:
when the quarterma ster general of
the army learned that he would have
to furnish shoes for half million
men and more. his first thought un-
doubtedly was to ask for bids. Ihat
Is the way buying has always been
done for the army.
Flank Movement Suggested.
wait q minute" said julius Rosen--
valid Of Chicago. who is chairman of
the committee on buying. Let US exc
cute Q dank movement"
The members OF that committee knew
nf0CfQ0lv What Wnnld hanNan 70 the
leather market II bids were asked for
shoes In such quantities. Every shoe
manufacturer would be forced to pro-
tect himself by making sure of his
leather before he put in a bid. The first
man to the leather merchants might
get his option at a reasonable figure,
but the second man who talked leather
In higher mathematics would find the
price going up. So would every other
man.
Let US get that option ourselves"
said the subcommittee.
So they did 1t. The leather men of
the United States were called in to
Washington. and the situation was put
before them frankly and they were
asked to give options at reasonable
price on enough leather to build enough
shoes They gave the options without
murmur and at a price that paid them
profit. to be sure. but not the sort of
pronf that Uncle Sam must settle
through the nose. 1t was rather fine of
know 1t. Then the shoemakers were
told to go ahead and bid. on the assur-
ance that the leather could be had at
nxed dgure. The government got it's
shoes >at q price that was cheap, quail
ity and wartime prices being consid-
cred.
As to Airplanes.
The makers Of airpIanes are dealing
with the government through men who
q IL
Howard Coffin was first told to go out
and buy lot of airplanes for the gov
eminent he asked of the manufacturers
how many airplanes they could supply
those manufacturers. They could look
at tho War and Navy building and then
remember that their factories back
home were Just about the same size,
lively no limit-to the number Of air
planes they could turn out
That's NICE" said Coffin.
Then he sent out a scout. That scout
and the motor industry. words and
music He visited the various factories
and talked to the general managers
The more he asked questions the more
general managers and the more they
got down to a cold, hard, solid business
proposition. By and by he reported to
Mr.. Cot1n and then Mr.. Coffin told the
expected to deliver. and when. The
chances are those airplanes will be de-
livered at the time appointed.
All the big men whose names are
known to the country as members of
the advisory commission or it's commit
tees are working for nothing and pay
ing their own expenses. of course. No
one seems to think 1t at all out of the
way that man whose time could not
be bought for half a million dollars a
year should make a committee meeting
at $3.50 o'clock every morning Of the
week. and then put in a good part of
Sunday in an informal way getting
ready for the week to come and clean
ing up loose ends of the week past
What the country does not know is
that the unknown men who are filling
the subordinate places-the clerkships
and intermediate places and buffer jobs
are also working for nothing and
paying their own way. Many of them
are big men in their own communities.
Each of them is an efficient man. In one
of the committees only one man has
been hired since work began. Every
other post has been filled by volun-
teer. The hired man is to be fired. He is
inefficient.