Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1942-12-24

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Dec. 16.
CIO Director of Research
Walsh, reading in his absence
a statement which was to have
oeen given by CIO President
Philip Murray, said only such
an overall civilian body can
coordinate war production.
Both told the Senate Small Busi-
ness Committee, headed by Senator
James E. Murray, Democrat, Mon
tana, of tireless efforts organized
labor has made to insolve little
business in war production.
'In the past two years the AFL
has submitted to government agen-
cies many plans, program, and sug-
gestions designed to expedite pro-
duction and accelerate conversion"
said Shishkin.
"Labor'S real participation IN
war production administration has
not yet been achieved. Labor's full
contribution to war production
planning has not yet been made.
Advance knowledge of policy and
administration developments has
been withheld from the representa-
tives of the workers concerned.
"Real opportunity to contribute
fully of their experience, knowledge
and skill in expediting war produc-
ton still remains to be accorded to
Americas workers"
Cites Bungling
Murray's statement as read by
Walsh cited grave instances of bum
Cling which would be corrected
under an overall Office of War
Mobilization freed of military con-
troll, in command of single direc-
tor who, as Senator Claude Pepper,
Democrat, Florida, said, would have
a board of farmers, labor and man.
agement to make orders stick.
He cited the waste of nickel and
molybdenum by the United States
Steel Corp. and the Republic Steel
Corn, and he told of the rescue of
the armor plate program by 81
small businesses when an armor
plate shortage slowed tank output.
Nevertheless, despite the ineffi-
cheney and incompetence in procur-
ing armor plate from the big COM
panies, he said, the Standard Steel
Spring Pool, made up of the small
firms, is now threatened with elm
ination.
The threat lies in new armor
plate plant being built by the
United States Steel Corp. at Gary,
Ind, with some $3s,0OO,OOO of gov
ernment funds, a project of the
War Departments Ordnance Divi-
sion and not the War Production
Board.
After President Murray and as
sistant President Clinton S. Golden
Of United Steel Workers (CIO) re-
peatedly urged an investigation,
pointing out that the pool could
produce all the needed heavy armor
plate in already established plants.
construction of the Gary plant was
halted-after critically needel ma
terials were used in it.
He pointed out that correspond
ence with the WPB showed that it
had no real authority in such mat
ters, and that there still is danger
the Gary plant may be completed
and given all the pools business.
He suggested instead that it be
used for aluminium production.
Back Tolan Pepper KilgOre Bill
All of this pointed to the need OF
an Office of War Mobilization as
called for in the Tolan Pepper-kil-
gore bills, Murray's statement said.
The small companies, he added.
used steel from three firms that did
not use any nickel and used less
molybdenum than the large COM
panies used. 1t stood up just as
well as theirs in ballistics tests.
But WPB told the union that the
Army would not drop nickel from
the plate produced by the two big
companies.
Zone civilian administrator for
Ill procurement and production can
do more for small business than a
dozen programs directed at indi-
vidual phases of the problem" said
Shiskin, who praised the Senate
committee for its contributions.
Little effort had been made to
enable firms affected by the change
over to war production to transfer
their facilities and labor directly to
war operation, said Shiskin. He
cited the role Of the AFL in con
versions of some industries.
The first program of concentra
ton, in the stove industry, was car