Evening star., 1927-10-09

Now comes the Nations plan to profit by this
cruel lesson. Had we had the same plans in
1917 that we have today the time of getting ready
could have been cut in half and the country would
have been saved 500 100000. one-half Of our
national debt: and because the value of the dol
lar fell to about 60 cents. every individual citizen
has since been losing a large fraction OF each
dollar he receives for thus still paying
our pound Of flesh into the rapacious nav OF
war-and, above all this saving of money, thou
sands of our war dead would be alive today.
American industry. legally made partner OF
the Government, called in to plan its own
campaign to meet wartime requirements OF the
Nation and to help draft the program for mobili-
zation.
First. there organized last year the War
Department Business Council on which are serv.
ing outstanding industrialsts. giving their own
time and the services of the great institutions
they administer. to whom committed the duty
of constantly examining and improving all policies
and methods of current procurement for the mill
tary establishment. They to it that sound
business principles followed and that every
dollar appropriated for the Nations defense does
its full duty. With their far-llnown business
ability and preeminent industrial standing. they
give assurance that the great superstructure Of
supply plans is being built on sound foundation.
The map of the United States has been charted
into IA procurement areas, without regard to
Army corps other military division-en-
tirely on the basis of industry, with headquarters
at Boston, Bridgeport, New York Buffalo, Phila-
delpha, Pittsburgh, Baltimore. Cleveland, Cincin-
natl Birmingham, Detroit. Chicago. st. Louis and
San Francisco.
The main reason for this division to de-
centralize procurement and save that allmportant
element-time. This grew out of the experiences
and set-up of the War Industries Board, which,
particularly at the time of the armstice, was OPP
Grating effectively in mobilizing American indus
tries. The War Department fell heir to all the
records of that wartime board The country had
fallen naturally into these divisions during the
war each section producing a different type OF
essential supplies. Tor example. the Bridgeport
area, taking in half of Connecticut and Massachu
setts is essentially the ordnance center.
In each one of these IA procurement districts
the activities of the seven supply branches of
the Army-Quartermaste Corps. Ordnance, Air
Corps, Engineers Medical Corps, Signal Corps and
Chemical Warfare Service-are coordinated and
supervised in such matters manufacturing IA
cilities, materials, prorties in production and
distribution, standardization and specifications,
prices to be paid, contracts to be let curtailment,
substitution and conservation in deficient items
and in their demands for power, funds, labor and
transportation. In some of these procurement
each of the seven supply services has
chief and in New York. while several other
will be grouped under one chief of supply serv-
ice-as, for example, the Signal Corps has chief
in only three areas. because those the only
ones in which the articles it requires are made.
y x X *
In most of these services this area chief is a
civilian who doing the work during the
World War. who knows the terrible waste and
delay and what hard job it under those
conditions of unprecedented demand and hectic
rush disrupting normal economic conditions. They
have consented to continue their magnificent
service civilians, without rank or pay. Each
of these has executive assistant who is in the
Regular Army and who the Office. Built
around these executives is a staff of key men
in industry, each of whom carries along some par.
ticular phase of the planning work in that dis.
trict They are mostly executives of some plant
that is allied to the work of the War Department.
These civilians, some of whom hold commits.
sons as Reserve officers, will be in charge of their
particular procurement area in case of an emer.
gency. The idea of the War Department is to
leave these men. who know all phases of the
industrial life of that particular area and who
know also the requirements and program Of the
War Department, to carry on" during the emer.
gency and so to free the Regular Army officers