The Washington herald., 1918-01-10
LABOR BOARD
SCORED FOR
ARMY DELAYS
Witness Tells Senate Com
mittee Radical Ideas
Block Progress.

Testlfying yesterday before the
Senate Military Affairs Committee,
David Hirschbaum. a Philadelphia
manufacturer, declared that $50
cialistic and pacifistic tendencies"
in the governments Board of Labor
Standards had delayed execution
of army contracts.
He declared that two OF the three
members of the Board which passes
upon conditions in factories taking
government contracts, were SO ar
bitrary that he did not see how the
contracts could be, carried out
He also said the Board wishes to
unionize all factories, and this
would work havoc with labor
conditions. The Secretary of war
authorized this decision. he said
later on.
Admiral Samuel MCGOWAN, chief
Of the Bureau of Supplies and Ac-
counts of the Navy. was on the
stand most OF the day. He told how
s3l7, 900, 900 worth of supplies had
been purchased for the navy by
competitive bidding and without
the secrecy that has surrounded
army buying.
Secretary of War Baker will
take the stand today. After his
testimony Is concluded. the COM
mittee will adjourn the hearings
and prepare its bill creating a mu-
nitions and supplies dictator who
will supervise all army and navy
purchases.
MCGOWAN pleaded today that the
navy system not be abolished. For
Gods sake" said he, don't disturb
the navy supply system; now is the
time we need It 1 hope and pray
you will not take out OF the navy's
hands the purchasing system we
have built up for years"
Purchasing for the navy. said the
admiral, had been conducted with
the advice of a few civilian ex-
perts who are paid small salaries
and who have given up their busi-
ness connections.
He said he would have no other
system than competitive bidding, de-
claring:
There's an open court for bids
where each bidder can watch the
other and we can watch them all.
The bids are always open to inspec-
ton. The books are kept by us
and the records belong to the pub
tic"
Several Senators congratulated the
admiral on the fine system in the
navy. One asked why the admiral
thought 1t a success.
The flag officers of the fleet say
it is" he said. "and another reason
| believe in it is that it has sue
,eeded in spite of the fact that l
am at the head of It."
The examination revealed that
Admiral MCGOWAN had not needed
the assistance OF the Council OF Ma
tional Defense. He said he did
not need secrecy to keep prices
down, for when prices went up he
Communicated and fixed a price.
There's no need of 1t, and there
will be no possibility OF its use If
1 can prevent it," said the naval
officer. There are hundreds of
suggestions to lower the quality of
the bIuejackets' food and uniform.
But we will not lower either. It's
not alone the physical effect on the
sailor, but the mental that must
be counted in. hold myself per-
sonally responsible to every mother,
wife and sweetheart for whatever
have to do with making the lives
of the bluejackets the best I can"
The witness was very chary OF
criticising the army system OF
purchasing, but when pressed he
said that he believed IL the army
adopted a similar system to that
used in the navy it would be a COM
plete success,