Show r ommittee r Completes Report I.- I. Congressional al Group Provides for Action bY Legislation Rather Than Executive I. I Decree Small Business Gets Break 4 By News Analyst and Commentator Service UnIon Trust Building Building- I. I F i Washington D. D C. C At a recent White House press and radio conference the President In talking of certaIn measures he had recommended to benefit men and women leaving the armed service explained that lon long before the demobilization de- de mobilization of the fighting forces actually ac- ac begins many veterans are demobilized who for military or other reasons are returned to civil life One million have already been dIscharged and the process continues continues contin- contin ues while others are being taken into the service To some degree this process Is paralleled by other forms of demobilization demo demo- and congress has realized that the machinery for reconverting the American economy to peace time operation must be set up im- im mediately One group a special committee on postwar economic policy pot pot- icy and planning of which Senator George is the chairman has finished its first report which deals with cancellation of war contracts disposition dis dis- position and sale of surplus property proper proper- ty and industrial demobilization and conversion Quite asIde from the content of the report the document is important tant for three reasons First It provides for action by legislation leg leg- rather than by executive decree decree de- de cree and envisions a board whose first responsibility is to congress rather than to the Chief Executive An n Important step in returnIng to the natural processes of democracy interrupted by the war Second it has been written with a realization that in the re shuffling of industry small business must get a break It is quite probable that Senator Murray who has taken the troubles of small business under his wings will contribute considerably to the bill which will be introduced to implement the purpose of the report N Political Non Expert Third and very important Is the fact that the report was coordinated and probably largely wr written by a ar r I. I paid political non expert hired out of the committee funds as its coun- coun t. t Eel seI Similar assistance Is always utilized by the tax committee where highly technical knowledge is essential essen- essen and It has long been the feeling of Senator George and others that one onEt of the great weaknesses of congressional con con- conI I gressional procedure Is the lack of expert stall staff assistance for this type of work the gand and correlating correlating corre- corre lating of the information brought out in the hearings and the contributions of the various committees and the facts and opinions resulting from the investigations and the special knowledge knowledge knowl- knowl edge of the individual l members As a small group of us newsmen and women sat in the committee committee- room and questioned Scott Russell the counsel we were impressed with his grasp of the subject and the way he separated political opinion from the factual content and the int inI in- in t of the various I paragraphs para para- graphs as he r read ad them over to us or we questioned rum him concerning them Russell was a former district attorney in Georgia and he was also president of one of the largest busInesses busI busI- S nesses in the South the Bibbs Manu company haired Gray but young looking and vigorous with an easy sense commonsense approach Russell gave you the feeling he knew what he w was s talking about Business and Government But regardless of the merits of this particular case It seems to me mee e rather significant that the thinking l leaders in congress of whom there are always many realize the importance Ira im- 4 of getting to use a somewhat somewhat some some- what shopworn expression in its best sense more busIness into govern govern- I ment business in the sense of businesslike and efficient procedure not the bias of any particular bus busi- busi ness I have gone into some detail in previous columns in regard to the importance of small business In the American economy I will on only y say here that Senator Murray although not a member of this committee was called In for consultation and nd undoubted undoubtedly a part of his legislative thinking will be incorporated Into the bill which I Imagine will be introduced Introduced In- In before this is printed 1 Already the giants are battling I. I Efforts are being made by the big manufacturers to assure themselves that when converted war industries resume their peacetime work they will not be thrust into competition with prewar industries which can make the same product The report of this committee recognizes recognizes rec- rec this danger and also the need of handling the sale of surpluses surpluses sur- sur pluses in such a manner that they will not flood the market so that the regular producer will have to meet an unnatural competition The report of the committee visualizes visualizes the need of regulating such conditions and there are many which must be foreseen and met meL meLI I will not go into the details of the report which Is a straightforward he statement who runs may read it without encountering the usual and the other Impedimenta menta which many legal documents contain and which makes them quite safe from the danger of perusal by bythe tile the layman Board Recommended Briefly a board is recommended The President would appoint the administrator administrator ad- ad subject to confirmation by the senate The administrator would pick his own staff not representatives representatives of any group but men of special ability fit to represent the United States as a whole men chosen chosen cho- cho sen for their outstanding This board would report to congress a congressional committee commit commit- tee would keep its eye on the reports and its members would sit in at attile atthe tile the board meetings The board would not be an operatIng operating Ing agency It would be purely administrative ad- ad making use of the existing existing ex- ex government It would be called the Office of Demobilization For the duration it would be a subsidiary of the afterward it would be supreme suo su- preme in its field The importance of this action as asfar I far as the general public is concerned concerned con con- is Is this It represents one of the first steps of congress looking toward taking back its policy making powers which of necessity have been delegated to the administrative branch and does so in a most vital field of endeavor It is pointed out that these policy making powers as applied to conversion may affect the economy of the nation for many years to come For instance as Russell put it in the interview gress doesn't any anyone one man or any anyone one agency to decide such vital issues as to whether the govern ment remains in the rubber making business whether we shall have a large merchant marine or a small one Important P Points ints Briefly here are some of the points wl which ch the committee recommends I 1 That demobilization should beso be beo so o handled as to preserve free en- en 2 That full employment be as- as 3 That owned government or controlled controlled con con- trolled plants be disposed of In a away away way as not to affect the nati national nal economy adversely 4 That disposal of government government- owned plants should be in line with American foreign policy with the prevention of monopoly with the encouragement en- en encouragement of full competition and small business 5 No plants oi or surpluses disposed of where their existence is vital to the national economy or such disposal disposal dis- dis it adversely or under conditions which would make it impossible ira im- possible for the small business to acquire them And this word of wisdom is added The shutting down of factories the stoppages of work and the Unemployment unemployment un- un employment of workers through delays delays de- de lays in contract settlements will cause far greater loss of revenue to the government to say nothing of 01 general than economy could possibly bly be saved through conventional pre audit of contractors claims In other words the laws law's delay will be expensive It will be interesting to see It if the lawmakers themselves cause unnecessary essary delay in this undertaking In In- Intelligent and unselfish consideration and action Is the keyword to a just realization of practical example of planning |