Evening star., 1943-02-25
Getting Nowhere Fast

The War Manpower Commission
depends upon the United States
Employment Service to make efec-
tive an important part of its policies.
In carrying out the work. Or fight"
policy Of the commission, the en-
ployment service is charged with
supervising generally the transfer of
men from mon deferrable" Jobs to
essential war work, and in enforcing
the Presidents executive order on
the forty-e -eight-hour week, the serv-
ice is supposed to place in essential
industry the employees released by
application of the forty -eight~hour
work week in thirty-tWo critical
labor shortage" areas.
Chairman McNutt has contended
that the employment service is so
handicapped by insufficient person.
nel-the turnover among its employees
having reached more than 60 per
cent in the past year-that it cannot
function efficiently unless salaries
are raised and brought to a level
with other salaries in the Federal
service. Salaries now are fixed on
levels prevailing in the States. Mr.
McNutt has sought some $2,500,000
to raise pay in the employment serv-
Ice and yesterday the House Appro-
priations Committee cut him off
without cent for this purpose.
If Mr.. McNutt is correct in his
previous contentious, the effect of
this denial now will mean an inability
by the War Manpower Commission
to carry out even the PARKWAY
policies it has adopted in trying to
find solution of the grave civilian
manpower problem. 1t contributes
more uncertainty to the prevailing
chaos, which finds Congress in a
mood to cut the armed services short
Of needed manpower while adding
little to the diminishing supply of
civilian manpoWer.
Objection to raising the salary
levels in the United States Employ
ment Service seems to spring from
two considerations. The States, which
controlled the service until the Ma
tional Government took it over after
Pearl Harbor, do not want to see
State salary standards upset by in
creased scales paid to employees now
responsible to Washington. They are
looking for the day when control of
the employment service will revert
to them.
But the more important considera-
ton is that Chairman McNutt seems
to have been singled out for punish
ment by the growing element in
Congress which is antagoniStic to
the draft Of fathers for military
service. When Mr.. McNutt repealed
dependency as factor to be con-
sidered in deferment, and when he
issued the work fight" order for
the Manpower Commission, he ran
head-on into the congressional advo-
Gates of such measures as the Kilday
bill in the House and the Bankhead
measures in the Senate, both of
which would further restrict the
operations Of selective service in pro-
curing men for the Army.
The result now is that at time
when the War Manpower Commits
sion should be in a position to DEM
onstrate whether its policies can
accomplish anything to reduce con-
fusion over civilian manpower short
ages and at the same time produce
needed men for the armed service.
its hands are tied and confusion is
worse confounded.
If the purpose Of all this is to cor
rect deficiencies in manpower policies
and there are plenty Of them-the
final results might justify the tenn
porary confusion. The disturbing
factor now, however. is that House
opposition to existing manpOwer
policies and to Mr. McNutt. is not
based on any apparent notion Of sub
stituting anything better, such as
National Service Act.