Evening star., 1941-08-05

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facing an immediate employment
readjustment problem, directly af-
fecting jobs and incomes of 100000
workers and upward. The figure is
likely to grow.
Some circles say that:
l. The working conditions of
around 100000 gasoline station en-
ployes in the East may be radically
shifted as the result of night service
station closings to reduce consump-
ton of motor fuel, which is get
ting scarcer on the Atlantic sea-
board as the result of transferring
tankers to British service.
2. Around 10000 workers in the
silk hosiery and other silk textile
mills may face at least temporary
Interruptions in their work during
the next few months as the result
of communicating of silk supplies
by the government.
3. Temporary unemployment for
250,000 to 100000 workers in the au-
tomobile industry seems possibility
If 1912 model production is only
half that of the current year.
Typical of Problems.
These are typical of the job
problems arising in scores of other
peacetime industries as larger and
larger supplies of essential materials
are earmarked for defense.
How serious may be the lay-offs
anticipated among Eastern gasoline
station attendants due to night serv-
ice station closings is not known yet.
Many service stations are remaining
open nights and keeping night shift
workers busy on auto fabrication
and tire and other repair work, as
well as sale of accessories. Others
are transferring night workers to
day shift to help handle the in
creased volume of business crowded
into daylight hours.
Many stations, due to the lure of
higher pay in the aircraft and other
machine industries. have been hav-
ing hard time getting good attend
ants recently. and have been oper-
ating understaffed
I am taking of our two night
men and putting them on days." one
service station manager said today.
That gives us five men some days
OF the week. and six on others, be-
cause we have to stagger our days
off to comply with the five-day
week. But Joe, the fellow you see
working the pump, is % years old,
and he has low draft number.
He will probably go into the Army
shortly and Ole, another one of our
men, has been offered a job in an
alrplane motor plant. He expects
to take it as soon as his citizenship
papers come through"
May Absorb Men.
The chances are good that the de-
fense industries quickly will absorb
many skilled auto repair men losing
gasoline station jobs through the
night closing ban.
In regard to the silk industries.
where plants are permitted to use
only such supplies as they have on
hand, then face shutdowns because
the government has earmarked all
other silk for parachute cloth and
powder bags, there is liable to be
some temporary unemployment-but
only temporary. This is the view of
top-f1ight textile men.
Machines now making silk hosiery
and other silk constructions can
easily and quickly be adapted to
handle cotton and nylon thread.
The only bottleneck in work will
be the waiting period that must be
expected while cotton and nylon
thread producers stepup production.
The period of irregular employment
while cotton and nylon supply lines
are being set up may plague opera
tions for six months to a year-but
once these supplies are produced at
required rates, hosiery apd other
silk-using concerns will be as busy
as ever.
Proceeds With Plans.
A spokesman for the hosiery in
dustry said today that executives
did not know whether the Govern
ment actually needed all the silk it
has Communicated or whether the
move was made to impress Japan
with the fact that American con-
sumers could get along without silk.