Evening star., 1942-08-04

are to have David Lawrence.
voice in the high councils behind
q our economic front.
The foregoing Transformation ha,
come about rather suddenly and 1t
will not be found in any oflcial
statements or pronouncements be-
cause in Government there has to
be a lot Of face-saving. 1t would
be embarrassing, for instance, to
explain why, after We have been
more than seven months in the
war, We are now going back to the
industrial mobilization plan worked
out by B. M. Baruch and other
industrial advisers during 70 years
OF study following World War I
It would be embarrassing also to
ask questions about how Harry Hop
kins, aS the lease-lend admins
traitor, performed the Job delegated
to him by the President in allo-
eating steel and other commodities
to foreign governments when our
own production needs were really
more important at the time.
Priorities Upset.
1t would be embarrassing to ex-
plain how civilian pressures and
political demands Of one kind or
another upset the Army and Navy
priority ratings by sweeping "di-
receives" that left the Army and
Navy without the materials needed
to supply them with the weapons
they were begging for.
But the war program Is back on
the right track. though it may
take 90 to 90 days to straishten
out the confusion caused by the
lack Of system and the lack Of
assertiveness on behalf Of our para
mount needs.
This correspondent pointed many
weeks ago to the fact that the Army
and Navy Munitions Board as the
representative Of the Army and
Navy didn't have . proper place in
the war production mechanism, that
Donald Nelson himself was con-
scientiously, striving to bring order
out OF the chaos but that the men Of
industrial experience were being
driven out OF Washington by po-
litical sniping from Capitol Hill and
from certain CIO leaders.
Now the breakdown has come -
how serious it is cannot be revealed
and there Il . Wild scramble to
get industry committees set up and
the whole program co-ordinated 20
that big scandal win not crop out,
causing the American people to
begin asking why factory after
factory closes down or shortens its
hours as materials are lacking. The
sad story Il that In most instances
we do have the materials for mill
tary needs but they have been
wrongly distributed and some one
has failed to be hard boiled about
1t, and 1t wasn't the Army and Navy.
The latter sat helplessly on the side
lines without authority to correct
things they knew were going wrong.
WIPE ~ "Arbiter."
Now. under the new setup, there
Will be three elements sitting to-
gether. - there always should have
been-the industry committees on
the one side and the Army and Navy
Munitions Board and its stan on the
other side, with the War Production
Board and its aides sitting in be-
tween to act as arbiter If the pro-
ducers and the buyers. 50 to speak.
cannot get together and II civilian
demands and priorities have to be
cut down or sidetracked.
At no time In the under -the-s,,r-
race tug Of war that has been going
on several weeks was Donald Nelson
himself under fire from any side
but 1t was the system mistakenly
pressed upon him that was under
attack. The difficulty has been re-
solved and we will progress pro-
vided political pressure from Capa-
tol Hill or the numerous spokes-
men OF the President don't muddy
the waters again and let vital ma
terials be directed into channels not
As necessary as the military spokes-
men may specify.
The future depends on how much
backbone our high officials exhibit
hereafter In running this war to
meet the specifications OF the Army
and Navy and how much they weld
to the political or pressure groups
which are doing more to cause
America to lose or prolong the wal
than they realize. II the truth
about production figures and mis-
takes in handling materials could
be publicized-which, unfortunately
1t cannot be-the American people
would be indignant at the gross be
trayal OF the public interest which
has been going on in Washington
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