The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-03-29

That's why,
upon Cordells recommendation,
President Roosevelt recently
named his three-man national COM
mittee to give collective direction
to the miscellaneous organizations
efforts
The chairman IS Jos ph z.
Davies, American ambassador TO
Belgium until the Germans over
ran the country. Associated with
him are Charles P. Taft of Cincin-
natl and President Frederick p.
Keppel Of the Carnegie corpora
ton. Besides funneling foreign re-
lief into the right channels, the
committee will have charge of the
task Of shaping the direction Of
contributions for the benefit Of our
selectees' training centers here at
home: This latter may not be re-
lief, in its strict sense. but F. D. r.
and Secretary Hull think 1t needs
attending to, to make the gifts
count up TO a maximum.
You don't get far into a discus
sion OF anything relating to to-
days overseas situation and our
own defensive preparations with
out running into the question Of
priorities.
Who Comes First:
Who's TO be provided for first, If
supply sources or transportation
facilities are skinny?
It's quite a problem In connec-.
ton with shipments abroad. Emer-
gency-stricken peoples across the
oceans holler for many sorts Of
stuff faster than we can produce
it. and il we can produce it sufi-
GENTLY, there's the everlasting diff
fculty Of soaring up enough boats
to deliver it in.
1t may appear that this should
not be much Of puzzle relative to
deliveries Of presents to our do
nestle selectees' enosmpments.
Yet it may be, too, even as to
them.
We've got at least one domestic
priority already. Aluminum's pri-
ority-ized in military aviation's ia
vor. Our flyers get the first crack
at it, and pots-and-pans manufac-
turers can have only what little Of
it's left over, if any, to supply our
housewives with kitchen-ware.
OF course, don't think that pri-
ority will be so interpreted as TO
deny cooking utensils to our selec-
tees camps, but it may be inter-
preted in a fashion to limit EN- on
various other things that relief so
cieties would like to send to them.
Now, this is an extreme and i'm
possible Illustration
But suppose that the priority
fxers were to say Here's a char
ity outfit that seeks TO give quanti-
ties Of cigarets TO our selectees.
Well, cigaret-making absorbs part
Of our productive capacity, all Of
which we need for defensive pur-
poses. Therefore, we deny priority
to would-be relief contributors
cigaret offerings to our selectees'
concentrations"
No, I know it couldn't happen.
Nevertheless, that's the theory
Of prioriues.
Advisory Only
OF course, the new Davies-Taft-
Keppel committee isn't as dicta-
torial a setup as the Knudsen-
Hillman Office Of Production Man
agements priorities division. An
OPM divisions decision is a man.
date The Davies-Taft-Keppel out
fit is only advisory.
l honestly can imagine an OPM
mandate barring cigaret shipments
abroad, on the ground that Gig
arets aren't military necessity TO
the democracies, at, war against
the Axis powers. and that every
square inch inside such boats as
are available ought to be packed
with shooting-irons, explosives, et
cetera. certainly can't imagine the
Davies-Taft-Keppel committee as