Imperial Valley press., 1941-05-08

WAStlNCloN, May o 1AiS
week of May 4 to 10 having been
designated by presidential procla-
nation as National Employment
Week, whether you knew it or not,
there is no harm in taking a gam
der at the charts as analyzed by
the best minds, to see where were
heading.
This National Employment Week,
by the way, is something that was
conceived by the American Legion
in its 1887 convention. For the last
three years the Legion has put on a
typical drive, opening with a presi-
dental proclamation, followed up
by proclamations from governors
and mayors, sermons in the church.
eS, pep talks before the knife and
fork clubs. programs on the radio,
pieces in the newspapers. 1t has
all been inspired by the nobleSt of
motives. but just what it has ac-
complished is something that Is
bard to determine.
REVERSE
PROCESS
Since the Legion began its an
nual week. the picture has changed
considerably. In 1887 the problem
was one of finding a job for
man. Now the problem is to find
men for all the jobs there are to
do. The skilled labor supply at ex-
isting factories has been absorbed
and the task is to train men now
for the jobs that are to be created
in new defense Industries in the
next IA months.
One thing the Legion's annual
campaigns have accomplished is
to focus more attention on workers
of 40 and over, the fellows who
were of draft age in the last war.
All of them, particularly the ones
without jobs, can serve their coun-
try again by learning or relearn-
ing a skilled trade.
There are II key industries in
the national defense effort, indus
tries which will require more and
more men. Here are the number
of man-days worked in those in
dustries in 1910 (first figure) and
an approximation of the number
of employees who might have worked
the full year second figure):
MAN-DAYS EMPLOYABLES
AIRCRAFT
21,624,0 900 $4,000
AIIIMINIIM
6,792,O0O 27.OOO
AUTOMOBILES
1O7, ,424,OOO 100000
IRON AND STEEL
116,o8s.ooO 465 900
ELECTRICAL MACHINERY
57,624,O00 100000
ENGINE MANUFACTURE
l2,528,0O0 $4,000
EXPLOSIVES
1,824,0O0 1900
FOUNDRY, MACHINE SHOP
96'62400 $4,000
MACHINE TOOLS
1884 900 $3.50
LUMBER
11o,352,OO0 431,OoO
SHIPBUILDING
%, ,488 900 10000
This represents about six months
of non-defense work and about six
months of getting started on de-
fense. 1t totals over 100000 full
nan-year jobs, with defense pro-
duction only just getting started
at the end of 1940
Three industries in this group
had real labor machine
tools. aircraft and shipbuilding. BY
February, 1941, these three indus
tries are employing as follows: ma
chic tools, $4,000; aircraft, 100000;
shipbuilding. 251,OOO. Thbbe ire
mendouS increases must be boosted
still further; machine tools to 101,-
900, aircraft to 100000, shipbuild-
ing to $4,000.
Still the end is not in sight. If
the aircraft program is further ex-
panded, raising the total number
of planes on order to 10000 in
stead of the $4,000 on the books
today, aircraft employment will
have TO be doubled. And as John
D. Biggers, head of production in
OPM, pointed out, the monthly
production of powder must be
trebled, rifle production must be
doubled, machine gun production
must be increased five-fold. small
arms ammunition must be trebled
tank production must be quadru-
pied.
SEEK
SMALL PLANTS
Seeing that the supply of work
ers trained for their jobs is ON
hand with a machine to work at is
just as important as seeing that
there is an adequate supply of raw
materials. 1t takes time to train a
AA hAUAD