The Washington times., 1934-04-05
True To
Type
Hyahs and Amens
for Munitions
in England
BY GILBERT SELDES

4uC GASA1oAA1 do d AdCC1 0AS
proud Of doing "the right thing"
and, although they pretend that
they are strong and silent men,
they can choose the right word
at the right time.
A particularly good instance
occurred the other day, in the
full tide Of the Easter spirit,
when the shareholders Of the
Hadfield armament works cried
"Amen" at one point and Hear!
Heart" at another. (When Brit
ons cry "Hearl Hear!" it sounds
like "Hyah! Hyah!" but they
put their meaning over, even il
they can't pronounce their own
tongue.
Hadfields, Ltd, is not the big
gest maker Of war materials in
England, but it has been pros
porous during the past year. So
Sir Robert Hadfield told the
stockholders; about half a nil
lion dollars gross profit shows on
the books, not enough for a divi-
dend, but ever so much better
than a deficit.
eve are, indeed" said Sir
Robert, "devOutly thankful for
present mercies" relief from
the depression in armament
wOrkS-''but may I add that
for what i hope we are about
to receive, may the Lord make
us truly thankful. And I say
this in no irreverent spirit"
This was the signal for the
AmenS.
Defensive Shells
Sir Robert was hardboiled
about advocates of prepared
ness and pointed out that
making munitions was part Of
national defense. The chair
man Of VickerSy with two and
q half million profit, and a
dividend Of 4 per cent, said the
same thing. He also said that
there was the keenest competi-
ton for orders in foreign coun-
tries which were also strength
ening their defences. He con-
fesSed that Vickers had been
advertising tanks in German
newspapers, although Germany
is not allowed to have tanks;
and explained that these Ger
man papers had good circula-
tion in South America.
However, to return to Had
fields. After the invocation,
Sir Robert described a new
projectile. This shell, a 15-inch
monster weighing nearly a ton,
was fired at Is solid inches
of modern armor plate, crashed
through it, carrying away 735
pounds Of steel, and still had
such velocity that it went on
for nine miles. The whole op-
Grafton took less than a three
hundredth part of a second.
At this point, the share.
holders cried, "Hear! Hear!"
COR, as I have said, "Hyah!
Hyah!D
Mix Them Up!
Well, things are better in
England (AmenD and they
have a shell, patented in eight
countries (HyahD which is the
last answer to defensive armor,
and the companies making mu-
nitions are not, certainly not,
members Of an international
ring, because they are compet-
ing for business in every coun-
try, and they are ready to sell
armor or shells to the countries
with which (Amen or HyahD
they may be at war next year.
I keep thinking of something
very confused in my mind; that
Germans died outside Verdun
on barbed wire which had been
manufactured in Germany; that
Frenchmen were shot to pieces
by shells the explosive caps of
which were patented in Ger
many and for which the Ger.
man patent owners demanded
royalty. Cor it may have been
the other way around; when
men are dead the details of
profit do not matter.)
But worst Of all, imagine the
perturbation of all Britain if
the shareholders had missed
their cues and said, "Hyah!
Hyah!" to the invocation and
"Amen!" to the shell.