Beschreibung:

CHURCHILL, Winston S. Typed letter signed ("Winston S. Churchill"), as Minister of Munitions, to Sir Joseph Maclay (1857-1951), Whitehall, 25 January 1918. 2 pages, 4to, Ministry of Munitions stationery, punch holes at top left corner .
CHURCHILL, Winston S. Typed letter signed ("Winston S. Churchill"), as Minister of Munitions, to Sir Joseph Maclay (1857-1951), Whitehall, 25 January 1918. 2 pages, 4to, Ministry of Munitions stationery, punch holes at top left corner . A STERN WARTIME LETTER TO A RECALCITRANT COLLEAGUE ABOUT GAINING ESSENTIAL MILITARY RAW MATERIALS FROM SPAIN AND NARVIK--a resonant location in Churchill's biography. "Your letter of the 22 inst. Does nothing to relieve my anxiety," Churchill tells Maclay, the Minister for Shipping. "Whether importations of Ore from Northern Spain or from Narvick are considered, it is perfectly clear that shipments are now proceeding at a rate which must lead to a complete breakdown in the Iron and Steel production and so affect every industry concerned in the prosecution of the war..." Churchill complains that he cannot proceed "without any idea of what the future has in store," and that he has repeatedly tried over three months to get even vague estimates about ore production "without receiving anything in return except your invariable courtesy. I really do not know what to do..." He foresees a "complete administrative breakdown" and warns that the Commander-in-Chief "should know at the earliest possible moment in order that he may base his plans accordingly..." Maclay found himself handicapped by sharp bureaucratic rivalry with the Admiralty over who should control shipping matters.