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The Face-to-Face War Information Service of the Federal Government

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Walter H. C. Laves
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Extract

The face-to-face war information program of the federal government came to a close on July 15, 1943. On this date the Organizations Service Division of the Office of Civilian Defense was abolished by James A. Landis, director of OCD. Thus ended the last remaining organized effort of the national government to insure full civilian understanding of the war through methods found only in democratic countries, viz., discussions, forums, town meetings, etc. This change in the conduct of the war deserves the attention of political scientists and others interested in the operations of democratic government. The way in which the program was conceived, the manner in which it was administered, as well as the deliberate way in which it was abolished, throw important light on the home-front policies of the government. They also indicate the prospects for a democratic civic education program in the United States.

Origin of the Face-to-Face War Information Program. The Organizations Service Division was established in the Office of Civilian Defense by Administrative Order No. 30, dated January 4, 1943. The face-to-face war information program, which was the primary responsibility of the Organizations Service Division, had been delegated to OCD after a series of negotiations extending from June 12 to December 15, 1942, and involving the Office of War Information; Coördinator of Inter-American Affairs, OCD, Office of Education, and the Bureau of the Budget.

Type
American Government and Politics
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 37 , Issue 6 , December 1943 , pp. 1027 - 1040
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1943

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References

1 Prior to the establishment of the program described herein, the Office of Education had carried on extensive public forum projects and adult education activities. Reference should also be made to the program of the Coördinator of Inter-American Affairs to further public understanding of the other American republics. This program includes grants to inter-American centers, scholarships, exchange of scholars, Spanish-teaching projects, motion pictures, pamphlets, radio programs, etc.

2 OCD Administrative Order No. 35 abolished the O.S. Division as of July 15, but Mr. Landis had indicated in a letter of June 21 to Senator McKellar that he was not asking funds for continuing the Division.

3 The importance of national organizations to furthering an understanding of the war effort had been recognized by the Office of Facts and Figures by the creation of a national organizations unit, and later by OCD, when this unit was transferred there from OFF. In the Office of the Coördinator of Inter-American Affairs, likewise, close relations had been maintained with these organizations. The staff and functions of all these units were, however, very small.

4 The following is a partial list of the programs on which the Organizations Service Division provided information: Farm labor, victory gardens, point rationing, price compliance, conservation, transportation, fuel oil, child care, recreation, school staffs and facilities, nurses' aides, school health and sanitation, family welfare, social protection, nutrition.

5 The Program Coördination Division of OWI ultimately adopted a similar set of themes concerned with civilian mobilization.

6 Hearings, Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, 78th Cong., 1st Sess., National War Agencies Appropriations Bill for 1944, Part I; Hearings, Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, 78th Cong., 1st. Sess., on H. R. 2968.

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