Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-08-12
Army Policy
Affects Jobs,
johnson Says
Henderson Didn't Know
Of Unemployment
BY HUGH $. JOHNSON

BY HUGH :. JOHNSON
GO, NOW Mr.. Leon Henderson
~ thinks that shortages in stra-
tegic materials may result. as
this column has insisted for
long time. in at least a tempo
rary unemployment of possibly
1000, 900 men and as / under
stand the press dispatches,
closing up of 1000 To 5000 eS-
Establishments Of little business
men.
| didn't hear the actual COM
mcnt l am merely quoting the
news. But you amt heard the
half of it. According 10 Mr..
Henderson, as ] read the news.
this catastrophe was due 10 the
Short-SightedneSS of industrial
management. All along the New
Dealers. of which ne seems 10
dramatic himself as one, knew
II was coming and sought TO
guard against At.
HorSeicatherS, In war. mill
tary policy becomes the deciding
point OF industrial policy What
IS our military policy? Up to
three months ago. anybody who
had advocated that as the ar
Senal of democracy we should
undertake TO supply Soviet
Russia would have been laughed
out of court.
Now we arc To send them
1000 900 pounds of aluminium
which Is greater than the volun-
tary sacrifice OF all our kitchen
ware. We are TO send them
plenty of other things but this
is one example.
RESIDE being a singulariy re-
~ ticcnt witness. Mr.. Hender-
son, IN attempting 10 put the
blame on others for this situa-
ton is not stating all the facts
TO pat it mildly
II Is glib phrase 10 say I'VE
are the arsenal OF Democracy
including Soviet Russia. But who
knows what IL means? II it
means that We are 10 supply
the whole anti-AAlS world with
arms. O. *. bat who told us
that in February. when this
question OF expansion was hot ?
II Wc had started then-to expand
steel production, for example.
we would still be- a year and a
half away from any result.
In such an effort. 90 we give
no consideration 10 the needs
OF our own civilian population
and the dangers OF initiation
through shortage. or are we 10
suffer three and four times the
cost of such contributions and
four or five times the burden
through having nothing with
which 70 supply our own people
In the scramble for supplies.
who represents tho daily needs
and lives of the American
people? Long ago and over and
over again this column has
pressed this point II is like
pouring water on a ducks back.
THERE isn't question in
Il experience or history that the
greatest hoardcrS and hoggcrS
arc The military naval and mari
time supply services Who checks
thnr requirements " hat Of
fort has there been 10 cut our
cos, 90 suit oar cloth both in
not undertaking 10 deliver TO
more customers than We can
supply the whole cOCk-eycd
world and in Curtailng defer
able uses M home
Where has there been any re-
Striction on nOnwar ConStruc-
tion2 on the contrary. the new
rivers and harborS bill includes
the great demands on materials
and labor OF tho St Lawrence
waterway and The Florida ship
canal.
From p wealth OF experience.
] am willing 20 say that, with
"A proper conservation and regu-
latlon Of use, there j. no great
shortage of either steel or
petroleum IN this country We
had exactly the same contro-
versy IN the World War and,
as postwar figures prove d,
there had been no shortage
When did such New Deal
ers. as Mr.. Henderson suggests,
take a stand 10 foreSce and pre-
vent these disastrous effects?
This column did over many
years When they should have
been providing valuable stock
piles of rubber, tin, silk and
manganese they bought useless
silver and too much gold.
MIR Henderson $ timid at
tempt to get authority 10 put
ceilings over some prices and
not over all prices condemns his
thinking Just as does his tcst-
mCny that control OF wages
should be divorced from con-
troll of prices.
His use of Mr. Baruch's name
for this philosophy is not frank.
Mr.. Baruch himself will prob
ably be called before one or the
other of these committees.
When nc is. we shall al least
hear a voice of experience which
hoe ,tr,yoI IN 10 RIGHT nt least