1940-12-14 — Page 10

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December 14, 1940.

THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE BRITISH PURCHASING COMMISSION. IN THE U.S.

Arthur Purvis,

TO-DAY the war supplies

Britain is getting from America and Canada are no more than a trickle.

Before very long, however, the trickle will have become an ever-increasing, rip-roaring flow

of planes, guns, ammunition, and explosives.

To get even that trickle to start from a few seeplug drips has been a colossal task.

Buyer for

Britain

As the need arises new sections are war factories, which were springing formed, and more experts are sent up everywhere. She was making out from Britain to stem them and plans for the future for every con- collaborate with the American manu- ceivable sort of war production in

America; but machine tools

rat-our stocks of munitions were

The two men chiefly responsible facturers. for it are Mr. Arthur D. Purvis, 50-

One of the newcomers to America years-old chairman of the Belich is a general who commanded n tank Purchasing Commission in the United regiment in France. He has gone to States, and Col. J. II. M. Greenly, advise on the design of the 4,000 until last June Director-General of tanks which are to be bulli for us the former British Supply Board in at a cont of £40,000,000,

Canuda.

To-day Mr. Purvis has wider powers than any other man ever sent To date Mr. Purvis has spent or on a mission by a Drillsh Govern- contracted to epend £300,000,000 ment. li Use United States. And for this Britain is getting, or hus got.

11,000 warplanes, of which 3,000 are believed to have been

delivered;

0,000 Holls-Merlin aero-engines;

came

considered sufficient to carry on with.

France let America know

that

the

wanted munitions badly. She poured out expital for the erection of new factories in the States, There were premiums for their early completion. The world thought it was France In- creasing her already enormous locks of mutiilions. It did not know that It was France trying to make good her stocks,

Mr. Arthur Purvis

is an Anglo-Scot born in Tot- tenham, his mother being a Londoner and his father Perthshire man.

U

After being a junior in the City, he joined Nobel Explo- sives in Scotland, where ho came into contact with ona of the firm's seniors, Harry McGowan.

Now that Harry McGowan is Lord McCowan, chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries (in which Nobel's was incor- porated), and Puvis is head of Canadian Industries-ho was

All red tape has been cut away. He could, in fact, spend £1,000,000 on guns to-morrow without a word to Whilchall, other than a cable asking for the necessary funds to be place, it was of vital importance that appointed to the job when he

placed at his disposal.

'When the collapse of France tock

the whole of the French orders in America should be taken over by Britain; above all, we wanted the

was only 34.

When on a trip to Now York

4,000 25-toes wid 30-ton tanks: 16 Hours a Day planes that were being built for her, he met and married an Ameri-

1,000,000 rifles:

a year Mr. Purvis has been FOR

the busiest man

Aller consultation with the Cabinet

in America, and Lord Lothian, Mr. Purvis took Every day of the week-Sundays In- ver en bloe the whole of the French cluded-he works 16 hours. Hg orders in the United States. energy is unbounded.

can girl their only san is now at Eton.

It was then that his organisation hkinself able to wind up the Board assumed its present title of the British and hand over its entire work to the Purchasing Commission in the United Munitions Department of the Cond- States.

dian Government.

together with vast quantities of other types of aero-engines, ammunition of every description, heavy and light artillery, machine-guns, including the

Every hour brings its vital inter- new 5 types for almaft (the Flest Air Ann are busy replacing their lew with a manufacturer, its con- lighter 3's with these), Thomson force with one of his executives, sub-machine-guns (the sort Mr.

At once he had to set to work to Even hustling America is astonish- Churchill was holding in that famoured at the sed with which he gets buying campaign,

reorganise and remap his entire QINCE the formation of the Ministry photograph taken during his recent things done. tour of the North-East), bombs, torpedoes, intres, explosives, and flame-throwers.

Embassy Work

for Aircraft Production we have spent an average of 10,000,000 dollars a day on aircraft in America, a figure which includes 700,000,000 dollars on

France.

1

Three days a week he flies to Washington (he's the most regular traveller on the air line) to see Lord E relationship between our En- warplanes that would have gone to One In every four men In the Lothian, British Ambassador to THE British armed forces is now said to Amerien, and the U.S. Government

bassy in America and the Com- be equipped with an American rifle. chiefs.

mission is a peculiar one. In some The whole of our alrcraft purchas- respects the Commission might also ing in America is now handled by Mr. The RAF, are ulready using.

Roosevelt is always glad to see the be said to be an extension of the Morrie Wilsen, the Canadian banker. American-made Douglas bombers and bushy-browed, keen-eyed, immacu- British Embassy, so closely do the the Buffalo Aghters.

Mr. Wilson has Inlierited a lot from lately clad head of our Purchasing two work together. All cabled ins-

tructions to the Commission, for ins- Mr. Purvis, and nothing of greater, Among our reported aircraft orders

tonce are duplicated for Lord Importance than the 0,000 Merlin art 800 twin-engined Lockheed

On most of his visits to the capital Lothian, The Ambassador knows Rolls air engines. interceptor fighters which have Mr. Purvis lunches with Mr. Henry what is going on all the time. speed of well over 400 m.p.h.

This £60,000,000 deal is one of the and Morgenthaut, Secretary of the United

Lord Lollian's work begins where instances. In which Mr. Purvis ro- which are armed with a 30 mm, can- States Treasury.

