The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1942-08-27
ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS

ENAINSNulS 11lII1ll1NJf1l0
Detroit has long been the living,
vital symbol of American genius for
production. The. automobile and
kindred industries made it so. There,
for generations, men worked and
pioneered and made an ever-i1n-
proving product at an ever-decreas-
ing cost. There, record after record
was broken. Skeptics said this dream
or that was impossible-and the
production men made them eat their
words. So, when war began, the
eyes of the United Nations were
largely focused on Detroit. Swiftly
and efficiently, great industry after
great industry abandoned production
for peace and turned to production
for war. Detroit was to be the very
heart of the arsenal of democracy.
But the harsh fact is that Detroit
has not lived up to what was ex-
pected of it.
In recent issue, Life said this:
1.-THE news from Detroit is bad this
summer. Few people across the
country realize how bad it is. Wild
cat strikes and sitdowns, material
shortages and poor planning at the
top have cut into Detroit's produc-
ton of war weapons. Detroit's work
ers seem to hate and suspect
their bosses more than ever. Detroit'S
manufacturers, who are the worlds
best producers, have made a fail
Ire of their labor relations. And the
government, which is asking Detroit
to produce more and more, is divided
within itself ON how to get the most
production" That indictment was
endorsed, in effect, by a man who is
an unquestioned expert ON war pro-
observation-disclosures General Bre-
hon Sonervell,, the Arnny's chief of
supply. The General recently made
tour of Michigan factories, and then
said that not a man, machine or
plant is yet producing at full capac-
dty. "A striking example of that is
found in Henry Ford's great Willow
Run bomber plant. BY now, accord
ing to original plans, it should be
producing tremendous numbers of
big bombers Instead, it is working
at part-capacity on sub-assemiblies
for other factories not one
plane has been completed ON it's
miles of assembly lines. 1..2
The basic reason for Detroit,s
troubles can be expressed in two
words-hate, distrust. The labor
leaders fight management, and
management has no faith in the la
Dor leaders. There is a constant
clash of races and religions. Fac
ton battles faction, irrespective of
what happens to the war effort as a
result. The politicians peddle hot
air, and, Willingly or otherwise, put
votes ahead of an honest, about war
effort. And so the battle of pro-
duction is going badly in the city and
the territory which has led the world
for decades in industrial achieve
ment. There are many good men in
Detroit. There are great engineers,
fine managers, able and skilled work
ers. But they aren't pulling togeth-
er.
What Is true in Detroit is true in
many other industrial areas. This
country has made spectacular pro-
gress in certain kinds of production.
Such industries as the West Coast
shipbulders and aircraft manufac-
tl1rers have actually exceeded the
goals laid down for them by wide
margins. But in other equally vital
fields, production schedules are not
being met-and it does the nation no
service to headline the successes and
soft-pedal the failures. AS Elmer
Davis Office of War Information
said in recent release, the United
States is not yet geared by a long
shot to the demands of ruthless
total y1Jar