The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-03-21


Cuthrie Custer
expsodss Scandal
Henderson Proves
Abb Executive
WASHIN6roN-Our revsrses
e. land and sea have revealed
several United Nations vess-
rexses which privately have wcr-
red cur Army-Nsvy experts
They are almost As rnenscing A.
cur serious lack Of ships. planes
and Euns.
The problem involves naval
and military personnel The
alhes' men stin are amateurs an
compared with the trained. sea-
soned veterans Of the AXIS. The
latter have enjoyed laboratory
preparation for bhtzkrieE war
fare IN Spain. Europe. Africa
and China They have had time
n master new weapons and
strange tactics. to coordinate
perfectly the various arms Our
boys are not yet professional
soldiers nor were they in the
early stages Of any Of our con-
flicts. Only . few had ever
fsr~d q rife until they marched
off to camp in October Of ls<o
with the first draft contingent
The same realistic considerations
amply % cur sailors. The situa-
ton can be licked, but II VIII
take time.
Al the Java SEA fight demon
strated. we are At another dis
advantage. The people and ships
Of four different nations made
NJ our fleet They had never
worked or played or Unanswered
together. They had different
types Of vessels. code systems,
co m m unication arrangements
and strstegical sdeas. Some
doubt 10 expressed here ~ to
whether they were smsrtly han
died. BY contrast. the reason
Macarthur shines In that he does
not suffer this handicap.
The ousting Of Robert N.
Guthrie by wPB's inside indus
trialists explodes q long-smoul-
oering scandal. He was cash
Tered because the trades objected
10 his orders curtsiling their
pescetime goods and converting
their plants 10 making war
stuff.
He antagonized the electrical
moguls because he wanted TO
stop the manufacture Of their
Observation-Disclosures. radios.
vacuum cleaners. ironers. He
Was removed from that division
TO textiles. But on the same
dsy the storm broke over his
head, factuai economists In an
other department reported that
we made more than 10000 900
Of these units last year. And II
adds: Neither the machinery.
the materials nor the necessary
manpower can eventually be
available for such output"
Guthrie asked the duPonts TO
switch their full nylon capacity
to military needs. Again he was
hslked. although the parachute
demands OF our soldiers exceed
existing supply Of this product
and silk. He wanted carpet
makers to turn TO fabrication of
cotton duck. Their representa-
tives in WPB refused In spite of
the fact that Secretary Stimson's
last order for the latter sub
stance brought bids for only one
third Of the amount required.
He also tangled with the wool
en- boys st Washington His
suggestion for conservation pro-
voked howls. But the problem
IN this line has become amax-
ingly acute. In 1e4i the United
States produced only half the
home apparel needs, and the
army's take already exceeds the
domestic clip. Whether the Jsps
and the shipping shortage viii
permit Us to clothe our fighters
through imports from Australia
and South America In highly
doubtful
Every Guthrie proposal was
backed by WPB's labor and price
specialists and by other federal
planners. especially disinterested
experts In these fields And in
each instance his schemes were
stymied by Si-s-year men 1850
ciated with the industries in
voived-
The controversy represents
only new phase Of the internal
rows and up-above complacency
which have handicapped the wsr
effort from the start