Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-08-02
kNHE.

and came into the bureau,
The navy needed transportation on
sea and land. All the problems Of
chartering ships for q worldwide dis
tribution Of supplies, coal, and pro-
visions going out to the fleet, and nj
trate and shellac coming back in ma
val vessels were placed In charge Of
Benjamin T. Young, an expert on ship
chartering and ocean transport. who
severed his connection with q big New
York shipping concern for the period
of the war. Transportation on land
was taken over by o. NJ. Ellsworth,
who left q remunerative position with
O big railway system to enter Uncle
Sans service.
The navy needed chemicals, and
Donald Riley came from a large chem
ical concern to take charge Of this de-
partment. 1t needed Industrial ac-
counting, and a great accounting ma
chinery concern made arrangements
whereby G. 8. Ashdown took that ac-
tivity In hand, giving all his time to
the development Of accounting sys-
tens as the bureaus transactions null
tiplied again and again. A department
to deal with foodstufs was provided
under B. A. Tfllman: another dealing
with lumber under O. N. Morford, and
another dealing with leather and al
He'd materials under J. w. Mcintosh.
The general standard Of ability set
by the navy for It's civilian experts is
that each man must be worth several
tines what the navy pays him in sal
cry, and that he must come into the
6reanization for the period Of the war
absolutely. "Outside talent with In
side control" is the principle followed,
and this has worked 50 well that the
navy has never been obliged to seek
advisory service outside Its W or
g~anization. Growth has been entirely
from within out.
Can Gee Blds Opened.
In sanda court, the bureaus tenn
porary structure In the central court OF
the state, war and navy building, a
room is provided which can be entered
by anyone without pass, question, or
formality. There is an open door, en-
tered from the street. giving access to
a room called 1.-THE Public's Room"
and there any person interested in Of
fering a bid on pavy supplies or wish
ing to see that bids r opened fairly
can 20 and watch all transactions.
Employees engaged In opening the
thousands Of bids received daily work
in open view Of any person who wants
to enter this room. As fast as bids
are opened the amounts Of each item
are posted In books and placed upon
counters, where anyone may examine
them, learning all the facts about the
prices bid by competitors.
Admiral McGowan's views on pub
Lefty for government purchases are
very pronounced.
SIN handling other peoples money
things must not only be right" he
says, "but they must look right" And
the best way of having them look right
IN his belief. is to let the public super
wise operations to the utmost extent.
Only In war has the navy found 1t
necessary to keep any information
about its purchases confidential, and
even In war secrecy is necessary for
but q very small fraction Of the pur-
chasing, where knowledge Of details
might afford assistance to the enemy.
Centralized purchasing with q we'll
planned organization has made 1t pos
sibie for the navy to increase Its turn
over many thousand per cent, not mere
ly without congestion o. other diff
culties, but with actual increase In
incomes and efficiency. As purchases
have grown larger and more numerous
they have been handled with greater
speed and at lower cost.
Quality sa~feguarded.
And with growth and magnitude
there has been every are to safeguard
the quality Of supplies purchased for
the navy. When we entered the war
confusion existed In commodity mar
kets, and there was apparent short
age OF wool and other supplies. 1t was
believed for q time that navy specih-
cations would have to be revised, with
q lowering Of quality. But the bureau
of supplies and accounts took q deter
mined stand on that point. Very often,
In view Of assumed conditions. II look
ed like a stiff-necked stand against
reasonableness. Despite q widespread
belief among textile men that navy
uniforms would have to be made partly
Of shoddy. II the enormous require
ments were to be promptly met. the
bureau refused to consider any lower
' ing Of Its standards for uniform cloth,
and. through the department Of agri-
culture. secured actual figures regard
ing the available wool stock in this
country at that time. This survey not
only proved that there was ample wool
In the country for military purposes,
but checked q wildly rising market.
The same stand has been taken on
food for our sailors, coal for battle
ships. and practically every article re-
CURED by the navy.
The best that is humanity possible"
says Admiral MCGOWAN. lis none too
good for the men at the front. wheth-
er they be in the army or navy. I
hold myself personally accountable to
every father. and every mother. and
every wife. and every sweetheart. that
the men ! have any supervision and
are over are - well clothed and as
well fed Al Il is possible for them to
be. ! acknowledge that as a personal
responsibility resting on me. I freely