The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-09-12

ford was out of the office and the call went to w H. Harrison, A. q. & T. vice president and chief en- gineer. What Knudsen wanted was a construction n1ar1-somebody who knew building conditions all over the country, someone to advise and help the Army and Navy in their big construction program.
 A few days later the unsuspecting Harrison came to Washington with the names and qualifications of 8 few of his best men. Knudsen look ed over the list, and then with characteristic directness asked, DO you come with 'em?" Puzzled, Har- rison asked what he meant. T don't want any of these men unless you come down here first and take this construction job," Knudsen explain ed.
 KNUDsEN
 KNEW
 The two men had never seen each other before. Harrison knew who Knudsen was, but Knudsen had never heard of Harrison. Yet Harri- sons personality and record won Knudsen completely and their one short meeting was enough to con- vince Knudsen that the man he wanted was enough to convince Knudsen that the man he wanted ] for his defense construction job was this very w. H. Harrison, and no one else.
 On July g, 1940, Harrison came to Washington to tackle the construc- ton job as an adviser from private industry. In January, about the time OPM was organized, Harrison was given an additional; job when he was made consultant for the $8 billion shipbuilding program. Today, with John Biggers posted in London as minister and trouble shooter for w Averill Hartman, lease-lend ex- pediter, w. H. Harrison has become head of the production division of OPM, in charge not only of con- struction and shipbuilding, but also boss of production under Knudsen, for machine tools, aircraft, ordnance
 "a $30 or $40 billion program which may go double that before the show is over.
 That record of Harrison's ad- vancement in OPM is Knudsen's best vindication of his ability as Q judge of men as well as machines, for Harrison has delivered, and with a minimum of fuss and feathers. What Knudsen picked in this case was another self-made man who came up from the bottom.
 In the 30 years Harrison was with the Telephone Company he has worked at nearly every job there had-in Western Electric, with Bell laboratories, in the field, as an offl- cial of New York Telephone Com pany, as vice president of Bell of Pennsylvania. Today, at 49, he has New Yorker and success stamped all over him, and he radiates confidence like an A. T. & T. dividend check. He is not quite six feet tall, but he's big = not fat, just in the pink. He has a magnificent head of prema- turely white hair that should be the envy of Paul McNutt, and from Harrison's big, broad, smiling, ruddy face there shine two of the bluest eyes you ever saw. That smile of his would disarm a tank.
 WANTS MORE
 THAN ENOUGH
 But about this defense production job he has:
 Harrison is as dissatisfied-no, un- satisfied is the word-he's as un- satisfied with what has been done so far as anybody could be It isn't enough. Nothing, no matter how big or good 1t is, is enough. "1f I were the man in the street." he says "I'd be yelling my head off at all those funkeys down in Washington, and wondering what they were do- ing that the stuff didn't get out faster"
 At the same time, Harrison wants everyone to know that whale of job has been done. His opinion is that the Truman and other investi- gating committees uncovered only few bad spots, no more than you'd expect, and he points to the import ant fact that the camps were ready on time. The powder plants are tremendous achievement On sites that were picked only last February, powder will be produced this next month. On the Chrysler tank job, where corn grew II months ago, five tanks day are rolling off the as- sembly line now, @ month ahead of schedule.
 As for Senator Byrd's criticism of the defense program, while Harrison doesn't know Byrd personally, he says he has always considered him one of the abler men in Washing ton. In this case, however, Byrd got figures at least a month old and they don't tell today's story. And watch for the production figures next month" says Harrison. They'll all see some surprises there."