Evening star., 1941-09-22
THE IMPACT OF DEFENSE.

The defense effort is beginning to
jolt us. To fight for democracy
and against Hitlerism, we have
turned our factories into arsenals
conscious that we are about to
deprive ourselves of some of our
-prized comforts. We are di-
verting our iron and copper and
aluminium to the making OF guns
and tanks and planes and ships to
be used in the defense of democ-
racy.
During the last summer our en-
ployment and production, stimu-
lated by defense spending, were at
peace-time highs, exceeding even
the peak of 1925 boom.
Already the funds allocated Tor
defense purposes have mounted to
more than s6O,O000OO,000. This is
more than all the wages and SAL
aries paid in the United States dur
ing 1929, when wage and salary pay
ments broke all records. 1t is more
than the entire national income in
any of the five depression years.
The impact of this tremendous
program will mean more work, more
pay, for Americans.
Every One Will Feel Impact.
Gradually, however, the impacts
OF defense production and spend
ing, and the effects OF conservation
of materials imperatively needed for
national defense, are beginning to
hit some of us. In the few months
before Christmas, every one Will
feel 1t more and more.
A new tax law, adding more than
$3O00,000,0 900 annually to the Gov
ernment's revenue, will take much
larger proportion of every ones
earnings, starting back to last jan
uary.
The Government, through its con-
troll over credit, has frightened up
restrictions on installment-plan
buying, making. it harder to buy
luxuries and emi-luxuries, and
easier to invest money In Govern
ment bonds-part of q conscious ef-
fort to reduce excessive spending
and its inflationary effects on prices.
You now need one-third cash as
down payment to buy car,
Use of all silk for stocking and
other civilian uses was cut off when
the freezing of japanese raw silk
imports made it necessary to save
our entire supply for powder-bags
and parachutes.
A shortage in transportation IA
cilities, following transfer of tankers
to Britain, resulted in an Atlantic
Coast curfew in filling stations and
later In rationing of gasoline sup
plies by wholesale distributors.
Many Must Seek Defense Jobs.
The automobile factories, after a
year which established an all-time
record production, have been told
they must reduce their passenger
car production by so per cent.
Also looking for defense jobs are
the statesmen who have made their
living from passenger cars, electric
appliances, refrigerators, washing
machines and other defense ma
chimes which are comfortable and
useful, but not now as essential as
planes and guns and tanks and
ships.
The factories which have been
producing this rich stream of COM
forts are looking for defense con-
tracts.
The men and women who have
worked in the factories are prepar-
ing for defense jobs, too. Some of
the men are in the armed services;
some are already in training for
specific defense work in their To-
calities; nearly all of them are fac
ing a drastically changed scheme
Of things.
In some communities the impact
will be more severe than in others.
In some localities where there are
defense contracts, the displacement
OF workers will be minor. In others,
unless defense contracts are obtained
quickly, the industrial workers in
non-defense plants and the trades
men and storekeepers who depend
on them will suffer The "one-