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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels

JUNE      WEDNESDAY 13       1917

Mr. Fahy,1 of Boston, said B. Baruch2 would not do - there should be a board. No Wall Street speculator.

Went home to lunch with Josephus and then went to Star office with the dear boy.

Council of National Defense. How to co-ordinate. Nothing to do until the President3 decides upon purchasing.

Mr. Gompers4 made long speech upon the unrest of labor, demanded labor representatives on all committees. He was greatly impressed with serious conditions and said labor could not pay present prices & demanded provision to control price of food stuffs.5

Benson & Palmer6 here to talk about caring for enlisted men. New barracks.

Source Note: D, DLC-MSS, Josephus Daniels Papers, Roll 1. Daniels kept his diary in a daybook so the date is printed along the top.

Footnote 1: John H. Fahy, a Boston newspaper publisher.

Footnote 2: Bernard M. Baruch, member of the Advisory Commission to the Council of National Defense. He later chaired the War Industries Board.

Footnote 3: Woodrow Wilson.

Footnote 4: Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor and a prominent labor activist.

Footnote 5: Herbert Hoover, head of the Food Administration, adamantly refused to impose price controls on food. Instead, he launched a campaign to appeal to Americans’ sense of patriotism and persuade them to increase production and reduce consumption voluntarily. His efforts were largely successful, and the United States avoided the mandatory rationing and strict price controls that most of Europe had imposed during the war. Kennedy, Over Here, 117-123.

Footnote 6: Adm. William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations and RAdm. Leigh C. Palmer, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation.

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