The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-03-20
Mems Shirt Situation Gummed Up
 MIIIIOns ln Navy
 Warehouse Gases
 In Two States
By FREDERICK c. OTHNGAN TYnifAd Preea Staff CNrregD0nhenf

United Press Staff Correspondent
 Washington, March 20-(UP-1 thought I had good news today for ragged Americans. Now I'm not so sure. Neither is Sen. James M. Mead of New York.
 One week ago there appeared in these precincts a dispatch about II 100000 shirts and $500, 900 pairs of shorts declared surplus by the Navy nearly six months before and still doing nothing to .ameliorate male nakedness.
 : The War Assets Corporation ad- vertised the shorts for sale the next day; that, goodness knows, was a start. The federal haberdashery salesmen also told the War Inves- tigating Committee, headed by Sen. Mead, that they were sorrowed by my story. They said they'd sold all the shirts long ago and could have sold 10 times as many if they'd had 'en.
 Only these shirts stil1 are in the packing cases in Navy warehouses in Utah and New York, while the ex- perts shuffle the a papers, claw through the red tape, and announce tkeir hope that it won't be much longer before they reach 1000, 900 masculine backs.
 I'm not denouncing the WAC, or the Navy. Neither is Sen. Mead, but something somewhere is gun1n- ing up the shirt situation. You'll get some idea if you'll join me on the trail of one batch of blus carnbray work shirts, which the Navy de- clared surplus last October 4.
 There were 8,296, ,903 shirts in this consignment; they cost the govern ment 85 cents each, or a total of $7 ,587 ,867.85. On December 2, the WAC. decided to sell 'em to whole salers at 58 cents each, to large re- tailers at 66 cents and to small re- tailers at 70 cents.
 The orders flowed in, enough to inundate the shirt sellers. On Jan- uary IT the Navy changed its mind and said 1t needed to keep 3,060,Ol6 of its shirts. One month later the WAC. counted Its orders for the B. ,866, ,887 shirts remaining. The cus- toners wanted 48,254,335 shirts.
 The WAC. parceled out Its shirts as fairly as it could to veterans, re- tailerS, wholesalers and other gov- ernment agencies. Come the Navy again. with another change of mind. It said 1t couldn't let go of 2,031 shirts in small sizes. The WAC. said, yes, but it already had sold 'em. The Navy said, all right, give us back those little shirts and we'll declare another l,929,O00 as surplus. That seemed flair enough. The WAC. made another recount of its orders and gave each customer 8 few extra shirts. That took time. because the regional offices of the sales department had to do the counting and report back to head quarters.
 The regional shirt departments then asked each client to mail in his check for his shirts within seven days. The shirt-buyers did so. The WAC. forwarded the orders to the Navy clothing depot in Brooklyn.
 The Navy had decided meantime to decentralize its shirt supply. Some of these shirts still were in Brook lyn. Some were in Scotia, N. Y. Some were in Clearfield, Utah. That's where they remain. Or so the Mead Committee has been informed.
 The official explanation is a magnificent example of government tai phrase-making. It goes like this: There has been further element of delay in the transfer of docu- ments between these points," mean ing Brooklyn, Scotia and Clearfield' The report adds that 1t hopes the transfer of documents can be speed ed up. So does Sen. Mead. He is de- lighted the shirts have been sold.
 And will be pleased still more, ? he said, when these shirts are re- moved from the warehouses and placed on the backs of the men whc need them"
 So will I. I'm one of the fellows in need.