The Belton Evening News. (Belton, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 249, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 24, 1918 Page: 3 of 4
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BELTON EVENING NEWS
%
HOW THE U. a NAVY- -7
BUYS ITS SÜPPÜÉS
* I ,
Purchasing Department, Under Adlniral McGowan, Has Met All Tests
Successfully—Centralization the Chief M*r¡t the
System—Complimented for Efficiency A. .
Investigation by Congress.
Washington.—A business concern
Which can increase its turnover 2.5UO
per cent in l'J months witiiont radical
change* in method would seem to be
h pretty sound organization.
Amid all. ttie expansion of govern-
ment activities due to war, with far-
reaching changes in methods of con-
ducting business, reorganisations. In-
crease in personnel, and addition of
wholly new departments, one lug busi-
ness agency of the government lias
changed not at all, except in magni-
tude. That ngency is the bureau of
supplies and accounts of the navy.
which purchases practically everything
required by the navy except armor
plate, guns, and shells. It feeds and
cintiles the navy, buys lis ste<-„, met-
als, lumber, textiles, and chemicuK
provides transportation for the navy's
supplies, coals its ships, and pays its
officers and men. During the last
year this bureau has been greatly en-
larged by the addition of new ofllcers.
technical experts from civil life, and ( visions going out
clerical workers, but its organization
and methods have fully met all tests
of war and have required practically
no change, says the New York Times.
After thorough Investigation, con-
gress recently declared this great busi-
ness ottlce of the navy to be notable
for efliciency, as well us one of tIn-
biggest business enterprises in the
I'nited States.
There are two reasons for the efli-
ciency an excellent business system
and an excellent business man. Ad-
miral McGowun. who first became
Identified with the navy's purchasing !
affairs four years ago, after demon-
strating his ability as purchasing ofli- ¡
cer for the American fleet when It
went around the world.
Its Chief Merit.
The chief point of merit In the .
navy's purchasing system is eentrall-1
¡cation. All its supply activities are
administered from Washington, no
matter how widely Hie American fleet
may lie scattered over the world.
•Ships are provisioned In the West In-
dies, sailors are provided with warm
winter clothing for destroyer service
In the submarine zone around the Brit-
ish isles, coal is dispatched to ships
in the Philippines, nitrates are brought
from Chile, clothing is manufactured
in New York and Norfolk, stores are i
part of the organiza
and made thein
tlon.
I he navy needed steel for war, thou-
sands upon thousands of tons of it,
tor construction and other purposes.
It got a steel expert, S. It. fuller, who
resigned from a big Chicago railway
supply concern and went to work in
the bureau of supplies and accounts
supervising the purchase of structural
steel forgings and castings for ships
and shipyards.
Gathers in Experts.
The navy needed cotton—millions of
yards of canvas, duck, drill, sheetings,
and uniform doth. It got W. E. Hoop-
er. a cotton mill executive, who imme-
diately severed all connections in his
industry, sold Ins cotton mill interests,
'nvested the money in Liberty bonds,
and came Into the bureau.
The navy needed transportation on
sea and land. All the probMhis of
chartering ships for a world-wide dis-
tribution of supplies, coal, and pro-
to the tieet, and ni-
trate and shellac coining back in na-
val vessels were placed in charge of
Benjamin T. Voting, au expert on slop
•'bartering and ocean transport, who
severed his connection with a big New
York shipping concern for the period
of the war. Transportation on land
was taken over by o. M. Ellsworth,
who left a remunerative position with
a big railway system to enter Uncle
Sam's service.
The navy needed chemicals, and
Donald Itiley came from a large chem-
ical concern to take charge of this de-
partment. It needed Industrial ac-
counting. and a great accounting ma-
chinery concern made arrangements
whereby C. S. Ashdown took that ac-
tivity In hand, giving all his time to
the development of accounting sys-
tems as the bureau's transactions mul-
tiplied again and again. A department
to deal with foodstuffs was provided
under K. A. Tillman; another dealing
with lumber under C. M. Morford, and
another dealing with leather and al-
lied materials under J. W. Mcintosh.
The general standard of ability set
by the navy for its civilian experts is
gantiution. urnwth nas been entire!;
from within out.
