Evening star., 1944-01-21
Mr.. Stimson Testifies

The testimony which Secretary of
War Stimson has given in behalf of
a national service act, considering
that it was his purpose to deal in
broad terms, is an excellent state
ment of the need for legislation of
this sort.
Mr. Stimson put forth four main
considerations. Cd He said that
national service law would minimize
the evil of strikes. 90 In his judg-
ment, such legislation would erase
from the minds of the men in the
armed forces the growing conviction
that they are the victims Of discrimi-
nation and injustice. 90 Enactment
of this law would bring home to war
workers the fact that they are work.
ing for their country and that their
responsibility is just as definitely
recognized by their country as is
that of the soldiers one the fronts.
(4) A national service act would
tend powerfully" toward increasing
effectiveness in production by keep
ing men on their jobs and by locat-
ing men for particular Jobs where
they are especially needed. 1t is this
fourth point which is most pertinent
to the service act debate. and which
should be developed to the fullest
extent by subsequent witnesses,
AS the picture shapes up today,
Congress is not sympathetic toward
the adoption of national service
act as an antistrike weapon, most
of the legislators feeling that this
problem could be dealt with more
appropriately and more effectively
through the adoption of law aimed
directly at strikes or through the
strengthening of statutes already in
force. They feel that this would
satisfy the complaints from the men
at the fronts without giving rise to
the extensive dislocations which
might follow adoption Of a compul-
sorry service law. Nor are the men,
bers of Congress particularly i'm
pressed with the argument that a
service act would implant a greater
sense of responsibility in the minds
of those essential workers who are
now willing to leave their jobs on
slight provocation- But there seems
to be different feeling with respect
to Mr.. Stimson's fourth point
His position there is that we face
an actual and definite need for a
service law to control and stimulate
war production. Mr.. Stimson spoke,
for instance, of the shocking waste"
Of manpower involved in the heavy
turnover" in some of the great war
industries. The country has been
led to believe that a substantial
solution for this problem had been
found in the so-called voluntary
controls. If this is not the case, that
is something that should be elabo-
rated by later witnesses. The same is
true of absenteeism, of the planned
shifting of workers from industry to
industry as war needs change, and of
the need for additional workers in
this year of invasion These are
definite and tangible problems If
they cannot be solved adequately
without national service act, and
if failure to solve them adequately
is going to cost the lives of thou
sands of American soldiers, then
these are the points that need am
plification and emphasis.
This is true because there is a
considerable body of men in Con-
greSs who look askance at national
service act, but whose minds are not
closed. They are skeptical of such a
law on grounds of principle, and
they believe that it is politically
dangerous, Nevertheless, they will
vote for it if clear need is shown,
and the probabilities are that their
votes will be decisive, one way or the
other.