The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-05-26
Government Planning to
Have Them Manufacture
for Government
SPRINGFIELD SEES
GREAT ACTIVITY
Expected About 5000 Men Will Have
Steady Employment There-Believed
Government Can Save-Keeps Plants
Ready for War Work.

Ready for War Work.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass, May 26.-Dull
times at the United States armory while
the country is at peace will no longer
exist, under a plan now being developed
at Washington to permit government arm
cries to do part of the regular manufac-
turing for various government depart
ments While Springfield has outgrown
the days when the armory was the city 5
only large manufacturing plant, employees
prophesied last night that the assurance
of continued work at the armory will be
big factor in the growth of the city
as well as a great boon for them person
ally
The new departure now being planned
| by the government means that at least
1900 employees, and perhaps 5000, the
full capacity of the armory unGer one.
shift system, will be steadily employed
| Formerly in peace times the armory force
was frequently as low as 700 men.
The five big government armories IN
Guiding the Natertown, the Rock Island
ILL.,, the Watervliet, n y, and the Frank
| ford philadelphia, Pa), as well as the 10
cal armory, will be the first to be usec
for commercial government work under
the new system. Later the navy arsenali
may also attempt such work, If the I'M
tlal experiment proves successful
f, The armories will be given the same
status as civilian business concerns anC
will be allowed to compete in the bidding
FOR government work for which they ar,
adapted Secretary of War Newton u
Baker and representatives of the ordnanc
department are now formulating the de
tails of a plan to make the new venture
a success, which will soon be announced
bureau of the ordnance department ha
already been established by Secretary Ba
ker to obtain the new kind of work 70
the army, headed by a Capt. Meyer.
While the obvious benefit of the new
plan, to employer and employee alike, vii
be the prevention of layoffs and the sta
bilizing of labor in each armory comma
nifty, its great advantage will be tn
maintenance Of the largest possible goin
organization in times of peace which i
times of military emergency can be quick
| ly and effectively put on a large scale c
facture similar to those used in the PR
1 duction of munitions will be kept ally
1 and developed Engineers at governmer
munitions plants will be provided lari
er field to study methods OF manufacture
organization and administration which
\ times of emergency will find them bette
1 prepared to cope with problems of expal
I sion.
~ Advocates of commercial manufacture
= by the armories for the government
ieve the new system will result in SUI
stantal savings because such items
:, profit, taxes, interest and to some exten
ID depreciation, would not be part of the co
of production. Higher standards of wor
n manship are also said to exist in Il
IN arsenals, and better grade OF produc
- would be made
r Among the departments suggested f
= which work may be done are the folio,
ing Postofice, naval emergency fe
%. corporation, railroad administration, Il
R. reclamation service, the geological Goa
= and geodetic and typographical surve
n. and the bureau of mines of the departmel
r, of the interior, Panama canal, rivers al
81 harbors board of the engineering corr
nj the public roads and rural engineerin
:, the bureau of soils, the weather bure;
ce and the forestry service OF the depal
ment of agriculture, the census burea
the bureau of standards, the steambo
n inspection service and the lighthouse ST
a., vice and the department of commerce, t
bureau of engraving, the supervising arc
rk itect and the general supply commit
&c of the treasury department and the &C
- eminent printing office.