Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1919-04-11
BY NEWTON D. BAKER,
Secretary Of War.

the 18th of November there were out
standing some seven billions of dollars
of contracts in the War Department.
The signing of the armistice made it,
of course, obvious that a very large
part of the war material thus under
contract would not be needed, and the
first question which the war depart
ment had to face was that of the can
collation. of those contracts.
1t was clear that if we simply took
a knife and cut off all the manufactur-
ing facilities that were engaged in
work for the War Department, sharply
on the 18th day Of November, we
would close factories in every state
and city of the Union, which would
throw thousands of wOrkmen out Of
employment; and, therefore, that it
was imperative that a reasonable time
be provided for those industries to re-
organize themselves on a peace basis.
Therefore, a plan was devised by
which, as the first step, We cut off
overtime employment so as TO reduce
production without producing disor-
ganization. The next step was to view
this vast mass of contracts in an eff
fort to find out how far the military
necessities of the country would per-
nit them to be reduced and how rapid
ly they might be reduced.
We have so far suspended opera
ton upon contracts which would have
cost five billion eight hundred and
Twenty-Five millions of dollars to COM
plete so that in the matter of saving,
the War Department has suspended
operations under contracts or has de
termined to cancel contracts which,
in net effect, covered production to
the extent Of $500, 100000 of war
materials.
That does not mean, of course, that
that entire sum will be saved. 1t is
involved in something over $4,000 sep
arate contracts, and of those contracts
we have already settled 1900, %effecting
a saving to the Government on the
1900 already settled of $151, 100000,
while paying to the contractors, who
still had some equity in the matter
OF new 1dClllIIcS eau VI
in process of manufacture, the sum Of
500, 100000.
The hope of the War Department
is that, without disorganizing industry,
without turning workers into the
street, without cOngesting the labor
market, and thereby d~isorganizing the
industrial situation, we will be Die
to save a very large part of this total
of nearly $4,000, 100000 involved in
contracts for the production of war
materials.
Obviously, with 10000 contracts to
readiust or cancel, either in whole or
in part. it would have taken more
than a lifetime, if we had undertaken
by some central bureau here in Wash
ington to review each contract separ-
ately and make a special determine
ton about it.
So. instead of that, district boards
have been established all through the
country in the various bureaus of the
War Department dealing with war sup
plies. so that a manufacturer in any
city. whether of ordnance or quarter
master material does not have to come
TO Washington for adjustment of his
contract. He goes to the local dis
trict board.
If he and the district board can
agree upon the terms of the cancella-
ton or modification of the contract,
that agreement is written in the form
of a recommendation and sent down
to Washington for the Board of
Claims, and is here passed upon by the
Board of Claims of the bureau or di-
vision of Ordnance, Quartermaster,
Signal Corps, or whatever it may be.
Now, if they cannot agree there is an
other agency set up in Washington,
known as the Board of Contract Ad-
justment, composed of three eminent
men. So the contractor does not have
to take the Judgment of the local dis
trict board, but he can lay his matters
before a disinterested tribunal here in
Washington. OF course, he does not
have to accept the decision of the
Board of Contract Adjustment. If he
prefers he can go to the Court Of
Claims and start litigation which is,
however, always unfortunate, because
Of the legnth of time it takes but that
remedy is not closed to him.
We have had this thought in mind
from the beginning, that the most i'm
portant thing the War Department
could do, so far as industry and COM
merce are concerned, is to bring about
a speedy adjustment of these claims,
in order that the people of this country
who are engaged in industry and com
merce may know exactly what they
can expect in the way of payment
from the Government, just how much
they can rely upon in opening up their