The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-10-01

IA Shortly II be-
Floyd Odlum came apparent
that the giants,
huge as they were, weren't numer-
Gus enough to produce the desired
rate.
A thorough size-up OF the stu
alton, conducted by Commerce
Secretary Jesse Jones, revealed
that the little fellows, combined,
could produce more than the small
group of big ones, II only they
could get contracts. BY including
whales and minnows alike, it was
evident that the government could
considerably more than double ma
tional industrys total output.
Accordingly, suggested Director
William S. Knudsen's Office Of
Production Management: Lets
hand out still bigger orders to the
big companies, and then let each
OF EN- do a lot of sub-contracting
with a swarm OF little chaps"
This was all right in theory, but
It didn't work satisfactorily in
practice, because the whales didn't
pass any OF their fodder on down
to the minnows; they simply re-
tanned 1t all in their own respective
systems. trying to digest it grad
ually.
That's why Director Floyd B.
Odlums Contracts Distribution Di-
vision Of Director ,Knudsen's Office
Of Production Management was
created to encourage sub-con-
tracing or coerce 1t or, II neces-
sary, to start a system of feeding
the minnows directly by the gov
eminent. The third method doubt
less Will be unhandy, but perhaps
it'll prove TO be unavoidable.
II 1t Doesn't Work
It's an emergency situation that
Director Odlum's trying to handle.
II he's successful, okeh. If he
Isn't, another emergency's due TO
develop itself, out Of the initial one.
The little plants will begin to
have to shut down, for lack Of raw
materials to process. The big ones,
being conspicuous and influential,
can get their raw stuff on a prior
ity basis, but the little ones can't
unless they can show that they
have sub-contracts for products
Uncle Sans in hurry for. They'll
Just have TO quit, creating a lot Of
ljoblessness.
Thus unemployment will become
"a serious problem, in the midst Of
a demand for more and more
workers.
No. l delayed production Is the
immediate issue. No. 2 (threat-
ened UNEMPLOYMENT is the i'm
pending one.
But following these two is a
third.
What shape will industrial pro-
duction be in after the existing
emergency's over ?-particularly if
it lasts long. and a new kind Of
economics has crystallized itself
into a permanency.
Economists like Leon Henderson
are worse worried as to postwar
conditions than they are over to-
days.
Suppose, they say, that little
factories are forced to 60 out Of
business wholesale. Most Of 'em
never'll be able TO get back into 1t.
A good many Of 'em are likely to
be absorbed by the big companies,
but a stable proportion simply
will be obliterated.
Upshot?
Nothing will be left but crack
ing BIG business.
That's the forecast.
Pessimists' View
Then, pessimistic democrats
(small al surmise, a strong
movement will start 10 compact all
separate big businesses into a sin
gle unit 49, Fascistical, Naziistic,
Communicated or some such
thing.
tn be almost inevitable, the
pessimists contend, because, &C
cording to their calculations, a
country dominated by about two
or three dozens Of monster. pri-
vately-bossed corporations will be
simply intolerable. Their theory
is that the tendencys being DELHI
erately engineered, as far as pos
sible, by a few collectiwsts.
Distribution Director Odlums
salvation program for small indus
try has these boys best wishes
II he can get away with it.