Evening star., 1942-11-14
A Constructive Report

A Constructive Report
Even those who do not subscribe
to all of its conclusions will recog-
nize that the Truman committee,
functioning through a subcommit-
tee headed by Senator Kiigore of
West Virginia, has done a con-
structive and workmanlike job in
investigating and reporting ON the
much discussed manpower problem.
The approach that this report
takes is both positive and sensible.
Taking cognizance of the fact that
the administration has not yet
evolved an overall policy and pro-
gram for mobilization of manpoWer,
the committee warns that it is futile
to talk of employing compulsion or
relying on voluntary cooperation
until such a program has been
formulated. With this conclusion
there will be general agreement.
More significantly, however, the
committee report, like that recently
issued by the Brookings Institution,
gets down to brass tacks in its dis
cussion of specific things that should
be done to deal with the problem.
These cover a broad field, but it is
especially gratifying to note that
the report deals frankly with GER
tain aspects of the matter which,
because Of their supposed political
implications, have been rather gen.
orally ignored.
Thus, the report speaks out
against absenteeism, which is cut
ting production by as much as 10
per cent in some fields, and certain
labor practices and rules which were
intended to spread work or make
work. The committee notes that in
the construction industry the en-
forcement of these rules sometimes
requires the services of three or four
men to do a job one man could do
more quickly alone.
The report also contains a fiat
recommendation for a forty-eight-
hour week wherever practicable.
The present average work week is
about 42.5 hours, and it seems
obvious that a considerable saving
in manpower could be achieved by
following this recommendation. A
complicating factor here, of course,
involves the question of overtime
pay, and the report is not alto
gether clear on this point. APP
parently the committee believes
workers in the so-called non-War
industries should retain the benefits
of any overtime pay rates which
they have enjoyed heretofore, but
that any new overtime which they
work should be compensated for at
straight time. In the case of work.
ers in war industries, the COM
mittee seems to favor payment for
new overtime at premium rates, but
suggests that this additional COM
pensation be in the form of War
bonds or stamps, which could be
used only for payment of taxes as
long as the war lasts. Plainly, this
discriminates in favor of war work.
ers but the committee presumably
believes this is desirable as means
of stimulating employment in the
more essential industries.
There may be valid objections to
such a plan of compensation, but
at the least it is tangible proposal
which affords a basis for a con-
structive approach to the problem.
The first essential is that there be
a recognition of the fact that a
problem exists and a determination
to deal with it constructively. If
It does nothing more, the commit
tees report starts the ball rolling
In this direction
1t is interesting, in this connec-
ton, to note the statement that the
report was submitted to the Presi-
dent several weeks ago for his con-
sideration and comment. Asked
about it at his press conference
yesterday, Mr. Roosevelt said he had
not read the report, but that we
already have forty -eight-hour
week in effect Presumably he
meant that some industries are
working forty-eight hours, but we
will not solve our problem by being
content with that alone. ...