Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-05-10
Report 10 WLB Asks
Work on Postwar
Economy Program
Committee Urges Action
For Eosing Shock of
Transition to Peace
BY JAMES Y. NEWTON.


Warning that the cost of unpre-
paredness for peace can be lex
tremely high" the War Production
Boards Planning Committee has
called for immediate drafting of
postwar plans to ease the shock to
the Nations economy Of the transit
ton from war to peace.
In a report to Chairman Donald
M. Nelson, the committee said nu-
merous questions must be settled
when specific planning for peace is
considered. Among these questions
are: How to proceed with the nee
essary reductions in the output Of
munitions? What disposition to
make of Government inventories of
peace-type products? What arrange
ments should be made for gradual
cancellation of outstanding con-
tracts? What policy is to be adopt
ed for Government-oWn industrial
facilities erected during wartime?
The price of unpreparedness for
war has been rather high" the COM
mittee concluded. The costs of I'M
preparedness for orderly transition
from war to peace may not be SO
dramatic, but can be extremely high
nevertheless"
Labor Force to Be Larger.
The report said we are bound to
enter the postwar period with a
much larger labor force than before
the war, and one that constitutes an
appreciably higher fraction of the
total adult population Of the coun-
try" A large portion of this labor
force may not be suitable or avail
able for peacetime production. De-
spite the huge surplus of war-factory
machinery and plant equipment, it
was said there will be lack of IA
cilities to cope with the demands Of
a peace economy.
Yet there is little question that
problems of sufficient utilization of
the country's productive capacity"
the report continued, which were
so acute in the years following 1929,
and even after the substantial re-
covery made between 1888 and 1887,
will be aggravated in the postwar
years by additions made to our stock
OF machinery and equipment and to
our labor force during the war"
There is further ground for con-
Germ in the possibly uneven distri-
button Of additional capacity among
various regions in the country.
among different industries, and
among firms Of various Sizes"
The urgent nature OF our war pro-
duction task, the committee said,
caused us to place the lions share"
OF the contracts in those regions al
ready top-heavy with industry, and
with those firms which already were
dominating the industrial structure
The result of this has been to greatly
weaken those regions of little indus
try, and to place the large corpora
tons in an even more dominating
position.
Solid Ground for Concern.
All Of this suggests" the report
continued, that there Is solid
ground for concern as one views the
impacts OF the war production de-
velopment in terms of the problems
that they raise for the postwar eco
nomic structure OF the country. It
also suggests three lines of positive
action that appear advisable as
means to counterfeit any retarding
effects upon the war effort that may
be exercised by a widespread con-
Germ over our postwar economic fu-
ture.
The first and most obvious step is
to secure adequate data on the i'm
pact OF war production develop
ments upon the structure Of our
economy. The committee deplored
a lack of data showing impact of
war effort on the economy
Secondly, much information
would be needed Immediately If, as
1t seems reasonable to suggest, great
er attention were to be paid hence
forth in the procurement and other
aspects of war production to the
impact of war orders and war out
put upon the structure of the econ
omy. The recent pressure for larg-
er share of war output to smaller
firms is clear indication of the
greater attention that should be
paid to what might be called the
structural aspects OF war produc-
ton"
Huge Production Task Ahead.
Although the military production
task still ahead was described as
huge, the report said there seems
nevertheless to be more room in the
immediate future than there was in
1912, for more careful weighing of
alternatives in placing contracts,
and in seeing to it that the distor-
ton Of the peacetime structure OF