Evening star., 1941-09-07
Defense Boosts
.JobsCIoset 10
55,O00,O0O
Vast Program Speeded
As Vacation Period
Comes to End
BY PAUL GESNER and
JOHN BECKLEY,

NEW YORK, Sept. GA defense
minded Nation-vacations behind
buckled down in earnest this week
to the biggest peacetime arming job
ever tackled.
BY this week end, financial OBJ
servers estimated, close to $4,000 900
persons were gainfully employed in
defense and peacetime jobs through
out the country, the largest number
of workers on record.
The job before the Nation: Build
ing Of arms, airplanes and other
ordnance, and the building up of
huge Army-all to the tune of around
S55, ,00O,0 900 900. The defense program
eventually may cost even more.
appointment by President Roose-
velt of the new Supply, Priorities and
Allegations Board. with the Vice
President in charge, was regarded
in financial quarters as one of the
outstanding defense developments
of the week from the industrial
standpoint for it placed the major
divisions Of the defense building ef-
fort under a central authority. But
regarded of prime importance, also,
was the naming of Floyd Odlum,
investment trust builder. as head of
division of the o. P. M to see that
small businesses get defense work
to do.
Regarded as Vital.
DaFax-. aasaio1- ,oa,--; - a,,+l,, Aa,,n
! pointed out that to get the speed de-
sired in arms building. small tool
shops would have to be ferreted out
| and put on defense work.
Many industrial concerns making
peacetime consumer goods are be-
ing forced to curtail production
schedules because strategic metals
and other materials are needed in
| defense. Through Odlum's organiza-
ton, it is anticipated that such con-
Germs will get defense orders to keep
| their men busy. thus forestalling the
closing of plants with accompany
ing unemployment that might de-
velop in cities with factories hard hit
by priorities.
While plans for future diStribu-
ton of materials and orders for
defense went forward, industrial ac-
tivity generally wasn't marking
time, however. In fact, factory
wheels throughout the Nation in
scores of lines were turning at the
fastest rate in history.
Steel mills, despite the Labor Day
holiday, operated at 96.3 per cent
of capacity. only narrow 0.2 under
the 96.5 of the preceding week when
there was no holiday
Electric power production ran
17.8 per cent above last year, con-
trasted with a gain of l7.7 over the
1910 comparative in the preceding
week. Railway freight loadings at
912.720 cars were 1877 per cent above
year ago. Auto output totaled
only 32940 cars bus machinery is
ready for production of the new
1o42 models and motor circles fore
cast sharp rise in assemblies next
week
Retail Trade Brisk.
Buying in retail stores continued
brisk, averaging % to q per cent
above a year ago for the Nation as
a whole. Merchants said the new
Federal restrictions on installment
buying, including such things as 20
per cent down payments on refrig-
orators against the old nothing
down and 50 a month plan" had had
no retarding effect on sales.
Foods continued to rise in the
bulk markets and the Dun & Brad
street wholesale food price index
rose 2 cents to 1928, the highest
since October, 1929, and a gain of
Ala per cent over the $2.39 a year
ago
The stock market throughout the
week paid scant attention to brisk
industrial operations, however. 1t
got chill from the reported attack
on the United States DESTROYER
Greer by an unidentified submarine
and another damper in Senate low
erlng OF Federal income tax ex-
emptlonS to Sl,500 for married men
and $3.50 for single individuals. with
boosts in rates all along the line.
stocks were up a little Tuesday.
and lower Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday, with transactions rang
Ing between 464,29O and 574.6lo
shares daily. Domestic bonds
showed little change:
Plane Output Scars.
one OF the most cheering indics-
tors Of the expanding arms trend
was announcement that aircraft
production last month totaled 1854
planes, new high and more than
triple the deliveries a year ago. The
l,854-plane figure also represented a
rise OF 1894 ships over July, the pre-
ceding month.
Dividend Meefinos