Meanwhile, during the protracted negotiations, we went right ahead, in our new War Plans Division, with all the blueprints and schedules, working in close collaboration with our architect, Albert Kahn. We broke ground for the new French plant on October 10, 1939, pushing automobiles out of the parking space on which we had determined to build it. The shop was to have an area of some 300,000 square feet and be tooled to handle about 300 engines per month of our 1830 model. Since this was an engine rated at approximately 1,000 horsepower, we figured that we were going to get 300,000 horsepower per month out of the new plant; in three months we could build enough engines to generate the power of Niagara. Title to the new facility would rest with United Aircraft. On November 5, 1939, Congress repealed the Arms Embargo Act.
Shortly afterward, the British government came into the market for aircraft. This was a surprise, for but a short time earlier, Lord Beaverbrook, then visiting this country, had snorted at the suggestion that Britain might have to look to America for assistance. Yet Sir Henry Self, formerly of the British Air Ministry, arrived in Washington and joined with M. René Plevin of France, in a new coordinated procurement program.
It was shortly after this, on an evening early in 1940 while we were sitting in the library at home, that the telephone rang. It was the watchman over at the plant.
“Secretary Morgenthau has just walked in,” he said, “and he would like to see you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
An Unfavorable Climate
As I backed my convertible out of the garage, and eased it from the driveway onto Albany Avenue, I speculated as to what might have brought Secretary Morgenthau to Hartford in the middle of the night. It might, I thought, have something to do with the new British inquiry which had been discussed earlier in Harry Collins’s office in the Treasury. There, a number of aircraft manufacturers had met to be introduced to Sir Henry Self and a newcomer to the French negotiations, M. René Plevin. Sir Henry, very British, had tried not to appear condescending to us provincials, but it was apparent early that he had brought his trading vest along, determined to give us a sample of British tradesmanship.
I had noticed at the time that Col. Paul Jacquin, with whom we had had such intelligent dealings, was not present. M. René Plevin, the new Frenchman, looked to me like the story-book Frenchman, suave, polished, and clever. It occurred to me that Colonel Jacquin might need a little help from us, and this was confirmed by the drift of the conversation. Sir Henry Self made it clear that he and M. Plevin would act in unison in all matters of future procurement. They had looked over the earlier contracts and concluded that the terms had not been as advantageous to the customer as must any future terms. At any rate they appeared out of line with what had been customary in Old England. The British were in the market for large quantities of war material, but England was a poor country and we must learn to sharpen our pencils and cut prices. England had shielded us during the first war, but she was not now so strong, etc., etc.
Sir Henry had expressed interest in negotiating for the construction of new facilities from which aircraft engine production could flow; he had wondered if we might not now undertake immediate expansion of our facilities—but of course under more favorable terms to England than we had apparently exacted from France.
To this I pointed out that the French terms had been arrived at after painstaking negotiation under the commission headed by Col. Paul Jacquin. They had not been predicated on chiseling tactics, but designed to give us every incentive to take the heavy risks paramount to quick deliveries. We had found no reason to question that procedure but had, on the other hand, experienced many incidents in which the wisdom of this procedure had been proved. Time had been of the essence and time had proved to be something that could not be bought. With less time now, we could see no basis for further discussion of the terms.
As a matter of fact, I explained, we would not undertake to even negotiate another contract for plant expansion until we saw our way out of our present difficulties. We suffered from chronic indigestion and had no intention of making it acute. And even if the time came when we believed our already overloaded organization might take on greater responsibilities, there was one serious road block that must be resolved. We had accepted the French order without resolving this difficulty because we had been in a serious predicament for business; today we could not accept that handicap.