The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1941-06-12
BEHIND THE SCENES IN
AMERICAN BUSINESS"
BY John Croddock

NEW 1Ohh, June y. LII IAN1
ALONG-Retail business still looming, with
nations department store sales Ia per cent
ahead of last year for the first five months
of 1871 :. !. Total employment in the United
States hit an all-time high OF 5O,15O,OOO IN
April, reports the National Industrial Con-
ference Board-and at the same time UNI
employment dropped to 5,412,OOO, which is
the lowest for any April since 1880
Defense industry had several pieces of good
news: Production of aircraft engines in May
is figured at $500 units, about /, 100 more
than the January total =. Lockheed claims
all-time American record for first five months
of this year, building and delivering $45,-
871,500 worth of planes, more than it pro,
duced in the whole year of 1910 General
Electric has completed the turbine for the
battleship South Dakota, and it's being
launched more than month ahead o.
schedule Equipment for another battle
wagon, the Massachusetts, is 10 weeks ahead
of schedule :. And the public bought SAL
$4,000 worth of defense savings bonds AMI
stamps in May, first month they were OH
sale
"RECESSITIES'-Wor are born Tor,
like Topsy, just grow when new conditions
seem to demand them. "Loudspeaker'' is
one "Airsick" and "columnst' are others.
Even Give" Now, in the aluminium indus
y y
may be hearing more and more. It's re
cessities" substitutes that civilian indus
tries are periodically seeking, even though
they don't quite fit the bill, to replace mater
ials now under defense priOrities during the
RECESS until producers can again catch up
with combined defense and civilian demand.
Aluminium company of America reports
that reports that peacetime America, from
1880 to 1888, could find use for only Ia
million pounds of aluminium a month, and
that in busy 1889 the company had to make
only ~ million pounds month to satisfy
civilian needs. Suddenly defense needs a.
lone became 40 million pounds a month and
are soon expected to go to SO and beyond
The company is rushing to completion self
financed $20O,000,00O national defense ex-
pansiOn program. Even So civilians will
have to continue finding necessities as long
as defense needs require all or most of the
nations aluminium.
LAUGHING 1T OFF-The 21st annual
edition of the Bawl Street Journal is OUT.
Published by the New York Bond Club, it
burlesques Wall Street, kidding profound fis-
cal phrases. Theme song Of this years edl-
ton is 'There1l Always Be Wall Street.
Other headlines: Stock Exchange Floor Of
fered New York City for Use as Aquarium
:. Sears-Roebuck to handle sale of U. S.
Bonds exclusively. One brokerage firm adj
vertfses: IF any of our employees want to
drive army tanks, we won't stand in their
way" Another advertses baby blondes
POSTWAR TRADE - Bernard B..
Baruch, famous head of War Industries Board
in World War l. says United States can UNI
dersell totalitarian countries in world trade
after the war; even if Germany wins control
of European continent. His three point pro-
gram to make this possible: We must On
maintain a low price structure throughout
this war; (2) develop quality and economy
in mass-production industries; (3) build mill
tary defenses Fear concerning Germany's
economic prowess and cheap labor are ex-
aggerated, he says.