THE WATCHDOG

The complex history of a campaign to ferret out profiteering and graft on the homefront during World War II.

Corruption among military contractors? No one will be shocked at the thought, not within living memory of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, it’s something of a revelation that in America’s most patriotic war since the Revolution, the corridors of Washington filled with “power brokers, lobbyists, and contractors” who sought to steer lucrative military contracts to themselves and their clients—and then often delivered substandard goods. Enter Harry Truman, at the beginning of the war an essentially unknown senator who immediately uncovered evidence of malfeasance. Equipped with a budget that, over the years, was less than $1 million to cover travel and salaries for a small staff, Truman proved a scourge to the profiteers. He and his investigators uncovered numerous examples of military camps built on entirely unsuitable sites—in swamps or on waterless plains, for example. Not all of his cases involved outright corruption so much as the military’s habit of handing out contracts without enough due diligence. Even so, many more involved the use of shortcuts with poor-quality materials that endangered the lives of service personnel. The investigations, writes NPR senior editor Drummond, had two significant effects. One was to elevate Truman in the public eye, drawing enough attention that Franklin Roosevelt finally—and somewhat reluctantly—offered him the job of vice president. The other was to save countless lives that might have been lost due to failed engines or broken hulls. Not all of the intended aims were achieved, including reallocating contracts to small companies rather than major corporations and investigating job-site discrimination against minority workers. Still, by the author’s insightful account, in the end, the Truman Committee delivered the goods, making the committee one of the federal government’s great success stories.

Drummond shines a light on a dark, forgotten corner of wartime history.