Evening star., 1943-03-13
War Cabinet Held
Needed Very Badly
Maj. Eliot Cites Report
Of Trumun Committee
On Present 'Weoknesses'
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot.

By MAJ. George Fielding Eliot.
The second annual report of the Sen
ate Defense Investigating Committee,
under the craftsmanship of Senator Tru-
| man, Democrat, of Missouri, is clear
| and authoritative call for the creation
of war cabinet at the earliest possible
moment.
| The report. based on the committees
Investigations extending over the whole
| of last year, lists three basic weak
nesses' of administration as responsible
| for all the confusion, delays and short
comings of the war program. These are:
Cd Inadequate overall planning with
in Government agencies at the begin
ming of various programs and delay in
determining basic policies necessary to
| carry out such programs effectively.
co Conflicting authority over and re-
sponsibility for various phases of the war
program, resulting in delays and buck
passing"
80 HeSitancy Of Government to adopt
unpopular or unpleasant policies long
after the facts clearly indicated that
such policies were necessary.
The report lays emphasis on the "pri-
mary need for clearly defined authority
in the administration of our domestic
war program"
This authority" continues the re-
port Should be centered in few Off
cials, each solely responsible for the
administration of certain activities -
in addition to their administrative work,
they should meet frequently to eliminate
all conflicts of jurisdiction and be ready
to advise with the President on important
matters while relieving him completely
of purely administrative work.
In other words, we need war cabinet
and We need it very badly.
There is a great difference between a
true war cabinet composed of executive
officials and a purely advisory group
such as that which recent Washington
dispatches have reported as already in
existence at the White House, composed
of Harry Hopkins, Bernard M Baruch,
Admiral William D. Leahy, Judge Sam
uel Rosenman and James F.. Byrnes. OF
this group only Mr.. Byrnes has any we'll
defined executive authority, and the
group as a whole has no permanent and
recognized organization, and no estab-
lished relationship with the executive
departments or the Congress.
Nothing is so Ineffective" writes Sir
troll, "as a committee which consists of
persons each of whom has no specialized
function and no personal executive au-
thority and yet tries to direct executive
action. But if a number of persons. each
of whom has a direct executive author
tty which he continues to exercise in
his own special sphere, meet from time
to time in order to dovetail their several
measures and adjust them to a common
plan, and then return to their depart
ments to put into effect what they have
agreed, the committee is an effective in
strument OF cooperative action"
These remarks apply with great force
to the proper organization and func-
ttoning of war cabinet. Mistakes and
confusion may, as the Truman report
observes, have been inevitable in en-
deavoring so vast task as the changing
OF our whole national economy from its
peacetime basis into vast and stream
lined war machine. But surely we have
had time to learn from our early mis-
takes and can now, in the light of expert
ence dearly bought, take such further
measures as are essential for better
organization of our war program as a
whole.
OF course the difficulty is not all In
the executive branch. The Truman COM
mittees report itself is an outstanding
example of the proper and helpful func-
ton of the legislative branch in further
ing the war program. If SO much can
be done by single committee of the
Senate with somewhat limited terms of
reference, how much more could be &C
complished by joint select committee
OF both houses, as recently suggested by
Senator Vandenberg, to act as a general
congressional clearing house on matters
Of all general war policy, to insure the
coordination of the work of the various
committees, and to maintain the closest
liaison with the President and the war
cabinet.
1t should be obvious that, if democracy
is to compete on even terms with the
authoritarian state, it must prove itself
capable of creating not only military
but political 1nstrumentalities adequate
to the competent organization and direc-
ton of its resources for war. Direction
of its affairs must be kept in civilian
hands, save in the field of military op-
erations. There is constant pressure
for the transfer of more and more au-
thority to the armed forces on the ground
that civilian direction is not competent.
1t seems to this writer that it is of the
very essence of democracy that it should
be capable of producing adequate leader
ship in the hour of need-military
leadership in things military and civilian
RI \ 1iyNi h ot,Srr