Evening star., 1943-02-17
Nelson Seen
On Way Out
In WPB Row
Eberstudt Custer
Is One More Round
In Political Fight
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The War Production Board, as it
has been known for more than a
year, bids fair to go the way of the
oPM and its predecessor, the Ma
eonal Defense Council. Donald
Nelson, the present chairman, is
likely to go the way of his pred
ecessors who failed to meet the
demands of the Army and Navy for
efficiency.
A crisis has arisen which is merely
the continuation of preceding crises.
Mr.. Nelson was given full power in
January, 1912. But he soon proved
unequal to the task. For he was in
clined to procrastinate, and his as
sociates complained they could not
get decisions out of him. Finally.
when the Army and Navy saw that
production was not being stepped
up as it should, the demand was
made last June that WPB be re-
organized. Mr.. Nelson acceded and
took the setup proposed.
The next step was the institution
Of the so-called controlled materials
plan, which had been worked out
after consultation with the engineers
and managers of the large basic in
dustries such as steel, copper and
aluminium. The plan was made
necessary by the fact that Mr.. Nelson
had permitted, for instance, priority
certificates to be issued for the last
quarter of 1912 for more than 10
per cent of the whole years capacity
Of America to produce steel.
Army Men Discouraged.
High Army and Navy officials were
discouraged and disheartened by the
tneficiency. They wanted to see the
whole setup changed, but when the
suggestion was made that Ferdinand
Eberstadt, civilian chairman of the
Army and Navy Munitions Board,
move into WPB, the armed services
agreed and Mr.. Nelson concurred
But evidently this was not to the
Hiking of Mr.. Nelson's subordinates.
Later when Charles E. Wilson was
brought in to do scheduling job,
Mr.. Nelson failed to define the
functions of either Mr.. Eberstadt or
Mr.. Wilson but procrastinated again.
The result was that the inner group
saw an opportunity to use Mr.. Will
sons prestige in the production
world to oust Mr.. Eberstadt and
thus deliver a solar plexus blow to
the Army and Navy.
But, under the statutes of Con-
gress, the Army and Navy hold
the power to make contracts. They
can continue, therefore, to control
production and make of the WPB
an advisory body, and this they plan
to do unless some one is chosen to
supersede Mr.. Nelson who, like Mr.
Eberstadt, will have the full conf
dence of the Army and Navy.
Back of this fight is not a mere
clash of personalities but the in
trigue and ramifications of backstage
politics. The big power in wartime
Is the power to make contracts-to
award billions of dollars to private
contractors. This power is, under
the statutes, vested VI the War and
Navy Departments, but the WPB
would like to have it and there are
certain politicians on Capitol Hill
who think they can have more in
huence if the WPB, rather than
the War and Navy Departments,
exercises the contracting power.
First Casualty.
Ferdinand Eberstadt is the first
casualty of the contest. He hap
pens to be brilliant organizer, and
he has brought here some OF the
eblest production men in the coun-
try to operate the controlled ma
terials plan. Now that he has been
removed by Mr.. Nelson, he is re-
ported to be planning to don a uni
form and enter combat service. He
was a captain of field artillery in
the last war and has distinguished
record. Here is another young man
who has tried to fight the battle of
Washington, with it's political back
tres and undercurrents of selfish
ness. and he goes forth now to fight
Japs or Germans rather than civil
Ian bureaucratS.
As for the WPB, its future is
doubtful The episode has demoral-
lied the many fine executives who
have come recently to Washington.
It may deter others from coming
here. AS a matter of fact, there Is
little use for WPB If the Army
and Navy were given full authority
to handle production. But the rep
resentatives Of the War and Navy
Departments say that the alloca-
ton OF materials should be in civil
ian hands. so far as practicable, and
they are anxious that some one re-
place MI. Nelson now who can, with
the aid of Charles E. Wilson and
others, make the whole program
function better in the future than
1t has in the past.
It is likely that some national
fieure will be brought into the pic
ture to preside over the reorganiza-
ton of WPB. Otherwise, the situa-
ton will drift back to where it was
before last June, when the Army and
Navy Munitions Board issued its
own instructions and arranged for
It's production through men in uni
form rather than through politicians
ard civilian Cliques.