The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1921-07-15
ArmOr Plate Lobby
VS.. The ''POrk Barrel
(From American Federation of
Teachers)

IeacherS)
In view of the extraordinary sums
devoted to the naval program by
Congress, the following editorial
from "The Worlds Work" of Jan
uary, 1916, may not be untimely as
an explanation for such an unrea-
sonable program:
Congressman Tavenner, of Hi
nois, has published list of the sub
scribers to the Navy League who
are in any way interested in the
business which might profit from an
enlarged naval program. The Con-
gresham has a fear, shared by
| many other people, that the manufac-
| turers of munitions are also manu-
featuring sentiment in favor of pre-
paredness for their own profit: that
once the armament business grows
strong in this country it will be-
cone, as Mr.. Taft admitted the wool
industry had become, too strong for
the Government to control. The fear
goes even further: ii is apprehen-
sive lest once the armor plate lobby
has become strong as the wool lob
by was, 1t will force the Government
into greater and greater eXpendi-
lures for an ever greater army and
navy and finally get the United
States into a militaristic state of
mind where it would be likely to go
forth in the world with an ambi-
tious and meddling policy and pro-
woke war. The Krupp establish
ment has often been pictured as the
generating force behind Prussian
militariSm.
"The gist of this point of view is
that if the armament business grows
large in this country it will be able
to maintain lobby in Washington
that will persuade a majority of Mr..
Tavenner's colleagues to vote money
for a larger army and navy than
they believe the country needs in
order that the armament business
and munition manufacturers may
flourish.
"The prevention for this evil
which Mr.. Tavenner and others sug-
gest is that the Government and
only the Government shall make mu-
nitions. There could not then be an
armament lobby to sit outside the
halls of Congress and influence the
body toward unnecessary purchases.
That is true. There would be no
lobby outside the halls of Congress.
The work would be done inside.
Every district that thought it might |
have dockyard or an arsenal would |
send its representative to Congress |
pledged to produce armament in that |
district. The production of arma-
ment would take its place with the |
work on rivers and harbors, with |
the granting of special pensions, |
with the erection of unnecessary |
public buildings, with the main
tenance of useless army posts-it |
would take first rank in the pork |
barrel.
"If Congress is unable to with |
stand a lobby that fingers around the |
outside in the halls of the Capitol,
it will be doubly helpless before a
lobby firmly planted on the floor
of the House
even aside from the danger that |
production entirely under |
the Governments auspices would /
fall into the pork barrel, there are
other difficulties.
an time of war there is vast |
quantity OF benzol used, in the form |
of picric acid. If the Government |
is going to provide itself with plants
for making this picric acid sufficient !
for war times, what is it going to do |
with the plants in peace times |
They can stand idle and deteriorate
or they can make benzol and turn it
into dyestuffs. To make the dye
stuff business pay, our Government
would have to compete with the
German dyestuff manufacturers who
are iealously fostered by the Ger
man government so that they, too.
will be amply able to supply plenty
of pierre acid in case of war. There
is no simple and easy solution of
the matter. Either under private or
governmental ownership there is an
infinite number of difficulties to be