Evening star., 1940-03-19

duction. But since I'm faced with a
new and complex job perhaps has
to make good" should be substituted
for has made good"
Question-You may be as modest
as you like about your new job,
Col Fleming. But we all remember
your success as deputy adminlstra-
tor of P. w. A. So we don't antici-
pate that you are going to be stag
gered by the job of administering
the wage and hour law. But before
we get to the much wage
and hour law, I would like to re-
fresh my memory, if I may. When
were you at West Point as executive
director of the athletic associa ton?
Wasn't 1t between 1926 and 1888?
Col. Fleming-You have the right
dates.
Question-That period saw some
pretty stiff clashes with the Irish
Of Notre Dame, Col. Fleming.
Col. Fleming-Yes, that's right,
but those clashes led to one of my
warmest friendships - that with
Knute Rockne. In fact, we enjoyed
q trip to Europe together one year.
Retains Interest in Sports.
Ouestion-Do you retain an active
interest in sports?
Col. Fleming-Oh, yes. My active
participation in sports right now Is
skiing. I have quit polo, but 1 still
referee matches.
Ouestion-Well, colonel, before we
Quit the question of sports, would
like to ask you just one more ques-
ton. Would you mind telling us how
you became executive director OF
athletics at West Point?
Col. Fleming-Well, 1 was an in
structor in engineering at West
Point. Bif Jones was football
coach. He asked me if would buy
some Jerseys for the team-knoWlng
that I had bought millions OF dol
lars worth of supplies. told HIM
yes. Very soon I was surrounded by
a lot of fellows trying to sell me Jer-
sevs-insisting that theirs were best
for the price And their prices were
practically the same. So told them
each to give me a jersey and l
would send them to the Bureau of
Standards in Washington and have
them tested to destruction-may the
best jersey win!
Question-It isn't hard to under
stand why you were graduated at the
head of your class at West Point.
That must have been a great inno-
vation in jersey buying.
Col. Fleming-Well, there was quite
a to-do about it. But that's the way
other materials are bought-Why not
Jerseys? At any rate, the authori-
ties said I might as we'll take over
the whole job. And that is how I
got to be executive director of ath-
letics at West Point.
Question Football had already
got to be "big business" when you
took over, hadn't it?
Millions to Account For.
Col Fleming-Well, we crossed
about three-quarters of million
dollars a year. But handling this
money was no novelty. You see, ]
served as chief of the finance divi-
sion in the Corps of Engineers. I
had approximately $80,000,000 a year
to account for. Some of this money
went for material. Some for wages.
This job of disbursement suggested
to me the writing of the Army engi-
neers' Cost Keeping System" and
the Cost Manual"
Question-Well, occasionally criti-
eisms leveled at Government ad-
ministrators who must deal with
business-it goes like this-'What
does he know about business, he
never had to meet a pay roll?" Your
experience should relieve you of that
criticism, shouldn't it, colonel?
Col. Fleming-I sincerely hope so.
Besides this fiscal experience, it was
my duty to handle $3,300,000 for
p. w. A. At any rate, an Army
engineer in the field always is en-
gagged in constructing something; it
may be a dam, it may be a river
channel, but he is always hiring
people to work. On the one job, I
had approximately 5000 employees.
1t is true the Army engineer doesn't
have to make a profit for a group
of stockholders on these jobs. But
he must be able to show the Con-
gress, his superior officers and the
people at large that he has received
fair value for the money spent
money spent for supplies-money
spent for labor.
Question-1n other words, in your