Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-16
LIBERTY MOTOR
ANDCOL. VINCENT
Packard Motor Co.'s Explana-
ton of Recent Report on
Aviation

America needed an aviation. en-
gine, needed it at the earliest possi-
BILE moment. and ]. G. Vincent, the
engineer in charge. cut the entang-
lements of red tape to get the need
ed results. That, in brief. is the
Packard Motor Company's explain
alton of the course which resulted
in Lit. Col. ]. G. Vincent's arraign--
ment in the Hughes report on the
aircraft program.
1t is pointed out that the Packard
Company had done aviation engine
| development work available to the
government at the outbreak of the
war; j. G. Vincent had been in
charge of engineering on that work,
and the war need was to get a war
engine for the United States air
service and get it quickly even at
the expense Of rules and routine.
The statement by Alvan Macauley,
Parkard president and general man
ager, follows:
The papers contain extracts from.
and comments upon the report of
Judge Hughes, following his investi-
| cation of the aircraft situation. We
are especially concerned regarding
what he has to say, and the COM
ment concerning 1t. Col. ]. q. Vim
cent.
Judge Hughes report, 1 am ad-
vised, gives credit for the invention
and creation of the Liberty motor
to the Packard Motor Car Company
and TO Colonel Vincent while he was
still vice president of this company,
in charge of engineering. Shortly
after the Liberty motor was created,
Mr.. Vincent resigned his large salary
with this company, to accept the
position as chief engineer of the
Liberty motor, for the Government,
at salary about one-fifth as large.
THE Liberty engine having been
created, there was no Government
organization TO eXpediate it's produc-
tion. The crying need was for a
man capable of cutting the entangle-
ments of Government red tape, ere
ated during peace times, and to get
results. Preliminary models were
ready within about a week, and a
complete ready-to-operate Liberty
motor was built, by night and day
effort, within month from the time
the Packard received instructions
from the Government to proceed.
The charge against Col. Vincent
is that the routine of the transac-
ton was not handled in the ortho-
doX Government manner. The
splendid results are admitted; the
splendid success of the Liberty motor
now known to the world. The sole
charge is a technical one. Red tape
had to be cut and it was severed.
The accomplishment of results was
put ahead of the technical correct
ness of the method. 1t cost both
Col. Vincent and the Packard Motor
Car Company heavily to develop the
Liberty motor, and neither has asked
one cent of recompense for that de-
velopment. The Packard Company's
patents and nventions-upon which
it had spent several hundred thous-
and dollars before the declaration
of war, were expressly donated to
the Government for use during the
war, gratis All of which is q mat
ter of written record. Our opinion
is that if there had been more red
tape cut at Washington during the
early stages of the war preparations,
ne would have been in shape to
win the war even earlier.
Lieutenant Colonel Vincent be-
ing an army officer, is, under the
rules OF the service, precluded from
making any reply to, or denial of
the charges against him. But the
facts are perfectly clear, and as we
are not under the restraint upon him
we cannot remain silent while even
technical charge is leveled against
him."