Evening star., 1941-08-17
McNutt Moves Into Vital Role
Co-ordinoting Defense Effort
Administrator Kept
5usy With Health,
Welfare Projects
BY RUTH COWAN.
The Stars Special News Service.

Paul V. N1cNutt is busy.
There are callers waiting in the
outer Office, callers waiting in the
inner Office Three girl secretaries
are taking telephone calls. There Is
a big stack of letters to be signed
on desk
But within his private Office, rest
full but severe in modern style, in
the new Social Security Building,
the social security administrator is
as unruffled as his silver name as
he tackles his increasing tasks as
co-ordinator of health, welfare and
related activities affecting the ma
tional defense.
His green-carpeted Office is the
core of numerous national civilian
defense activities. Mr.. McNutt, out
of public view since tossing aside a
chance at the vice presidency at the
Democratic National Convention, is
putting in long hours in conferences.
His aides see the Office of CO.
ordinator growing in stature to a
section comparable with the Office
of Production Management, a direct
subdivision of the Office of Emer-
gency Management, which ties to-
gether Uncle Sans huge expanding
defense effort.
New Role in Defense.
Lines on what the Government
Is doing in sponsoring the training
of nurses, the training of munitions
workers. in improving civilian
health. in finding homes for workers
in a defense boom town to live in
and schools for their children to
attend, lead to Mr.. McNutts office.
His is the office working out recre-
ational facilities for these defense
boom towns and in communities ad-
jacent to military encampments.
His Office is cooperating with the
United Service Organizations in
their many million dollar program
for recreation for men in uniform.
His Office has the responsibility of
seeing that feminine camp followers
keep their distance.
And If that wasn't enough, Mr..
McNutt, once commander of the
American Legion, Governor of In
diana, dean of the University of
Indiana Law School, Governor Gen
eral Of the Philippines, is finding
himself in a new role-family ad-
wiser.
Jobs for Trained Persons.
AS his division of family welfare
shapes up an effort will be made to
help the families of men in the
service adjust their difficulties. A
soldier can't keep his mind on mill
tary tactics if he is worrying about
keeping a roof over his dependent
mothers head.
AS Mr.. McNutt sees it, the ter
rife impact of shifts and changes
upon the daily life of a Nation
speedily arming necessitates first
the ground work of planning by
experts that the countrys routine of
living may move along as smoothly
as possible. Putting the plans into
operation at this stage has been
mainly an experts job. Voluntary
work up until now has been Sec
ondary.
"As the needs develop the call for
volunteers will be made" said Mr..
McNutt. There will be a job for
every one to do if trained and
organized"
Much of the Office of Co-ordina-
tion's work these past few months
has been seeing that suddenly ex-
panding defense areas have adequate
hospitals, schools and water mains.
The best intentioned volunteer,
ready to give up her bridge games,
could not save an overnight boom
town from a possible epidemic of
typhoid fever unless she knew how
much new sewer pipe was needed
and laying 1t is laborer's job.
Places for Volunteers.
The housewife, who was a school
teacher 20 years ago, might realize
the need for additional classes for
the children of the workers who have
turned a crossroads hamlet into a
big community overnight because of