davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1942-08-23

standings, but nothing that time and
experience will not iron out.
Ford found the job of making plane
craftsmen from auto workers, other In
dustrial types and persons with no ex-
perience whatsoever. tremendous one.
The task is still far from finished. To
do the Job a school was erected along
side the Willow Run plant. 1t resern-
bles . municipal high school, has Is
class rooms, eight laboratories audito-
rum and bookstore. There are trained
all clsssincations except riveters and
welders whose work Is either too noisy
or too hot to handle.
There are 1000 students" In the Willow
Run school, including some :, 400 learn
ing riveting and $50 engaged In welding
training. More than half the welders
are being trained for other plants. The
spot welding school has an enrolment OF
lbs, including 40 girls.
The Army Air Forces keep over 1000
men in training in ground school work
at Willow Run. This in itself b d2able
project. The school, however, nke the
plant, operates on an around -ths-csock
schedule, and facilities do not appear
overtaxed.
Another interesting spot IN the hold
ings OF Ford Is the aircraft engine plant,
where are made huge, 1000 horsepower
Pratt Ss Whitney plane motors. Ford
has been turning out these Air-cooled
giants for year. When = decision was
reached to make them. Mr.. Sorsnsen and
his engineers visited tho Pratt & Whit
ney plant in Hartford. Conn. In much
the same way they called on Consoli-
dated Aircraft.
, Just how well Ford has succssded In
duplicating the big engine Is best told
in q letter Mr.. Sorensen just received
from Pratt e. Whitney official. Tho
letter is eloquent testimony Of the work.
ings Of Ford's magic.
The official wrote that his men had
completely dismantled two OF the giant
engines, one made by Ford, the other by
Pratt & Whitney. The thousands OF
parts were scrambled The two engines
then were reassembled In subsequent
tests both performed perfectly. The
oflcial wrote that 1t was remarkable
demonstration" of Ford's ability to copy
q complicated product and turn out
perfect reproduction. He added:
IT am returning your engine to you.
I hope you will not mind in that it con-
tains about half Pratt & Whitney parts"
Engine parts are made and assembled
in the Ford plant. Each of the 18 cylin-
ders is IL times more powerful than the
motor of Ford car. The completed
product is placed in special room and
run for to 10 hours. Experts peer
through thick glass windows at the
roaring machine. check its performance
by instruments on wall before them that
seem as complicated as the instrument
panel Of bomber When the test Is
over, the engine is torn down, parts in
spected and reassembled. Then, 1t is
run for two hours more, cooled, wre-
ped in cellophane like Christmas pres.
ent and carefully boxed for shipment.
Testing the motors reveals another
testimonial to Ford ingenuity. Power
generated in the trial runs Is harnessed.
In this way is obtained more than half
the electricity needed to operate the
plant and make new engines. Eventually
Evening star., 1942-08-23

sorbed daily by the Willow Run organi-
zation. So. the plan may be said to be
rapidly approaching its full complement.
Some OF the stories OF worker slowdowns
undoubtedly stem from this source. The
first impression one gets is that Willow
Run is manned by slow WPA workers.
Actually, the conversations one sees on
nearly every hand are merely the ex-
perienced men and women breaking in
the newcomers.
Undoubtedly the worker-management
relationship within Ford plants can and
will be improved. 1t must be remem-
bered, however. that Ford factories were
unionized only last year. Supervisors
and bosses, after years of open shop. find
control by the United Automobile Work
ers dificult to comprehend. On ths
other hand. many workers are apt to
take advantage of their new-found
power. Such things breed mislnder.
Evening star., 1942-08-23

share OF sports celebrltteS on his payroll,
too. These include Indian Jim Thorpe,
Americas greatest athlete; Eddie
Cicotte, great pitcher Of the Chicago
White sox: Wally Pipp, Lou Gehrig's
predecessor as the New York Yankees
flrst baseman, and Len Sachs, one-time
manager of Jack Dempsey.
Ford employment in peacetime lowered
around 5000. It is no wwell up over
100000. When Willow Run and the
other war industries are under full
steam 1t will more than double the
peacetime total.
Woman Workers .
The war brought something else new
to the Ford empire-the woman indus
trial worker. Willow Run now employs
about 5000 women. Generally. the
women are not engaged in heavy work,
although there are four in school learn
ing electric arc and acetylene welding,
tough jobs. There are many things
around an airplane plant that women
can do better than men, jobs requiring
light touch and unusual finger dexterity.
Jumper-clad girls work on finer assem-
blies such as wing tips, aileron assem-
blies with hinges and pulleys to put
together, tube bending and clustering,
forming plexiglas for the plane nose and
pilots cap. Eventually, rs per cent Of
Willow Runs "manpower" will be sup
piled by women.
Few women are employed at the Rouge.
Their introduction at Willow Run and
elsewhere, however. brought = change in
the Ford luncheon diet. Tractors pull
strings Of small lunch wagons from
main kitchens to the plants. In the
past, foods consisted largely Of meats
and cheese. The women protested that
it was too heavy. Now such things As
egg salad and tuna fish sandwiches may
be found in almost any Ford lunch
wagon.
The story is told that an individual Of
some prominence was being conducted
through Willow Run. AS the tour ended
the guide anxiously sought the visitors
reaction.
What" he asked, was the most Inn
pressive thing you saw?"
THE girl in the blue jumpers in the
plexiglas department." the man replied.
From 800 to 600 new workers are alb
Evening star., 1942-08-23

