Evening star., 1942-10-18
Action on Manpower
Tied Directly With
Strategy
Fighters and Workers
Must Be Balanced,
Economist Warns
BY FRANK MacMILLEN,
Wide World Business Writer.

NEW YORK, Oct. live can
either have millions of Chinese and
Russians firing guns we make within
short time, or we can take the time
to build up and equip vast army
of our own while the Chinese and
Russians go relatively gun-less in
the meantime" Andrew w. Zelomek,
economist and president of the In
ternational Statistical Bureau, Inc,
said today.
Following a special study he has
made of the manpower situation of
the country. Zelomek said:
obviously, the men that make
the guns cannot fire them and the
men that fire them cannot make
them.
Therein lies the difference be-
tween great Britain and the United
States on the one hand, and Russia
and China on the other.
1--WE and the British can both
make and fire them.
China and Russia have large
resources of manpower which can
fire the guns but cannot make them
in the quantities needed.
Our own manpower problem is
thus tied up directly with the prime
question of overall military STRAIT
egy."
Compromise Possibility.
A third possibility, Zelomek said,
is that President Roosevelt, as COM
mander-in-ch chief of the armed
forces, might work out the best COM
promise between these extremes
best meaning the solution that pro-
misses to end the war in the quickest
time with the least cost"
Zelomek, sandy-haired, fortyish.
and with bright blue eyes which
snap as he rolls off his conclusions
In rapid-fire talk, said of the pro-
posed draft of men under 20 for the
Army:
Il do not think this development
materially changes the manpower
situation of the country.
Most of these young men were in
school. Where they were already
employed, their call to the colors
simply means tnat older men
often more experienced and eff
cient-will be left so much longer
on the production job"
Situation Outlined.
The factual bases of Zelomeks
study were these:
l. The Nations labor reserve in
March, 1910. was about 10000 900
persons between 1S and 65.
2. OF these a little over 1000, 900
were men and the balance women
3. About 100000 of the women
were married and living with their
husbands.
4. Approximately one-fourth of the
potentially available reserve lived on
farms, where there is already labor
shortage.
5. Since March, 1910, more than
1000 900 men have been taken out of
plants into the services.
Zelomek's conclusions from these
facts:
The Government has announced
a definite decision as to the size of
our own Army-7,500,0O0 men by the
end of 1943.
How it is to be used. and whether
the volume of lend-lease to our
allies Is to increase or decrease has
not yet been made public.
There still remains the problem
OF getting the most of the most
needed production out of potentia
labor force
Only Three Ways Seen.
There are only three ways ir
which this can be accomplished.
"One is to recruit new workers
to the labor force. Most of these
will have to be women who will
have to be trained.
Another is to transfer worker.
from non-essential to essential work
This will require elaborate machin.
cry which is not set up as yet.
"A third is to get more produc.
ton from individual workers who
stay at the same job. This is mainly
a matter of hours of work.
oJ oo 4o 40 w pOl1lU OuU WIld
will have to be done, actually doine
it will encounter difficulties as deer
as human nature and as broad az
the entire social structure of the
Nation.
Consider merely what will be in.
volved in transferring workers from
non-essential to essential work.
First there is compulsory work
and it is very little help to say that
there should be compulsory work
when there is compulsory military
service. There is vast difference
between serving the country in arms
and working for a private employer
Secondly there. is no point ir
shifting a worker from one Job tt
another unless he stays on the new
job. This means job-freezing.
And how is the question of wage.
to be handled?