The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-05-28

! flank and with the Navy on the other reorgani2ed it's lines, brought in some new talent and started go- ing places. WIPE still lacks some of the Smoothness and efficiency char acteristic of the German general staff at its best, but the battle of production is apparently being won, Elsewhere on the home front, however, we are taking a terrible licking.
 The battle against imitation can become a rout almost any day, and when the history of this campaign is written the chapter covering the days in which you are now living can be identified as the period of great indecision and glorious incon- SiStency
 There is no apparent plan of bat tie, and the commisSars, cO-ordina- tors and congressman in command don't seem to be able to decide what to do about It.
 STYMIES RIGHT AND LEFT
 Congress prohibits the fixing of a limitation on salaries over $25, GOO, yet there is a definite limit on wages under the Little Steel Form tla Reconcile that.
 Office of Price Administration, like Ferdinand the Bull, doesn't want to hurt anybody, and seems committed to a policy of tossing the torcadOrs of imitation out of the ring by appcasemcnt. Leon Hcnder- son had to resign as boss of OPA because he was too tough. His sue ccssor Prentiss M. Brown, may have to follow into exile because he is too soft.
 Whcn OPA does get firm about wanting to lower some basic food price-livestock on the hoof, for in- , tion objects. Prices must be kept up to encourage production, Result? Stymie.
 The only way in which selling prices may be kept down while pro- duction prices are kept up is through the granting of subsidies to producers, yet Congress will have no part of subsidies or incentive payments, and will appropriate no money to finance them. Stymied again.
 Congress wants farm prices kept up, and aid to small business, yet threatens to cut off all aid to small farmers through the Farm Security Administration. Justify that.
 Congress secs the need for greater taxation 10 finance the war effort, yet argues five months to find way to forgive a years taxes. Add that up to make logic
 VILE SWAMPED
 The War Labor Board, struggling to hold the front against wage in- crcaGcS, is buried under it's own bar rage of 17000 unsettled applica- tions for raises. It settles so few cases each week that strikes at key war plants like Boeing and ChryS- Ter actually break out in protest over the boards inability to come to decision -- any decision. Mean while, one man with a name some thing like John L. Lewis, forces the War Labor Board into q corner, monopolizeS it's line for part of every day for a period of over two months while other cases must wait.
 Office Of Economies Stabilization which is supposed to maSter-mind this battle against imitation, serves no useful purpose that anyone can see, save to deliver messages from the White House.
 Before very much time goes by, 1t looks as though there will most certainly have to be some whole sale congratulations housecleanings, reshuiiling of brass hats, changing Of policies - just such as WIPE has gone through in the past nine months-before any improvement can be made. If it isn't done, we can lose this battle of imitation, and we can lose this war at home.