On that score, one Of his key men at
Willow Run said of Mr.. Sorensen:
Charlie Sorensen is dynamite. He will
tell any one In the world where to get off.
He is thinking all the time, and thinks
fast. He conceived this whole plant in
the beginning and his ideas have held.
He is remarkable man."
Another man was asked how MIR. Sor-
ensen reacted to Government red tape"
He replied:
"Sorensen doesn't break red tape. He
just ignores 1t. Brushes right through
without knowing it's there
Problem of Manpower
matter of great concern to Mr.. Sor-
ensen, however, is the mounting number
of skilled and partially trained men Ford
is losing to the armed services. He said
the draft and enlistments have drawn
6,748 men from the infant Willow Run
plant alone. He believes the only answer
is some type OF group deferment. The
company now examines the draft status
Evening star., 1942-08-23

to build airplanes it will be done this
way"
He proceeded to draw plan for a
plant which looked for all the world like
an automobile factory, assembly lines,
conveyors and all that made quick pro-
duction of automobiles possible. The
rough drawing was transferred to blue
print. Mr.. Sorensen showed the worn
print to the writer the other day. 1t
bore an amazing resemblance to the lay
out of Willow Run today. The assembly
line has been shortened, somewhat of
compromise with the design of the con-
ventional aircraft plant.
Mr. Sorensen returned from San Diego
firmly convinced that Ford could mass
produce bombers. Preliminary work was
started Immediately. Technicians pored
over plans for the building. studies were
made for adapting machines used in
automobile manufacture to airplanes. In
March work was started clearing the
Willow Run district for the plant and
airfield. A contract from the Govern
forthcoming until the middle of May,
1941.
mo one ever rang more doorbells in
Washington than I did during that
time" Mr. Sorensen related.
A Sl4,0OO,OOO Gamble
1--WE had our necks sticking out to the
tune of s14O00,000 at Willow Run" he
added, before we had an order to
cover it."
Work on the plant progressed smoothly
and the first bricks were laid August Is
of last year. In September the big job
of moving in machinery to build the
B-24s began. Late in the fall the plant
started producing it's first parts, though
the building was far from complete.
Ford is building bombers with the
same engineers who planned and de-
signed his automobiles. This in itself
represents a tremendous task Aero
nautical engineers were and are scarce
To have borrowed" technicians from
Evening star., 1942-08-23
Beginning Plane Manufacture


middle of the Rouge plant and described
how Ford got in the bomber business.
He brought out wooden model OF the
B-24. took it to pieces and reassembled
It, He explained that in the Liberators
Ford will make the parts completely in
terchangeable, something new in aircraft
manufacture, the result of precision
made units. In other words, you could
tear apart a group of Ford B-24s, scram-
BILE the parts and re- assemble them with
out regard for what part originally was
on what plane, just as could be done
with a Ford car. This is of tremendous
Importance in repairing planes damaged
in battle.
It was in January, 194l, that a small
group of Ford engineers headed by Edsel
Ford, president of the company, and Mr..
Sorensen first visited the Consolidated
Aircraft plant in San Diego. They wanted
to get into plane manufacture. They
were greeted by Maj. r. H. Fleet, who
owned Consolidated at the time. Maj.
Fleet, somewhat worried, was quoted as
remarking, laconicaly to the Ford men:
"All right, boys. Am I going to buy
you out, or are you going to buy me out?"
The Ford men inspected the Consoli-
dated plant. Returning to their hotel,
Mr.. Ford, Mr.. Sorensen and the engineers
swapped Ideas. Mr.. Sorensen took out
paper and pencil and said: If we are
Evening star., 1942-08-23

