Bethlehem Steel Fights Back Against Government Plant
In an aggressive 'bulletin,' Bethlehem Steel campaigns against a proposed $11,000,000 federal armor plant, claiming they can produce high-grade steel for less than foreign competitors.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Senate of the United States has passed a bill to spend $11,000,000 of the People's money to build a government armor plant. It is said that manufacturers of armor have 'gouged' the country in the past, and that a government plant is necessary to secure armor more cheaply. The mistake of the Bethlehem Steel Company has been that it has kept quiet. We shall make the mistake of silence no longer. Henceforth we shall pursue a policy of publicity. The United States has for twenty years obtained the highest grade of armor and has paid a lower price for it than has any other great naval power. We are prepared to manufacture armor at any price which the Government itself shall name as fair. Should $11,000,000 of the people's money be wasted to build a government plant?
“We shall make the mistake of silence no longer.”
This advertisement is an early example of corporate lobbying tactics using public-facing 'transparency' to protect industrial monopolies. The tension between private defense contracts and public infrastructure spending remains a persistent debate in modern fiscal policy.
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