The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1941-10-23
"BEHIND THE SCENES IN
AMERICAN BUSINESS"
By John Croddock

BY JOhn \
NEW YORK, Oct. 2O.-BALANCE-The
auth industry. bell-wether of defense pro-
duction as well as peacetime leader, may not
he able to reach it's January quota, which
called for a 81 per cent cut from last year,
because of scarcity of strip steel. However,
though it is nearing the peak of its defense
disemployment' so far as is con-
cerned. it's terrific increase in assignments for
turning out defense goods indicates that by
the end of 1912 it's total dollar volume and
employment - in car-maklng and arms
making - may be at new all-time high
levels Meanwhile OPM is speeding eff
forts to cid single-industry towns hurt by
curtailment Of such industries as refrigera-
tors, washing machines, cooking utensils.
ManItowoc, Wis, and Evansville, Ind, have
been Certified by OPM, which means re-
commencing them to Army and Navy for
extra consideration in placing defense or
ders. And other midwestern washing ma
chine towns like Ripon, Mis-, Sandusky, O.,
Algonquin, ILL.,, and Fairfield, kellogg, Newton
and Webster, all in Iowa, will be similarly
cited soon.
IRONICAL-From June 81 through Aug.
2, 1889, Arthur Vining Davis, board chair
man of Aluminium Company Of America,
testified as a key witness for the defense in
history's longest trial, the suit started by the
Government in April, 1887, against his COM
pany under the Sherman Antitrust act.
During the more than two years of actual
trying of the case, whenever he could leave
temporarily the problems of the defense pro-
gram, Mr.. Davis, who the trial court said
knows more about Alcoa and has contribu-
ted more to its advancement than any man
alive was in the courtroom. He listened for
roar{1c ~ tho o1o~~oc L,,rIoI ~ bic oporor
But on the final day, when Judge Francis G.
Caffey, of the Federal district court in New
not been shown guilty of "monopolization,
not been shown kuilty of "monopolization,
conspiracy or other misconduct as charged by
the Government" Arthur v. Davis was not
that ito dissolve or enjoin Alcoa would be
distinctly contrary to the public interest" He
was nome in bed with a cold.
BATTLE OF FOOD - Effects of the vast
Battle of Food to meet Lend-Lease require
mcnts and mounting needs of defense work
ers are already being felt. With an estimated
81, 100000, 900 of Lend-Lease funds to be
spent for food during the next few months,
the farm mechanical revolution is gath
ering new momentum. This ready cash, cou-
pied with the farm labor shortage and other
factors, is credited by John L. Collyer, pre-
sident of the B. F. Goodrich company, with
booming 1941 sales of farm service tires to
an estimated $34, 0O0, 900, an all-time high
and an Increase of $12,O 900 900 over 1910.
In view of information that farm equipment
manufacturers have been handicapped by
the steel shortage, the 1941 farm tire sales
estimates are held to reflect a sharp increase
in changeovers to pneumatics on older-type
vehicles. 1t is only Ia years since the COM
pany pioneered in adapting pneumatic tires
to farm service, yet now some 1,40O,0O rub
ber-shot tractors are reported in service, and
about 500, 600, 900 worth of these farm tires
have been sold.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR-Plastic tax
tokens - Colorado, for one state, is replacing
aluminium ~sales-tax tokens with plastic ones,
about the size Of a dime, but thicker, and
bright red A flying wing" plane which
plant, cockpit and crek all housed within
the huge v, and with two propellers, in the
back, as "~pushers" it's been put through
extensive tests by Northrop Aircraft COM
pany Two new things in the paper
line mans size disposable tissues, meas
uring 10 by IL inches, and wax wrapping
paper in rolls only half as long as before
(thus easier to find room for them in the
kitchen shelves) but with the paper itself
full size; it simply is rolled in a single length
wise fold -. Jumbo the Elephant" bids fair
to be a super-popular number on toy coun.
tiers for the approaching holiday season
under pressure to uniform thickness. as a
tenderizing process smallest thing yet in
midget radios is one built to be Worn on
the wrist, like a watch.