Evening star., 1944-08-20
China Trip Takes
|ConversionHeIm
From Nelson
EmbuttIed WPB Chief
And Hurley to Meet
With Chiong Koi-shek
BY JAMES Y. NEWTON.

President Roosevelt announced
last night that he Is sending
Chairman Donald M. Nelson Of
the War Production Board and
Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hurley to
China for discussions of military
and economic problems with
Generalissimo Chang Kai-shek
that will require several months
to complete.
The trip will remove Mr.. Nelson
from the country before his recently
announced program for limited re-
conversion of industry to civilian
manufacture gets fairly underway.
He has been the stoutest advocate
of early postwar planning. During
his absence WPB as well as the re-
conversion program will be under
the command of Executive Vice
Chairman Charles E. Wilson, who
has opposed some Of the chairman's
plans.
The White House announcement
of the mission stated that the emis-
saries will leave Washington shortly.
Nelson to Study War Aid.
Mr.. Nelson repeatedly will study
ways of increasing China's own
limited war production, possibly
through sending into the isolated
country some manufacturing equip
ment, as well as ways of increasing
our flow of munitions to China. Gen.
Hurley is expected to devote his time
to strategic military and diplomatic
conversations.
The visit of the two high officials
is intended to be tonic for the Chi
nese morale, which is reported to
be sagging dangerously, largely be-
cause Of the scant aid we have been
able to get through to their armies.
Text of the Presidents statement
follows:
Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hurley and
Mr.. Donald M. Nelson will leave
shortly for China. They will 60 as
my personal representatives to the
Generalissimo.
Gen. Hurley will discuss military
and military supply problems while
Mr.. Nelson will discuss economic
problems with the Generalissimo.
They will be in China for several
months. Their conferences will ex-
tend over that period of time.
Mr.. Charles Wilson will act as
chairman OF, the War Production
Board in the absence Of Mr.. Nelson
on this important mission"
Statement Surprises Onicials.
The Presidents statement that
Mr.. Nelson would be away from his
desk here for a matter of months
at time when both war produc-
ton and planning for reconversion
of industry to peace are passing
through a critical period came as
q surprise to officials.
1t was understood earlier that
Mr.. Nelson would be away for only
few weeks. Even after the White
House announcement, Informed
sources were Of the opinion that
Mr.. Nelson's mission would require
less than a month to complete.
Mr.. Nelson, a strong advocate Of
early and gradual reconversion of
industry as war orders are cut back.
apparently had just won major
battle with military officials over
that point, with the issuance in the
past week of the last of his four
reconversion orders. 1t provided for
the manufacture of scores Of civil
ian items where materials and man.
power are not needed for war.
Supporters Of the Nelson program
were reported not pleased by the
new development.
Mr.. Wilson reportedly has not
seen "eye to eye" with Mr.. Nelson
on a number of policy matters. He
opposed the Nelson reconversion
program at the outset on the
grounds that 1t was timed too early,
but went along with it when the
chairman insisted on overriding
military objections.
When Mr.. Nelson first presented
his program, most of the other IL
WPB vice chairmen joined Mr..
Wilson in supporting the views Of
military and manpower officials.
In another development, Presi-
dent Roosevelt called Mr.. Wilson to
the White House for a conference
yesterday. The WPB official told
reporters later that Mr.. Roosevelt
asked him to step up the vital arms
programs now tagging.
Mr. Wilson said the President en-
phasized that the increasing tempo
(See NELSON, Page A-40
C-ll