Evening star., 1946-09-30
Secrecy Is Removed
On 1899 War Agency
Report 10 Roosevelt
by rho Asseciofsd Press

~ wv" Hss0ctuIeu Ffexs
A war blueprint kept ultra -secre,
since 1899 disclosed yesterday that
President Roosevelt discarded a
number of ofiicial recommended tions
in setting up administrative ma
chinery for World War II.
The blueprint is the report Of the
pre-Pearl Harbor War Resources
Board headed by Edward r. stet-
tinius, jr.. only three copies were
made, Of which two went to the Wal
and Navy Departments. Mr.. Roose-
velt told news conference at the
time that the third would remain
locked up in the White House safe
Released after belated removal oI
the off1cial top secret" label, the
report showed that the board urged
creation OF a war resources admin.
iStration as top co-ordinatins
agency of wider scope and greater
powers than those subsequently,
granted Donald Nelson's War Pro.
duction Board.
Concentration Rejected.
Under the Resources Admins
tration, the Stettinius board pro-
posed centralizing power, fuel, trans
portation, research and other func-
tlons which actually were assigned
In wartime to separate emergency
agencies.
The report advised that the Re-
sources Administration be assigned
"an the war powers directly and in
directly concerned with the pro-
cesses. of production and distribu-
ton 81 goods" and added:
While we recognize that CO.
ordination of agencies to execute
these powers might be made effec-
tive even If they we're established
independently, it is our recon-
mendation that higher degree of
performance would be possible if
they were within WRA."
President Roosevelt named the
seven-man board August 8, 1899, less
than month before the outbreak
of war in Europe. to review the Army
and Navy Munitions Boards plans
for industrial mobilization in event
the United States were involved
in war.
Decision Left to President.
Reporting secretly the following
November, the board favored the
creation Of a limited number of
agencies, each exercising power
delegated to the President by Con-
gress.
There would be provisions for
their coordination among them
selves, leaving to the President the
problem of decision only when they
do not agree"
AS separate agencies the board
proposed creation of public relations,
selective service, war labor, war
finance. and food administrations,
along with price control authority,
and these recommendations were
largely carried out after Pearl Har-
Dor
Under the Resources Administra-
tion, however, the Stettinius board
proposed to group functions which
subsequently were split off and as
signed to such separate agencies as
the petroleum and solid fuels ad-
ministrations, Paul v. McNutt's War
Manpower Commission, the Once OF
Defense Transportation, and emerg-
ency agencies of Jesse Jones' Re-
construction Finance Corporation.
afraid to Talk Preparedness"
John NJ Hancock New York
banker and Army industrial con-
sultant, who was member Of the
board, said in the magazine Army
Ordnance that the report was
ordered suppressed before 1t was
prepared" He added that at the
time men everywhere were afraid
to talk preparedness for fear OF
being charged that preparedness
was camouf1age for a desire to 60
to war"
Other members included DIR. Karl
T. Compton, president of the Massa-
chusetts Institute OF Technology
Walter s. Clifford, president of the
American Telephone 81 Telegraph
Co., Harold G. Moulton, president OF
Brookings Institute. j. L. Pratt, and
Gen. Robert E. Wood, Sears Roe
buck d Co, chairman.