Evening star., 1940-10-11
U. 5. Seeks Ways
To Speed Production
For National Defense
: Plant Expansion Needed.
Knudsen Says; Army
Rushes Plane Orders
BY BLAIR BOLLES.

The administration today is In the
midst of exploring new methods OF
speeding the country's industrial ex-
pansion for de1ense-a problem
brought into the open by William S.
Knudsen, in charge of the National
Defense Advisory Commissions Pro-
duction Division, in his latest prog
ress report"
I'VE are getting production now
TO the extent tools are available, y
Mr.. Knudsen said, but the quanti-
ties of important items required are
so great that all facilities for making
heavy combat equipment must be
expanded to several times their
present size"
The War Department today
awarded an S81 ,569, ,14O order for air.
plane engines to the Wright Aero
nautical Corp, Paterson, N. j., in
part of which the Navy will share.
Plane Plants on Full Shift.
This is the first contract settled
since the War Departments work
to-the- limit" order issued yesterday
to all planemakers and plane-en-
ginemakers in the United States.
The factories concerned with max
ing this country impregnable in a
war in the air go now on a 24-hour
basis.
Citing the series of articles
published recently in The Star
showing that American aircraft
factories are working only approx
imately 65 per cent of the time,
Assistant Secretary of War Patter-
son told Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold,
chief of the Army Air Corps:
You are directed to take neces-
sary action forthwith to put all
plants manufacturing airplanes, air
plane engines and other accessories
to work at full production capacity.
Orders May Be Changed.
This means the adoption of three
shifts or some equivalent of over
time work. To the extent that this
will require changes in orders, you
are authorized to change orders to
manufacturers involved"
To help the plane-making speed
UP, the American production of
aluminium, a metal vital to the air.
plane industry, will be stepped up
from 1926 100000 pounds in 1889 to
700000,000 pounds in 1912, through
new factories and power facilities,
the Defense Commission announced.
Edward r. Stettinius, jr., head of
the commissions Raw Materials
Division, said that IAN adequate
supply of bauxite, principal raw ma
terial used in the manufacture of
aluminium ingots, is available to this
country to last eight
years. Most of it comes from Dutch
Guiana in South America.
The Federal power projects in the
Bonneville and T. V. A. regions are
contributing toward expanding
aluminium production facilities, the
Defense Commission said.
Statement on Aluminium.
The commissions announcement
said:
The Aluminium Co. of America,
et present the sole producer of
tngot aluminium in this country,
will add three new units to its
Bonneville (WashD plant, which will
increase production by 100000
pounds a year, and will obtain ap-
proximately 100000 kilowatts of ad-
ditional power from the Bonne-
vile authority to supply these
plants.
"A new unit of the company's
plant at Alcoa, Tenn, will begin
operations early in 1941 and other
units in the T. V. A. districts will
come into production during the
early part of 1912"
The Aluminium Co. of America has
fled with the Federal Power Com
mission a declaration of its inten-
ton TO build a hydro-electric power
project at Fontana, N. c., close to
its Alcoa plant. The Reynolds
Metals Co. is planning production
Dl lIlSOG dlulllilluli Will tiiC oiu Va q
s15,8OO,OOO loan from the R. F. c.,
expecting production to start by
July, 1941, at a plant it is establish
ing at Sheffield. Ala.
Knudsen Satisfied.
Mr.. Knudsen, despite his concern
over the slowness with which tools
are being made available for the
great industrial expansion needed
for the defense drive, indicated his
satisfaction that progress was as
great as could be expected.
"Everything has been done at the
start" Mr.. Knudsen said, Ito use
factories that have equipment which
can be used so employment could
increase and reduce the number OF
men looking for work.
This has been accomplished to
the extent that at least 100000 men
are employed over what we had on
July /. This will increase still more
in the next few months, and I ex-
pect that employment will reach its
peak in July, 194l.