Evening star., 1941-06-22
Executives Fear
Public Unaware
Of u. ). Trend
Changes Muy Prove
Unpleasant Surprise,
They Declare
By FRANK MacMILLEN,

businessmen today that the coun-
try as a whole appeared so far not to
have sensed accurately the speed
with which the defense drive was
"snowballing" and the imminence
of major changes in ways Of living
and doing BUSINESS.
They said they feared impending
diSlocations in the supplies of many
kinds of civilian goods, perhaps in
living costs and working conditions,
might come as a Notwithstanding
surprise to those citizens who have
failed to follow closely, or to under
stand the implications of the ire
mendous sums being poured into the
arms effort.
While saying they believed many
persons had been hypnotized by the
very magnitude of the sums involved,
they revealed industrial and finan-
cial planners here-who. incident-
ally, have been in close touch with
defense authorities at Washington
are counting on a timetable Some-
thing like this for the flood of doll
lars pouring into the channels Of in
dustry for the needs of the armed
forces and Britain:
Now-about $1,000. 100000 a month.
BY early fall-s1 400 900 900 TO ST.
10000 900 monthly.
BY the first of next year-S2 000.-
100000 to $2500000,000 monthly,
with a strong sentiment in the ad-
ministration to raise it to s3000,-
100000 monthly if possible.
$4,000 Minute Spent.
If those figures are hard to COM
prehend, try it this way:
Each minute, The clock around. We
now are spending S23 900 for defense
and Britain: by fall S32 900 to
$4,000 a minute, early next year
somewhere between $4,000 and
$4,000 a minute, perhaps rising 10
500 500 a minute before the year is
| out.
| In the Governments new fiscal
/ wear. which starts July I. business
/ observers here believe defense eX-
penditurcs of about 000000O00
/ may be possible.
/ 1t is explained, however, that the
spencing Of these huge sums at the
rising tempo indicated hv these fig
ures. would call for greater indus
trial coordination than now exists.
Bottlcnecks of supplies skilled
labor, factory construction, even
housing. would have to be elmi-
mated progressively if the pace were
to be achieved, it was said.
Some of the major difficulties for
the average citizen which these men
see ahead in coming months will
spring from this attempt to assure
materials for the whirling arms
machine.
/ 1t is pointed out actual expendi-
| lures for the arms program in the
fiscal year about to end probably
were something under $1,000 100000.
What is proposed in the next II
months is approximately 81 times
as much; with the year after per-
haps five times as much.
Old Slogans Discarded.
Yet. these businessmen say, the
relatively small spending in the past
year already has made the slogans
business as usual and guns and
butter" staler than last weeks cake.
| Already it has brought Govern
ment price control of nearly every
| important industrial raw material:
control of supplies ranging from
suasion through strictest priorities
| for defense users to the latest
wrinkle-the outright rationing of
supplies and freezing of prices such
as was decreed this week for rub
ber.
The thing which has kept the
average man from realizing how
fast things are moving. observers
here think. is that most defense
encroachment on normal business
so far has been in the raw materials
and manufacturing fields. appar-
emily pretty far removed from ev-
eryday existence.
Yet. it is pointad out, auto makers
next fall will be turning out only
four cars for Mr.. and Mrs. Citizen
where this year they built five, and
may cut this sharply later; tires
will not be coming to dealers at
anything like the rate they have
SoI GIlCIII 4OL pOJO.
pans, electric washers and other
familiar household uses, now in the
stores, may be gone or very scarce
in few months: no new aluminium
is going into such uses.
Oil Shortage Faced.
Gasoline rationing for the East
ern retail consumer, the first direct
| limitation on the man in the
street" and result of a shortage
of transportation, has been clearly
foreshadowed by Oil Co-ordinator
Ickes Householders have been
warned to lay in coal and fuel oil
now against winter winds. also
because freight space will be at
a premium later this year.
These are only the obvious ex-
amples, now clearly in sight, OF
what it has meant for the country
to spend an average of a mere $780,
100000 month on defense over a
12-month period.
What businessmen here point
out is that things are going to
change with bewildering rapiditv
as this spending figure rises toward
the desired goal of s3,000.000000 a
month.