Evening star., 1942-04-05
War Output Achieving
Impossible Results,
Nelson Declares
Planes Moking Records
On All Bottle Fronts,
W. P. B. Chief Says
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, April 4.-Donald
M. Nelson, chairman of the War
Production Board, asserted to-
night that Americas industrial
plant is really beginning to roll"
and "a new era of management
labor cooperation is developing,
which will prove of immense
value to the entire Nation"
Although he admonished that
"this is no time for easy optimism"
Mr.. Nelson asserted in an address
at an Army Day banquet of the
Military Order of the World War
that I'VE have not yet done the i'm
possible-but we are doing it,"
In a detailed review of the prog
ress of the Nations war effort. Mr..
Nelson stressed that its relative
success thus far was still dwarfed
hy the fact that "it is the biggest
jpb, bar none, that this. or any
other country ever tackled at any
time In history. 1t is 50 huge that
We can break every record we ever
made and still fall short of the
heed
Roll Of Achievement.
Then he called the roll of achieve
n1ent since Pearl Harbor:
THE airplane production program
adopted after Pearl Harbor was
presumed by practically every one
to be bigger than could possibly be
attained. 1t was impossible pro-
gram if there ever was one. We
met our schedules in January and
we made % per cent more planes
than we had made in December.
We exceeded our schedules in Feb
ruary which, of course, called for
an increase over January. In
March again we met the schedule
-. :"
With regard to tanks: 1--WE are
Ahead of schedule on tank pro-
duction."
+. Ships: Our production OF mer-
chant shipping is rising rapidly
we should meet this years schedule"
!. Anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns:
The same is true"
Planes Turning in Records
He declared that no American
heed fear that the Nations soldiers
were going into battle with inferior
weapons, asserting:
Our planes have turned in out
standing performance records all
ever the world-in the Far East, in
North Africa with the British, and
on all other battlefronts.
Every American can be proud, not
only of the heroic men who are fly
ing those planes, but also of the men
In the Army and in our aviation in
bustry who designed and built
them"
Mr. Nelson asked that more credit
be given the Army's Ordnance De-
partment for its steady development
Of better weapons from 1920 to l940
when the emergency defense pro-
gram got under way.
That the weapons now being
produced are such excellent ones Is
largely due to the work that was
gone between 1920 and 1s40," Mr..
Nelson said.
Turning to the problems ahead,
the war production chief reiterated
his warning against "easy optimism"
even though the Nation has done
extremely well, measured by any
ordinary standard"
/, "One gun, one plane, one tank or
one ship>fnished this spring may be |
worth 10 finished a year from now"
Mr.. Nelson declared.
THE time is short. Never were we
under such pressure to do a big job |
quickly. Because the pressure is so |
great, our immediate success-our
ability to get out more war goods |
now, instead of few months from
now-depends in no small measure
on the willingness of executives and |
workers in our war plants to make
the job matter of individual, per-
sonal responsibility"
Because of the immediate need, |
Mr.. Nelson said, I'VE are calling on |
all Of the people who have places in
our war production lines for that
added bit of personal effort that can
spell the difference between success
and failure"