Evening star., 1951-12-30
War on Waste
Johnson Subcommittee to Ride Herd
On Armament Expenditures Next Year
By Cecil Holland

protesting the closing off Of COM
pany road because, as he said. the
commanding generals ducks were
mating and shouldn't be disturbed.
In effect he said it was helluva
note to inconvenience enlisted men
solely because of the generals ducks.
The enlisted man. almost casually,
mentioned that the steel pipe had
been used to close off the road. The
subcommittee investigated d
found that the enlisted mans story
about the generals ducks was un-
true-the road had been closed of
for essential repairs. About a dozen
other complaints the soldier had
made also were found without any
foundation.
But the use of the steel pipes and
their recovery for more essential
needs was borne out by the investi-
CATION.
Wright Field Inquiry
In next years program of the sub
committees activities the biggest sim
gle item at present is an investigation
of alleged procurement frauds, kick
backs and favors in connection with
the billions of dollars of contracts
at the forces big center at Wright
Field near Dayton, Ohio. Public
hearings will be held to get at the
bottom of the situation.
The subcommittee also plans to
continue watching the efT IT'S OF mil
itary authorities to reduce the chair
corps" and get more able-bodied men
and officers out Of Pentagon and
other Offices and into combat units.
Army Chief of Staff Collins has esti-
mated that the equivalent of three
combat divisions might be obtained
from the chair corps" source.
The Senators also will keep o
weather eye on procurement sched-
ules with specific attention on ma
chinery. follow up its efforts to OBJ
tain better housing for military per-
sonnel at bases scattered throughout
the country, and see that the how
of essential metals and materials for
the expanding defense effort remains
unchecked.
Another important item on the
subcommittee agenda is thorough
check of Air Force training costs. A
fairly extensive" investigation has
been launched into this on the basis
of a preliminary check which indi-
Gated that the Air Force had no real
and accurate estimate of what it
costs to train personnel.
In this connection the Subcommit-
tee sent an accountant to an Air
Force base to check the training costs.
The accountant was supplied table
of figures and simple check revealed
they did not total up to what the
Air Force was spending at that par
ticular installation for training. A
further check showed that the Air
Force had forgotten to include in its
table the cost of maintaining sub
stantial number of men awaiting as
Signment to training units despite the
fact they had to be clothed and fed.
For these and other reasons, Sem
ator johnson sees a big job cut out
for his subcommittee in the coming
year.
Defense will become-as it trag-
ically must-the Nations No. in
dustry," he told The Star. 1T will
dominate every segment of the ma
tional economy. 1t will reach into
the life of every American regardless
OF where he lives or how he makes
his living.
In an enterprise of such great
magnitude, the opportunities for cor
ruption and prof1igacy become stag
gering. Billions of dollars of the tax
payers money will be flowing through
all the hooks and crannies of the
huge and complicated defense struc-
ture. To some people the tempta-
ton to siphon off some of the stream
of dollars into their own pockets will
be overpowering
Even more important, in Senator
Johnsons view, is the loss to the de-
fense effort through sheer waste.
There will be many-many too
many-people who will allow the tax
payers dollar to evaporate merely
because they have no interest in econ
omy, no positive urge for conserva-
ton, and no determination to save
their Nations resources -
Senator johnson says this must not
be allowed to happen, and added:
Under the very best of circum-
stances, our Nations wealth in man.
power and resources will be strained
to the utmost. We cannot afford a
margin of waste. A margin Of waste
could we'll be the difference between
victory and disaster"