The Ely miner., 1941-12-04
1Md1l{mQba7
|M69RfG0-QQuAD |
Washington, ID. C.
LITTLE BUSINESS

LITTLE DOS1NcSS
The President has on his desk q
confidential report that would warm
NE heart of the defense-harried lit
lie business man if he could read it.
Submitted by. Lowell Mellett, one
of the passion for anonymity" White
House secretaries, following care
full survey in 35 states, the memo
randum by inference severely criti-
cizes OPM and war department ham
ding of defense contracts.
Mellett found that little business
generally is bitterly disgusted with
the whole defense administration, is
convinced that it is being run by
big business and corporation law
yers, and is up in arms politically
about the matter. Mellett warns
that the administration had better
do something about the situation
and do it fast or it will be just too
bad in next years crucial congress
sional elections.
A long list of specific grievances
are detailed in the report: Little
firms are excluded from defense
orders in favor of big competitors,
even though there was no difference
in their prices. Endless run-arounds
from OPM and army brasshats be-
cause the little business men had
no ''in" with the big shots. Small
manufacturers put out of business
by the priority system which en-
ables big concerns with defense con-
tracts to hog supplies of raw ma
terials.
Mellett also implies that the Divi-
sion of Contract Distribution, estab-
lished several months ago to help
little business, has so far accom-
plished very little in the way of re-
suits. Small business is still out in
the cold when it comes to getting an
equitable share of defense work.
The gist of the report is an old
story to the President. For months
others have been telling him the
same thing, although not so COM
prehensively and effectively. The
creation of SPAB and the Contract
Distribution division was an effort
to remedy the situation. But these
agencies are manned with the same
type of executives who have been
running the defense program from
the start-big business men.
There isn't one little business man
among them.
Lone Refuge.
In fact, in all of Washington there
is only one place where little busi-
ness man is functioning in behalf
of small business.
That is in the justice department,
where trust-busting Assistant At
torney General Thurman Arnold has
set up a Small Business section and
installed as its head genuine little
business man.
He is Guy Holcomb, strapping,
two-fsted Atlanta filing station op-
orator, who has never had pub
lie job before, hates redtape, and
loves nothing better than to tangle
with a brasshat who is pushing
around little fellow.
Operating from a cubby-hole Of
fee, with only a secretary as his
assistant, and without fanfare and
hoopla, Holcomb in the month he has
been functioning already has
chalked up an impressive record as
a defender of little business men.
He has got them contracts, supplies,
and entry to official doors previously
closed.
If you are a little business man
and are having defense troubles,
Holcomb is the one man in Washing
ton to tell them to. He may not be
able to help you, but he'll certainly
try. There will be no complaint on
that score.
HITLER CARVES TURKEY
The reported new French hookup
with Hitler comes at an especially
bad time for the British-which un-
doubtedly is why the Nazis put the
screws on Vichy SO vigorously. Un-
der these circumstances the Nazi
squeeze on Turkey can be expected
to tighten almost momentarily.
In fact, the more the Nazi drive
in Russia bogs down with weather,
the more likely is Hitler to take the
easier, warmer, short cut through
Turkey toward the oil fields of the
Caucasus-and also toward the Brit
ish oil fields in Mosul and the Eu-
pirates valley.
For months the Nazis have been
bringing small boats down to the
Aegean via the Balkan railroads
and the Danube, and are reported
almost ready for landing party at
tacks on coastal points in the Mid
die East.
Preparing to meet this, General
Waven has been sending a con-
slant stream of reinforcements from
India, most of them to Iran, Iraq
and Palestine. The British say they
are in fairly good shape-though still
woefully weak in tanks.
Faced with this crisis, the Turks
as unusual, continue to be the enigma
of Europe. Diplomatic betting is
they will bow to Hitler.
MERRY-GO-ROUND
Bill Bullitt, former ambassador to
France. was asked by photopra.