¡Can See Sids Qptfecj. <t1i-
In Sanda court, the bureau's tem-
porary structure In the central court of
¡■•[the Mate, war and navy building, a
'¡¡I rooin is prov ided which can l¡.« entered
by anyone without pass, question, or
I formality. 'l iiPre is an open door, en-
tered from the street, giving ¡access to
a room called "The Public's Boom."
and there any person Interested in of-
! t'erlng a bid on navy supplies or wlsh-
j ing to see that bids are opened fairly
! can go and watch all transactions.
Í Kinployees engaged in opening the
thousands of bids received daily work
| in open view of any person who wants
! to enter this room. As fast as bids
¡ are opened the amounts of each Item
are posted In books and placed upon
counters, where anyone may examine
tin-in, learning all the facts about the
priccg bid by competitors.
Admiral McGowun's views on pub-
licity for government purchases are
very pronounced.
"In handling other people's money
things must not only be right," he
says, "but they must look right." Am'
the best way of having theui look right
in his belief. Is to let the public super
vise operations to the utmost extent
Only in war has the navy found U
necessary to keep any Information
about Its purchases confidential, and
even in war secrecy is necessary for
but a very small fraction of the pur-
chasing. where knowledge of details
might afford assistance to the enemy.
Centralized purchasing with a well-
planned organization lias made it pos-
sible for the navy to Increase Its turn-
over many thousand percent, not mere-
ly without congestion or other ill 111-
cultlcs. but with actual Increase in
incomes and etliclency. As purchases
have grown larger and more numerous
they have been handled with greater
speed and at lower cost.
^Something Different for Late Summer
Quality Safeguarded.
And with growth and magnitude
I there has been every care to safeguard
I the quality of supplies purchased for
the navy. When we entered the war
confusion existed In commodity 11111r-
j kets, and there was apparent short-
age of wool and other supplies. It was
believed for a time that navy specifi-
cations would have to be revised, with
a lowering of quality. But the bureau
of supplies and accounts took a deter-
1 mined stand on that point. Very often,
j in view of assumed conditions, it look-
' ed like a stiff-necked stand against
reasonableness. Despite a wide-spread
! belief among textile men that navy
' uniforms would have to be made partly
of shoddy, if the enormous require-
ments were to be promptly met, the
i bureau refused to consider any lowei'-
carrieil at Innumerable points ready
for delivery to sillos at instant notice,
Y'et all activities center in Washington,
and navy supply business Is not only
kept under the eyes of a few execu-
tives. but Is expedited by a tine work-
ing spirit.
Next to centralization and this fine
working spirit, probably the most im-
portant. element in the system is pub-
licity In dealing with the supply of
the navy's innumerable needs. I'ndcr
pressure of war other departments
have found It expedient to set aside
the normal peace-time methods of pur-
chasing under competitive bids, but the
navy has adhered to the method of
open bidding, with full publicity, on
the principle that the public, contrib-
uting war funds by taxation, has a
right to know exactly and in the full-
est detail how Its money Is being ex-
pended.
Another principle the navy adheres
to is that war demands should be met
by the peace-time system of purchas-
ing. (Jreat as war demands are. they
«•all simply for an Increase in volume
of business—not a change in the futi-
dainejat.il method of conducting busi-
ness. If the method has been proper-
ly worked out in peace. It will meet
the exigencies of war.
Directed by McGowan.
If every institution is tjie length
and shadow of one man, as IOmerson
said, then the bureau of supplies and
accounts today reflects the personality
of Admiral McGowan. When the bu-
reau transacted Its affairs with peo-
ple, he knew them all. and they work-
'ed under his eye every day. helped by
ilie optimism and energy which he ra-
diates. After a year of war. with his
organization approaching 1,000 people,
he still knows them all and sees them
frequently, and maintains the original
spirit of organization by making un-
limited demands upon each individual
for work, according to his or her capac-
ity, with unstinted commendation for
ulI good work, whether the Job be
great or small.
When the strength of the navy was
about 64,000 ofllcers and enlisted men
the bureau of supplies and accounts
did all Its purchasing and transporta-
tion through naval officers of the pay-
master's corps. When war came, and
activities increased by several hun-
dred per cent monthly, the organiza-
tion was strengthened by taking on
nbout n «lor.cn civilian experts from
business life, men who gladly resigned
good positions and large salaries with
private business concerns to don Uncle
Sam's uniform and work day anil night
for the comparatively Blender salarie
of naval officers.
