Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-05-04
Plane Plant
Unproduc+ive
-NearlyYear
Christening Of First Ship
Merely a Gesture
BY PAUL MALLON

z the Aul llSs- WIiSllt Gil
plane factory at Columbus, o.,
have been reaching the public
prints, off and on, in a neces-
Sarily vague way, because of the
desire of every one to avoid dis
closing military secrets involved.
1t should no longer be mill
tary secret that this plant
achieved the sensational record
of not delivering a single air
plane for more than Ia months
after it broke ground. The plant
was started January 20, 1941.
and was finished nearly a year
ago in the middle of June. Yet
the first delivery was made only
a few weeks ago.
A big christening was h e d
last December 4. for what was
supposed to be the first plane
off the line. Deliveries were
supposed to have. started then.
Pictures were taken and news
paper stories widely circulated.
Since then matters about which
there has been any publicity
have been the accusations and
denials that a showdown existed
there.
The christened plane was &C
tually only a test model. After
the cameras were taken away
and the newspapermen had gone,
weights were dropped upon its
wings, etc., to determine its dur
ability.
1t was wrecked in the process,
and actual deliveries did not
start until about five months
later.
NOV, there may be disputes
~ as to who is to blame, but
there can be no denial OF these
facts. Among the explanations,
which are no doubt valid, are
that the personnel in the plant
was 81 per cent new to the
aviation industry; that the plant
itself was likewise new; that the
company had to do experimental
designing and proving, as well
as producing, etc.
Other charges that have been
made, however, are:
That morale in the plant has
been low; that labor has been
in a showdown, and that neither
the management nor the labor
seemed able to handle its own
end of the business efficiently.
Whether a new naval inspec-
tor assigned to the plant will
change matters remains to be
seen.
Regardless of all that, no one
here or in Columbus has been
able to cut through this amaz-
ing situation and give that plant
a record of which II should be
proud. So far il has produced
more explanations than planes.
CTALIN'St May Day speech
- was addressed to the Red
workers, but it sounded like
none he ever made before. Gone
was any talk of "the revolu-
ton" Absent was any suggestion
of his kind of collectivism. What
he wants now is:
Freedom and Justice"
Moderate also were his de-
mands. He renowned any am
bition for territory. beyond the
acquisition Che said "freeing~
of his own Ukraine and White
Russians, Lithuanians. Latvians,
Estonians and Finnish Kare-
lians.
While this new presentation OF
Russian purposes may have been
partly conceived for effect on
the outside world, its main effect
will be upon the Russian people
themselves, directing their minds
away from old Red goals toward
a new one.
MIR. ROOSEVELT will have
WI trouble keeping his promise
to maintain his shipment Of
supplies to China. He was no
doubt speaking Of creating a
new Burma road of the skies.
He could make it fully eff
Gent only with 100 transport
planes, each plane would carry
three or four tons. With a
round trip a day from India for
each plane, the skyway could
approximate the peak traffic Of
the Burma highway.
1t carried around $4,000 tons
a month, although 5000 of this
was gas for the trucks.
A hundred planes, however.
are hard TO find these days. The
Chinese were promised 25 but
they have not yet received
these.
Very little material has been
getting into China since the
Japs seized Rangoon.
MO ONE knows exactly what
~ the President has done with
his secret blank check fund OF
5000 900, 900, and il may be two
or three years before an ac-
counting is given.
The April % daily treasury
statement shows the total spent
since last June 30 is S147,433,-
600. nearly twice as much as
the previous fiscal year. 1t says
certain amounts have been allo-
Gated TO navy. army. building.
etc. but not how these amounts
were spent.
IL is known FDR used much
nf Tia r,,nrn,, a. In,iII AZ