Evening star., 1943-09-02


from the stand !
point Of the war David Lawrence.
effort, could hardly have been worse
had stick of l,000-pound Axis
bombs been dropped squarely into
Its center shop" and the comment
Is further made that ''the showdown
is estimated to have cost the Army
and Navy the equivalent of 10000
airplane motors, counting the direct
result at the Lockland plant and
Its incidental effect on other plants
of this and other companies"
This is an excellent example OF
how suppression of news has failed
to bring the corrective which pub
licity would have brought about
The public will want to know why
10000 motors are subtracted sud-
denly from the war effort, who is
responsible and what steps have beer
taken to correct the mistakes that
led to the slump.
The latest report is that produc-
ton in the affected plant or plants
Is on the upward swing, but it is
stated that the peak production fig
ures reached last March are no.
where near in sight as yet and that
1t will take months to get back up
to that level, to say nothing of the
expanded goals which the Army and
Navy had hoped would be reached
by this time.
Gain Over July Held Unlikely.
Figures for August production of
planes are not yet available, but
the indications are that no gain
over July will be shown. On the
contrary, there are some here who
think there will be a considerable
drop.
What caused this slump? Un-
doubtedly manpower shortages had
something to do with it as we'll as
some management strain and diff
ficulties in certain plants. Too rigid
inspection is cited as another rea-
son, and also the constant investi-
cations and threats of criminal
proceedings, all of which are said to
have caused production men to
tighten up schedules and take no
chances.
The Truman Committee has been
looking into the situation at some
of these plants for several weeks.
Its objective, of course, has been to
stimulate production of good engines
and planes, but the controversies
that have arisen since the Senate
committee entered into the situation
are such that it isn't clear Just
where the responsibility for the
showdown of production really lies.
In such tangled situation it would
appear best for an outside body or
tribunal to be introduced lest those
who have committed themselves to
positive or negative positions fall
into the error of seeking to justify
their previous attitudes. II Presi-
dent Roosevelt were to select some
outstanding civilian to study the
testimony of all concerned and to
make an independent inquiry which
would not hesitate to step on any,
bodys toes, the country might be
assured against a recurrence of the
production slump that has cost the
Army and Navy so heavily in recent
weeks.
New Manpower Policy Urged.
Likewise, 1t would appear to be de-
sirable for the President to insist
that Chairman Nelson of the War
Production Board or his agent should
take the manpower problem into his
own hands. Originally, the President
delegated that authority to Mr.. Mel
son. A controlled manpower plan to
function along the lines of the ex-
listing controlled materials plan
would be step in the right direc-
ton.
Until it was determined that
priorities and claim checks for ma
terials could not be honored in excess
OF the supply, little progress was
made in controlling the flow of
materials to the plants that required
them. So also, with respect to man.
power, the airplane factories and
other war production establishments
that need manpower ought to have
hrst call on manpower, irrespective
Of the operations of the War Man
power Commission or the selectiye
service mechanism. That was the
original theory behind selective serv-
ice-namely, that civilians would
select the men best fitted for the
armed forces and those best fitted
for industry. 1t turns out that the
military has been able to control the
Selective Service System and that
industry s needs have been neglected
A report on the showdown in West
Coast aircraft production has been
made by a committee headed by
Bernard M. Baruch. 1t relates to
manpower and labor problems.
Some centralized control over war
production and manpower is still
needed. even at this late day, in the
war-unless slowdowns in output are
to be accepted as inevitable and
unavoidable.
Reproduction Rights Reseryedl