Other purchasing departments of
the government met their early war
problems by enlisting advisory com-
mittees of business experts, who In-
vestigated given problems outside,
compiled facts, made arrangement ,
and offered suggestions. The navy,
on the contrary, took Its civilian ex-
perts in bodily, pat them Into uniform.
that each man must be worth several i big of its standards for uniform cloth,
times what the navy pays him in sal- j and, through the department of agrl-
ary, and that he must <-oine into the ; culture, secured actual figures regard-
organization for the period of the war 'OK 'he available wool stock in this
absolutely. "Outside talent with In- j country at that time. This survey not
Side it rol" Is the principle followed, j only proved that there was ample wool
and tills has worked so well that the
navy, lias never been obliged to seek
advisory service outside its own or-
MAKES NEW KIND OF MEAT
I in the country for military purposes,
but checked a wildly rising market.
! The same stand lias been taken on
i food for our sailors, coal for battle-
j ships, and practically every article re-
quired by the navy.
"The best that is humanly possible,"
says Admiral McGowan, "is none too
good for the men at the front, wheth-
er they be in the army or navy. I
i bold myself personally accountable to
i every father, and every mother, nn<l
j every wife, and i very sweetheart, that
I the men I have any supervision and
! care over are as well clothed and as
well fed as it is possible for them to
be. I acknowledge that ns a personal
responsibility resting on me. I freely
acknowledge it : excuses are not re-
ceivable. and alibis are not accepted.
What we want for the navy is the
best !"
SEEKS SERViCE FOR REVENGE
• in the top floor of 041 Washington
street, New York city, is one of the
most Interesting kitchens in the world,
presided over by a Chinese woman
doctor. She recently spent six months
In a trip to China to study and ana-
lyze the soy bean. Dr. Yiimel Kin. for
that is her name, says that the protein
contained In the soy bean is equal to
thuNof meat and is of great value «o
persons who cannot safely cut meat.
It Is a replacer of meat—a sort of
vegetable cheese. It forms no acid. If
Is an alkaline form of protein. I '«un-
billed wllh hash or any form of meat
leavings it forms a wonderful food
for diabetics, as the *u«l contains no
starch. When you eat "chop suey."
"chow ineln" and other dishes In Chi-
nese restaurants, the salty black
sauce served With the food is made
from soy beans. It Is by no means
simply « condiment. It Is as nutrl
tlous us a meat gravy. Excellent
cheese can also be made from them.
Doctor Kin suys that she «-an make
roquefort cheese thut smells itnd
looks like the real thing. She says
further thai as the public becomes edu-
cated to the obliging "soy" It will take
its place at the head of the proces-
sion of American products. In all the
world there I not a more misunder-
stood vegetable than the soy bean,
says Doctor Kin
Harold Bowen Saw "Red" When He
Heard Brother Had Been Wound- i
ed in France.
Sioux Falls. S. D.—When Ilarold
Bowen of llartford. S. I)., was advised
that his brother, William Bowen, hod
been wounded while on the firing line
in France with other American troops,
he Immediately commenced to see
"red," and hastened to Sioux Falls iti
an effort to be assigned to early serv-
ice In France so he could avenge the
wounding of bis brother.
Harold Bowen was a selective draff
man, and stood well down the list. He
appealed to the local exemption board
in Sioux Fulls and begged to be accept-
ed luto the service at once, out of his
turn, in order that be could get t<
France with the least possible delay si
lie could kill a few Germans.
Ills plea was accepted by the mem-
bers of the exemption board, and
young Bowen departed to undergi,
training at Camp Lewis, Wash., pre-
liminary to being sent to the battle
Hne in France.
•j
l •
i <t
IS
I •
i •
•d
• •-v ? • •■voj&o
I MOTHER TAKES LIFE
i WHEN SON JOINS NAVY
Memphis, Tenn.—When Mrs.
Sarah Brewer, forty-five, mother
of Harrv Brewer, eighteen,
heard thut Harry had enlisted
In the navy she exclaimed:
"Now I have nothing to live
for." and then swallowed a fa-
tal dose of carbolic acid.
<x
e
<*
-a •
Football T«am Enlist .
St. Louis.— Thirteen Illinois miners,
and all British subjects, enlisted In
a body at the local British-Canadian
Recruiting Mission headquarters. They
comprise the membership of the Brit
Ish-Amerlcan Football club « f Kj rln?
flali I. UL
j M m
HELPS
When July inaugurates the season
for vacations and women buy the last
o| iltelr sumiller millinery, experience
proves that they turn their backs ou
(lowers and summery straws. Hereto
fore they have bought light felt hats, or
the heavier straws, like tullan, with
while trimming, or have even antici-
pated the natural season for velvet
and chosen to wear It out of season.
