The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-08-01

minders on the corners of their bosses plotting pads every morning.
 Idea men dreaming up slogans, creative artists painting posters that will win the war, government propa- gandists, government ghost-writers of brass hats speeches, press hand out hackwriters, government "edu- cational film" directors, even the governments radio script writers should be called in on the play, for nothing less important than win- ming the war is at stake.
 If something drastic like this isn't done soon, Washington is going to be overrun with so many commit tees there won't be enough confer ence rooms to go around, or enough i chairs for the delegates to sit down in, and of course they can't all be standing and speaking at once.
 UP TO
 MIRA TRICKS
 It all started, apparently, in the Office of Production Management when the production and the pur- chase and the priorities divisions of OPM decided there would have to be Defense. Industry Advisory Com mittees, in order to get manufac- turers into line for all-out defense. These committees were carefully planned, and they were set up with Department of Justice blessing, in such way that they could do what the old MIRA code authorities tried to do.
 These OPM Defense Industry Ad- visory Committees were probably all right in their conception. There were to be only about 50 or 60 of them, and they would split up the U. s. industrial world in such way that every business would be rep resented and have its interests look ed out for.
 If the committee setup had stop ped there, all might have been we'll but on top of this OPM list of com- mittees, Leon Henderson's Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply decided that it, too, must l have Defense Industry Advisory l Committees. And SO, gradually, | there is appearing on the Washing i ton scene second set of commit tees, the OPACS committees.
 Some of the boys are planning to i get smart HOW, and they're ap- point the same men to the differ ent committees without telling the bosses. That's all right with the committee members, but they still | have to serve on two committees.
 The height of stiffness in this | conflict came the other day when Henderson announced that passen- ger car production would have to be cut 50 per cent right off. It was Knudsen who had arranged for the i first 20 per cent cut, and why Hen derson should have gone over Knudsen's head is one of those great mysteries that worry Wash ington, but the rest of the country doesn't give nang about.
 LINE i FORMS HERE
 If this confusion of committees isn't enough for you, just consider the other defense fountain heads from which all blessings may flow | in the form of appointments to committees:
 The labor division of OPM has | Defense Labor Advisory Committees to match the production | Defense Industry Advisory Commit | tees. When it comes to naming com mitteeS, Sidney Hillman'S division is l second to none.
 Then, E. R. Stettinus, Jr., head i of the priorities section in OPM has just announced his contribution to the general confusion Stettinus | doesn't call his committtes, but | branches, and his first lineup listed l eight commodity branches, rang 1 ing from No rubber, synthetic | rubber and cork to No = asbestos, | mercury, industrial diamonds, | quartz crystals, platinum metals, | radium, uranium, kyanite, abrasiyes, | diamond dies and jewel bearings.
 If you haven't surrendered al- ready, it might be mentioned in ] closing that the boys thought up another dodge last week. Not con- mittees and not branches-panels. l Just what the difference is between committee and a panel is not yet | clear, but first indications are that | while the committees will be perm anent, the panels will be temporary. | Panels will just be called in to solve | specific situations, temporary crises, and they will then be expected to dissolve.
 The gag around Washington now | is that OPM will die, one of these | days, of its own sheer weight and clumsiness. An equally good bet is that Congress will appoint com- mittee to investigate OPM. Or the | Supreme Court might be urged into declaring 1t unconstitutional.
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