New-York tribune., 1918-01-26
E. r. Stettinius, Master Of Trades,
Organized British Buying Here
of Army Purchases
Is in Morgan Firm; Re-
garded as Leading Or.
ganizer and Negotiator
n THE fall of 1914 England was dcs-
pcrately short Of munitions. Only

I'm THE fall of 1914 England was dcs-
pcratcly short of munitions. Only
a tremendous and quickly avail
able supply of shells and shrapncl and
the many other things which are
covered by the all-embracng term "mu-
nitions' could prevent speedy and
overwhelming German victory.
The genius Of one man saved the day
Almost overnight he created a giant in
dustry, and thereafter the munitions
problem was relcgated to the back
ground until needs of the United States
brought it again to the front. And now
Edward II. Stettinius has been called
on once more to bring order out of
chaos.
For Mr.. Stettnius is master of many
trades and is regarded in Wall Street
as one of the foremost organizers and
best ncgotiators in the country.
When Great Britain sought to SIM
plify her overseas munition problem in
the fall of 1914 by making j. p. Morgan
& Co. her agents, J. p. Morgan & Co.
took Mr. Stettinius into the firm as
head of the purchasing bureau.
Systematized British Buying
1t was Edward r. Stettinius who sys-
tematized British buying and organ
lzed the United States as vast muni
tons plant. In an incredibly shor.
tine arms and ammunition of all sorts
- lx-
Atlantic seaboard and 10 England
Throughout the magic process tho
chief magician had kept in mind the
necessity Of apportioning contracts so
that there would be no congestion
of labor at one point to cause a labor
shortage at another. According to many
the genius of Mr. Stettinus is at its
best in handling contracts. His repu-
tation is that Of man who drives a
lair bargain and one that is hard and
fast "Thc best products in the least
time at the fairest price" describes
his methods.
a Native of St. Louis
Edward r. Stettinius was born in
st. Louis in 1866. Having recorded
that fact few years may be skipped,
for the things which have given him
in the words of a great banker,
broader all around business, finan-
cial and industrial knowledge than
any man who has been in the public
eye for q long time did not begin
to happen until he entered the wheat
trade in Chicago. The details of his
experience there are unimportant.
When he retired to take up other work
one Of his associates remarked that
'Stettinius knows more about food
sources and food distribution than any
man in America"
He left the wheat business to be-
come treasurer of the Stirling Com
pany, manufacturers of machinery,
water tube boilers and similar appi-
ance5. His was q comparatively small
concern, but Nh. Stettinus remedied
that by the simple eXpedient of bring
ing about consolidation of his and
other companies with the Babcock &
Wilcox Company, Of which he became
vice -presid
Then the Diamond Match Company
began to suffer from lack of organiza-
ton, and those who were in charge OF
it combed the field for an expert OF
ganiZer.
Enters House of Morgan
They found Mr.. Stettinius, but his
services were at a premium, and tho
best they could do was to borrow his
brain for time for he still retained
his connection with the Babcock & Will
cox Company. In the new field he
gained intimate knowledge of the wood
wol King industry. and it is said there
was no detail from forest to fireplace
that he did not know. In 1908, how