The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1941-02-20

WyeS Britain the fooc
situation at pres
ent is just as difficult as in thu
gloomiest days of 1917. Female
labor and equipment from Amer
lea is the immediate hope, bu
beyond this our food supplies viii
be utilized to feed the British.
Then comes continental Europe
and its starving victims. Thi.
will quickly wipe out the sur.
pluses and take much of the pri'
mary food supply of the United
States.
The industrial requirements Of
defense will be eclipsed by the
agricultural demands that will be
placed upon this country. Our
farms will have to be modified
just as we are attempting to do
with our factories. Farm equip
ment will be just as scarce COM
paratively as machine tools and
production equipment are today.
Farm labor will become more
difficult to get as we progress
with this program.
There are many who are al
ready worrying about what's 60
ing to happen when the defense
program is over. They visualize
idle machinery, surplus plant ca
pacity and men without jobs. Ac-
tually, we are extending this ma
tional defense program under
very different conditions than any
which this nation has ever found
itself in before. American indus
try has been literally stagnant for
several years. Had there been no
defense program, it would have
taken several years to replace the
WORKOUT machinery and plant
equipment. United States of 1910.
as whole, was only shell, in
dustrially speaking. The depres-
sion and subsequent years robbed
us of most of our industrial pow
er. Corporate capital was largely
wiped out during the depression.
In the cases where it was reduced
to an unhealthy state, the drain of
social legislation made profit inn
possible. The result was no new
machinery. Goods were produced
on old machinery. Time after
time, repairs were made.
The manpower problem has
been even more grave. Industry
only CANDLES on new and un-
trained manpower when it has
surplus funds with which to take
chance on the unframed becom-
ing valuable, or working for the
same company after the training
is completed. The result has been
a bankruptcy of manpower. Good
men are extremely scarce from
common labor to management.
Never in the history of this coun-
try has there been such short
age of good men who can be re-
lied upon to take responsible posi-
lions in industry. AS a whole,
the manpower available today
lacks the necessary training in
business methods and production
operations.
If we are to face the a IS
squarely, the United States is just
as short of men and machines for
industrial power as it is planes
and pilots for air wer. This
country must turn to men who
know business. Industry, despite
unfavorable legislation and at
tacks from every side during the
past several years, has again re-
turned to its rightfully important
place in our economy. With agri-
culture, industry occupies the
front rank of democracy. The hope
of democracy for today and the
future lies in the abilities of men
of industry. If they can create
trained manpower and produce
the machinery necessary, we need
have no fears.
After the necessities of defense
have been taken care of, we will
find ourselves with industrial
manpower retrained and adequate
modern machinery to take care
of peacetime requirements with
higher efficiency. This producing
power will not only produce ne
cessities, but will also return to
the luxury items that will be Civ
en- up during the period of de-
tense building due to lack of raw
materials.