The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-08-22

i CAuApA11C14Ss 49CdI4AAB aAA0 SOOAAA6 cP ] paratus, filling station pumps, bi- cycles musical instruments, watches, I soda fountains and sewing ma chimes. Not that the Army or Navy had any great shortages of beauty shops, soda fountains, sliphorns or i sewing machines, but just that al- most any plant with experience and good capacity for metal working has a chance to be useful in defense manufacture.
 Some of the plants looked at on 1 this latest survey aren't nearly as foreign to the idea of defense manu- facture as some of the plants which have already been converted and are now turning out all manner of l war orders.
 FROM POP TO .,' POWDER BAGS There are still some citizens who keep, asking questions as to why a bottling works and a soap factory were given multi-million dollar con- tracts to operate powder bag load 1 ing plants, as was done in the cases of Coca-Cola and Proctor and Gamble companies.
 These weren't exactly plant con- version jobs, as the contracts were made to operate new factories which were to be built and owned by the government, but operated privately. The Army was looking for good management, which is as hard to find as good politics. The number of companies with experience in powder making and handling are decidedly limited < DuPont, Hercules, Remington, Win chester and firms like that. They had already been given big explo- siveS contracts and were expanding their plants and their management personnel as fast as they could. The problem was therefore to find op- orators with good financial records regulations for good management and plenty of experience in big mass production operations.
 Tn the line of fish-out-of-water contracts, though, there are plenty which make the Coca Cola and Ivory soap changeovers entirely ra- tional.
 There is manufacturer of beauty compactS in Linden, N. J., making percussion caps for shells. An old manufacturer of rat traps found that the Army had beat a path to his door with a contract to make camp cots, even at the risk that soldiers who had to sleep on the cots might made odiouS comparisons. A pipe organ manufacturer is making saddle. frames for the horse artillery and cavalry.
 COFFIN COMPANY
 GOES DEADLY
 A metal coffin maker has convert ed his plant to the manufacture of bomb bodies and fins, while a manu- facturer of parking meters has been given a contract to produce time bomb nhechanisms. Both deadly de- vices, in this case were converted to the making of still deadlier de- vices.
 Armstrong Cork, International Harvester and Willys- Overland are among the varied types of industries which got shell making contracts, while Goodrich Rubber got one of the management and operations contracts to run the big shell and bomb-loading plants for the gov ernment at Texarkana, Tex.
 In the line of gun mechanisms and parts production, there are number of unusual contracts. An adding machine company found that 1t could make automatic pistols. A manufacturer of cream separators was given the job of making ma chine gun tripod mounts. Oneida, which has made silverware, is mak- ing shackleS. The Duplex Company, which makes flat hsd printing presses, some using g recoil mecha- nism, found that 1t could convert it's plant to make recoil mechanisms for big guns.
 To show what varied industries can make the same thing, it is only necessary to list as plants that are now making fuses, manufacturer of bathroom equipment, 8 watch maker and a lipstick factory.
 And so it goes. If you have little trouble getting new vacuum clean- CT, try to console yourself with the thought that one of the vacuum cleaner makers is now busy on a contract for gas nnaskg