The Wilmington morning star., 1947-02-04
As eglerS Sees 1t
nv W%EsTBROoK PEGLER

cu.oh. hv kim Features Syndicate, Incl
, michael Joseph Deutch, a native o. oino'
lensk. Russia, now 40 years olo' mas a .
remarkable career in the government 10
Hated States. So successful was ne IN lne
war administration that Senator D.: a Navo.s'
of Oklahoma. made official inquiries Which
elicited the Fact that he exercised great pow
49, ", tho Board of Economic Warfare. under
Henry Wallace. and the production ooard our
inc wears when he was not a cltlzen. by an
| other ordinary departure from custom, MT.
Deutch's application for citizenship, Ileo o1ly
last wear. was expedited so that ne was Idt'
uralized in Alexandria,, Va. across the river
from Washington. only 81 days a1ler 1t was
filed. The process usually takes nVe years
A letter from Edward ). Shaughnessy,. 'pe'
cial assistant to the commissioner OIL lmlnl'
grafton and naturalization, informed Senator
Moore that Deutch was accorded special
handling of his petition at the request Of
Lieut.. Gen. Lucius D. Clay, deputy military
governor for Germany" This letter SAID zen
eral CLAW made this request because DeutchF
services were needed in Germany .wheie
he could be sent only as an American cltlzeh'
However. although General Clay's request
is said to have been made on Nov. 10, 1910
more than two months elapsed before Deutch
filed his application in Alexandria,. on Jan. a.
1916. Senator Moore noted this Inconsistency
and wrote Mr.. Shaughnessy for an explana'
ton. He also asked Mr.. Shaughnessy 10 state
what were the special duties that Deutch was
to perform in Germany. Senator Moore states
that he received no answer to these ques-
tons. He was unable to learn whether Deutch
ever did 60 to Germany for any duties after
he received special treatment in the naturall'
cation proceedings for that stated purpose.
The request for fast handling of the petition
might have been promoted from Washington,
where Deutch appears to have had powerful
political friends in the Roosevelt admlnistra-
ton, and sent across General Clay's desk as
a matter of routine.
Mr.. Deutch has now left the government
service ir which he received q maximum sal.
airy of $3.50 a year as chief OF the planning
and statistics division. Office Of War Mobili'
cation and Reconversion. He has opened his
own office as a consultant in the Union Trust
building. The Military Affairs Committee Of
the House took notice of his career because
his rise to power over The American oil in.
dustry had aroused some feeling among Amer
lean producers. ~refiners and shippers of oil
and petroleum products. These American cit
liens. whose performance in war production
was a matter of great pride, held, that it
was not necessary to employ an alien to dl-
rect their job, and some of them thought that
Mr.. Deutch had expressed hostility to big in.
dustry in testimony that he gave before the
War Investigating Committee. The Military
Affairs Committee disclosed that Deutch's
draft board reported that he was deferred
and reclassified repeatedly and never was
called into service. although he had requested
the board to draft him shortly after Pearl
Harbor. He was "a years old at that time
and then engaged in private employment for
a Belgian corporation in New York. The OF
flee Of War Mobilization gave Senator Moore
a long and complies list of Deutch's many
jobs in the government which indicates that
he first caught on with the government, under
Henry Wallace. in the Board of Economic
Warfare in September, 1912. on 'the engi-
neerine staff of warfare analysis making con.
fidential studies on the reoccupation of Eu.
rope"
A memorandum on Deutch's appearance
before the War Investigation Committee on
June II. 1915, says he accused the American
carbon black industry and the gas industry
OF obstructing carbon black production for the
war and retardihg construction with a view
to making greater profits after. the. war. Chief
Justice Vinson. at that time director of war
mobilization. asked the committee to delete
Deutch's testimony from its report on the
ground that Deutch was nervous.
Senator Moore and the American oil men
who inquired into Deutch's career on the ci-
william side of the war effort observed that he
was placed in one of the most powerful posi-.
TONS N the economic and productive war adj
nilnlstrauons during years when no alien
could even visit a war plant except by special
permission of the War department..
On Dec. Is. 1914, when Deutch was 81 years
old, ceremonies were held near Houston. Tex.
at which Michael Joseph Deutch. program
vice CHAIRMAN of the production board. pre-.
scented to the employees of the Humble Oil
and refining Company an American flag
which only a few days before had flown from
tne Capitol in Washington. 1t is customary in
washington to use these flags until they are
nadly frayed and then present them as his.
torlc and patriotic souvenirs to communities
and Institutions.
Inc account Of the ceremonies in the Hous.
Ton Post said the flag had been flown to
Hous'on and that Mr.. Deutch, in his presen-
taton address. said: 1T is my privilege ia
present this flag to the men and won,e., ~
tne humble organization as a tribute to their
wonderful achievements. With it 60 the I'd.
"lrat1on and respect Of YOUR countrymen''
Mf. Deutch did not become one Of those
couhtrymen until IA months later.