The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-12-16

the defense program is in {
 Also that the muddled situation is not the fault of the Defense Commission itself.
 Though not perfect, it has done the best it could under the con- ditions. The Commission has had to operate without centralized au- thority and coordination, yet be- cause of the patience and devotion of individual members, it has functioned a lot more effectively than expected when it was set up. Now, however, the Commission has come to the crossroads. If speed in the defense program is really as necessary as Congress was told it was when asked to vote those billions last summer, then the President has got to give the Commission the power and respon- sibility to do the job-or junk it..
 The Defense Commission now is merely an advisory body. And what the defense program urgent ly needs is a central authority to boss the whole show and make 1t click; to bring the loose ends to- gether in one set of hands that will know what's going on, why, and whither.
 THREE PLANS
 Roosevelt is perfectly aware of this need. It was drummed into his ears for weeks before he left on his cruise. The big question is, What is he going to do about 1t? When he left he was thinking along three lines, as follows:
 l. Continue the present set-
 up, but designate Defense Com
 missioner William Knudsen,
 Assistant Secretary of War Rob-
 ert Patterson and Navy Under
 Secretary James Forrestal as a
 Production Control, with su-
 preme power to handle all de-
 fense output. Instead of the
 Army and Navy letting the con-
 tracts, this three-man group
 would be in charge of all orders.
 2. Remove Knudsen from the
 Commission and make him an
 assistant to the President in
 charge of defense production.
 Knudsen would concentrate en-
 tirely on mass output, reporting
 daily to Roosevelt on the prog
 ress made.
 3. Continue the present Com
 mission .but vest it with legal
 powers to boss all phases of de-
 fense production, and appoint a
 co-ordinator to interlace its Op-
 erations. As production chief,
 Knudsen would be the senior
 Commissioner and Procurement Director Donald Nelson would be
 coordinator.
 NOTE-William H. McReynoldS, veteran career official whom Roosevelt shifted from the White House to the Defense Commission as its secretary, has gotten very much in the hair of the commits sioners. Though he is rated a personnel expert, there is no agen- cy in the Government where per- sonnel is in a greater muddle.
 First. McReynolds permitted raids on other government agen- cies with the result that there was furious bidding among them for men, and then he abruptly shut down so tight that the Commis- sion now can't get experts 1t needs. One of the chief reasons why 8 coordinator is so desperately re- quired is that McReynolds, who was supposed to do this job, has been a total bust.
 JUDICIAL INVITATION
 Evie Robert is still the glamor girl of the New Deal, in spite of the fact that her husband. Chip" is no longer secretary of the Dem- ocratic National Committee.
 The other day a friend invited Evie to a dinner party and as "Chip'' was out of town suggested she bring a table partner. Evie asked bachelor Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy.
 .sSo sorry, Evie," he said, .'but IsimpIy can't do 1t. I'm writing an opinion. But," he added, s'when your party is over, why don't you come mp here and have . cup of hot milk with mel"
 PRE-ADJOURNMENT JUNKET
 On November l9. when the House defeated a motion to ad- he giving substance to things hoped DOr."