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John W. Snyder interviewed by Robert Cochran for a biography of Snyder, continuation of previous recordings. John W. Snyder, former Secretary of the Treasury, discusses the military build-up to World War II and the fact that the U. S. had used World War I era weapons and materials for training until it became obvious that the U.S. would be involved. The first thing the U.S. did was to build factory capacity for a build-up. They first build weapons for the allies to their specifications. He talked of the need for more steel and what the government had to do to get the steel needed. He mentioned that the aircraft factories were on the west coast because that is where the major aircraft companies were located. The government did not pick the locations of factories, the companies with contracts did. He discusses the beginnings of the Truman Committee and Franklin D. Roosevelt's reluctance to have such a committee. He also relates that Harry S. Truman went to General George C. Marshall to try to get back on active duty while he was a Senator. Mr. Snyder went back to St. Louis in 1943 and was to become bank president on July 1, 1945. Truman summoned him to Washington, DC, in April. He became Secretary of the Treasury following the death of a Supreme Court Justice and Vinson's appointment to that post. He briefly touches on the Korean War and the Senate hearings over the firing of General Douglas MacArthur. He explained that the government had hundreds of accounting systems until the GAO instituted the Uniform Accounting System so all agencies used the same methods, speeding up the time it took to examine records and budgets. Snyder discussed his good relationships with both General MacArthur and General George Patton. He said that MacArthur came to him when he had a problem with his personal taxes and after Snyder helped him with that matter, Snyder, with Truman's permission, sent 28 people to set up tax, budget, and education systems for the Philippines. He discussed visiting Patton's grave in Luxembourg.