Crawford's argument with Nielsen over plans for production of diesel engines and tractor chassis didn't last long. After two or three minutes, they reached a consensus not to include the needs of the Soviets in the "victory" plan for the time being, but only to explain them accordingly in the supplementary memorandum.

The simple reason is that both Nelson and Crawford felt that the list of Stalin's material aid needs that Hopkins brought back from Moscow last month was not sufficient to base a "victory" plan. In Nelson's words, Hopkins, the former head of the Federal Relief Agency, was definitely fooled by Stalin.

And Crawford, a veteran of many foreign arms aid efforts, didn't have much of a sense of the sheer numbers on that list. Compared to the scale of the current Soviet-German war, 3,200 aircraft, 4,000 tanks, 20,000 machine guns or anything is not too much. But, like the vast majority of current Army officers, he did not believe that the Soviets would not only be able to withstand the German attack, as Hopkins claimed, but also deal a heavy blow to the other side.

After all, at this time in August 1941, all the bad news came back from the Soviet-German battlefield, and the Soviets showed no sign of being able to stop the German armored army.

In Smolensk, the Germans had just cleared the encirclement of Soviet troops, and the 16th, 19th, and 20th armies of the Red Army were almost completely annihilated. The last gate to Moscow - Yelnya has fallen into the hands of the Germans. In Ukraine, 800,000 men of the four armies of the Soviet Southwestern Front have been cut off from retreat and trapped in the triangle of Chernihiv, Kiev and Nejen, and it is only a matter of time before they are eliminated.

Most members of the U.S. military felt that Stalin would most likely not be able to resist Hitler's glare, and that he might have to kneel before this winter. Therefore, the aid to the Soviet Union is just a posturing, and when the time comes, it is good to symbolically give a little tatters, as they did to the Finns during the Soviet-Finnish war.

In fact, if Roosevelt had not issued an order on the 2nd of this month to "lift the freeze on $40 million in deposits in the Soviet Union after the Soviet-Finnish war and allow the Soviet government to use the money to purchase the necessary strategic materials", Crawford would not have reminded Nelson that the needs of the Soviets should be taken into account in the "Victory" plan. After all, the nature of the $40 million material is not passed, it is not "free aid", but the Soviets themselves paid for it, and it is not easy to fool with broken copper and iron.

"Robert, are you busy this morning?" After reaching an agreement with Nelson, Crawford was about to say goodbye, but was stopped by John.

"It's okay. Why, are you going to invite me to dinner at noon? "Having known John for so many years, Crawford knows his character very well and speaks much more casually.

"That's right, it's been a long time since we've had a meal together." John happily finalized the lunch meal: "You can decide the place, it's better to be simple, I have to go to the White House in the afternoon, I can't be late." ”

"No problem, wrap it up on me. Come to me when you're done, my office is in the second room on the east side of the third floor. With that, Crawford got up and walked to the door.

After seeing Crawford off, John went on to have an "in-depth" exchange with Nelson on some of the difficult issues in the "Victory" plan. Take, for example, the acute shortage of skilled workers in the aircraft industry. This problem is not only a headache for Nielsen, but also for the bosses of the aerospace manufacturing industry. Since the end of last year, several major aircraft manufacturing companies have been torn up several times in order to compete for skilled workers from some small companies.

"John, you must know how scarce skilled workers are now. In its current form, not to mention Roosevelt's target of producing 4.5 aircraft per year, it is difficult to say whether it can be achieved even if it is the original plan of 28,600 aircraft. It was rare to find a "sympathetic" friend, and Nelson couldn't help but complain to John.

"I understand, there were so many large aircraft manufacturing plants launched last year, and none of them were able to operate at full capacity." John also sighed, "Fort Worth's aviation industry base is good, and our Hughes Aircraft Company's factory there has not exceeded 70% of the design expectation. The operating rate of some workshops is less than 50%. ”

"If you want me to say, your current practice of relying on mergers to expand the number of skilled workers will produce quick results, but it will not solve the problem fundamentally. There are so many skilled workers in the national aviation manufacturing industry, and they have all been divided between you, and it is still not enough. "In the final analysis, the most effective solution is to strengthen technical training and expand the ranks of skilled workers," Nelson said. ”

John scratched his head, "Do you think we can't think of it?" The workers I have worked so hard to train with money, space, and equipment can easily poach people by raising their daily wages by 5 cents. Who will bother thanklessly to train workers for opponents. ”

Eventually, John's discussions with Nelson resulted in him voluntarily funding the opening of several mechanic training schools in California and Texas, promising to train at least 10,000 skilled workers by the end of 1942. Moreover, these training schools are not yet under the name of Hughes aircraft, but directly under the Military Industrial Production Committee.

In return, Nielsen delegated the actual operation of the schools to Hughes Aircraft Company with a stroke of the pen, and gave them a small and obscure project in the "Victory" program – technical training services for material recipients (as part of "after-sales services").

On the surface, John is doing Lei Feng again. In fact, it is nothing more than the wool coming out of the sheep. In any case, the investment in building a training school is not worth mentioning at all in terms of obtaining a stable supply of skilled workers. What's more, Nielsen also reciprocated the favor by giving him a key to the future international market. Hughes Aircraft can use this to brand itself on countries that cannot afford to build their own aviation industries, and cultivate in them the "good habits" of buying and using their own products.

By any measure, John made a lot of money. The only regret is that when he tentatively proposed to set up an independent foundation to operate the training school, and invited Nelson to "run" the foundation, he politely declined.

But it doesn't matter, Nielsen owner Robert Wood is almost 80 years old, and whether he wants to take over or start anew in the future, it is unlikely that he will turn down an olive branch extended by John. Anyway, the days ahead are still long, and John is confident that he and Nelson will have a strong enough bond of interest.

Leaving Nelson's office, John turned around and went to find Crawford. He was certainly not as simple as having a meal. First of all, as a member of the "Murder Committee", Crawford must have had a deep enough understanding of the "Victory" plan. His views and understandings were very useful to John.

Second, from his previous conversations with Nelson, John had a keen sense that the military's attitude towards Hopkins seemed to be somewhat unusual. In the afternoon, he will go to the White House to meet the legendary "shadow president" and work under him. Naturally, John wanted to inquire about the attitude of the military, especially the Army Staff.