The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-12-22
BY CLAUDE A. JAEGER
AP General Financial Editor


NEW YORK The year in
which America began to know
its might - that was 1912.
After long years of looking
back wistfully to something we
called "boomtimes," from cease
less arguing about something we
called recovery" we find our
selves working and producing at
a rate to astonish the world.
1t did not seem possible at
first. The many starts and
changes of plan beginning with
first moves toward defense when
war broke three years ago,
through the early months after
Pearl Harbor, even engendered
doubts in some minds as to the
ability of Democracy to organ
ize for war.
But here we are; after one
year at war (Hitler began weld
ing his war machine 10 years
ago.:
You have the word of Pro-
duction Chief Donald Nelson for
it that the United States alone is
producing arms - actual COM
bat weapons-in as great vol
ume as all the Axis powers COM
bined, while the output of
weapons by all the United Ma
tons is almost twice that of their
enemies.
For 1943, it will be work and
fight.
This past year has been rela-
lively easy. True, we motor-mad
Americans, or so others consider
us, have given up driving, ex-
cept to get to work and back; are
little short of coffee and sugar,
find meat scarce and high, have
trouble finding a doctor when
we need one.
But just think of this: More of
us are at work than ever before
and wages are higher. Average
weekly wages of factory work.
ers are up nearly IS per cent
since August, 1889, u. S. Bureau
of Labor figures show, while
wholesale prices of farm pro-
ducts are up rs per cent. Total
cost of living for wage earners,
meanwhile, has risen little more
than 20 per cent on the average,
the U.S.B.L.S. calculates.
We are better paid, better fed,
better clothed, better housed
than any other people. We have
begun to make sacrifices and be-
fore we attain victory, they will
be big. 1t should be easier to do
with less, when we have had SO
much by any standards the
world knows.
1t has been a year of organiza-
ton, tooling up, laboriously de-
Gliding upon workable regula-
tons, building factories, con-
verting existing factories. But
we are coming out of that phase.
We arc no longer contracting for
additional plant capacity. Some
contracts are being cancelled.
The production and fighting
phase is beginning. Now the
problems are manpower, wom-
anpoWer, and materials.
Already, the average work
week per wage Garner is close to
so hours in machinery. But for
durable goods plants generally it
is about Az, and for non-dur-
able goods, not quite 40.
Whole industries have been
converted. Automobile produc-
tion-the output of the industry
credited with the main spark of
fabulous American prosperity in
the years between the wars
was stopped year ago. Now
that industry is employing more
workers than before to turn out
weapons of war.
Textiles, chemicals, food -
most major industries are over
whelmed with war business. To
keep essential civilian supplies
flowing, plans are developing for
shutting down some plants not
useful for war production, con-
centrating civilian output in a
few plants.
With unemployment reduced
close to the practicable mini
mum, manpower has become the
basic problem. War industries,
employing less than 1000, 900
last year, now have some IT,
100000 at work, will need to
boost that total to 100000 or
more in the coming year. Armed
forces, now something over s.
SOD 900, will rise to some 9,000,-
600 year from now, maybe
more.
Employment In civilian indus
tries already cut from 20, 200, 900
a year ago to about Fl, 100000,
will have to be reduced further.
Farm workers are estimated at
about 100000, off 100000
from last year.
Miracles are being wrought
in production of essential mater
ials, but they are still short.
Every ounce of copper is vi
tai, and a substitute is even be-
ing devised for copper pennies.
ctoo1 orod,,ctiop this year roco