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Show mpmif (ft Released by Western Newspaper Union, QUICK ADJUSTMENT OF WAR CONTRACTS ON NOVEMBER 12, 1918, the daj following the armistice that closeo World War I, I called at the office of Col. Henry M. Bylesby, American army purchasing agent in London. The war was over and Colonel Bylesby Byles-by was preparing to leave for home when General ' Biddle, American commander in England, came into his office. He asked the reason foi the hurry and informed the colonel he could not leave England until all American war contracts had beer) adjusted. I knew of three of those contracts. One for five million army uniforms, a second for five complete hospital trains, and a third for millions ol feet of mining timbers given to a Swedish concern. They were but three of many. I left England for America on November No-vember 15, arriving in Chicago on Thanksgiving day. From Chicago I returned to New York on December 15, and, on December 18 boarded the Century at New York to return to Chicago. On the train I met Colonel Bylesby. "How come?" I asked. "How about those war contracts?" "All settled. Washed up. Sealed, delivered and paid," he replied. I asked for the "how" of the job, and especially on the three contracts of which I knew something. "Easy," said the colonel. "I asked those with the uniform contracts to tell me the number of undelivered uniforms that were cut or partially made up. To tell me the yardage of material they had purchased, but not cut. I knew the number that had been delivered to the quartermaster quarter-master corps. The contractors were as' jubilant as I was over-the ending of the war and were in a generous mood. I asked if they could dispose dis-pose of the partially completed or cut uniforms as workmen's clothing. cloth-ing. They could. They could also utilize for other purposes the uncut yardage. It took only an hour to arrive at a settlement. They got their money and the contract was surrendered. "One hospital train had been delivered. de-livered. Others were in course of construction. The contractor could use the cars or material for other things. He made a price that was more than fair. I accepted and that was the end of that contract. "The Swedish concern was not quite so easy, but when I assured them it was cash on the barrel head then, or wait for a long period of adjustment they came through. All others were settled in the same way. Some in a few minutes,- some in a few hours. Now they are all settled. set-tled. We have no outstanding war contracts in England, and I am back to operate the Bylesby utilities." It is to be regretted that Colonel Bylesby could not have lived until the end of the present war. He was the type Bernard Baruch would be looking for to quickly adjust our present war contracts and put us back on a peacetime production schedule. The colonel had no place for red tape or unnecessary haggling. hag-gling. It was always a quick yes or no. The government praised him for the adjustments he made in England. Eng-land. V. S. IDEALISM VS. EUROPEAN REALISM NO MATTER what we may think about it, or what we may expect, when the shooting is all over, Europe Eu-rope will continue to have an imperialistic imperi-alistic England, an imperialistic Russia, an imperialistic Holland, an imperialistic Belgium, an imperialistic imperial-istic France. We may think, or hope, we are fighting that all peoples may have freedom, but we are not. . We are fighting to crush Hitler. When that has been accomplished, imperialistic imperi-alistic Europe will decide its own course, and we and our four freedoms free-doms will have but little to say about it. As in 1919, American idealism ideal-ism will give way to European realism. real-ism. That is what we should expect. TRIBUTE TO FARMER A FARMER from one of the central cen-tral states dropped into my home for a call. "I take it you are a farm product," he said. I assured him I could not make such a claim and had never lived on a farm. "But you think like a farmer," he insisted. I do not, but I wish I could. The farmers of the nation think more soundly, have a better grasp of national affairs and national na-tional needs, than any other class of our citizenship. What they ask is honest information on which to base their thinking and they will arrive at right conclusions. My caller paid me the highest possible compliment when he said I think like a farmer I wish it could be true. EACH OF US has relatives or friends on the battle lines. To each of us the casualty lists and casualty figures are ominous. Our tendency is to be pessimistic, to fear we shall find the names of those near and dear to us in those lists. They may be but the chances are they will not Ninety per cent or better, of those who are fighting for us will come home again. Each man in the armed services believes he will be numbered among that 90 per cent andthat is the way we should look MANY A BUSINESS has failed because be-cause the customers have been con-sidered con-sidered as always wrong. WHAT A LESSONin world geoE raphy the war has given us! Iusga' value we had not anticipated HE WHO HAS the least tn LIKE THE SPRINGTIME the dav of peace draws nearer with eBcb passing hour. ca |