Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-09-07

Lobor's Efforts to Gain
WPB Control Cited
By PAUL MAI.LON

What's the matter with WASH
ington. is the first question
asked by every one who gets off
the train here, and no doubt by
citizens out in the country. Is
Nelson really capable of doing
the job, is the second.
The answers have been so OBJ.
vious in the news dispatches
lately, the country should UNI
derstand the situation fully by
now.
The WPB reorganization is
being complicated by too many
groups and too many people
here who are trying TO carry on
revolution at the same time
as the war.
1t cannot be done. These
groups will have to give up
their revolutionary ambitions or
the nation may have TO give up
the war.
Look at the headlines of the
past few days.
Labor demands Nelson give
ID control Of WPB."
There is the whole story, told
in one of Its simplest phases.
Mind you. this Labor" of the
headlines is not the 50,OO,0OO
workers of the country, but the
less than 100000 represented
in ALL and Go. They want
control of war production.
So do the New Dealers, the
radicals, the business men. the
politicians, the army, although
there are few headlines about
their activity, as they are not
as brazen in their desires.
No one seems to be shouting
for the only thing the country
needs-the most efficient pos
sible control, the cessation OF
all-this- revolutionary activity
by special groups trying to get
the upper hand over business.
MIR. NELSON is a strong man,
1Vl possibly not Hercules. but
Hercules himself would have
trouble in this situation. He told
congressman he would not ac-
cede to the request of the unions
10 have business delivered into
their hands. but he indicated he
would give the unions added
authority.
Obviously this Is not to be
done because any one thinks
union leaders can run business
any better than business men,
but because their power is
feared.
How strong Mr.. Nelson is, will
only become known as he works
out his reorganization.
A COMPLETE explanation OF
"A the kind of administration
this picayune chicanery leads to
is shown in a letter I received
from an editor friend in a small
town down south.
This editors small newspaper
plant is in one-story building,
with a section adjoining which
was formerly used as doctors
office, He did not want to ask
= the doctor to leave, but wanted
the space, and planned to take
il when the doctor was called to
war.
But when the doctor left,
members of the local rationing
board came in, saying 1t was the
only spot in town meeting their
needs. They asked the rent.
MY friend said the rent was
S35 a month, but they coul d
have it for whatever they could
afford to pay and he would put
the money into war bonds - If
they could pay anything. They
moved in, borrowing some desks
and chairs from him.
Three months later a letter
came from the OPA in Atlanta
asking the editor was it true he
was willing 10 rent an office to
the local rationing board.
He wrote back it was quite
true. Two weeks lat ter came
another letter from Atlanta ask
ing the exact floor space, how
many rooms, whether separate
toilet facilities were provided
men and women.
A couple more weeks passed
before another letter came from
Atlanta explaining the corre-
spondence had reference to 800
square feet of floor space in a
one-story brick building at a
certain address (they had the
address right at least.
II went on to say a lease could
not be prepared until they had
the name or a description of the
building, and asked specifically
what floor lin the one-story
building) the offices were on.