Evening star., 1941-07-21

What the ad- David Lawrence
miniStration has signally failed TO
do is to create an economic ministry
which can see the whole picture at
one time and issue the necessary
orders to Synchronize needs with the
rationing of materials and men from
existing business and industry.
Instead, there is an open conflict
between o. P. M. and Opacs., the
Once of Production Management
and the Office of Prices and Civilian
Supply. Nobody knows which has
priority over the other and every
body knows that the main factor in
price labor coSt-and the main fac
tor in building new plants for de-
fense, namely labor supply, are un-
der no control whatever by the Gov
ernment.
President Roosevelt, to whom Con-
gress has delegated vast powers,
knows he has a complicated prob
lem on his hands, but because he
doesn't trust real authority to any
body except his own New Deal ad-
visers, he has refused to give any
important power to men of business
and industrial experience. The de-
fense program is still being run by
the type of individuals who were
known from the beginning as brain
trusters" and who have been per-
mitted for eight years to use the
Nations economic system as the
guinea pig for their sociological ex-
periments.
Defense Facing Disaster.
IF the present situation continues,
the defense program which has
made substantial progress despite
the loose administration and serious
friction is riding for crackup. The
Presidents opportunity to help win
this war is being dangerously chal-
lenged by his own failure to choose
the right personnel to administer
the defense program. AS a master
of naval strategy and war planning
and as leader of American opinion
In the short-of-war policy, Mr..
Roosevelt has successfully steered
the Nation from decade or more
of isolationism to a policy of inter
national cooperation which involves
not merely the lending of billions
but the actual grant of money and
materials.
But when 1t comes to economic
organization for war it is regrettable
that any unbiased observer who
knows anything about business or
ganization must characterize the
record thus far as the biggest ad-
ministration failure any American
President has ever made in time
of crisis.
The period between 1917 and 1919
had its mishaps and its blunders,
but President Wilson was quick to
turn to experienced men to get the
industrial machine working. Mr..
Roosevelt has delayed and delayed
and while up to now the Nation has
been unable to perceive the meaning
of the abstract criticisms that have
been made it will from now on see
what the criticism means in terms
of a concrete problem.
The automobile industry is Amer
ica's No. l business. 1t employs |
hundreds of thousands of men di-
rectly and hundreds of thousands
indirectly. To cut auto production
by so per cent, as just announced, |
is to paralyze Americas No. l in
dustry. Such a cut is not only un-
necessary, but wholly unjustiied
from the point of view of timing.
The defense plants which are to
absorb the labor laid off by the
auto industry haven't even been
built The schedule of materials
needed has not been worked out on
any comprehensive or reliable basis. !
May Wake Up Congress.
Guesses as to needs are being
banded about in nonchalant fash
ion and the public has not been
given access to the facts on which
the future defense needs are sup
posed to be predicated. Especially
dealers sales organizations are about
to be disrupted and small businesses
ruined largely because of the lack of
planning in Washington for the
transition from a normal economy to
q defense economy.
Congress sits idly by while the
economic machinery of America is
allowed to suffer from arbitrary and
unplanned curtailment orders. An
eficient Congress would insist on
the creation Of boards whose men,
bers would be subject to confirma-
ton by the Senate. An alert
minded Congress would not dele
gate powers without prescribing
some standards for the handling of
these emergency problems.
The result Is that economic dis
organization Is producing bad
morale. The chaos that will soon
result from the ineptitude in the
administrations handling Of the de-
Tense program may wake up the
Congress. 1t is unfortunate that
there must be debate before Con-
eress interests itself actively in the
formation of an economic ministry
such as Britain has developed and
which when composed of practical
men neither interested in politics
nor isms can get America the de-
fense production needed to win the
war.
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Ii CT h