New-York tribune., 1919-07-08

up the matter Of arranging an easy
method of communication between the
manufacturers and the government, On
February IL, for example, Secretary
Lane offered resolution to the Ad-
visory commission suggesting it call a
series of conferences Of the leading
men in various industries, so that in
dustries might organize and be able to
do business with the council through
one man.
'ln several meetings, long before the
war was declared, this advisory COM
mission of seven men met with the
repres of the manufacturing
industries and formed an organization
of them for selling supplies to the gov
ernment, which organization was we'll
perfected before the war was declared.
This method consisted of having the
representatives of the various busi-
nesses, producing goods which the gov
ernment would have to buy, form
themselves into committees so that
they might be able to sell to the gov
eminent the goods direct which their
industries produced. In almost every
meeting that this advisory commission
had before the declaration of war they
discussed and recommended to the
council (Which consisted of the Cabinet
members) these plans for fixing prices
and selling to the government.
when war was declared, April 6, this
machinery began to move, headed by
the advisory commission of seven men,
who were in effect, as shown by these
minutes, the active government of the
United States, so far as the purchase
OF supplies was concerned.
l.
to enable the industries to deal with
the government as one man, the gov
crnment was at no time able to deal
with the industries through one man,
and, on the contrary, throughout the
war, numerous Federal bureaus were
bidding against each other for the
same supplies, with greatly increased
cost to the government. Under the
ministrations of the council big
business was highly organized, while
the government remained wholly disor-
ganized and incapable of protecting
itself against fragrant profiteering.
$50 far as | can observe there was
not an act of the so-called war legis-
lation afterward enacted that had not
before the actual declaration Of war
been discussed and settled upon by
this advisory commission. At times
the activities of this advisory commits
sion were such as greatly to embarrass
the Cabinet and it became necessary
for the Cabinet to protest.
"The minutes also show that this
advisory commission was advised that
they we're violating the law in permit
ting committees of the Council of Ma
tional Defence to direct purchases
from their own companies, as will be
apparent from letter read by Mr..
Baruch on June l to the commission
ers, which he had received from E. H.
Gary, chairman of the committee on
steel and steel production Of the ad-
visory commission.
"This letter was referred to the At
torney General on June and, on June
6, the Attorney General answered, say
Gary's letter as violations of the law
were matters of national policy rather
than legal question. Afterward,
when there was evidently a discussion
in Congress as to the illegality of
members Of the committees on the
council buying from themselves, the
council discussed this general policy
and it was suggested that this en-
barrassment might be removed by the
plan of the committee reorganization
now under consideration Afterward
the minutes snow that on ;ccOunt OF
this so-called embarrassment the War
Industries Board was created and COM
mittees appointed by the National
Chamber of Commerce, so that the
letter of the law might be complied
with, but by which scheme no part of
the method of buying was changed in
the slightest degree. SO far as l can
observe.
Il have selected from the minutes
such portions as l think bring out the
matters have mentioned clearly and
will have these portions read in the
record for the information of the com
mittee. These portions, it seems to
me, fully develop the interior workings
of this advisory commission, which
seems to have had more to do with the
actual conduct of the affairs of the
War Department in the early days of
the war than any other function of the
government"
The subcommittee charged with in
vestigating the quartermaster's corps
will take up tomorrow in public hear
ings the subject Oh the handling by
the War Department of its surplus
supplies of canned foods.
All of the subcommittee are now at
work on. their particular assignments,
but several weeks may elapse before
all of them begin public hearings.