The Washington herald., 1918-02-07
US. ACQUIRES
EXPERT BUYER
Holland Says Mr.. Stettinius
Should Be Given Free
Hand.

- AASN AaNS AAo dhg AHO"ANNoS
the aggregate amount In dollars Of the
purchases made by Mr.. stettinfus
when acting for ]. p. Morgan and
Company, whose firm had been ap-
pointed the commercial agent for
Great Britain in the United States
soon after the beginning OF the war.
II was known that the manner In
which Mr.. Morgan. as the engineer
OF the two syndicates each OF which
saised In the early weeks OF the war
a hundred millions in gold and then
sent il to Ottowa. Canada, where it
served its purpose as well as though
Il had been in the Bank OF England,
directed the attention OF the leading
government officers of Great Britain
10 this house OF course the house Of
J. p. Morgan and Company was well
known and highly esteemed both in
London and the continent Of Europe
but 1T had never had the opportunity
10 face and conquer a great emer-
sency upon the instant until the war
began and the foreign exchange con-
dition was So congested that although
the United States had billions OF re-
sources, yet for a time we were un-
able to make these resources avail
able so that the foreign exchange sit
uation could be relieved. This dam
gerous situation was mastered under
the leadership OF Mr.. Morgan.
Some months after this achieve
ment-which Is sure to pass into tradi-
tion as one of the greatest IN interna-
Iional fnance-was accomplished, one
OF the partners Of J. =. Morgan and
Company. Henry 2. Dawson, and Il
little later Mr.. Morgan himself. Wis
tied London, presumably on the iu-
vitation of the British government OF
course the conferences which were
held in London and also Paris were
confidential. one Of the results of
them, however. was the decision by
France and England to approach the
American bankers with insent to Sc
cure a loan which at first was placed
at $1,000, 900 900. but subsequently was
reduced to 500. .Ooo, 900.
Allied Conferences.
- Another OF the results was the
beginning Of allied conferences in
Paris. a movement which was due
directly to a suggestion made by
Mr.. Dawson. Presumably a third
result of the visit to London of Mr..
Morgan and Mr.. Dawson was the
selection by the British government
of the house of ]. z. Morgan and
Company to act as the commercial
agent OF Great Britain in the
United States. although the suSges-
tion that this be done came from
the British government and not
from J. 2. Morgan and Company.
Mr.. Stettinius was loaned at first
o by the Diamond Match Company 10
J. z. Morgan and Company so that
his services could be secured in per
fecting an organization of which
he was to be the head and which
was sure to become the greatest
single purchasing agency that the
world has ever known. A great
art and science are involved II any
one is to be numbered among the
masters OF salesmansnip, but is even
a greater art and science to be-
come a master OF buying.
This mastery Mr.. Stettinius was
demonstrated shortly after he repre-
sented Great Britain while acting for
J. p. Morgan and Company. in pur-
chasing substantially all of the COM
mOdities in the United States of which
Great Britain stood in need. He. was
able to do this because he had full
power, and because this power rested
in his highly competent hands. He
could not have dom, his had he been
a mere advisor. 1t was necessary
for his decision not only to be
promptly and deCisively made bat also
to carry weight OF absolute authority.
Many have been the estimates of the
amount Of money which in the az
Gregate represented Mr.. Stettinius'
purchases for Great Britain in the
United states The estimate COM
monty made Was that the aggregate
would approximately be 10000 DO .OOO.
d. p. Morgan and Company made
Acknowledgements Of this ma sterly
manner in which this service was
performed by bringing Mr.. Settinius
into partnership relations with the
firm.
Record JnimpearhabIe.
SO perfectly systematized was
the organization perfected by Mr.
Stettinius and so scrupulOus was
his sense of honorable obligation
which reflected the attitude OF the
house Of ]. +. Morgan and Company
toward this relation. that not a
purchase was made. without consul
tation with the British government
and the governments approval of
the proposed purpose. Such a rec
ord as has been prepared under Mr..
Stettinius's eyes of the entire .rans-
action from the beginning until ],
p. Morgan and Company gave this
relation probably never before
made After the war the British
Parliament will undoubtedly ap-
point q committee to investigate
the relations of the government in
various matters appertainiug to
the war, among others the Ameri-
can purchases With this record
before the committee there will be
perfect and complete informat ation
and II will show that the house of
J. p. Morgan and Company profited
not one cent excepting through the
payment to II OF a small commits
sion that was agreed upon by the
British government and MIR Nor
gan
In view OF all these facts, It has
been deemed certain that Mr.. Stet-
tinius would not remain for any
length Of time In the position to which
Secretary OF War Baker invited him,
unless he possessed power lawfully to
enforce his rulings. He Is not the
kind of man who would be content to
act merely in an advisory capacity.
not knowing whether his time and
energy would be wasted while serving
in that way. His ability is of the
highest order and to be a great execu-
tive entails the possession of the right
to enforce decision. Therefore the be-
lief prevails here that speedily II will
be found that Congress has by appro-
pirate legislation made 1t possible to
place Mr.. stettinius In the same re-
lation to the Federal government in
respect to purchases. as he stood in