Evening star., 1942-12-13
Jones Orders Bureaus
To Replace Drafted
Men With Women
Secretary Stresses Need
To Put Workers Where
They Can Do Most Good
By OLIVER MCKEE.

Secretary of Commerce Jones
has directed all bureau heads of
the Commerce Department to
use women, wherever possible, as
requirements for men subject to
military duty or who are needed
elsewhere in the war program, it
was revealed yesterday.
Stressing the need for utilization
of women to take the places of
men liable to military service, Sec
retary Jones, in letters to bureau
heads, asked that check be made
at once to "see that all personnel
are assigned to essential war work
for which they are most skilled"
During the past year, he said,
the Commerce Department has ap-
pointed more than $500 women to
positions normally filled by men.
Praises Women's Services.
I'm some instances, the service
they have rendered has been more
satisfactory than that performed
by men," he told his bureau chiefs.
Meanwhile, the Labor Depart
ment, reporting a 100000 increase
in the number Of women factory
workers in the first year of the
war, said yesterday that currently
one out of 10 wage earners is
woman. Before the attack on Pearl
Harbor,, the proportion was one in
100.
However, the greatest reserve of
potential workers still is composed
Of women and the War Manpower
Commission has indicated that
steps will be taken in the coming
month to bring more of them into
employment.
Women in Factories Increase,
Secretary of Labor Perkins said
the number Of women employed in
factories in mid-October was $780,
900 compared with 100000 a year
earlier. During this period, total
factory employment increased from
l1,400 900 to a record l2700. 900, not
including Government operated es-
tablishments such as Navy yards
and arsenals.
The durable goods industries,
primarily devoted to war produc-
ton, absorbed about four fifths of
the years increase in female fac
tory employment" Miss Perkins
said. The transportation equip
ment group led with a gain of u.s.
600 women-almost entirely due to
increased hiring in aircraft plants.
In the non-durable goods indus
tries, the number of women en-
ployed increased by 10,OO0-largely
IN ammunition and explosive plants
while the number of men de-
creased by $4,000. To some extent,
this reflects the hiring Of women
to replace men who have shifted to
the higher paid heavy war indus
tries or entered the armed forces"
Dominate Certain Industries.
In the apparel industry. 78 per
cent Of workers are women: in to-
bacco manufacture, 81 per cent: in
textiles, AZ per cent. and in leather
and leather products, "A per cent.
Early IN January, Commerce off,
clals adopted policy of using wom-
en- to fill vacancies in positions pre-
viously held by men. 1t soon was
found. however. that it was prac-
tlcally impossible to recruit women
with the basic training necessary to
MI certain types of positions ira
dltlonally held by men, such as
weather observers. communications
operators and craftsmen.
Because of this difficulty, several
commerce Department agencies. in
Guiding the Coast and Geodetic Sur
vey. the Weather Bureau and the
Civil Aeronautics Administration
have established special training
programs designed to prepare women
for their special needs.
Trained as Craftsmen.
The Coast and Geodetic Survey
Tor example. has established a
school to train between 300 and 400
inexperienced women for Jobs as
craftsmen. These are being re-
cruited from housewives and other
women within so miles of the Dis
trlct, and so far as possible from
those who do not find 1t necessary
TO seek employment for purely eco
nomic reasons.
The women are being chosen on
the basis OF special aptitude tests
and most of them, when they finish
their training, will be assigned to
the Job of making aeronautical
charts used by the Army and NAVY.
The Civil Aeronautics Admins
tration operates schools for train
ing women as communications and
traf1lc control operators. Approx
mately 100 women already have re-
ceived such assignments. Present
facilities are sufficient to train 1900
women communications operators
and 300 traffic control operators by
July l, l943.
Used as Weather Observers.
Since the beginning OF the year,