For several summit's considerable
black velvet lias been worn in August.
But this anticipation of the reason for
velvet spoiled their '/.<•<! for It when
fall roally arrived.
There is a new order of things this
year. Designers appreciated that wom-
en wanted for late smuttier something
different from the hut* that luid gone
before and bought velvet because lit-
tle else was offervd them. They have
produced some lovely hats of fabrics
that are to serve for late summer and
between seasons wear and they have
proved immediately successful. These
Jmts are made of taffeta or ribbon or
georgette crepe or felt veiled with
georgette. Their trimmings are odd,
flat ornaments, made of materials in
tin- workroom, or embroidery with
chenille or silk or braiding with
soutache braid. Ornamental pins, hav-
ing rather large fancy beads, help out
In this respect. Besides these fabric
lints, turbans made entirely of feath-
ers, and white Milans, wing-trimmed
turbans and small hats, swell flic num-
ber of designs that furnish July and
the following two months with their
own peculiar millinery.
In the group of huts pictured there
are three that are entirely different,
represented. At the top Is a large lint
of gold-colored georgette crepe faced
>\ itli black panne velvet. Small fig-
ures embroidered In black, white and
blue silk, make up its decoration. Be-
low it l> a bat of taffeta braided with
soutache. Navy blue, black and white
are the best looking models of this
kind. Navy blue taffeta either em-
broidered, or machine stitched or
braided in white, is a great favorite.
The third lair Is of white yeddu
braid trimmed with a wide feath-
er band and three small white wings
that are an extension of the band.
This hat will have ended Its service
with the last day of August, but the
others will last through September
or longer.
We Just can t get away from the
military Influence In styles; but it has
centered on that ponton of feminine
apparel that Is made to withstand
hard wear, as riding habits and serv-
ice suits of various kinds. There Is
the military «-ape among wraps, but
It appears to be an inspiration of oth'T
da;.s or other lands none of our ofli-
c- uní! soldiers are going about In
pi ure*qtie and flowing capes. Wher-
e'er If cam" from it is some-
thing to lie thankful for as an udill-
ff.n to fair woman's wardrobe. It
li"~ spirit and grace; lending Its "air"
to the wearer who knows how to carry
it off.
lu riding habits and outfits, colors
and lines are reminiscent of khaki and
olive ilrab uniforms. Shoes and put-
tecs, vie with high boots, and small
military cups with regulation riding
ha'" for favor In the eyes of this sum-
mer'* sportswoman. For midsummer
Palin Beach cloth, linen and heavy
shantung are offered in place of the
sunstantiul wenv« s In wool flint pro-
vide habits for other seasi ns. Beside*
these there are lighter weight wool
mixtures, In khaki color, with almost
Invisible threads of green and red shot
through them, among the most p-uctl-
cnl of habits since they are adapt-
ed to any season.
One of these appears tn the smart
hjiblt shown In the picture, to fie
i run kl.y Indebted to military uniforms
I for its lines and details of linlsh. The
breeches are cut on the same lines as
those of khaki-i-lad soldiers and. In-
stead of high boots and riding but,
puttees and a cap are worn, adding
I strength to the military flavor of a
| swagger habit. There are two large
patch peckets at the left side of the
eon I and a small slit pocket, for the
handkerchief, at the right. The blouse
worn under the coat lias a high turn-
; over collar with a four in-hanil tie
slipped under It.
Coats are full skirted and therefore
appear a little shorter than they were,
! i>ut the length remains the «ame—flint
, Is eight inches above the- lop of
the puttees or boots, I'uttees may
• lie regarded as a fad. for they are not
as trim as boots and probably not j-*
comfortable, but they make a pleasing
'variety for women who can indulge
| themselves in fancies.
For Identification.
Write your name and address on one
«if the broad «teels Inside your corwet
with ink. This is a valuable mean
of identification in case «if accident.
Make Own Fireless Cooker.
Take a wooden box or a large butter
firkin or an old castoff boiler; line it
thick with newspaper or asbestos, and
then pack with good excelsior or hay.
h aving a place for your kettle. Cover
well witli paper and an old quilt or
pillow, it Is a help to put your soap-
stone heater underneath.
