Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-05-03
u. S. Speeds
Arms PIan+s
To 1918 Gear
When Mass Production
Moves. II Moves Last
(The opinions expressed by
General johnson are his oWn
and not necessarily those of The
Detroit Times.) -,
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON


ton, no impression should be
taken that, overall. a great
job is not being done = too
costly, perhaps, helter-skelter
without doubt and lacking in
some places. But there is get
ting underway the miracle of
armament output that was al
most in sight in November,
1918.
This American industrial-ma-
chine when geared to this pur-
pose has no potential equal in
all the rest of the world COM
bined. The first trick is to get
it fooled up and started. The
second is to get it into balance.
An airplane is no good with
out guns and armor.
Guns and armor are no good
without proper ammunition.
None of the armament is any
good without trained pilots, OBJ
servers and gunners. Getting
far ahead in any of these in
dispensables is no good until
the rest catch up.
TAKE the example of our
Il World War production of
the famous French Is NM. field
piece. The secret of that mar
Vicious gun was the cradle or re-
=eupefater massive steel
forging yet as delicately ma
chined as watch for interior
air chambers and ducts.
The French engineers who
brought us the drawings were
sure that only skilled French
artisans and never our mass
production methods could do
that job and skeptical. too,
about our ability to machine the
gun-tubes to their own fineness
or rifling.
AS a proved performance, in
three separate factories, the
Rock Island arsenal. the Dodge
Brothers automobile and Otis
Elevator plants, those cradles
promptly began moving off the
production lines with the speed
and continuity of dressed hog in
a Chicago packing plant, where
our peculiar modern mass pro-
duction had its birth. Also in
several plants new teehniques
were developed which began pill
ing up gun-tubes in their stock
yards like cordwood.
VET the charge is true that
L we delivered little Anefi-
can-made artillery in France
and had to buy that equipment
there. Why? Partly because
production of the intrlcately diff
ficult parts of the gun was not
balanced with what should have
been the ridiculously easy ones
wheels and carriages.
There was another incidental
reason, that the French had
passed the peak of their man.
power and their peak production
power overlapped it. They had
gun-manufacturing capacity that
would otherwise have been idle
and they preferred to have us
furnish the steel forgings and
other components as replace
ments" and finish the guns
themselves.
A similar story was true OF
many other munitions-of shells
because while we got far ahead
on forging and machining, We
Jagged on boosters and adapters
and shell-loading plants-of air.
planes because, while we at
tanned great engine production
we never could settle on design.
DUT toward the end of 1918
- the sky was clearing every
where. Things were getting into
balance. In a few weeks the
great American industrial ma
chine would have been disgorg-
ing munitions in such quantities
and excellence as would have
left no doubt of the outcome OF
any war.
Our present program IS equally
unbalanced. The tagging parts
are ammunition, guns and tanks,
especially the heavier and more
complicated ones. We shall be
ineffective until bal lance is
achieved but that is actually
in sight.
If the desperate shipping
situation that was discussed in
this space recently can be saved
for a few months, an overwhelm-
ing flood of military equipment
will be flowing out of our pro-
duction lines.
1t is cruelty misleading to tell
people that this effort is salts
factory today but it would be
equally misleading to give them
too gloomy a picture for the
future.
Every day of delay in our out
right engagement in war is a
day of gain. If enough days can
be gained, our danger will pass
because we shall be so strongly
s rearmed that no nation will at
tack us.
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