Evening star., 1942-10-25

to war purposes, it is evident that sooner
or later the supply of goods in many
civilian markets will decline"
This picture explains why the Tolan
Committee, at the opening of its report,
states fatty that: This war can be lost
in Washington"
If national production, taken as
whole, is already not far from its maxi
mum, there is unquestionably urgent
need for cold appraisal of the whole
hastily built war organization, as well
as of the character of its direction. That
organization and direction alike need
overhauling is the contention of this
non-partisan committee of the House
of Representatives. And all who have
continuous contact with the confusion
in our congested National Capital will
find 1t difficult to dispute the charge.
Sees War Effort Periled.
The committee recommends the estab-
lishment of single authoritarian office
of war mobilization" to which all of the
present independent and often bitterly
competing emergency agencies should be
subordinated. The task of this suggested
supreme agency would be to establish
"a comprehensive national program of
war production, manpower mobilization
and economic stabilization, based on
maximum use Of resources for meeting
military and essential civilian needs"
Until this step is taken, in the opinion
Of the Tolan Committee, the creation of
new offices and the proposed conscription
of labor can only lead to further con-
fusion and misdirection of effort. The
movement to draft and forcibly allocate
manpower, says the report, lis
symptom Of prevailing administrative
shortcomings If these shortcomings are
not quickly faced and corrected our war
effort is in jeopardy"
It is quite possible that certain Fascist
implications will be hastily read into the
Tolan committee report, from the mere
fact that it proposes a well-organized
and completely non-political control of
the war effort, directed for that end
alone by practical administrators. Policy
decisions, moreover, would under the
suggested plan be- largely removed from
political hands and entrusted to central
lied functional committees, composed
not merely Of representatives of the
aimed services but also of industry,
agriculture, labor, and other specialized
national interests. Il
Urges Decentralization.
From any long-range Viewpoint, how
ever, there seems far less risk of dicta-
torship in the program bf the House
committee than In ta.e present rapid
drift toward universal ld6nscription with
out any evidence of clearly focused or
carefully safeguarded executive direc-
ton. A real danger Of Nazihcation may
lie behind the confusion which has
brought us to the verge of manpower
crisis" before the Nation has been year
at war.
Furthermore, in pleasant conformity
with American tradition, the Tolan COM
mittee advocates drastic decentralization
Of the top-heavy Washington bureauc-
racy. Authority for making decisions
should so far as possible be conferred
upon the regional and area or district
offices. Broad policies, however, should
be established at the top to far greater
extent than hitherof."
What this committee asks, fundamen-
tally, is alterations which would promise
less salesmanship, less ballyhoo, less
personal ambition and less frenzied pull
ing at cross-purposes in the wartime
organization. Here is clear visualiza-
ton of the national emergency as one
which must be met by eliminating the
tinsel and concentrating on the essence
of the American way of life. At present,
an opposite tendency is apparent.
Already, farms are going fallow; insti-
tutions Of learning are threatened with
extinction many small business is
facing ruin. Yet, in other fields, self
indulgence fourishes as never before.
Let us decide, says the Tolan COM
mittee, what really is the American way
Of life, in behalf of which we have gone
to war. Having decided what we wish
to preserve, let us act calmly, without
confusion and panic, to eliminate all
factors now tending to make the war
effort "a salesman's proposition"