Imperial Valley press., 1942-10-13
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison

Everyone seems to be kicking il
with his . cents worth on manpowel
these days, with the result that q
lot of those things you see floating
through the air aren't falling leaves
at all, but inter-d departmental men,
oranda on colored sheets of onion
skin paper, each containing another
idea for solving the manpower crisis
Within the War Manpower Com
mission itself there are dozens of
drafts of proposed legislation to
solve the shortages and SurpluSeS.
Every VINO subcommittee has its
own ideas and congressional COM
mittees have their ideas, too. 1t all
makes interesting material for dis
cuSSion and more discussion, but
it hasn't much more Importance
OF authority than that. For ex-
ample.
Jesse Irwin, formerly chief press
agent for Gov. Paul V. McNutts
many activities, including the
Manpower Commission, quit his
Job the other day and went to
work for Washington news
paper.
First day on his new job. jess
broke an exclusive story purDorting
to give the draft of the new man
power law and a detailed account
of why organized labor was against
it. The story was major sensa-
ton around Manpower headquar-
ters, and a minor sensation in other
washington centerS, but it didn't
mean a thing. The draft was ap-
parently one of the dozens that
have been drawn up and passed
through the hands of Bernard c.
Gavit, Manpower Commissions gen.
eral counsel who, like McNutt, is an
eX-dean of Indiana University Law
School. But the draft expose had
not been approved by anyone.
TIE DEEP STUFF
Most of the double -domed, deep
dish thinking, writing and speaking
that has been done On the subject
OF manpower has dealt with 1t as a
national problem. 1t is, to the ex-
tent that it concerns every part
of the country, but when you get
it down to the fundamentals, this
big national problem spells out as
a number of local problems. To
contribute just one more piece OF
paper to be raked up and burned
at the curb in the october bonfire.
these local problems shake down
like this:
According to Dr. William Haber,
ex-University of Michigan and U.
S. Bureau of the Budget economist,
who is now chief C the Planning
Division of War Manpower Com
mission. there are BIT labor mar
kets" in the United States today
areas where there is concentrated
and active hiring. For instance,
Pittsburgh, youngstown, Akron,
Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Detroit,
Toledo are each active labor mar
kets in one chain.
Of the 81 labor market areas,
the Manpower Commission re-
ports indicate that 35 have sUt-
plus labor, so have shortages now,
and 80 more anticipate shortages
within the next six months. The
remaining 142-nearly half OF the
total though not necessarily rep
resenting half of the total labor
force-are for the time being
adequately supplied. The i'm
portant point here is that the
manpower shortage problem does
not cover the entire United States
like a blanket.
In adding up the reports from
ali these labor market areas you
can get totals on what the man
power requirements will be by the
end of 1943, and 2 good many ex-
pertS. have their CWn figures on
the items making up those totals
many of the estimates varying. DR..
Habers estimates are that by the
end of 1943 the total manpower re-
| duirements-fo Army, agriculture,
war production, essential civilian oc-
crpations-Will be 63000,000 work.
ers. The available supply he csti-
mates at 57,500,000, making an ap-
parent shortage of from to 6 mil
lion. That looks easy, but all such
! figures include a number OF Varia-
! bleS which must not be overlook
| ed
DEMAND AND RESERVE
The labor demand is concen-
trated The reserve is dispersed
The 63,000,000 figure assumes the
| fullest possible conversion of in
dustry to war production, the con-
centration of civilian industry in
plants that cannot be converted.
! + assumes a smooth flow Of ma
terials to all plants and a re-
moval of all bottlenecks which now
cause work StoppageS. If this smooth
flow of materials were in effect
now the present working force Of
the country might be producing
25 per cent more goods than it is,
which would be equivalent to in
creaSing manpoWer Is per cent.
Solving the manpower situation,
however, involves not just num-
bers. It involves getting the need
ed numbers of people Of the need
ed age and the needed skill at the
needed place and at the needed
time. It is a job that can be done
on a labor market area basis. II is
a lob that can be done locally If
every locality will marshal it's own
resources to the fullest, persuade
labor unions to overcome their
prejudices, persuade employers to
stop pirating and stop boarding.