Evening star., 1940-11-19
How u. ). Purchases
Defense Needs Told
In Radio Forum
Little Plants as Well as
Large Ones to Get Shore,
Soys Donald Nelson

Donald Mari Nelson, co-ordinator
Of all national defense purchases
and administrator Of the new Pri-
critics Board. spoke on national de-
tense in an address last night in
the National Radio Forum, arranged
by The Star. The talk was broad
cast over a national hookup of the
National Broadcasting Co. and was
heard locally over station WMAL.
The text of Mr.. Nelson's address
follows:
National defense is not only ships,
tanks. guns and planes. These we
must have-and in great quantities.
But with them we must have many
other things I want to talk to you
tonight about some of those other
things.
You have heard much in the past
several years about total wal"
You have been reminded by Presi-
dent Roosevelt and others that to
defend ourselves against total war"
we must have total defense" But
wonder how many OF us have
stopped to think what total de-
fense" includes.
Now, I have heard people say
that military strategy hasn't actually
changed since the beginning OF mill
tarv history But you and I know
that the prosecution of total war Is
as new as television. And we know,
too, that total defense, probing
down into the farthest reaches Of
our national life, makes demands
never made. before.
All Civilians Affected.
Yes, remember that during the
World War people began to realize
that an effective war machine re-
quired the backing OF a completely
mcbilized national economy. But
since that time the instruments
Of war-these fearfully precise en-
gines Of destruction-have become
vastly more complicated-and more
deadly. They use the best alloy
steels our scientists have been able
to develop, the finest methods of
propulsion we can devise. all the
wonders of communication by short
wave telephone and radio. Just as
the weapons of defense have become
more complex, requiring delicate
mechanisms and skillful handling
so, also, has our economic system
become more complicated. And that,
too, calls for skillful handling.
One Of the results of this new
warfare-this total warfare-is that
every civilian has become. in effect,
q front-line soldier. This Is the re-
suit that is most likely to impress
rs because it is dramatic and we,
as civilized human beings. are moved
emotionally at the realization that
the very young and the very old
must experience the horrors of
bursting bombs. that a workmans
simple home suddenly has become a
military objective.
In preparing our defenses against
this new warfare we must use all
our productive machinery of mines
and farms and factories; our whole
labor force with all its cumulative
skill and energy: all our transporta-
tion facilitieS-ships, railroads. high
ways, airways and pipelines: all our
financial resources; yes, and all our
initiative, ingenuity and creative
ness, our knowledge Of economics,
business, finance, purchasing, prices,
and many other things. We can no
longer think Of "big business" and
>little business" We must think of
business as whole. There must not
be any "fotgotten men" Of industry,
no forgotten plant facility or skill
no forgotten asset OF any kind. Our
every resource must play its part.
Long Range Planning.
But total defense-and here I
stress the word "defense"-means
even more 1t means that we must
give constant thought to our ma
tional economy, based upon private
capitalism and its functioning with
in democratic framework. We
must make sure that when this arm
ament effort is over our economy
will not be acknowledgements in
some directions, shriveled in others
We must constantly keep an eye on
permanent civilian requirements,
avoid building new factories that
will be useless when the world re-
turns to normalcy; If we can use
factories already built; avoid rob-
bing one area of its labor supply and
thereby creating housing shortages
In another; avoid, in general, any
violent dislocations of our economy.
In other words we must achieve
total defense without destroying the
social and economic standards of the
civilian population. These civilian
standards. in the final analysis, con-
stitute the first line of defense of
any democracy. That is one reason
!, why the Defense Commission has a
division of consumer protection.
Up to the present time the most
important job of the Defense Com
mission has been to get orders
placed and production moving-and
moving fast-on tanks, airplaneS,
battleships and the other heavy
armament requirements of the Army
and Navy. Our first responsibility
has been to harness the industrial
facilities which already were avail
able for the supply of military
equipment.
We have to use those plants which
already had ample financial re-
sources to handle the orders award
ed them. Battleships can't be built
by blacksmiths nor can 70-ton tanks
be constructed by local iron masters.
OF necessity, therefore, our job was
10 get our contracts out and into
the hands Of those concerns which
were already geared up to do an
armament job. That initial task
has now been completed. We have
erected the foundations for vast
munitions industry. The armed
services have let some $8,500,000 900
OF contracts. Throughout this coun-
try the assembly lines are getting
fooled. preparing to produce NUM-
tko6,s in vast nI1antitieS