The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-08-30

New York, Aug. 30-An eight point program for industrial mobil- ization for war is presented today by the first Fortune Forum of Ex- ecutive Opinion, a new service through which the editors of For tune have undertaken to give all the leaders of business their first opportunity to speak out coherently once each month on the national problems most closely concerned with business.
 A majority of the nearly 15,000 top-flight executives who partici- pated in the Forum also agreed in recommending three major points for American foreign policy:
 1. America should not under take the cost of MT. Roosevelt's proposal for guaranteeing the export market of South America south of the equator.
 2. Despite the war menace, America should not try to con- tract its commerce toward a self suff1ciency basis, but rather should try harder to expand its foreign trade
 3. America should make the importance of keeping Japanese ambitions within bounds the keystone of its Asiatic policy, rather than the importance of the Orient as market for our exports or as source of rubber and tin.
 Business well knows the deep ness of the danger that this country faces" Fortune declares. And unlike some of America, business seems able to unite on a program of its own for some practical ways and means by which business could most efficiently collaborate in defense against that danger.
 Allocate Orders
 This program is set forth in the replies of executives to series of questions submitted by the Forum, revealing that:
 75.5 per cent think the govern ment should waive competitive bidding on war orders and allo- cate them to the plants best equipped to supply them fastest.
 69.6 per cent believe that vol- untary cooperation between gov- ernment and industry is better method of securing priorities than federal order.
 68.1 per. cent favor some sort of limitation on profits from govern ment contracts.
 59.9 per cent think that govern ment orders should be placed on a cost-pluS basis to expedite re- armament.
 59.9 per cent also believe that labor's wages should be adjusted to reflect any marked rise in the cost of living.
 56.6 per cent think that for the duration of the emergency labor's right to strike should be abro- gated.
 52.5 per cent believe that if a labor shortage develops and re- Strictions on hours are lifted, the work week cannot be stretched beyond 48 hours without a net loss in production. (Another 19 per cent set the limit at 56 hours.
 As 8 compromise on the amort- ization problem which has been vexing congress, the Forum sug- gested by an 88 per cent majority that the cost of plants devoted to war orders should be amortized within the period of the emergency, but that the amortization should be paid into suspended account, subject to taxation only in so far as the plant grows useful after the emergency has passed.
 Mobilization Day"
 Among the other questions sub- mitted to business leaders by the Fortune Forum of Executive Opin- ion was: DO you know what the government expects your business to do on Mobilization DayP" The replies:
 feS ................... 6.d6 Yes. in certain respects ... 1s.s NO ..t............. to.6 Don't believe 1t has got around
 to expecting anything .. 36.e No answer ............... 2.i "Thus nearly three-quarters of Inc nations high-ranking business leaders are not aware of any defi- nite plan for them to follow in adapting their enterprises to an .mergency." Fortune points out.