Evening star., 1941-03-25
Truman Sees Inquiry
OfContracts asAid
To National Defense
Forum Speaker Says
Committee Findings
Can Promote Effort

Can Promote Effort
Senator Truman. Democrat. of
Missouri, chairman of a special Sem
ate committee that will investigate
national defense contracts, spoke on
the coming probe last night in the
National Radio Forum. arranged by
The Star.
The speech was broadcast over a
national hookup of the National
Broadcastlng Co. and was heard To-
cally over Station WMAL.
The text of the address follows.
This great country of ours is fac
Ing a great emergency, perhaps the
most serious in its history. This
condition was brought about by fac
tors over which we had no control,
and which we tried strenuouSly to
avoid. The dictator countries have
brought about a war in the Eastern
Hemisphere which has an effect on
every person and country on the
globe, no matter how remote they
may be from the center of the con-
flict.
To show how anxious We are to
stay at peace, we enacted the Neu-
trality Act voluntarily giving up
some of our rights for which we
had fought bloody battles. 1t be-
came necessary for us to amend that
Neutrality Act in order to help the
demoCracieS maintain their inde-
pendenCe, and finally to declare our
selves the arsenal of democracy.
Effort Backed by Billions.
We suddenly decided in the spring
Of 1910 that we were totally unpre-
pared to face a world at war and
began frenzied attempt to remedy
that appalling situation. We de-
cided to build a two-ocean Navy,
and to train and arm a million men
year for period Of five years. We
have begun to spend money by the
billions to accomplish those two pur-
poses. We propose to give all-out
aid to Great Britain, Greece and
China and are getting ready to
spend more billions to do it.
Our national defense machinery,
never adequate nor very strong, has
had to be suddenly expanded to
enormous proportions. Contracts
for construction, for supplies and for
munitions have been negotiated in
desperate haste. Washington has
been filed with people seeking con-
tractS-some sincerely desiring to be
of help to the Government. others
seeking to serve only their own
selfish interests.
1t has become necessary to let
enormous contracts for expansion Of
airplane plants and for the con-
struction of new ones. Munitions
plants are being constructed
throughout the Nation. Clothing,
supplies, munitions. battleships, air.
planes, land and everything neces-
sary for the defense program are
being purchased at rate never
before dreamed of except in 1917
and 1918. Some 1872 billions in ap-
preparations have been authorized
and appropriated for defense. This
does not include the appropriation
of 7 billions for aid to Britain or
the 4 billions for the Army now
pending in the House Of Represen-
tatives. When these appropriations
are completed and authorized. de-
fense expenditures will exceed 25
billions Of dollars.
Shadowy Practices Rumored.
Rumors are rife questioning the
manner in which contracts and the
immense purchases have been han
died under these appropriations. 1t
has been charged that the contracts
have been let to friends and asso-
ciates of the men in charge OF the
national defense program; that
plants have been located on the
basis of personal interests, friend
ship and favoritism; that land pur-
chases have been made at outrage
Gus prices and that camps have been
located in swamps; that in the name
of speed many OF the safeguards
usually observed in Government
transactions have been thrown aside
and overlooked, although these safe
guards would in no way have slowed
up the program.
It has been charged that certain
lobbyists have the inside track on
purchases. contracts and plant loca-
tions. Rumors of enormous fees
paid to these gentlemen persist
around the hotel lobbies of Wash
ington. Purchases have been con-
centrated among few manufacture
ers of supplies and In some instances
more money has been paid per unit
on large contracts than on small
ones.
It has been charged by members
Of Congress that the manner pro-
posed for Government financing of
certain plants would result IN the
Government making a gift to the
contractor or manufacturer.
Some years ago the War Depart
rnent. working on plan for an
expected emergency. inaugurated
what they termed an educational
order. This was an order given to
a manufacturer to make few gas
masks, for instance, or some other
product not ordinarily manufac-
tured in peacetime; the idea being
that for this practically outright
gift the manufacturer would install
extra machinery to be used later on
In an emergency. There have been
charges that this educational order
dodge has been used to make some
very large gifts to the richest and
most powerful manufacturers in the
country since the emergency started.
The time has arrived, in my opinion.
for educational orders to be placed
only after careful scrutiny. What
we need now is actual produc ton.
and If manufacturers can't do the
Job, the Government itself should
set up the works to do it. I would
much rather see these gentlemen
get patriotic, however and do the
lob. do not want to see the Gov
eminent operate these businesses or
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