All supplies for the Navy, except such as were regulated by priority orders, were obtained throughout the war by formal contracts entered into after the widest possible public competition in the open market, the only restriction being that—as required by Section 3722 of the Revised Statutes of the United States—no person was allowed to bid unless he was a manufacturer or regular dealer.
Throughout the war, all formalities attendant upon the opening of bids were strictly adhered to. The proposals were opened every day—sometimes far into the night—and read out publicly, each bidder having ample opportunity to know his competitors' offers and also to be sure that his own were not overlooked. Even in the few cases where military secrecy was obligatory, there was still genuine competition. The eight bidders, for instance, on the mines for the North Sea Barrage were invited to meet each other and the purchasing officials in a locked and guarded room, even these confidential bids being strictly competitive.
The idea in all business dealings by the Navy was that every single transaction—indeed every part of every transaction—must not only be right but look right.
It is scarcely to be wondered at that by following this rule and also by giving prompt inspections and making immediate payments, the Navy throughout the war maintained most cordial relations with a business public which well knew that every contract was awarded to the lowest responsible bidder whose goods were up to the standard required by specifications and fit for the use for which they were intended. It was largely for this reason that the purchasing machinery was able to expand so enormously without confusion or delay. In one day during the war the purchases amounted to over $30,000,000, as compared with $19,000,000 during the heaviest pre-war year.
Looking back at it now, the mere suggestion of waiving competition—and thereby striking at the very foundation of the system—brings a smile of incredulity. But it was no joke at the time. Scarcely had war been declared when requests came from a number of quarters for authority "to cut red tape" by doing away with competition, the argument being advanced that deliveries could thereby be expedited and important work accelerated. The idea was not easy to suppress, because its many advocates really believed they were right and insisted upon convincing superior authority. The answer was that competition was bound to speed things up rather than retard them and that, in any event, the responsible officials in Washington had given the matter due consideration and decided definitely and finally that competition must continue uninterruptedly, as to everything except where the demand so largely exceeded the supply as to compel priority orders.
The record of the commissary branch—and this applies to the hundreds of thousands of soldiers transported overseas and back as well as the half-million men within the Navy itself—was one of unqualified success from first to last and one of which the service has good reason to be proud. Never were men in uniform so well fed or was so much attention paid to a balanced and abundant ration. "Only the best (with no substitute said to be 'equally as good'), is good enough for our fighting men," was the motto of Rear Admiral Samuel McGowan, Chief of the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, and his capable assistants, who took the greatest pride in seeing that men in the service never even knew, except by reading in the papers, that Government restriction was put upon the quantity and kind of food for civilians.
With respect to the forwarding of supplies of every description to the forces abroad, an intra-bureau order issued by Admiral McGowan in July, 1917, directed that every wish of the senior naval officer in European waters should be complied with on the same day that it became known—indeed that the discretion vested in the Chief of the Bureau of Supplies was already exercised when the needs of European forces were made known.
When the armistice was signed and demobilization followed, there was on hand a quantity of supplies in excess of prospective needs. The same supply officers, who had so capably provided for the Navy's wants during hostilities, promptly inaugurated a selling campaign; and, on the first $70,000,000 worth of surplus thus disposed of, the Government realized a net profit of more than three millions.
Throughout the entire ordeal—preparation, operation, demobilization—the Navy's business organization functioned in all its various branches with full one hundred per cent effectiveness. So much so, in fact, that an investigating sub-committee from the House Committee on Naval Affairs officially reported to Congress that the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts "has won and well deserves a nation-wide reputation for business efficiency."
In appreciation of the service rendered by Admiral McGowan, Congress passed an act authorizing his retirement earlier than the usual time prescribed. This recognition was limited in its terms, applicable only to the Paymaster General, the Surgeon General and the Chief Naval Constructor. And no special distinction was ever more deserved.