Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 February 1918 — Allied Governments' Purchases in the United States [ARTICLE]

Allied Governments' Purchases in the United States

Arrangements were entered into shortly after the beginning of the 'war by the secretary of the treasury, with the approval of the president, 'with the governments of Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Belgium and •Serbia, whereby Bernard M. Baruch, Robert S. Lovett and Robert S. Brookings of the war industries board were designated a commission (through whom or with whose approval or consent all purchases in the United States of materials and supplies by or on behalf of these govern‘.jnents shall be made. Under this arrangement these governments communicate their reiquirements for materials and supplies to this commission through their i designated purchasing agents in this country, and the commission then •uses its best efforts to obtain offers of the materials and supplies required iat the best obtainable prices and terms, of delivery and otherwise, and submits the same to the purchasing agent concerned, it being no part of 'the commission’s duty to prepare and sign contracts, or to supervise their 'execution, or to determine technical details, or to carry out the inspection lof materials, all of which matters are cared for by the governments concerned; e . The foreign governments have agreed not to make purchases in the States otherwise than through or with the consent of the commission. The arrangements provide that nothing expressed or implied, nor anything done or omitted by the commission, shall impose any obligation or liability upon, the United States whether to advance moneys, to esi tablish credits, or otherwise. The purchasing commission in carrying out the terms of this agreement, says Commerce Reports, is endeavoring to see •first that the wants of the governments associated with the United bta es iin the war are supplied as promptly as possible, and without interfering with the requirements of our own government. This necessarily involves •the finding of a source of supply from which articles neededl by.the allies can be obtained without prejudice to contracts placed with the United i States government for articles of the same kind, and in many cases it has ibeen found necessary to develop new sources of supply—that is, to induce • some one who has not been previously making the articles needed to prot duce them.