Letter from Senator Harry S. Truman to Judge Lewis Schwellenbach

Washington, D. c. July 29, 1942 Honorable Lewis B. Schwellenbach United States District Judge Spokane, Washington Dear Lew: I envy those three members of the Special Committee their visit with you. I wanted to come very badly, but the situation in Missouri and the steel situation here in Washington kept me on the job. Senator Hatch, I think, is probably doing too much, but you know how these Senators are. It is hand to keey them from working when the country is in an emergency such, is now, and Hatch's judgment is certainly needed at this time. You are very kind to say thit the Committee is doing a good << job. We are in a much more Collinate position now, so far as the reputa- tion of the Committee is concerned than we were when I was lucky enough to be able to pay you a visit Dast rear. We have created a feeling of confidence, both in the Venate and with the public, that we must make every effort to maintain. ane bad tactical error, politicallor otherwise, can ruin the whole structure much more easily now than it could have done when we were first Marting. I am always glad to have your views on any subject, and I will be particularly pleased if you will frankly tell me what your reaction, and the general reaction as you get it, is to the things which we are trying to do as a Committee. The steel situation is much worse than the aluminum or copper or lead. We have been sending tremendous quantities, of course, to Russia for their plane program, and we have had immense amounts of that cargo steel buried at the bottom of the Atlantic. That actually is the main reason for our domestic shortage right at this time. The funda- mental reason is, however, that the steel people used the same tactics to maintain control as the aluminum and copper people did. United States Steel and Bethlehem and the group known as Little Steel were very reluctant to do any expanding, and they are extremely anxious not to open any new ore beds for the reason that they fear compe- tition when the war is over. The aluminum people were very frank on that score, as were the big three who control copper.