The Omaha guide., 1945-03-31
Newsletter
what's HAPPENING IN
Washington
THREE PREDICTIONs: TO Ike

THREE PREDICTIONS: To keep
the home folks from backsliding
the armed forces assert war produc
-tion will be maintained after We
day lat close to 1000" Neverthe-
less we repeat:
l. Substantial cutbacks must
follow We day. Pacific Ocean dis.
tances are more than twice Atlantic
runs. When practically all current
war production goes to Pacific u
cargo ships can't carry more than
oo% to 70% of present total war
shipments. We can stockpile but
only for a fen weeks; before long
there won't be enough warehouses
70 mold the overflow. So
very soon after We day. look for
utbaek bringing war p~roductio
down perhaps to AS Low AS soc
OF present output.
z. Do not believe tatemen that
zap war requirements win not be
substantially different from tnose
OF European war. Drastic changes
will be made.
many contractor will receive
teiegraphed 1000 Examinations On
'he day the military decides war in
europe il essentially over.
y First cutbacks will Be raw
materials, especially where surplus
es would be embarrassing after fin
al victory. Last to be cutback will
be en~d-products. Contracts an
preaching completion are less like
~ to be cutback than those. in earl
Ter stages.
II POLICY CHANGES: TorI
difficulties in getting wage increas
es, union labor blames Fred M Vim
son as Director of OES (Office of
Economic St~abilization). and to
some extent his immediate superior.
Justice Byrnes. Director Of OWN
(Office of War Mobilization). For
reasons, they give FDR an
out-he must concentrate on mill
tary and peace policy programs:
busy to know what's going on"
Vinson, now RFC chairman. is
out Of way; union leaders hope for
of wage policies.
New appointments William H. !
as Director of OES and Geo!
rye w. Taylor as WLB chairman,
are regarded by labor leaders as
probably the best we could look !
Davis has been chairman. Taylor
vice-chairman of WLB since it's in
ception in January. 1912.
PAST RECORDS: Board used jan
l, 1941. as base for wage ad- I
justments. Since then living costs
risen 1880; average hourly
rates of workers who have not
changed jobs, 36.7%; average week
ly earnings, overtime included,
65c MINIMUM: Recently answer
ing a query from Senator Claude
Pepper (Dem.-Fa.), Davis said he
saw no harm in classifying wages
CSC an hour (S26 for a AZ
week) as substandard-the
figure to which employers could
make increases without getting w
LIB approval.
Such a rate had no chance under
Vinson. He resisted even 55c an
hour minimum if employers could
not pay such wages without rails
ing their selling prices.
ON "FRINGE INCREASES": La
Dor leaders will demand modificat-
Of Wilson's last important OES
decision. setting narrow limits for
fringe war increases. Says one
labor member of WLB: Gas chair
man of the Board, Will Davis sup
every one of the fringe
wage increases voted by the Board.
1t is hardly likely that as Econom-
ic Stabilizer he will change his
as to justice of these increas-
es."
But recall that Salmon P. Chase
as Lincoln's Secretary Of Treasury
declared the printing Of greenbacks
national necessity. Later as Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court he
held such action both unnecessary
and unconstitutional. Ultimate