The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-01-19
STATEMENT


understanding as to why the Starr
Piano factory was operated in part,
Friday, and will continue to be so
operated, l desire to give out these
facts:
For several weeks a part of our
plant has been used exclusively for
the manufacture of government work,
and we were informed to continue with
such work irrespective of the Fuel Ad-
m1nistrator's general order which be-
came effective Friday.
AT conference between local man
ufacturers and Local Administrator
Bates, held in the Commercial Club
rooms Friday morning, a number Of
the leading factory owners of the city
protested because the Starr plant was
being operated even on government
work. when their plants also doing
government work, had closed. l tried
to explain the situation, but the gen
tlemen failed to grasp it, and fearing
that we would be accused of bad faith,
ordered the factory to be closed Fri
day afternoon, which was done.
Friday afternoon we received Of
ficial and explicit confirmation of prev
ious instructions on which we had
acted when we operated our plant Fri
day morning. The order comes direct
from Fuel Administrator Garfield at
the request of the War Department,
and exempts part of our plant from
the general fuel order. In so far as our
plant is exempt it will continue to be
operated.
In so far as the general order ap-
plies to our factory it will be rigidly
complied with, and we are in entire
sympathy with the effort to relieve the
acute fuel situation and will do all we
can as individuals and as factory
to assist
HENRY GENNETT.
Fred Gennett submitted the follow
ing:
The following telegram received this
morning by the Starr Piano Company,
direct from Washington, sweepingly
confirms the advices brought here a
little earlier today by myself just re-
turning fresh from a government con-
ference in Dayton. The telegram is as
follows:
Your plant Is exempt from fuel ad-
ministration order in respect to Signal
Corps Aircraft Work Stop as to other
authorized and all other business the
order remains applicable.
(Signed) H. A. GARFIELD,
Fuel Administrator"
That the Government plans in con-
nection with the operation Of the sus-
pension order had been developed in
considerable detail beyond the point
set forth in DR.. Garfield's sweeping
and sensational order, has now become
known. thereby establishing that great
deal of the protest talk, which abound
ed yesterday among affected interests,
was previous and entirely due to ignor-
ance of the true situation.
1t is now known that among the first
group taken into the Governments con-
fidence was the one concerned with
carrying out the aircraft production
work. In Richmond the Starr Piano
Company is the only plant concerned
with that work, and officers OF the
company therefore were the only ones
initiated in advance into some of the
details which will soon be more gen.
orally known.
The secretary of the company, who
was on Thursday peremptorily sum-
moned to participate in conference,
presided over by Departmental offic-
ers, at Dayton, Ohio, has just returned
to Richmond armed with positive in
structions under no circumstances to
suffer interruption Of the company's
operations on aircraft work. While
the details of the instructions as well
as the work cannot be disclosed as
yet, 1t is known that extraordinary i'm
portance attaches to the work of the
Starr Piano Company: in fact, the mat
ter is of such importance that the
Government is keeping watchful eye
over the situation so as to be ready
to assist the Starr Piano Company to
overcome any obstacles whatever that
might arise in it's way.
At yesterdays meeting OF manufac-
turers locally it was not known that
even among manufacturers concerned
with Government work there was still
a special group, which the Government
had in advance intended to exempt
from the operation of DR.. Garfields
order before the first general order
was published. Had the truth been
known the position which the Starr
Piano Company was forced to take
Friday morning, in continue to operate
because of it's special information and
instructions, would not at all have been
questioned by anyone in Richmond or
elsewhere.
1t is now clear that the Government
is pushing its air program with utmost
vigor and determination, and is prac-
tically giving it right of way not
only over the ordinary economic pur-
suits of the country, but is even clear
ing the track for it of practically all
other Governmental work.