Swagger Military Styles in Habits
i
BUILT ALONG MODERN LINES
Eastern Journal Gives Excellent Ex,
ample of How Subdivision May
Be Laid Out to Advantage.
We have recently received circular*
describing one real estate development
now under way which excellently Illus-
trates a new stand of the employer.
In this case flu- manufacturer hail a
tract of well-wooded land rising from
a river bank In a gentle slope, acquired
at a reasonable price several years
ago, anil offering every opportunity
for enlightened treatment. Half a cen-
tury ago this would have been «le
laced by the erection of primitive bar-
racks overhanging the river, built as
near each other as possible, anil run
up into the air as many stories as the
most exhausted employee could man-
age to climb at the end of of the day's
work. A pestilential eyesore would
have been created to dishearten those
condemned to dwell within it, and to
rebuke the town it defaced.
lender the new dispensation another
motive prevailed. A first-class archi-
tect experienced in town planning was
employed; the acreage mailable for
the sett lenient It was desired to found
was studied; a street plan basi%l on
the natural advantages <>f the site,
and avoiding the wasteful and ex-
travagant checkerboard system too
prevalent in the past, was laid out;
accessibility of the nearby city, the
company's works and the established
«■enters of public Interest was consid-
ered; the exposures of (he various lots
received the weight they deserved and
a comprehensive plan for the com-
iuiiiiity was worked out. Art for art's
sake was not encouraged, but art as
aa ctlicicnt handmaiden of practica-
bility had a free liani'. Monotonous
uniformity of houses was avoided by
laodlflcations of the standard types
adopted, based on the site chosen for
each structure. Two principal thor-
oughfares crossing I be tract were
made broad enough for general trafile;
the other streets are narrow as to
roadway but well equipped as to tree
planting space, grass plots and side-
walks. The common error of attempt-
ing lo make every residential street
a boulevard was avoided; the not In-
frequent mistake of establishing alleys
was not committed. Ginger-breed,
mock heroics, the "monumental
works" «if so many comtnerclal sub-
urban communities, were studiously
evaded.—Boston Herald.
MADE OF CEMENT
A Grateful, Fven "Hospitable" Fenc
W tn Much to Be Said in Its Favor.
—-Popular Mechanics Magazine.
Art in the Garden.
In considering the art of the garden
II will be noted that all easy grouml
luí" as well lis an easy sky Hue If
advised and thai no straight iini
should occur in cither. While one ma>
place ii [ton paper very artistic llnet
governing tin ground plan of a gui-
llen, it is equally necessary ill thi
preservation of art that mc sky Iini
should lie artistically broken up aiu
not present. a monotonous appearand
sin ii as is produced by the top liu*
of a hedge or fence or wall. Nenrlj
everyone/ has noticed Instances ol
beautiful lines lu the top of groups ol
trees and shrubs, either In nature oi
planted by mail us seen when lliey ari
silhouetted against the sky. By
little study of those effect* one nui>
determine how his shrubs and tree
should be disposed to obtulii tin
proper effect.
Do Your Part.
You like to see a street well kept
and clean, with no scraps of papci
blowing round and no rubbish on th<
pavements. And since you prefer t«
live 1)11 such a Street, lie Mile thill yol
are careful not to throw litter where It
will blow Into someone's diHiryaril
Boys and girls have more to do thar
they realise in helping to make tb«
towns and clllea where they live orilef
ly mid attractive. Do your part.
Mark Walatlln .
children's waistlines are marked
by a belt s!lp|icd through eyelet .
Yet Another Geddes!
Kir lledworth Men*. whou he aske^
in i he house of commons recently U
there was not one Jenny Ocbdcs wb<
thr<-w a stool at a bishop, Motilities
had in mind a scene wblcL occurred
In St. Glh s' cuthcilrul. Ediuhurg, la
Id.'57, when the English Liturgy was I
tfvliiretf against the will oi the Mcota
am. Jenny, a market woman, threw hei
stool at the hi-ml of the «lean—not lb«
bishop—on his commencing to read Um
•rrvlce. A tablet by the spot commem-
orates her action as that of "a brave
Scotswoman" fighting for liberty*—
London Tlt-Blta.
m
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Savage, H. B. The Belton Evening News. (Belton, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 249, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 24, 1918, newspaper, July 24, 1918; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth177212/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.