Mr. Purvia's ends.

vealed himself as a fighter, able to

Mission.

non and numerous machine-guns. • Mr. Mergenthau's will for new

By the end of the year we shall tablecloths must be heavy. Or else he

When Mr. Purvis finds that a deal 40 In to win after taking what to have had nearly 2,000 more bombers makes a point of washing the secrets cannot be put through on a straight-any men would have been a knock- and fighters from America. The off them himself after Mr. Purvis has forward cash basis, owing to legal or present delivery of U.S. planes to us been to lunch. For by the time to plummutic

Sinister Figure

the war into Germany,

Such erection of 40 new factories. cussions to this end .are progress.

out:

dificulties, Uen Lord

is 500 a month, and it is increasing coffee has arrived the two of them Lothian steps in. daily.

huve covered the while cloth with This was the case over the des- He first offered the contract for Innumerable pencilled notes By next January America's output calculations.

and troyers deal (and now 25 torpedo these engines to Ford's. All seemed boats and some submarines may be to be going well. Then the sinister for Britain may reach 1,300 'planes

following the destroyers).

figure of Col. Lindbergh appeared on a month. This, however, is not The formation of the British Pur-

the scene. Within a few hours of a enough. We want 3,000 a month_chasing Commission was... no...hap-. from America alone to help carry hazard, quickly conceived affair. 11 WHILE Mr. Purvis was going ahead Visit he paid to Detroit, Henry Ford he would refuse the existed-in skeleton form on paper in New York, Col. Greenly in contract on the grounds that it was

agnounced that gure will necessitate the many months before war broke out. Ottawa was overcoming cùormous foreign nation..

difficulties in 'turning over Canada's Dis- Within

a few days of the declara- industry to a war basis.

Purvis refused to give up. Britai hat to have those engines, and he in lion of war. Colonel Greenly, chair-

man of the world famous engineering Ammunition production was the went into the fight again. firm of Babcock and Wilcox, went to first to make real headway,

And this time the victory was his. Ottawa us Director-General of the

After weeks and weeks of long Slowly but surely Colonel Greenly negotiations the contract has now British Central Supply Board for Canada and the USA. (although got things going-plane and aero- been accepted by the huge Packard - FRO

FROM time to time there have been little could then be done south of engine factories started to function, company, which in to make 8,000 for strong efforts by Isolationist the Canadian border in the way of producing only a few to begin with, Britain (and 3,000 for America) at groups in America to hinder Mr. buying war materials, owing to the out soon speeding up.

u cost of £60,000,000. Purvis's work,

By the spring Canada's output of

By June the position had become so

now

An Emergency.

United States Neutrality Acts, which

But people have to get up early had banned their export at the time waralanes will be 350 a month.

of the Spanish Civil War).

to get the beller of him. When last spring and early summer our need A member of this board was Mr. satisfactory that Col Greenly felt for any sort of arms, any sort of Purvis, President of Canadian Indus- munitions, way very great, Mr. tries, the sister, company in the Parvis got to work to tide us over. Dominion of our own £100,000,000} There were vast stocks of "surplus" Imperial Chemical Industries, and a

And what is Mr. Purvis paid for his work? He fired his salary himself. He called it a nominal salary. It is one dollar a year,

arms in America-arms which she director of a host of other Canadian TRENDS IN MOTOR CAR DESIGN

had left over from the last war, and

which she had kept in good condition companies.

rifies, field guns, machine-guns, Then in November last year, two and ammunition. In addition, there months to a day after the qutbreak were warplanes which the United of war, Amerlea amended her Neu- States Army were willing to turn trality Acts to enable warring nations back to manufacturers while waiting to buy munitions in America on the for Inter-type machines.

famous cash-and-carry conditions.

Mr. Purvis bought and went on. Within a few days Mr. Purvis was buying, shipping his purchases an in New York as chairman, not of the fast as he could to Britain,

British Purchasing Commisɛl^n-ibat} was to comdi later--but of the joint) He secured about a million "sur, Anglo-French Rurchasing Commission plus" rides and machine-guns and a in America.", large batch of "surplus" guns.

In June and July alone he bought and received 80,000 machine-guns. 500,000 rines, and 750 feld guns, with huge stocks of ammunition,

From the first he had been ear- marked for the job by the British Governmelit.

In the 15 years he had been head of Canadian Industries, he had proved For months Mr. Purvis has been himselt a state mari among the thinking and dealing not in tens or politicians, of business men. He had hundreds of thousands of pounds, but travelled throughout the United States in millions and tens of millions of and, Canada. With the vast ramin- pounds.

of the two concerns behind cations him, there was precious litle he hạd He has two policies to carry out not learned about North American simultaneously-the immediate ful Industry, Alment of the Ministry of Supply In this war, from, the very start, orders on behalf of the three Fighting was supplies were bought through the Services and the much larger Jon Anglo-French Purchasing Commis range war supplies polley of the sion in the best and cheapest market. Cubinet Itself.

There was none of the 1914-18 sens

each other which legs outbidding of Speed of delivery is the dominant sent prices sky high. factor of all our ordern.

Although our purchases may be colossal. Mr. Purvis has seen to li Once orders are now given, no that the contract prices have alwayr changes, even Improvements, hr been the lowest possible... Introduced, in order that there chall be no delay,

Mr. Purvis's organisation in New York consists for the most part of a series of watertight compartments, ench staffed by experts. There are

The Difference

ROM the start the British and French orders, apart from war-

the

a heavy-guns section, a light-guns plano requirements, were for section, a machine tools section. a most part totally dissimilar.. section for explosives, and a score Britain concentrated on getting machine tools to equip her own new

of others.

PERISCOPE -

12

(From the Australian "Shell House Journal"},

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