Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-07-05
PegIer at Sea
On Essential
War Work
us All Too Confusing
So CoIumnist Gives Up
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

'.'r
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
DALS, ! am taking of the
whiskcrS because l wouldn't
fool You any more about this
guess of where a fellow stands
If he isn't doing essential war
WORK
I don't know and 7 doubt that
Paul McNutt knows, himself.
Pail has his duties and powers.
Jimmy Byrncs has a piece of II
and the President has some
vague. but apparently mighty
special. authority derived from
some act Of Congress but, rec.
ognizinG an this, where are we
at, anyway
Last winter MCNutt ISSUED a
list of occupations including
that of lavatorN man in a night
club. which were held 10 bc non
essential. The idea being that
all persons so employed had
better 60 into war work or the
armed forces.
There were several fast de-
velopmentS between September
Of last year and last March,
which went by so quickly that
nobody could analyze them,
compare them with the laws rs
they are popularity understood
and relate them 10 each other.
/ AM reminded of my own con-
fusion in Trying 70 score The
assists in those rundown plays
between third and home IN
world series games when | was
young and gay.
DUT this is a little more Sc
40 riouS, although / must adj
nit that the reading public was
pretty grim about its news OF
the tremendous trivlalitles Of
sport and sent me plenty OF
Dear sir, you cur letters chal-
longing my misrepresentation Of
lightning Incidents which indl-
vidualS had seen distinctly
otherwise with their own eyes.
This is heavy business. People
want 10 know where they stand
and how come, and vet II seems
that nobody does because it's
all done impromptu like a pm
show IN the attic on a rainy Gay,
and there seems to-he no effort
To make il make sense but just
an intent 10 ball it through by
bluff and threat
They say. all right YOU get
out of your non-eSSentlal lob
and get into. say, a factory. but
then some louise stands at the
factory gate. with old Sam
standing back of him. who tells
YOU 10 get up as many bucks as
he takes II into his head 10
demand of you and submit 10
private system Of government
complete with fines and you
appeal to Sam to give him a
little push 10 one side, and Sam
calls YOU a Stacker. He doesn't
say yes or no about the PROPOSE
tion but lets him get away with
the Stickup lust the same.
YOU want 10 put up a scrap
Il for a showdown decision but
YOU figure that after all, why
should YOU be the Patsy for the
whole lot of men IN your status
and maybe get pushed, anyway
So YOU decide TO skip II and
pay the gorilla. And when YOU
get home AT night YOU read in
the paper that this ape. who
may have a prison record or
maybe wasted X-million man
hours Of absolutely vital produc-
tion of shooting weapons with a
Communist strike. has been de-
fcrrcd by the same draft board
that is threatening 10 put the
snatch on YOU, on the ground
that in shaking YOU down for
ransom TO keep YOU out Of uni
form he is performing essential
war duties.
There have been so many Of
these off-the-end-of- thexongue
orders and tttrrctivrS that I, who
am supposed 10 make a business
Of remembering and under
standing them, cant even re-
member how many there were.
I don't know tho extent of the
Presidents special powers for
the period Of the war emergency
or what authority NcNutt and
BYrncS possess or whether they
got II from Congress on for
ward pass from tho President
or whether he had any real,
legal right 10 take the position
that small. private business such
as cigar store Is a legitimate
casualty of tho war
And am not inst wool-cath-
cring or Glowing. either. for !
have had long, earnest talks
with the HIGH men involved i'm
This confusion in Washington
and still don't know very clearly
what is what
UNDOUBTEDLY there il need