Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

Tensions Mount 209
some controls on industrial production were initiated; and a system
of priorities was established in the attempt to assure that
fi rms producing military equipment and supplies could obtain
the materials they needed. 16
Th e Offi ce of Production Management, headed by William S.
Knudsen, Sidney Hillman, Stimson, and Knox, was established on
January 7, 1941. On February 20, FDR’s personal aide, Harry L.
Hopkins, was appointed to a newly created Production Planning
Board. By executive order of February 24, the production of aluminum
and machine tools was granted government priority. On
February 25, “in the interest of national defense,” export licensing
procedures were instituted for a long list of items, and the list was
lengthened substantially in March and April. A National Defense
Mediation Board was formed on March 19, to mediate strikes of
labor-union members in defense industries. Th e Offi ce of Price
Administration and Civilian Supply, headed by Leon Henderson,
was set up on April 11. Th e Offi ce of Civilian Defense was organized
on May 20, with New York Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia
in charge.
Th en on May 27 FDR declared an “unlimited national emergency.”
By this declaration the president gained control over
labor, management, and other elements of the economy. Also, his
authority to eliminate internal strife and to suppress subversive
activities was increased. Th e “emergency” agencies continued to
proliferate. On May 31 Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes was
appointed to the newly created position of petroleum coordinator
for national defense. As of June 2 “mandatory priorities of
wartime scope” were imposed on industry. On June 25 U.S. air
16 U.S. House Committee on Foreign Aff airs. Events Leading up to World War
II: Chronological History of Certain Major International Events Leading up to
and During World War II with the Ostensible Reasons Advanced for their Occurrence,
1931-1944, 78th Cong., 2nd sess., 1944, p. 216, September 8 entry. Th e
dates in this and the following paragraphs are taken from the 1942 World
Almanac.