The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-11-21
Capital
Comment
More Good Comes Out
OF Tolsn Committee
Setting Up Steam On
Msnpower Problems
Program VIII Tighten
Up the Loose Nuts
Congress Takes q Tip
From Election Returns
By PETER EDISON

BY PETER EDISON
The host Of congressional inves-
tigating committees which have
been riding off in all directions to
look for bugs In the war produc-
ton effort have been more con-
fusing to the folks back home than
the war itself. Take the one sub
ject Of manpower. Half q dozen
have been Investigate
ing what's wrong with the man.
power situation - house commit
tees on migration, agriculture and
Affairs; senate committees
on defense contracts. education and
labor, military affairs. They have
all heard pretty much the same
witnesses giving the same testi-
mony, but for all the millions Of
words that have been spilled. the
manpower problem still hovers
around like death and taxes.
What has happened about In
vestigating manpower has hap
pened on every other part Of the
war production program - con-
tracts, small business. conversion,
iron and steel. price fixing, and so
on. But 1t is notable that every
committee investigation has in the
long run come up with one prin-
cipal conclusion-that lack of CEN
trail authority has done more to
slow up the war effort and cause
confusion than any other one
thing.
This great truth has at last
dawned on some of the good con-
gressmen and, great to relate. II
seems now that something will be
done about it.
Evidence that this is so comes
from the fact that the Tolan COM
mittee on defense migration in the
house has joined forces with men,
bers of the senate committees on
and labor, military af-
fairs, small business, and the Tru-
man committee investigating the
defense program, to sponsor one
piece of legislation which is In
tended to tighten up the loose nuts
on the Washington war production
machinery by establishing a new
top Office of War Mobilization,
with a $20,00o-a-year director in
charge who would be the supreme
boss of war production.
For five congressional commit
tees to ge. together on anything
is almost unprecedented in con-
gressional history. Mos. of the
credit for putting this over should
probabely 60 to mild hammered
little John H. Tolan, 65-year-old
Minnesota-born lawyer who has
lived in Oakland, Calf, since 1914
and has just been reelected to
serve his fifth term in congress.
The bill to establish the Office
OF War Mobilization was prepared
under the direction of the Tolan
committee and 1t represents its
ideas. When the draft was made,
Tolan took 1t to Senators Harley
M. Kilgore, of Beckley. w. Va.
and Claude Pepper Of Tallahassee,
Fla Kilgore is on the military
affairs and Truman committees,
while Pepper is chairman Of
manpower subcommittee Of edu-
cation and labor. These two sena-
tors went over the Tolan draft,
made a few suggestions, and then
agreed to sponsor the measure in
the senate. Tolan then turned
over to over to Peppers subcom-
mittee his entire staff of investi-
gators under DR.. Robert X. Lamb,
a smart and also mild-mannered
young economist whose last pre-
vious assignment had been as q
professor at the liberal Benning-
ton College for Women, In ver-
mont.
II Is Lamb who will serve as
counsel for the combined commit
tee hearings on the bill. Twenty
OF the biggest war contractors
have been invited to send represen-
tatives to Washington to testify,
and the congressman have indi-
Gated they are more interested in
hearing what these people outside
the government have to say about
war production ma
chinery than they are in hearing
any defenses Of the existing fifth
wheel mechanisms from men now
In Washington.
II the bill should go through in
It's present form, IT would make
drastic reorganizations and CEN
trahzations Of authority in the ex-
isting set-up. 1t would eliminats
men entirely.
II you want to make something
out OF all this. you might say IT
was congressional NEEDING in
what have heretofore been re-
sarded as executive functions.
Another way Of putting Il is that
congress, fed up with executive
bungling, has al last decided to
take matters into its own hands
and regain some Of It's lost pres
tge. New Deal Senator Pepper
even goes % far as TO admit that
The election had some effect on
making congress pool and stream
line its own efforts and itself 70
what il is insisting the executive