Evening star., 1951-04-03
Mr.. Wilson Reports

Defense Mobilizer Wilson'S first quarterly re-
port to the President is blend of information
and pep talk.
He reminds u.s. appropriately enough, that
our decision to rearm and to stay strong was
long term decision. that we cannot get any
where by marching up the preparedness hill and
then marching down again every time the tone
Of the headlines changes from bad to good. The
threat of Russian aggression is not bad dream.
It is with us and in all probability it will remain
with us for years to come. We can meet 1t and
turn it back only if we are willing to govern
ourselves accordingly
The report, productionwise, is relatively op
timistic It offers a considerable amount of
information as to what has been done, what is
being done and what will be done. Mr.. Wilson
says that zone year from now, with unfiagging
determination and effort, we will have achieved
formidable strength in many phases of modern
warfare. Two years from now we should have
military and economic strength sufficient to give
us reasonable safety against aggression" He
thinks it is possible that by early 1858 some or
all controls can be taken off and that more
effort can be devoted to production for civilian
needs.
The shadow of imitation, however, lies across
this rather rosy outlook. The damage done
already is great As the Senate House Economic
Committee puts 1t, imitation "has knocked out
of the sky large fraction Of the airplanes
which our taxes might otherwise have bought"
And the same thing applies, of course, to all
Government purchases, military and military
as well as to our own personal buying.
Mr. Wilson is fully aware of this danger.
He calls upon each American to do his part,
while pointing out that "some Americans are
still more concerned with loosening the part of
the control program that affects them than with
tightening up the whole operation. The report
has this to say on the point: "The success of
our production effort demands that we win the
battle against imitation To win that battle calls
for subordination of selfish ends to the common
welfare in measure beyond what is commonly
demanded in any period short of actual war. It
calls for fair presentation of its claims by every
segment of society, an open and willing partic-
patton by all concerned, and readiness to abide
by decisions which are arrived at through fair
and honest means. It calls for every organized
group to consider the welfare and just demands
not only of other organized groups but of the
unorganized, the consumer the public as
whole"
This appeal is general in character, but,
presumably, was aimed primarily at those labor
leaders who have been sulking in their tents
when they have not been taking pot shots at
MFR. Wilson. He is appealing in this report for
their cooperation. But it does not look as
though he is going to get it.
Out in Cleveland, the powerful CIO United
Auto Workers is holding its annual meeting. And
CIO President Philip Murray, after denouncing
the 10 per cent limit on new wage increases, said
that the Defense Production Act, under which
MIR. Wilson operates, is the "most iniquitous and
discriminatory act ever passed by Congress It
seems incredible after all that Mr.. Murray has
said over the years, but evidently he thinks it
is even worse than the Taft-Hartley Act. UAW
President Walter Reuther after ringing all the
changes in denouncing the mobilization pro-
gram went on to say without saying why, that
ut would be a disservice to the war effort" If
labor should "even remotely think of giving a
no-strike pledge"
The tone of these two speeches, which were
representative does not promise Mr.. Wilson
much in the way of cooperation on any basis
except labor's terms. For Mr.. Wilson this means
disappointment and perhaps failure of the con-
troll program. And failure of the control program
means that the general public-all people who
are not in a position to demand what they want
and get twill paY through the nose 1