Evening star., 1951-12-06
Maybank Committee
Hits Senate Criticism
OF Arms Production
By J. A. o'Leory

lieu VI tIlc SuppOTt Ol LIE aQIulN-
istration today against recent
charges by another congressional
group that military production
has Jagged because guns have not
been put ahead of butter.
The Joint committee, headed by
Senator Maybank. Democrat, Of
South Carolina. appeared to take
issue with recent report of the
Senate Preparedness subcommit-
tee. headed by another South
erner. Senator Lyndon johnson,
Democrat, of Texas.
The preparedness group charged
on November 20 that deliveries of
planes, tanks, ships and guns have
fallen dangerously behind sched-
ule." It said there has been lack
OF . policy which would make
these minimum military require
mentS the top claimant on our
industrial capacity" The same
report raised the issue of failure
to put gums ahead of butter"
Wilson's Efforts Praised.
The Maybank group, made up
Of members of the House and
Senate Banking Committees.
praised the accomplishments of
Charles E. Wilson, director of
Defense Mobilization and of Manly
FleiSchmann. the Defense Produc-
ton administrator.
1t concluded that these officials
adopted wise policy" in steer
ing a middle course between all
out war production and wait
.md-see policy"
Under the circumstances"
said the Maybank report, your
committee cannot reasonably
conclude that the Nation has
failed to maintain its minimum
military strength in an effort to
place butter before guns"
The Banking Committee group
defended the policy. followed in
World War II as well as now,
of having civilian officials screen"
the claims of the military. It
said Mr.. Wilson and Mr.. Manly
have given the committee re
iterated assurances" that the
military "has always had vir-
tually all the material they re- {
quested after screening pro-
grams"
Zone Link of Evidence"
Today's report cautioned the
public against attaching too much
Importance to changes In military
production schedules and said
they are only "one link of evidence
In the long chain of facts to be
ascertained before one may rea-
sonably conclude that our mini
mum strength for national safety
Is not being maintained"
The committee said that "to cry
wolf at the mere discovery of a y
change" in previously announced
minimum schedule is "to submit
to the tyranny of words"
Mr.. Wilson went over the situa-
ton with President Truman at
Key West last week end, and said
Mr.. Truman seemed satisfied.
The committee recalled that
when Mr.. Wilson was questioned
on November 27 about alleged
failure to meet production sched-
ules, he testified he did not regard ..
the "so-called schedules of the
Army and Air Force" as produc-
tion schedules at all. The commit
tee added its own conclusion that
there is no need to be alarmed
at the unconfirmed reports of
failures to maintain q minimum
Of national safety"
Rapid Changes Cited.
Because Of rapid advances in
supersonic aircraft. the committee
said. the most advanced design of
today may be outmoded tomorrow.
For this reason, the report added.
the production Of large numbers
"of any given model could be
wasteful and disastrous. This is
another instance where the meet
ing OF production schedules might
give the Nation a very false sense
of security"
The joint committee said it does
not take issue with the fact that
many improvements could and
should be made in the rate of |
production. but it said the civilian
production officials have taken
every possible means to break |
bottlenecks and to discover and
remedy defects.
The report said the committee |
has found no evidence to refute
Mr.. Wilson's testimony on Novem-
ber 27 that generally speaking
to date we have been able to allot
the types of materials to the mill
tary production requirements in
sufficient quantities to meet their
schedules"
Present Policy Defended.
The joint committee pointed o1tl
that civilian production will be
curtailed considerably in the first
three months of 1852. as the mill
tary use of basic materials in
creases by leaps and bounds. But
1t defended the policy since the
Korean war started of permitting
manufacturers, including those
who use copper and aluminium for
non-eSsential civilian goods, to
operate at low levels rather than
to put them out of business en-
tirely. /
In justification of the decision
not to cut automobiles and other
civilian goods to mere trickle, as
was done at the start of World
War II, the report said:
Faced as we are with possibly
two or five or 10 or 20 years of
constant emergencies, such a de-
cision would amount to utter
folly"
In World War II, when a large
industry was shut down, the re-
port said, the armed services were
ready to induct the idle labor, and
military production absorbed the
idle productive capacity. Such al