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RELEASE ON DELIVERY SPEECH OF SENATOR HARRY S. TRUMAN OF MISSOURI IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE SEPTEMBER / 4, 1942 The Committee Investigating the National Defense Program, of which I am Chairman, has been following with the keenest interest the developments in the war program. The Committee has been very mindful of the fact that public criticism of major phases of the war effort might give aid and comfort to the enemy. Because of this, the Committee in recent months held as few public hearings as possible, and the bulk of its work has been done privately. The Committee will continue that policy, but there are some things the public is entitled to know, and TRUMAN unfortunately it is sometimes necessary to have the force of public opinion to insure results. a is APOHINES "INATIONAL ADMIN RECOROS AND in Scott This Committee was organized largely because of the waste that was reported in the defense program as it was being administered in the early part of 1941, particularly waste on construction jobs. One of the first tasks of the Committee was to investigate construction, and the Committee found an enormous amount of unnecessary waste, particularly in camp construction. The Committee recommended that camp construction should be transferred from the Quartermaster Branch of the War Department to the Engineering Corps. This was done, and a substantial improvement was obtained. But I am sorry to saythat waste was not eliminated either in camp construction or in the construction of defense plants. I am sure that there is not a member of Congress who has not received a number of letters from the people back home referring to the wasteful and extravagant methods of construction. Such abuses undermine the confidence