The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-06-29

Washington, June 20 - CUP0 -
Vice-President Henry A. Wallace
accused Secretary OF Commerce
Jesse Jones today of making harm
full misrepresentation" about the
board of economic warfare, OF car
rying out "obstructionist tactics" in
his dealings with the BEW and of
failing, when the responsibility was
his, to create sufficient stockpiles of
scarce critical materials and drugs.
In a blunt and detailed statement
Wallace as chairman of the BEW
asserted that Jones had testified
falsely about the BEW before the
joint congressional economy COM
mittee. Wallace declared that the
time has come to free the boards
administrative employees from this
hamstringing beauracracy and
backdoor complaining of Mr.. Jones
and his employees"
Wallace said he was prompted to
make this statement by Jones testi-
mony before the economy comittee
and by what he called certain in
accuracies" stated by Acting Chair
man Kenneth Mcclellan, D., Tenn,
of the senate appropriations COM
n1ittee hearing on June 4, were
based on previous testimony before
the other committee.
In a preface to his statement,
Wallace said:
There are times when the sense
of public duty outweighs the natur-
al, personal reluctance to present
facts of this nature. This Is such a
time"
Wallace said he had originally in
tended to make his statement be-
fore the senate appropriations COM
mittee. After sleeping" over it,
however, he said he decided not to-.
But 1.-The effort to misrepresent the
facts" about BEW continued, Wal
lace added, so he decided to release
the statement and ask Mcclellan ito
make 1t part of our hearings"
The Vice President said that
Jones attitude toward the BEW
stemmed from President RooSevelts
action of April 10, 1912, in giving
the board complete control of all
public purchase import operations"
a control previously exercised by
Jones Reconstruction Finance
Corporation.
''Mr. Jones has never been willing
to accept that fact" Wallace said.
He has instead done much to
harass the administrative employees
OF the board in their single-minded
effort to help shorten this war by
securing adequate stocks of strate-
gic materials"
Wallace quoted from the May re-
port Of the Senate Truman Com
mittee which alluded to "destruc-
tive, Wasteful feuding" among gov
eminent administrators and sug-
costing that where necessary,
heads must be knocked together"
Accusing Jones of destructive,
wasteful feuding,~ Wallace con-
tinued.
THE board Of economic warfare
has tried for over year now to do
its job In spite Of the obstructionist
tactics Mr.. Jones has employed from
time to time"
Jones and the RFC, Wallace as
serted. had previously failed dis
nally so far as the import field was
concerned, to build the government
stockpiles authorized and directed
by the congress nearly 18 months
before Pearl Harbor."
Wallace noted at the outset Of his
statement that Mcclellan had
stated in the June hearing that
Congress had never appropriated
money for payment of BEW salar-
les. Wallace replied that a bill
signed by the president on July 25,
1912, carried $12,000,000 for BEW
salaries and expenses.
Mcclellan had alluded to Jones
testimony before the economy COM
nittee that Director Milo Perkins of
BEW ran the board-of which Jones
Is a member-with an iron hand,
that his word was law, even over
Jones, and that Perkins had issued
Jones a directive ito furnish the
money to pay all these employees"
numbering 1920.
Wallace declared that the BEW
had never obtained money for adj