Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-08-14
HELENA BOOSTS
PARTICIPATION
IN WAR EFFORT

CARD ENGINEERING WORKS ON
OF CITY'S HUMMING GEN.
TIERS OF ACTIVITY
Under the direction of Howard W
Bogie. state director Of the production
division of the war production board
IN Helena, the capital city's partici-
patton in war production work has In
creased rapidly in the last several
weeks. Already the Card Engineering
works Of Helena. now beehive Of ac-
tivity, Is turning out war materials
chiefly for the navy but some also for
the army.
Recently Helena took another i'm
portant stride in the war production
picture when the school of aeronautics
and related trades. operating under
the direction Of its founder, L. w
Fahrner, was granted subcontract to
manufacture approximately 100000
worth of low-preSsure valves for the
navy The work on the valves will be
done by approximately 30 students and
instructors at the school as a sub
contract from the Lovelace Motor Co.
at Bozeman which received a large
contract from the navy.
Work on the contract now awaits
only the approval of ALLEGATION for the
purchase of materials. All the work
on the valves will be done at the
schools shops at the Helena airport
where equipment and other facilities
are adequate to complete the entire
Job with ease in the required time.
Students will be paid regular wages
for all work performed. 1t is expected
that the number of students working
on the valve or other war contracts
will be increased greatly in the near
future and that the government will
take full advantage of the aeronautics
school for further participation in the
war production scheme.
Director Bogie has announced that
all plants in the state capable Of en-
gaging N war work have been award
ed contracts and added that in the
near future subcontracting will reach
into many parts of the state, giving
small plants opportunities to jump on
the bandwagon which American in
dustry is driving at an unprecedented
speed to crush the axis He said every
sawmill in the western part Of Mon
tana is operating at full capacity on
army and navy contracts.
The Card Engineering works re-
ceived a large order to manufacture
complete valves for the navy. For sew
eral weeks Card workers have been
working on two large mooring buoy
Jobs, only a small portion of which
have been completed
Also being manufactured by the
Card workers are valve stems in many
sizes for the navy AS these valves
may be used on vital parts of navy
equipment, the high quality of the
Card workmanship may prove of eX-
IRENE Importance in the outcome of
future tests of strength between
American and enemy fleets. And real
ling their important role in this war
for survival, the Card workers are
concentrating upon superior work as
well as record breaking.
Work on equipment for shipways,
consisting of cast iron and bronze
castings has Just started at the plant
As the work on this order progresses,
much of it will have to be subcontract-
Card also is turning out 100000
pounds of counterweight castings for
loading cranes for the navy.
In addition to the large navy con-
tracts the Card plant has an army
control doors for airport buildings for
ammunition storage purposes. These
doors will weigh 5000 pounds. Orders
for large quantities of gratings and
frames for airport construction, in
GLIDING inlets and openings for man
holes, have been awarded the Helena
concern.
Material for the work-highly al
loyed steel-is received in Helena from
eastern steel plants. This steel is
forged at Helena, heat treated and
machined. A considerable part of this
work is done by subcontractors in East
Helena and Bozeman.
Production at the Card plant, under
the direction of G. A. Porte, general
manager in charge of operations, is
proceeding on 24-hour-a-day basis,
with three shifts of men working.
Finished products are turned out on
two shifts while workers on the third
shift devote their time to smash a
Welding bottleneck.
While the normal crew at the Card
works was 25 before the war contracts
were received, there now are approx
mately 80 men straining on the round
the-clock schedule to upset the axis.
And while there formerly were two
male office workers, there are five
today. The addition of three women
to the force is indicative of the trend
in the nation where women are STEP
ping into jobs wherever possible so
men may be free to enter the armed
forces.
Many of the skilled workers at the
plant formerly were helpers but they
have been promoted into more i'm
portant and higher paying jobs, such
as mechanics and welders. The man
agement reports these workers are
performing their work in satisfac-
tory manner. Extremely valuable to
the plant are the employees who are
graduates of the Helena school Of
aeronautics and related trades, whose
thorough training at the school fitted
them for vital war work.
approximately $2,50o.000 in war
contracts already have been awarded
Montana plants. In addition to the
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