Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1921-06-16
TELLS OF NAVY aRArTERs.
Daniels Exposes Men Who, Tried
to Rob the Government.

eight years of the Wilson admin
istratiOn, has written the inside
story of the work of the navy
department during that history
making epoch.
Probably no man connected
with the Wilson. administration
was denounced and lampooned 20
a greater extent than Daniels.
Yet those who were in position to
get a closeup view of his work
say that he was the greatest Sec
retary the American navy has
ever had.
He had executive ability, integ-
rity ands courage.. He drove lia-
uor out OF the navy. He gave the
common sailor an opportunity to
win commission aud he exposed
and ended the grating contracts
between the department and the
powerful concerns which furnish
ed the navy with supplies of all
kinds. -...
In his "reminiscences Mr.. Daniels
tells of his victory over the armor
plate makers. Here it is:
But the greatest sin commit
ted, certainly the one responsible
for the continued organized and
well oiled criticism which never
let up except during the war, was
my successful contest with the
steel companies and powerful con-
Germs which made armor plate
and projectiles and smokeless
powder. and other munitions for
the navy.
- found upon examination that
all three of the armor plate plants.
by some hypnotic method beyond
my understanding, bid exactly the
same price TO a cent when bids
were asked for armor plate. l
found that they had sold armor
plate to Russia for less than they
charged to the American navy. /
became convinced that there later
came into existence an under
standing that manufacturers Of
armor at home or abroad would
not compete; that our navy was
being charged price that had
little relation to the cost of pro-
dnction and that competition WAS
sham.
In smokeless powder | found
the navy could manufacture it for
80 cents and that the powder trust
was charging the navy 53 cents
per pound for it. | found that
some years before, under the dy-
mamie advocacy of Senator Till
man, Congress had appropriated
money and authorized the erection
OF an armor plate plant, but that
the word provided had by sone
means or other defeated the con
gressiOnal intent for the govern
ment to make it's own armor and
free iself Of monopolists.
What was my duty7 First, TO
give Congress and the American
people the facts. 1t was done, and
as a result Congress gave the mon
ey early in my administration to
enlarge the smokeless powder
plant and later to construct
plant in which armor for our
ships can be made.
But the. last was obtained
after the hardest and most bitter
fight l had during my 8 years
term. Certain manufacturers of
armor plate, thinking they would
lose their part of the monopoly
in business and in price, initiated
the silver smiths of Ephesus, who,
when Paul endangered their craft
by preaching the true doctrine,
cried out for the space Of hours,
Great is Diana of the Ephesiansl I
There was no such noisy DEM
onstration at Washington, but
those armor-plate makers for
weeks, in frenzied appeals and
criticism of the secretary uf the
navy, sought to prevent the ar
NOR plate appropriation. AS q
matter of fact, without my knowl-
edge, because while in Washing
ton / did not manage my paper.
found that the Raleigh News
and Observer was printing ad-
vertisements telling what an aw-
fnl fellow / was to interfere with
the tripartite method of all
| Gaul was divided info three