The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-06-24

' V h V AA V [ Oby NA
 RAeOm WIPE operations
 Produ ction fie ures, if they could be made public, would make an interesting chapter, but that's all restricted informa- ton.
 Nelson's appearance before the Truman committee can be pretty lively session, however, If the serla- tors have a mind to follow tip their report on conversion, in which they lambasted the War Production Board for keeping dollar-a-year men from big business in key WIPE positions. This is becoming quite a row, and 1t is a beautiful example of the difference in the way things 1 are done in government and the way they are done in private bus mess. .....
 Some of the WIPE braintrusters who are Nelsons advisers privately heinoail the fact that the boss's one blind spot is his continual backing up of the dollar-a-year men who are his principal assistants.
 Nearly all of the senators on the Truman committee still mistrust dollar-a-year men. They believe Nelson, to save himself, should di- vorce the WIPE organization from all these dollar-a-year boys.
 NOT
 IMPRESSED"
 NelSon's first reaction to the Tru- man report on conversion was to issue 8 statement expressing full confidence in Philip D. Reed, $l20,- 000-a-year chairman of the board of General Electric Company, now on leave and serving at dollar-a- year as chief of the Bureau of In- dustry Branches in WIPE. The com mittee singled out Reed for criticism declaring he "did not take the nec- essary action to obtain the maxi mum conversion of private industry to war production in the shortest possible time" and that "the com mittee has not been impressed with Mir. Reeds ability or accomplish ments, either in the field of con- version or in the field of copper, lead and zinc, where the commit tee, in its report of January IS, 1942, had occasion to criticisze his fail- ure to recognize that short- age of these metals was imminent or to take proper action with respect thereto"
 Now in this battle over Phil Reed you have glaring example. of the difference between the way a top man gets fired in private business and the way he gets the gate in government.
 In private industry, when some second vice president or other Stooge pulls boner and is about to be bounced, he is permitted ito resign, quietly. Any publicity is hushed up.
 It's just the opposite in govern ment.
 As to whether Phil Reed is guilty or innocent, you're as good a judge as anyone. You have the report of the Truman committee that he isn't so hot. A few days before, a House subcommittee on military affairs, Investigating the same set of facts, found that dol Iar-a-year men were okay and vindicated Reed in particular. Nelson shares the latter view. TOUGH
 ENOUGH?
 But Nelson's troubles with the politicians now seem to be hegin- ming. Reported to be in the works is another big reorganization of the war production setup = the fourth in two years.
 Nelson's own internal reorgan- ization may correct some of the things the politicians don't like. What some of the Truman com. mittee forces fear Is that Nelson is being taken over by the Army and the Navy, transferring too many of the WIPE functions to the services, to be run along con- servative lines.
 What the senators want Nelson to be is rough, tough, free-swing- ing boss of the whole war produc- ton job. Telling the Army and Navy what they should do, in- stead of being told. Firing right and left anyone who isn't 100 per cent for all-out conversion, sub- contracting. small business par- ticipation.
 It all gets back to the question, "Is Nelson tough enough for the job?" His six months honey moon as the happy bridegroom is now over. All the in-laws will start criticlzing the fair-haired boy wonder now, and the fight is over who's going to wear the pants from here on in-Nelson or his critics,