New-York tribune., 1918-08-27
Founders Quit Auto
Plant That Refused
u. S. War Contract
Especial Dispatch to The Tribune)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26. - In the
course of the investigation of the SEN
ate committee into the aircraft stu
alton It was learned that W. c. Leland
and his father left the Cadillac Com
pany, which they had founded and de-
veloped, because of the attitude of
President Durant of the General
Motors Company, of which the Cadillac
Company is a subsidiary Mr.. Leland,
jr., is now vice president of the Lin
coin Motor Company, of Detroit, which
has a contract for 5000 Liberty motors.
He said that Mr.. Durant was opposed
to taking any government contracts on
the ground that they were generally
, unsatisfactory and that he, Mr.. Durant,
was not in sympathy with the war, and
said "that the war could be stopped to-
morrow and ought to be stopped to-
morrow"
Mr.. Leland argued that the Cadillac
company ought to take it's share of
the war burden, and that if the war
was stopped tomorrow under any peace
terms that would be possible eve or
our children would have to fight it
over again under less advantageous
circumstances than now exist" so the
Lelands, father and son, left the COM
pany they had founded and built up
in order to do their part in the war
by building Liberty motors
Mr.. Leland then told of the hard and
bitter fight the new company had
against almost insuperable obstacles to
arrive at quantity production of Lib
crty motors. 1t is about the same
i story that every plane and motor man.
/ ufacturer tells and it is the story that
makes all of them believe they have done
we'll, however much Encouragement
and disappointment there may be In
/ the general result. In the case Of the
ed much sabotage, which the witness
described in detail. Of the Liberty
motor itself Mr.. Leland said
My belief is that the Liberty motor
is an excellent motor. We do not know
of any better. We realize that we are
trying to make tremendous amount of
power out Of an unusually small
amount of weight"
AS to the general aircraft programme
Mr. Leland said
ut seems to me that the men who
are responsible for this programme de-
serve about 80 per cent commentator
every time they deserve criticism. We
think that they plunged into tremen-
+ dous programme 1t was necessary to
get the programme going as soon as
they could, and we think those men
gave their experience and ability, and
really they have put across wonderful
programme, despite the fact that there
have not been as many motors deliv-
/ cred now as were expected
! think the method they pursued
of having the Liberty motor designed
and standardized and made and pro-
duced in large quantities by the man
ufacturing methods used in this coun-
try VIII give the greatest sinews of
war that can be produced in this air
plane line, and I think we will get
great many more motors by that
method than any other method | have
known to be suggested"
In answer to the suggestion that it
might have been better to have taken
q proved foreign motor like the Rolls
Royce at the start instead of develop
ing new motor. Mr.. Leland said:
First of all, the Liberty motor out
classes the Rolls-Royce in every CON
test it goes into. 1t is a better motor
to-day than the Rolls Royce. Second
ly, had we undertaken to build the
Rolls-Royce it would have taken an
outlay for tools and equipment. and
the manufacture would have developed
tne same necessary change in methods
that we have now. We would not have
increased power If we had tried to
get 1t increased we would have had the
same delays as now. Therefore the
course that has been pursued has given
i US up to this minute motor outclass-
ing the RollsRoycc, and we have got
IT ms soon as could have got the ROLLS
/ Royce to the same point, and there ID
the advantage Of interchangeability Of
parts, which may be Of vital mpor-
tance as the war progresses"
! Testifyng as to the Liberty motor,
John d. Ryan, director Of aircraft pro-
duction, stated that in his opinion there
was no motor equal to it on either side
In the war.
As to the present quantity production
Of De Haviland az, Major General
Kcnly, Head Of the department Of mill
/ tary aeronautics, said that he con
fidered that it. was very crcditablc
achieysment,. considering the length of
time In which IL had been attained.