| Show Writer Declares Declare Cabal Cabal Plans to Use Army I n j In Political Maneuvers i Coup Aims to Give Somervell Somer Control I Of Military Production Through Ouster I Of Marshall Says Capital Newsman By y William K Copyright 1943 by I INS N S WASHINGTON Sept 25 A 25 A group of influential White House advisers are planning Saturday to give Lieutenant Brehon Somervell Somer Somer- yell veIl personal control of the expenditure expenditure ex ex- of in the coming year by a complete reorganization reorganization of the entire army production production production pro pro- front I This domestic coup is the objective behind the cabals cabal's efforts to oust General George C. C Marshall I from his post as army chief of staff and kick him upstairs to toa a glorified but powerless world command over Anglo-American Anglo forces Informed sources say the motive is to use the army's vast production production production tion program excepting aircraft as a political weapon in the 1944 presidential campaign Aircraft now bossed exclusively by General H. H H. H Arnold army air chief may be included later Some observers believe the cabal also intends to build up upI Somervell as an army running mate for Mr Roosevelt on a I fourth term ticket to to offset offset the possible Republican nomination of General General Douglas MacArthur There is on evidence whatever Continued on Page PaRe Two Column Four f Writer Says Cabal Plan Plans to Ato Use 1 I Army in Political fV a Maneuvers vers I I from trues f rare t OM Os th that th J either President Roosevelt or or I General Marshall ha hll has ever heard I of the purpose or potential effect lot of the plot Knowledge of ot It ho how how- t lever ever IO has hu spread terror through I Ithe the highest ranks of the Ute war department de de- It can be stopped by the pre president prest- prest dent refusing to oust out General Marshall from hi his hb present control of the army Marshalls Marshall's friends know he would prevent any political po po- po manipulation of ot army affair af at af- af fair fairs That is why the cabal is determined to out oust him It can be stopped by congress re regardless ardless of ot Marshalls Marshall's fate The group sponsoring this plan is composed of ranking high civil and army who are known to be the political of ot Supreme Supreme Su Su- Su- Su preme Court Justice Felix Frank Frank- furter The coup U is to be accomplished pUshed by abolishing all production production tion activities by the seven highly skilled technical supply service services and transferring their purchasing power to the army anny service ervice forces which Somervell now heads All these technical services services- now are grouped under Somervell but he has no control over their expenditures contract negotiations negotiation or production sched ached ules Command Abolishment Actual regulation of ot production production production tion will be turned over to the army service command But the present nine service commands are areto areto areto to be abolished and six new ones I created in various production I areas with six Ix ix political generals named to command the new areas I The present technical experts heading the seven technical supply services will be made armchair generals handling routine paper work They ar are to be stripped of all authority over production of the war instruments In which they have specialized for tor years The cabal made this certain by preparing preparing preparing pre pre- paring a new form of contract which eliminates the technical service services from all contacts with construction matters This elimination elimination nation was made doubly certain by bya a notation on n the new form It Itself U- U self which reads according to toone toone toone one person who ho saw it No copies copie of these contracts will be sent to the offices of the chiefs of the technical services for review or any other action Leaders of the cabal will defend their plot by contending that they thoy propose to streamline antiquated war department production machinery machinery machinery ma ma- chinery in order to speed up pro pro- But their actual proposal proposal proposal pro pro- is to eliminate the present commodity organization production production tion system and substitute a functional tune tunc organization Prominent Industrialists long have derided any claim that a functional organization can out out- prod produce e a commodity tion The army's present commodity commodity com corn organization was drafted from the successful production practices of the Searl Sears Roebuck Roebuck Ford General Motors and Du Pont de Nemours companies Industrialists Industrialists Industrialists Indus Indus- say most functional organizations organizations or or- have failed The greatest production failure of all time was that of the war I department Itself In the first World war It failed to get a single r built American airplane to France I before the armistice no American artillery ever eer reached United States troop troops in France forcing them to borrow French 76 no made American artillery ammunition j tIon Uon ever reached them And the I Iwar I war department operated on a I I functional organization basis In production It was because of thesy the sy systems system's tem's frightful failure that thit the I department subsequently adopted 1 he present commodity organization organization I tion system after long conferences conferences confer confer- wit with successful industrial industrial- On top of this the seven technical technical technical cal supply services have ha been negotiating ne nee ne- ne contracts locally through regional offices scattered all over the United State States This Thi practice ha has haa served to eliminate red tape delay and bottlenecks the result being a stupendous s increase In pro pro- The cabal would eliminate this successful decentralized procurement procurement procure procure- ment program centering final authority authority authority au au- au- au back In Washington and making six Ix ix service command gen responsible for tor production in their own areas This would be a complete reversal of ot General Marshall's Marshalls Marshalls Marshall's Marshalls Marshall's Mar Mar- shall's conviction that Decentralization of ot authority was an imperative requirement for tor forthe or orthe the tremendous war expansion One nationally known industrial Industrial- industrialist 1st asked for his opinion as to the effect of shifting army production production tion from a commodity to a functional basis during wartime replied Could Lose War Var It will lose the war It would be the most monumental mistake in the history of our country Only fools or worse would advocate It It would bring production to a state of collapse within six months month It would cost us the price of vie vic tory There is one fact that links the cabal cabals plot to give Somervell a kitty during an election year and the cabals cabal's plot to oust General Marshall as chief of staff taft It is a secret order issued through Somervell directing that the new production system be placed In effect on September 15 10 last This order was issued after the Quebec conference at which the president and Prime Minister Churchill agreed to make Marshall commander in chief of all aU Anglo Anglo- American forces That secret or order er was withdrawn before September 15 16 in even greater great great- er secrecy with further action on onIt onit onit it postponed from day to day after the September 15 16 deadline passed This delay in reissuing the order I is attributed by responsible authorIties authorities authorities author author- to the presidents president's failure to announce Marshalls Marshall's removal as asI chief of staff and transfer r to the I glorified desk job in London |
