Evening star., 1941-01-26
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON,
ct~r C,sFF rorras~ordap,


BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON,
Star staff Correspondent.
INDIANAPOLIS. Jan. 25. Al
though pay rolls at the Allison Divi-
sion of General Motors Corp, now
engaged in building warplane en-
gines for the United States and
England, have been expanded from
300 to 1900 employees in one year
a gain of 300 per cent. no immediate
employment shortage is anticipated
unless there is substantial imme-
diate increase in engine orders.
With the assistance of Federal
and State agencies. Allison now has
a list Of between $4,000 and 10000
men from which II can draw for
future expansion. These men, how
ever, are not skilled mechanics and
will have to be trained.
In addition to the 1900 men now
employed in Indianapolis. there are
1850 men working at the Cadillac
Division in Detroit making parts for
the Allison engines. When the pro-
ductlon peak is reached next fall 1t
Is expected that 10000 men will be
employed in indianapolis and 5000
at Cadillac.
Rigorous Training Policy.
Any further expansion would find
Allison hard-presed at once for tool
makers, master mechanics and men
of the grade of foreman and super
visor. Only by dint of a rigorous
training policy has it been possible
for Allison to keep abreast of the
employment situation, which at
times has threatened to become a
serious bottleneck in American air
craft production.
Of its 1900 employees. Allison has
completely trained $500 in its plant,
slde-by-side with its production
program. About 1000 of the total
employees are clerical workers and
the like, of which there is no
shortage.
From early last year up to last
September, Allison was taking in
new men at the rate Of 100 to 1000
a month. Since September en-
ployment has been fairly we'll stabil-
lied to permit completion of train
ing. shaking down. Of the organi-
zation. smoothing out OF production
and the building up of team
spirit" Within few weeks, how
ever, expansion Of personnel will be-
gin again and the rate at which
employees will be added will depend
on the speed with which machinery
and tools can be delivered to equip
new plant space now under con-
struction
Just Out of School
During these months of settling
down" Allison has been hard at
work training men to step up into
higher grades. although some of
them have been out of high school
only since last June and others
never saw the inside Of modern in
dustrial plant before 1910.
A few days ago Allison needed
three additional skilled tool grinders.
kilograms were sent to 80 men who
seemed to have the necessary quail
flcations out of the nearly 10000 on
the waiting lists. Out of these 30,
scattered over five States, the
company got one man.
Training is offered to every Allison
employe and is on a volunteer basis.
Men who apply for training are
given instruction. after regular
working hours, on the busy machines
without interference with produc-
tion-or with as little interference
as possible, since any such activity
cannot help but interfere with
production to some extent With the
Nation bled white of trained me-
chanics, however. there is no alter
native, factory heads declare.
Finds Machine Moved.
There is the story of young AL
iison mechanic who had been as
signed to a machine just before
one of the expansion upheavals.
One morning he came to work and
couldn't find his machine. He wan
dered all around before some one
located him and toWed him to his
machine, 400 feet away from the
old stand, where he happily re-
turned to work. An old toolmaker,
however, was not so complaiSant.
Finding his bench and tools had
been moved overnight, he went into
a towering. tempermental rage and
quit cold, defense program or no.
Every Allison employe has been
Photographed and fingerprinted for
the F. B. I. files in Washington.
Every man is an American-born
citizen and close check has been
made of his past history and aff1lia-
tons Practically all the men are
middle e-Westerners majority of
them Hoosiers. There is no known
instance of an F. B. I. black mark
against any of them, 1t is said,
Nevertheless, a most rigid system
of policing is in effect in the plant
Every man carries an identification
card, with his photograph and sig
nature and the list of factory Sec
tions into which he is permitted to
go. Every man who goes from one
section of the plant to another must
prove his identity and right to enter.
Allison is taking no chances on the
possibility of espionage or sabotage,
not so much for the protection OF
the factory itself as in accordance
with War Department and F. B. l.
rolicies and instructions.
ALI;llI<;. hr.a.xae Ia Elu