Evening star., 1940-07-07
American Industry
Speeds Up 10 Meet
TotaIitarian Pace
Men, Money, Machines
Poured Into Gigantic
Task Of Reurmument
Continued From First Page.)


Continued From First Page.)
cal items of materiel, where it can
be absorbed by industry, promotes
the broadening of the base of pro-
duction and stimulates the rapidity
with which such articles can be
turned out"
Army Started With S47, 7,000, 900. 3
Here are some of the things which
the Army, Navy and industry, with
out waiting on the recently created
Defense Commission. have done in
broadening the production base:
First, the Army. 1t started the
congressional season with a modest
grant of s47,000,00o for critical sup
plies.
In the list were such things as
l31,789 semi-automatic rifles which
1t hoped to acquire by June, 1912;
744 new anti-tank guns, to be de-
livered in June, 1941; IA new 90
millimeter anti-aircraft guns, Sep
tember, 1910, and 3s2 light tanks,
June, 1941.
That list was compiled only last
May l. Today it's wholly out of
date. Congress has since provided
nearly billion dollars for new Army
equipment, not including planes,
for which $4,000 goal has been set.
Col. James H. Burns, procurement
expert in the War Department. says:
Three important steps have been
taken to increase productive ca
pacity:
al. The placing of large orders
with arsenals and commercial plants
''' Congress has provided mil
lions for large orders.")
40 Creation of additional capacity
to fill the gaps and deficiencies of
present productive capacity =:
CThe Government is putting up
perhaps s432, 100000 to expedite
arms production)
IS. Preparation of existing indus
tries through planning and through
educational orders and factory plans
for the further production needed
for a more extensive effort. $780,
100000 is forthcoming for industrial
mobilization.)
Additional Capacity Needed.
"But. says Col. Burns, 'if We in
tend to prepare this country for
major national defense effort within
the next two years, a further step
Is vitality necessary, we must start
at once the creation of additional
capacity 80
Capacity is negligible" he says,
In such items as ammunition, fire
control, tanks, armor, airplanes, en-
gines. Capacity for high explosives
Is 20 to 30 million pounds a year,
as compared with 100 million at the
end of the World War. Aircraft
capacity, doubled in the last year,
must be doubled again or trebled
to reach $4,000 planes year.
For such a major effort, Col.
Burns told Congress. $558,000, 900
should be spent on ordnance plants,
$35 100000 on chemical warfare
plants, s5,500,000 on Quartermaster
Corps plants, and 1854 900 900 on
aircraft factories-a total of $685.
000, 1000, of which $597 900 900 would
be needed for tools and equipment.
The moment Congress passed an
IL per cent naval expansion bill
this spring, the Navy was ready to
launch the program. 1t was given
68 ships to build and expects to see
them all afloat early in 1914,
Money "Bottleneck" Eliminated.
Now the program has been ex-
panded again, and Congress has ap-
proved a plan for nearly doubling
the Navy's tonnage and making it
In six years the greatest fleet the
world has ever seen.
When asked by Congress what the
principal "bottleneck" in naval ship
building was, Rear Admiral Samuel
M. Robinson promptly said, Mon
ey." Next he put labor, and third,
facilities.
The money is assured now by
a S4,000.000,000 authorization for
doubling of the fleet.
Before that stunning amount was
even whispered navy yards were
ordered to proceed to a two-shift
basis, with three shifts in view, and
to add $1,000 men to their civilian
forces of 28,800 within three months.
1t would take nine months ito get
the full effect" of three shifts, said
Admiral Robinson, but I'VE will be
feeling the effect of it from the
beginning"
Duplication Saves Building Time.
With ample money, he said, the
Navy could cut six or seven months
from the four years it takes to
build battleship. On some ships,
he added, it also could save eight
months by duplicating ships already
built. Duplication, he added, "is
an integral part of the new pro-
gram"
Also an integral part was the
authority to negotiate contracts for
ships without waiting months for
competitive bids-authority which
retiring Secretary of the Navy Edi-
son gained from Congress in the
last week of his term, after three
years OF trying.
AS for facilities, the eight navy
yards and seven civilian yards in
the United States now have 81 ways
which are being or have been used
for the construction Of warships.
There are II for battleships, which
take four years to build; II for
cruisers, three years; 25 for de-
stroyers, two to three years. and 9
for submarines, two to two and one
half years.
Aircraft Carriers Planned.
Among the 200 ships in the s4,-
600, 100000 program might be nine
battleships, five aircraft carriers
(Which require battleship ways, "a
cruisers, 122 destroyers and 20 sub
marines.