The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-05-07

1887 conven-
 ton. For the Rdson last three years the Legion has put on @ typical drive, opening with @ presidential proclamation, followed up by proclamationS from governors and mayors, sermons in the churches, pep talks before the knife and fork clubs, programs on the radio pieces in the newspapers. It has all been inspired by the noblest of motives, but just what 1t has ac- complished Is something that is hard 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 Q job for Q man. Now the problem is to find men for all the jobs there are to do. The skilled labor supply at existing 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 A months.
 One thing the Legion's annual campaigns have accomplished Is to focus more attention on work CTS of 70 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, in- dustries which will require more and more men. Here are the num- Der of tnan-days worked in those in- dustries In i940 first figure) and an approximation of the number of employees who might have worked the full year (seocnd figure) MAN-DAYS EMPLoYABLEs
 ALUMINIUM
 s,7o2,ooO 27ooo AUTOMOBILES
 lo7,424,oo0 43o,o0o
 IRON AND STEEL
 11e,oss,0o0 4e5,ooO
 ELECTRICAL MACHINERY
 57,624,000 230,000
 ENGINE MANUFACTURE
 12b28,0o0 50,000
 EXPLOSIVES
 1,e24,000 1900
 FOUNDRY, MACHINE SHOP
 06,024,000 386,000 I MACHINE TOOLS ll0,362,O00 1000
 sHIPBUILDING
 22,4as,oo0 eoooo
 This represents about six months Of non dGfenge work and about six months of getting started on defense. It totals over 2,200 ,00O full fnan-year jobs, with defense production only just getting start- cd at the end of 1040.
 Three industries in this group had real labor shortages ina- chine tools, aircraft and ship- building. By February, 104l, these three industries arc employing aa follows: machine tools. S5,000; air. craft, 220,000; shipbuildng, 25l.- 900. These tremendous increases must be boosted still further: ma chine tools to 0l,000, aircraft tc 100000, shipbuilding to 5el 900. Still the end is not in sight. II the aircraft program Is further ex. banded, raising the total number of planes on order to 80,O00, in. stead of the 400 on the booki today, aircraft employment vii have to be doubled. And as Johr D. Blbbers, head of production ir OPM, pointed out. the monthly production of powder must bt trebled, rifle production must bt doubled, machine gun production must be increased fivc-fold, smal arms ammunition must be trebled tank production must be quadru' pied.
 SEEK
 SMALL PLANTS
 Seeing that the supply Of work CTS trained for their jobs Is of hand with q machine to work a Is just aS important as seeing tha there Is an adequate supply of raw materials. It takes time to trair a worker, just aS 1t takes time tt build Q factory. With speed o production important there Is no time to build new factories, ant for this reason 1t is probable tha the next year will see e Spreat of the movement to bring int, defense production small Tnanu facturing plants not now workinI on defense contracts.
 National ASsociatior Of Manu lecturers has just completed survey of the middle -sized plant with from 20 to 500 workers. l listed 18,00O plants with Q milliol and a half workers, 46 per cent Q them skilled, ready to work O. i57,O00 machines that can offer twt million hours e day to defense pro duction. Defense employment therefore, is bound to spread t these small shops.
 By June, 1e42, there will be n excuse for anyone being unein