Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-01-14
CHAIRMAN WILLARD OF.
WAR INDUSTRIES Tells
VIEWS TO COMMITTEE.
Believes That One Man Should
Be Given Complete Con-
troll of Bureau

Washington, Jan. 14.-America s er
trance to the world war found "nc
government department yet organic.
ed to handle the task thrust upon this
country Chairman Daniel Willard
of the war industries board testified
to senate military probers today. Nc
one in the war department, he added
knew even the resources of the coun-
try at that time
The National Defense Council ad-
visory commission, of which Willard
was chairman, didn t begin to study
war problems, he said, until March,
''when it appeared war was immi-
nent." From December, 1916, to
March, 1917, it was ''peace organi'
zation.''
Willard said the commission, as
soon as was developed, looked into the
war department and found that no
body had attempted to list or inven-
tory the productive capacity Of NUM-
tions factories.
Howard Coffin" he said, chad
LISTED 10000 industrial plants in CON
nectlon with the work of the naval
consulting board. That, however, was
wholly outside the war department.
lOur department at once went to work
to get shis much needed information
for the army"
Willard limited at reluctance on the
part of the war department bureau
heads to give the advisory commission
full information ON the situation.
To meet conditions now, Willard ad-
vocated one-man control of all purchas
es for the army, navy and shipping
board and for the allies
81 would not have him take over
the whole purchasing machinery at
once," said Willard. "He'd be there
to get things other people had failed
to get. .
president, would remedy the only
weakness in the new plan adopted by
the war department of co-ordinating
purchases of five departments under
one head. This plan involves the vol
untary cooperation of the war and
navy departments and the war indus
tries board and the Council of Nation
al Defense.
"That' the weakness of it. 1t will
work as well as any ministry of mu-
nitions if everybody Voluntarily CO.
operates.
eff cooperating is lacking, it will
not work. That's why some real au-
thority should be given some one man
to make it work.
"In common with many persons, l
| thought when we entered the war that
the first thing we ought to do was to
provide ministry of munitions. 1
still held that view when I became
chairman of the war industries board,
in November.
"I felt certain that the plan pro.
posed by the war department would
! not work. I have spent six weeks study
ing that plan and / now do not fav..
or the plan of creating ministry OF
munitions.
cit is not necessary to put man
in the cabinet to this work. 1t is clear
however, that if we are not to have
some central, outside purchasing agen'
cy like a munitions ministry, we must
make the best use of those we already
have. [ have every reason to believe
that if one man is put in supreme con-
troll under authority granted the
president, the plan will work splendid
tly.
eff this is done, we will have the
army, the navy, the shipping board
and the allies as the four great pur-
chasing agencies.
'fThc one man would have nothing
to do with the purchase of anything
about which there was no trouble. tic
would leave alone everything that was
running all right. He would act only
when it was plain some supreme au-
tbority had to act to get the thing
done -