Evening star., 1940-08-28
Member Of the Associated Press.
Plane Contracts


Regardless of exactly how many
war planes have been contracted for
in the past one hundred days-and
this is question around which there
has revolved somewhat acrimonious
discussion and considerable confu-
sion lately-the fact remains that
much greater progress could have
been made in the airplane procure
ment program had industry. as the
President aptly put it at his press
conference yesterday, known where
it was going. Industry has not
known where it was going in the
defense program because Congress
has not yet settled such determining
factors as profit limitation and plant
cost amortization. Most manufac-
turers have evidenced a desire to CO.
operate to the fullest extent with the
National Defense Advisory Commits
sion in speeding production of mill
tary and naval equipment, according
to commission officials, but they can
not reasonably be expected to en-
bark upon large defense undertak-
ings when the business risks involved
are uncertain-when they do not
know in advance how much profit
they will be permitted to make, how
much taxes they must pay, how
much of their own capital they must
invest in plant expansions that
might, within a few years, become
white elephants. Congress Is making
slow headway with excess profits tax
legislation which, with proposed
plant amortization provisions recon-
mended by the commission, would
facilitate production. Although the
administration has been criticized
for tying up the excess profits tax
with the plant amortization legisla-
ton, Congress could have and should
have handled the program more ex-
peditiously than has been the case.
AS for figures on plane contracts
already let, the public can take its
choice-and any given set already
issued by responsible authorities will
probably be right, however much at
variance they may seem to be. The
estimates range from 343, publicized
by Senator Harry Byrd in his criti-
cism of defense delays, to 10,015, an
nounced by President Roosevelt at
his conference. The President ex-
planned the discrepancy as due to
differences in terminology and claS-
sification of planes and of plane
contracts. Senator Byrd's figure ap-
piled to combat planes for which
contracts were signed within the past
one hundred days. Mr.. Roosevelts
figure included training as well as
combat planes for which contracts
have been let, plus 1854 planes,
which, he said, are being constructed
under authority of letters Of in
tention," which are not formal con-
tracts. The Presidents total also
applies to planes being built under
contracts and authorizations ante
dating Sentaor Ryrd's one-hundred-
day period Of ejaculation.
More important than contract
statistics, however, is plane produc-
tion capacity-and here the picture
brighters. At the outbreak of the
European war, on September l a
year ago, the President said Ameri-
cas- production capacity for military
and naval planes was six thousand
a year. Today the rate has been
stepped up to ten thousand a year,
by January l it should be fourteen
thousand year, by the end of 1941
the rate is expected to be twenty
four thousand and early in 1912 the
Nations plane factories will be able
to turn out war craft at the rate of
thirty-six thousand a year. That is
approaching the Presidents hoped
for goal of fifty thousand planes a
year. The big "if" in this ambitious
program, of course, is the degree of
teamwork between the Government
and private industry. Mr.. Roosevelt
Is convinced that business is doing
all that can be expected of it, consid-
ering the handicaps which now con-
front it. 1t is now up to Congress to
remove as many of the handicaps as
possible, retaining, of course, reason
able governmental control of the
defense production machinery. I'M
mediate enactment of excess profits
tax legislation, with special conces-
sions to offset the inordinate risks
involved in launching emergency
defense enterprises, is imperative if
effective teamwork Is to be obtained.