Evening star., 1941-07-01
Business-New Deal
TussIe Seen in Cut
Suggested in 0. P. N.
DoIIur-u-Yeor Men Of
Production Unit Reported
Left Out Of Budget Talks
By JAMES FREE.

BY JAMES FREE.
A lively tussle between business
men and New Dealers heading de-
fense agencies appears to be brew
ing today over the task of trimming
their organizations share of funds
provided by the second deficiency
appropriation bill, approved last
night by Congress.
In cutting $2,500,000 from the
$39 100000 for cash requirements
asked by the Office for Emergency
Management, the holding company
for the defense units, the House
Appropriations Committee left dis
tribution of the cut up to the Presi-
dent, but suggested that:
"A considerable sum can be saved
by a closer coordination of the
central administrative services of
the o. E. NJ and some of the units
particularly the administrative serv-
ices of the Office of Production Man
agement. Many of the units main
tain information services and legal
divisions and other small organized
units which might be centralized to
some extent with service for the
entire o, E. M. at less cost and with
no loss in efficiency"
o. P. M. Left Out of Parleys.
And the defense budget battle
promises to develop along strictly
o. P. M. VS.. o. E. M. lines, or gen.
orally speaking, dollar-a-year men
against New Dealers. 1t was learned
authoritatively, for example, that
while representatives of a number
of defense agencies have conferred
with o. E. M leaders on the prob
lem of budget readjustment, o. P.
M. administrators have not yet been
consulted.
Since o. P. NJ employs about two
thirds of the some 1850 persons
working in all the defense agencies
under o. E. NJ, and under tentative
plans for 1912 will still have almost
half the total, some officials thought
it odd that o. P M. should not have
large part in conferences, even at
this early stage.
Il guess maybe we'll Just have to
wait and see what they try to do to
us and then raise hell If we don't like
it one o. P. M. spokesman said.
In hearings before the House sub
committee Of the Committee on Ap-
preparations, Roy Jackson, admins
trative officer of o. P. NJ, was ques-
timed bv PoproSontotiya NIyood,u,,,
Democrat, of Virginia on adminis-
trative expenses of O. E. M. and o.
P. M.
Quizzed on Setup.
You have a setup here of 326
people at combined salary of S576.-
$780," Mr. Woodrum said to the o. P.
M. Official Tell us some reason
why there should be this setup in
the O. P. M. when We have in the
O. E. M. central administration of
SOS people at s962.0O Why can
they not consolidate both of them
and save a lot of money!"
Mr.. Jackson replied that they
probably will be able to consolidate
some phases as soon as o. P. M. has
completed its organization. 1t is
doubtful whether any savings would
accrue. because the consolidated
unit would require about as many
people as it is proposed to use in
the separate Offices. 1t was decided
to set up this form of organization
in order that the o. P. M would
have the tools whereby it could do
its job in its own house. AS time
goes on and the organization sta
bilizes. there undoubtedly will be a
trend toward consolidating more of
the separate administrative services,
but no one in the o. P. M. has felt
that the time was ripe for that yet.
There are problems which we
feel, at least in this organizing
phase, we could handle better our
selves, and I do not know, offhand,
that it would show any saving to
merge them together"
In commenting on the defense
agencies requests, the House sub
committee said:
There is a tendency toward a
larger proportion of higher-salaried
positions than is customary in the
regular agencies of Government.
Personnel is also being attracted
from regular agencies by larger
salary opportunities. The commit
tee has noted one individual who
left regular agency at $4,000 to
accept employment in an emer-
gency agency at $4,000. The Gov
ernment in this emergency cannot
afford to be competing with itself.
Give Reasons for Salaries.
"Some of the special projects pro-
posed should be re-eXamined as to
their absolute necessity and extent
and their relationship to the work
of regular agencies of the Govern
ment in every field to prevent any
possible duplication and overlap
ping
Regarding the tendency toward
the larger proportion of higher
salaries, defense authorities main
tain that this is more than justified
by Cd the temporary nature of the
work, (2) special technical skill re-
quired for many of the positions
and 80 the speed with which the
organizations had to be put into
operation.
There was one point in 1912 fiscal
problems on which both dollar-a-
year men and New Dealers were in
agreement. That was that virtu-
ally all defense agencies would have
expansion expenses and other un-
anticipated needs that would prob
ably make additional deficiency ap-