The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1940-10-18
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United Featurrs
Washington, d. C.
WAR BASIS FOR INDUSTRY?


right now. Their argument is that
one reason why France fell was
that under a peace structure, she
could not mobilize her industry for
war production, had to declare war
to pep up the nation and did it all
leisurely and far too late. They say
also that business as usuaP' kept
England from getting ready soon
enough and, finally, ptheye point to
the snail-like slowness of our pres
ent rearmament program.
With all that about France, Eng
land and our slow progress, agree.
Perhaps I could agree also with the
conclusion about putting our indus
try on ''war basis" if ! knew what
the words mean-or if they did. OF
that ! am in doubt.
If it means that American indus.
try should now be put under indus
trial amateurs, I know of no more
certain way to slow or even para
lyze war production. If it means
that we should get some dynamic
and experienced leadership of the
industrial war effort and give it ap-
propriate authority, no comment
was ever more ignifcant-or more
correct.
That kind of leadership and adj
ministration would not, however, as
some of this comment suggests, be
obliged just to set all peace-time
production aside in a kind of adj
journment to make way for our war
needs. There is plenty of industrial
capacity in this country for both
needs.
Our industry needs an orchestra
leader with a real baton who can
keep it in harmony and rhythm for
the new tune-but it doesn't need to
be chained to the benches of any
slave galley with sort of roman
lied Simon Legree to increase the
stroke with cato nine-tails.
Our trivial World war experience
may be informing. Our speedup Of
shipbuilding, both of merchant and
warcraft, approached the miracu-
lous. Charlie Schwab had charge Of
part Of it. In plant where al lparts
of a fabricated ship were being as
selnb1ed and the engine department
was far ahead of the co-ordinated
schedule for it and other depart
ments, he took time out for a short
picnic for the workers in the yards.
There were no speeches but, when
the time for them came, Charlie
pulled a surprise-the complete en-
CINE, mounted on truck wheels, gay
with flags and preceded by a band
came rolling out under a large
transparency which read, "Al
dressed up and no place to CO." That
plant speeded up production imme-
diately.
Of course, we can't do this job
with ballyhoo, but ballyhoo is part
Of it. We need every incentive and
pressure of "go-get-it," unified, ex-
perienced and inspired leadership to
get speed without confusion and
waste. We have one of this kind of
leadership, only political leadership
which insists on retaining personal
lied control of everything.
REARMAMENT
Is the rearmament program pro-
ceeding rapidly? Sidney Hillman
of the national defense advisory
commission "advises that no manu-
facturer who violates the labor laws
I, can be awarded a contract for
work on the defense program and
that the National Labor Relations
board will decide, for this purpose,
whether or not an employer is VIC
1ating.'
There are now only two members
Of NLRB, Leiserson and Smith. The
term of Chairman Madden has ex-
pired. Due to protests based on
charges of his bias and unfairness
the President has not reappointed
him. The vacancy has existed for
weeks. Some observers guess that
the President wants to wait until
after the. election and then reappoint
Madden. Smith and Leiserson agree
on very few disputed points. Smith
is an extreme left-winger-like Mad.
den. Leiserson is middle-of-th
road. What they can't agree on is
put on ice until appointment of
third member with the deciding
vote.
Over in the selective service draft
system, although the new organiza-
ton is under way, no administrator
has been appointed. Some mystic
rious inner pressures-probably the
senile war-minded Stimson-pre-
vented a solution of this problem
which was perfection-the expert,
enced and judicious veteran of the
World war draft, Gullion, for adj
ministrator-the young, expert and
vigorous Hershey as its chief execu-
tive. Either alone would have been
satisfactory. The team couldn't
have been bettered.
AS in NLRB, no responsible head
has been appointed. Hershey has
been detailed to 60 through in an
acting capacity.
In the name of mere mediocrity,
why? The big job in the draft is
L. II