The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1943-01-22
Time
Continued from Page One

II 81 VI Gil, PlCdSC IGIIlcIIlDe
that Eastern War Time in Mich
igan is the same time employ
ed in the following higher head
quarters to W h i C h Selfridg,
Field is responsible:
CD War Department, Wash
ington, d. c.
(2) Army Air Forces, Wash
ington, d. c.
CD Third Air Force, Tampa
Fla.
(4 Air Service Command
Washington, d. c.
60 Field Hq, Air Servic,
Command, Patterson Field, o.
CO. Materiel Command, All
Forces, Wright Field, o.
CD Fairfield Air Depot, Fair
field, o.
Obviously, liaison between
Selfridge Field and the above
mentioned headquarters can bes
be accomplished when all theil
clocks read the same; wherea!
a change in time in Michigan
would necessitate translation
of time on all our communica.
tons with these headquarter.
and all other Army stations 10.
Gated in the Eastern War Time
zone. Such a translation would
create wasted effort and in many
cases inadvertent misinterpreta
ton of orders. Any one of such
inadvertent mistakes could cause
waste of taxpayers money; even
might cause indirectly the loss
of manpower through death.
l am anticipating one of the
arguments which might arise -
that Selfridge Field also has
certain obligations to the Sixth
Service Command, with head
quarters in Chicago, ILL.,, which
operates under c MT raj War
Time. This is answered in re-
buttal herewith: 1t is easier to
adjust time differences to one
Headquarters than to many,
many others. What's more, this
Army Air Base is regarded as
an exempted station within
the Sixth Service Command
composed of Michigan, Wiscon-
sin and Illinois,. BY exempted"
l mean that most of the opera
tional phases of Selfridge Field
are conducted under the super
vision of one or more of the
Headquarters enumerated above.
Our chief responsibility to the
Sixth Service Command per-
tains to supplies furnished by
the Quartermaster Corps. The
Base Quartermaster at Selfridge
Field has become accustomed to
computing the difference of time
between Michigan and Illinois in
business conducted with Chi
cago.
And, concerning supply, it Is
necessary for me to add further
that nearly all Air Corps supply
furnished to Selfridge Fl e d
comes from the Fairfield Air
Depot, located in Fairfield. Ohio,
and which, of course, will con-
tinue to operate under Eastern
War Time regardless of what
the legislature plans to do. This
is another reason why I urge
that Selfridge Field and the re-
mainder of Michigan maintain
Washington time" if you will
permit me to call it that.
LOCAL CONFUSION
There is, of course. the posi-
bility that Selfridge Field could
retain Eastern War Time while
the remainder of the state adopt
ed Central War Time, but
where as this would be an aid
to us in most of our military
communications, it would cause
considerable maladjustment in
our contacts in Mount Clemens,
Detroit, and other nearby Mich
igan communities. Hundreds of
civilians employed at Selfridge
Field reside in Mount Clemens,
in Detroit and in it's northeast
ern suburbs. Furthermore, Sell
fridge Field officers under my
command carry on business
daily with many civilians and
civilian business concerns in
these areas.
Selfridge Field is the oldest
Army Air Base in the state of
Michigan, and within the last
five months has undergone vast
expansion - to four times its
size of August, 1912. AS a re-
suit, activity will be greater in
1913 than ever before in the
fields history. This is another
reason why we don't want to be
bothered with computing time
differences.
Naturally, I can speak only for
Selfridge Field. Yet I feel conf
dent that my arguments will ap-
ply, in most instances, to all 9TH
er Army and Navy stations with
in the state of Michigan, and to
the great War production plants
in the city of Detroit, which you
of Michigan proudly refer to as
the Arsenal of Democracy"
Again permit me to state that