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Show Plan for Local Offices To Aid Demobilization Vets' and Civilians' Problems Would Be Tackled in Own Communities; Re-Employment Re-Employment Is Major Goal. By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator. fi'XTJ Service, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. These days it is popular to criticize criti-cize Democratic methods for their lack of speed. The legislative mills do grind slowly as we have noted, with many of the measures delaying delay-ing readjustment to the peace to come. But in the case of the first steps toward preparing for demobilization de-mobilization which have brought up such hearty disagreements, it so happens that, quite unobserved by most observers, the machinery has been grinding steadily ahead just the same. This was achieved by executive order, and, on the surface at least, It appears that work has been done while congress was disagreeing. Since February 24, when the executive execu-tive order creating it was issued, the Retraining and Reemployment administration ad-ministration has established more than 8,000 information centers which will be the contact point with discharged dis-charged veterans and war workers. It also erected the framework of a lystem which can be expanded to take eare of the peak demands when demobilization starts in earnest. These information centers are the vital points of contact between government gov-ernment agencies and the citizen, veteran or civilian who is starting on the road back to peacetime existence. The philosophy back of this whole readjustment plan is based on the idea that a man or woman can best be served by his own friends and neighbors. The government, local or federal, helps, but the local community com-munity whose own prosperity depends de-pends on the prosperity and happiness happi-ness of its members, is the best of guides, philosophers and friends. The Retraining and Reemployment Reemploy-ment administration is the child of the Baruch-Hancock report, which is I lengthy document embodying the results of a long study and presented as a suggestion for appropriate legislation. Since the lawmakers were slow in their law-making, the President issued his executive order under his war powers. He put the new administration under un-der the office of 'War Mobilization, Its head, Mr. Byrnes, named General Gen-eral Hines, head of the Veterans administration, as Administrator of the Retraining and Reemployment 6etup. New Agency Works With Other U. S. Bodies Under General Hines was created ft policy board made up of representatives repre-sentatives of the various government govern-ment agencies whose functions fit Into the picture, the purpose being to make use of existing government agencies insofar as possible rather than to create new ones. The agencies agen-cies represented on the board are: labor, federal security, war manpower, man-power, selective service, the war department, de-partment, navy department, war production board. This board has general supervision super-vision of all activities affecting the returned veteran or the discharged war worker and it consults with congress con-gress on matters which would promote pro-mote the processes of readjustment. Specifically this is a large order for it involves getting jobs, getting the right job for the right man; training for jobs, training the right man for the right job and assuring an expert and sympathetic handling of the process, from the human as well as the economic standpoint. It also deals with all the multifold benefits and rights of the GI Bill of Rights, already dealt with at length In these columns. The man on whom most of the responsibility for carrying out the administration's work has fallen so far is C. W. Bailey, executive secretary sec-retary of the policy board. Following the theory of utilization of existing agencies, the board immediately, im-mediately, turned to the three government gov-ernment agencies which were already al-ready engaged in activities similar to those, or including those which the R & R has to do, namely, selective selec-tive service with its 6,500 offices in all parts of the country through which virtually everyone who entered en-tered the armed services had to pass; the United States Employment Employ-ment service, with its 1,500 full time offices which have been the main channels carrying the war workers to their jobs, and finally the Vet erans administration with its hundred hun-dred offices with a personnel experienced ex-perienced in handling ex-soldiers' claims since the end of World War I. Committees were appointed in the various states composed of representatives repre-sentatives of these agencies, whose function was to assist in the creation of the information centers. In many states these committees have been able to report that the organization of these smaller groups is now adequate ade-quate to handle the present load; in other states the completion of the organization is underway. Mr. Bailey tells me that he feels that a national framework has been constructed con-structed upon which the complete organization can be raised as demobilization de-mobilization begins and war industries indus-tries are cut down. This is the organization which has been functioning under the executive execu-tive order. It is taken for granted that it will be continued in function if not in exact form, and of course provided with adequate funds for expansion, ex-pansion, by current or future legislation. legis-lation. But the point is that in the intermin action has been taken, without with-out working for the legislative bodies to deliberate and adumbrate while the readjustment program merely marked time. Administration Eager To Make Good Showing Since the Democratic administration administra-tion is open to sharp criticism if any phase of the adjustment program pro-gram drags, considerable effort will be made to show results. Pressure applied to congress to hurry the legislation was exerted, too, with the Republicans perhaps in the less advantageous position since the original measure offered by the administration ad-ministration was considerably altered, al-tered, first in the senate and later in the house. When the President was asked for comment on Governor Dewey's charge that the New Deal was afraid of the peace because it was uncertain uncer-tain that the economic problems would be satisfactorily solved, the President merely said we could say that he smiled broadly. j Meanwhile, some members of the ! administration not sure whether smiles were in order have been out in the field attempting to find out just what has been accomplished toward opening the way to full employment, em-ployment, which is generally admitted ad-mitted to be the one sure answer to the danger of a depression. The work of the Retraining and Reemployment Reem-ployment administration if it can show a good record can be an example ex-ample of one of the first concrete steps. Reports of the informal investigators investiga-tors have not been made public. We do know that in some communities the local people have responded well. Many energetic mayors and chambers of commerce are ready and anxious to show their local industries in-dustries the benefit of the possibilities possibili-ties of expansion. They have been active in making plans which will get the returned veteran or war- -worker a job, or get him in contact with the proper source for training which will make him a potential benefit to the community. In such places the committees are quickly and easily formed and are prepared to function in some cases are already al-ready functioning effectively. After all, the federal government, by a unanimous vote in congress, produced the GI Bill of Eights, that welfare program opening a thousand thou-sand effective channels for human readjustment, physical, moral, intellectual in-tellectual and economic, to normal life, to millions of servicemen. It devolves upon their friends and neighbors to see that their benefits remain the benefits of the community com-munity rather than lose them to some more energetic society or, by complete neglect, to oblivion. Total federal ' receipts '" jumped from $22,700,000,000 in ' fiscal 1943 to $40,500,000,000 in 1944, an in-creasa in-creasa of 78.7 per cent, according to a recent U. S. treasury report. Analysis of the report by the Federation Fed-eration of Tax Administrators shows that more than $33,000,000,000 of the 1944 total, or 81.4 per cent, was brought in by income and excess profits taxes. All other taxes yielded about $7,500,000,000, almost equaling equal-ing the total federal receipts in 1941. |
