Detroit evening times., 1945-08-10
PAUL
.NlALLON
Behind
The ews

w lively fuss IS being raised
against the government failure
10 provide for reconverslon.
The Mead committee said only
half what IT thought about the
Job being hunGled, the senator's
privately concedlng they were
lust trying 10 prod Mr.. Truman
gently into more forceful action.
They really exposed nothing
which has not been apparent for
many months, as Mr. Roosevelt
had no announced program, and
Mr.. Truman has been busy with
san Francisco and POtsdam.
The army has never forgotten
its scare at prcmaturely antici-
patng the end of the European
war. and has been hardheaded
against releasing men or mate
ualS for even such near-war IN
dustricS as coal, for which Mr..
ICkcs S bowling. railroads, lum-
her. textiles and steel. for which
no one is bowling much.
The army is keeping its pro-
duCtIon going at a terrific pace,
and told the Mead committee
(although this was not published
in the rcporD that 1t is drafting
1900 men a month while dis
charging 1000 a month for a net
discharge of only 1000 a month.
TO ADD fury 10 this plain
Il muddle, the CIO, New Deal
ers and some others have been
increasingly agitating for
vaSter government spending pro-
gram, like the old WPA, TO take
up slack in employment, which
has not yet developed, and is not
Immediately forecast in view Of
the national starvation for con-
sumner goods and services, unless
perchanCe chaotic management
of the problem disrupts produc-
ton
To the problem, Mr., Truman
put his best new man, John w.
Snyder, who found il to be a
nest of economic and political
boa constructors, and his grap-
plng so far has not indicated
whether he Will throw them or
they him.
SO we have had such con-
dition as this following incident
diScloScs:
A business man came 10
Washington seeking authority
to -btfid a plant to supply parts
for the automobile industry, ad-
mittedly the key in reconver-
sion.
He was told he could go
ahead as his effort was i'm
mediately desirable.
He then went 10 the steel
manufacturers who informed
HIM he could have no steel un-
less he had a priority.
Washington thereupon refused
TO give him a priority,
THIS, as / say. is a known
Il condition. but behind it is a
truly major threat to reconVer-
sion. in the relationship of the
unions and management, a fact
not observed by the Mead Com
mlttee, or fully reported.
The administration has de-
tected the Importance of this
all-controlling phase, as is evil
dent in Labor Secretary Schwel-
lenbach'S promotion of labor
management conference TO plan
a workable substitute for the
no-Strike pledge and perhaps a
new labor board setup or at
least to provide sensible
agreement. under which men
may work and the nation pro-
duCe in the brave new world
A showdown between labor
and management is coming, l
am sure, before much reConver-
sion can take place, l think 1t IS
planned
Involved lcgitimatcly are the
problems of prices and wages.
These related problems are in
a far worse muddle than. the
Washington reconversion ma
chlnery.
THE union war worker is the
Il man who made the biggest
wage increase during the war.
The Little Steel Formula was
shot so fun of holes by the
unions Cupgrading pay devises,
vacations. pay for portals 10
portals, and back again to por-
tails. etc)
That II stands only as a sieve
against the largest group of the
people. the middle class nom
factory workers.
There are only $4,000, 1000 OF
people in the unions and 45, 5,000,-
600 outside the unions.
Their wages were rather ef-
fectivcly frozen by the govern
ment formula, while the unions
went on up.
Those prices will not come
down until rCconversion has
proceeded to the point where
competition is restored in both
goods and services.
Not until quality Of goods
and work arc restored. and both
become readily available, can
the government do anything ef-
fective on price control which
is the essence Of economic con-
troll.
RUT if wages are now in
ID creased for the special union
class prices must 60 higher 10