(Earlier hearings are contained in Parts 10 to 16 of hearings HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS. UNITED STATES SENATE SEVENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON S. 1730 THE LIBRARY OF MAY 1 1944 A BILL TO CREATE AN OFFICE OF DEMOBILIZATION, ESTABLISH 1 PROPERTY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES S. 1823 A BILL TO ESTABLISH AN OFFICE OF WAR MOBILIZATION AND 98534 PART 1 APRIL 26, 1944 Printed for the use of the Committee on Military Affairs UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1944 CONTENTS Statement of: Murray, Phillip E., president, Congress of Industrial Organizations__ 37 MOBILIZATION AND DEMOBILIZATION PROBLEMS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 1944 UNITED STATES SENATE, WAR CONTRACTS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10:30 a. m., pursuant to adjournment, in room 357, Senate Office Building, Senator James E. Murray (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Murray (chairman of the subcommittee) and George. We Also present: B. M. Gross, staff director, subcommittee. Senator MURRAY. Gentlemen, the hearing will come to order. are expecting other Senators; but they may be delayed. We have a long program this morning and I think we ought to get started now. I have a brief statement for the record. During the previous 3 weeks our War Contracts Subcommittee, assisted by members of Senator George's Post-War Planning Committee and of the House Judiciary Committee, has been hearing detailed testimony on the two post-war adjustment bills before the committee, S. 1730 and S. 1823. These hearings have brought out, in a very striking fashion, the fact that many basic national policies governing the conduct of the war and the transition from war to peace are completely unsettled. The result is confusion among the executive agencies of Government and uncertainty on the part of business, labor, and agriculture. Today, there is no clear policy on war production cut-backs. There is no adequate policy on the allocation of materials for civilian production. There are no settled policies on the disposal or utilization of surplus war property. Other hearings and investigations conducted by the committee have brought out the fact that there is no adequate policy or program on the control of costs under war contracts, whether cost-plus-fixed-fee or fixed price. This is a question of fundamental importance to our plans for post-war employment. Curtailing wasteful practices in war production will lead toward more efficiency in conversion to peace and toward the low price levels that are essential to peacetime prosperity. It is evident, therefore, that the Congress must soon provide clear policies for the guidance of the executive agencies on matters of war-production cut-backs, allocation of materials, surplus-property utilization, and the curtailment of wasteful practices under war |