The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1942-05-28
"BEHIND THE SCENES IN
AMERICAN BUSINESS"
BY JOHN CRADDOCK

NEW YORK, May 25.-DUDE FARMING
The nations farm population, though larger
than a year ago, may be unequal to task Of
planting and bringing in the wartime harvest
needed to feed America and her Allies. Pat
riotic city folk are seriously considering
turning their vacations into useful contribu-
tons to the war drive by pitching in and
pitching hay and horseshoes instead of or
binary peacetime mentioning pursuits. AL
though farm wages for the nation as a whole
were up 80 per cent as of April !, farm labor
shortages exist in greater or less degree
throughout the country, are expected to be
serious in many regions later in the season.
Wage competition provided by well-paying
war plants is one big hurdle. Straws in the
wind: Idaho business men leave their sf-
fices early to blister their hands in the beet
fields Nebraska farmers petition their
Governor to obtain ex-Pacific Coast Japa-
nese farmers to help them Kansas news
papers carry long lists of farm "help want
ed' ads Chicago public schools are
e~nlisting pupils for summer-vacation farm
for rd-and-keep' work =. and California
bemoans the loss of japanese farmers and
talks about ending relief payments and
drafting" city people to work in'the fields.
TRAVEL TALK-Transport Director JOS
eph B. Eastman last week noted with graft
f~ication" plans of life insurance companies,
Chicago's First National Bank, other organi-
cations for mid-week starting of employee
vacations. To relieve heavy weekend con-
gestion on the railroads, already straining
every facility to haul vital defense materials,
he hopes for nationwide swing to mid-week
departures. The Pullman company, especial
ly alert to the approaching vacation problem
because the Army is counting so heavily on
it's sleeping cars for troop transport, is adj
vising the public to reserve early-canccl
promptly" In fact, under a new Ice. tariff
designed to prevent wastage of wartime
transportation facilities, travellers who do not
release sleeping or parlor car Accommodations
in time for resale will no longer be eligible
for refunds. If the public cooperates there
ought to be space for all who plan vacations
this year, for President Roosevelt, recogni-
zing the fine job the railroads are doing, has
said in effect that there was no immediate.
need for rationing rail travel.
BITS O'BUSINESS - Two Generals
SoAhC uP Will ACpOICS IidI uuACdIc OuCiC
Sans production soldiers are consistently
going over the top. General Motors reported
to the Production for Victory" troop of
newsmen that a majority of the machines it
used to employ making autos and household
appliances had moved into war production ia
such a rate that it has doubled it's total pro-
duction in the six months since Pearl Har-
Dor The other General, Electric, cele-
brated Maritime Day by shipping the first
cargo turbine from a new inland turbine
plant that was completed two months ahead
of schedule and whose early completion
means it's total production for the year will
be one-third greater than originally sche-
duled Henri Rush, priority expert OF
WPB, told a New York commercial and in
dustrial round table that the list of 400
consumer goods recently excluded from use
of steel or iron may soon be heightened to
include 1000 items.
RULE-PROVER-The practice of draw
ing upon the old-line, native stock of the
green foothills of the Great Smoky Noun
tains for men and women to operate its vast
Tennessee works, is credited by Aluminium
Company of America with being responsible
for a quality of solid, American personnel
which Alcoa insists it is willing to "stack up
against that of any industrial organization
nj America" It was disclosed the other day,
on the occasion of the awarding of the All
Navy "E" to the plant for a production lob
well done, that a recent survey had reveal
ed only one employee in the entire works
who was not an American citizen. The ex-
ception was a Dane who, if he's not an AM
- "a