The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-09-17

Defense COmmlSSlOn.
 It all happened at confidential session at which the Commission and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau were discus sing taxes on munitions plants. Morgenthau contended that if the Government was to give airplane and munitions manufacturers hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax benefits (quick amortiza- ton of new plants), then the gov- ernment shoud have some say re- garding future disposition of those plants.
 Behind this was the fact that the United States today faces a drastic shortage of vital neces- sities such as powder, all because it permitted private industry to tear down emergency munitions plants after the first World War. So the Government now wants the right to say whether new muni- tions plants, built through gov- ernment aid, shall be demolished after the emergency or preserved against future emergencies.
 Secretary Morgenthau wanted the Secretaries of War and Navy to be empowered to decide whether factories built under tax concessions should be preserved for the future-with reimburse ments, of course, to the private owner.
 S-SH!! MILITARY SECRETS!
 But members of the Defense Commission, led by John Biggers, head of Toledo's Libby-O Owens Ford glass company, objected. He said that this was too severe on , private industry, that if Morgen- thau insisted on the provision, private industry would not coop crate; the national defense pro- gram would become begged down.
 "All right" replied Morgen-
 thau, who was anxious not to
 have an open break with the
 Defense Commission, "we1l take out the provision if you'll specify that the National Defense Com
 mission shall be consulted re-
 garding future disposition of the
 plants. Also provided that these
 munitions contracts be made
 public"
 "Oh mo-" argued Biggers. 'The
 contracts can't be made public.
 They're military secrets"
 "Baloney," countered the Sec- retary of the Treasury. There
 are no more military secrets in
 the financial part of those con-
 tracts than there are in my eye.
 Furthermore" he continued, ''yOu on the Defense Commission
 will find that it is far better to
 let the public in on the facts
 now, rather than wait for fu-
 ture congressional committees to pry into your work--as they are
 sure to do. The public ought to
 know exactly how much the
 Government is paying for these new plants in tax concessions, and also in outright grants and they ought to know it im- mediateIy."
 In the end the Defense Com mission agreed with Morgenthau on the question of publicity. How ever, it disagreed with him on the right of the War or Navy De- partments to say whether a pri- vate manufacturer should tear down or convert his plant if he secured tax benefits. And the tax bill as reported to the Senate pro- vides for only the scantiest safe- guards regarding the future of these new munitions plants.
 NOTE-How serious is the pres- ent position of the United States is Illustrated by the explosion of the New Jersey powder factory, 6 serious disaster to defense plans. Powder factories were torn down after the World War, so now the nation has a powder capacity of only 100000 pound instead of Q needed capacity of at least half c billion pounds. Whether the New Jersey explosion was sabotage may never be known. but it is e fact that if Nazi agents wanted to aim at the heart of U. 6. defense. their easiest blow would be in c powder plant, thus putting out of c0m- mission machinery which takes months to rebuild.
 FE0OVERss PICTURE
 An unreported incident during Republican National Chairman Jo6 Martins recent visit 10 San Francisco throws all interesting light on Herbert AgeveFA political