a conveyor belt circling the building
interior. Parts are machined, stamped
out Of raw material by huge presses at
the front end and carried to the various
assembly points by this belt and a con-
veyor treadle, built along the floor for
heavier sections.
Assembly lines OF aircraft plants are
crude by comparison to Willow Runs"
one observer remarked. He added the
plane manufacturer would scarcely rec
ognize it is an aircraft plant.
For engineers have introduced some
of their machines and methods in other
plants, but as one official remarked:
ut is as difficult for the others to adopt
our method III entirety as it would be for
us to make planes the way they do"
When in full operation, Willow Run
will assemble complete bomber, nearly
all parts for which, except the engines,
will be made within its walls. 1t will
also supply the parts-sub- assemblies
to be pieced together in final products at
other plants. So far, only sample"
bombers have been completely assem-
bled at Willow Run. However. sections
for an undetermined number OF bomb
ers, Liberators, as these planes are called,
have been made in the plant and shipped
elsewhere for assembly. Mr.. Sorensen is
filling the funnel"
Victory in the Making
Inspection OF Willow Run and other
opening. 1t builds confidence that VIC
tory for America and democracy is in
evitable. OF Willow Run, top-ranking
Army air official said: 'It is the most
impressive thing have ever seen yet. I
can't help but feel optimistic"
The nearly completed picture Of Will
low Run appears so simple that one is
apt to overlook the tremendous effort 1t
represents, that little more than q
year ago it was farm, not the worlds
largest factory. The obstacles Ford has
overcome in such short time can best be
described as colossal. One is even more
impressed when Mr.. Sorensen relates:
"It took 40 years for us to build our
automobile business. You know the size
Of that undertaking. Here Cat Willow
RUM we are asked to do something rs
big as all our automobile business and
in little over year. The dollar turn
over in year from aircraft manufacture
will be greater than our peak car turn
over. We weren't exactly greenhorns in
mass production, but the bomber is q
lot different from the Ford car"
Mr.. Sorensen exudes energy, power
confidence and optimism. In conversing
with him you are likely to gain the i'm
preston that accomplishment of any
task, no matter how great, is simplicity
itself The entire history of the Ford
organization shows change, experimental
tion comebacks, accomplishment of the
impossible" They like it that way. Mr.
Sorensen and his men obtain a tre-
mendous lift" from conversion of theii
plants and personnel from pursuits OF
peace to total war. They loathe war as
such, but the business of making things
entirely different from custom is highly
enjoyable.
II was never on a job" Mr.. Sorenser
says, that I enjoyed more, one that
made mo hammer than this urork y
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1942-02-12

belts and shoes. But now 1 learn
from the Hermit that shark liver
oil is teeming with vitamins and is
in great demand by pharmaceutical
houses for those yellow peppills that
Americans are consuming in great
numbers these days.
But that, it seems. in no way linn
its the usefulness Of the lowly shark.
After the hide has been stripped off
and the liver extracted. the carcass
can be ground up and made into a
high potency fertilizer, rich in urea
and nitrates. And that's where the
sharks value to the farmer comes
in.
Last year the Hermit and his
sharking colleagues tossed over
board two million pounds of perfect
ly good carcasses, simply because
they didn't have the machinery nee
essary to convert the defunct fish
into fertilizer. This year, what with
the announced shortage of nitrates
and fertilizer, the Hermit feels that
it is high time the government took
an interest in the matter, and he is
now. in Washington for that purpose.
The more l hear about the shark
profession the more colorful it
sounds. The Hermit, for instance,
tells me that the sharkery's presi-
dent and founder is a prominent sci
enlist, DR.. Alexander van Boyer,
who has pioneered in the develop
ment of vitamin products from
shark livers. The doctor has Chi
nese connections and is a member
of the Hip Sing tong which is an
aid in the marketing of another BY
product, shark fins. The Chinese
regard shark fins as a great deli
cacy.
More than this, l understand that
shark NEATLY any other name
is an excellent food. Instead of let
ting the sharks eat us we may turn
the tables and eat the sharks! Who
knows?
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1942-02-12

thousand a day at the Springfield
arsenal alone.
Meanwhile, the men on the fight.
ing front say this to America and
England:
Hurry. Cut red tape. Take risks
Don't wait until you have had wha,
you think is enough. Send what you
have. risk it. Well risk our lives
to use it,
If we are willing and able to an.
swer this message, Japan may be
toppled over on her heels. With Singa-
pore in Japanese hands some Japa
nese elements would be able to filter
through the island barricade toward
Australia.
The fall of Macarthur will release
thousands of Japanese soldiers. the
fall Of Singapore, thousands more
If the key defense of Java goes, the
Japs can then flood south to Austria
liza and perhaps isolate that cont
nent of hardy fighters. The invad-
ers can also swarm westward
through the Straits of Malacca, take
Rangoon, gateway of the Burma
road. They can move submarines
into the Persian gulf and the Red
sea and threaten the life line to Brit
aims middle east armies and Rus
STA.
Once China is cut off, Japan will
offer her a very favorable peace.
Chang Kai-shek would not accept,
but his followers might accept. That
would mean thousands more of
Japan's electives could be released,
and if Russia's supplies are cut off
Hitler could take Moscow while the
Japanese troops move en- Siberia.
And SO we can understand why the
United States, fighting to hold their
island defenses in the southern Pa
ciic, are praying that in the next
few weeks that we will risk what we
have to bastion them. Even though
it be little it need not be too late.
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1942-02-12
EzzgzzZzZzZzZ
Holding Dutch East indies
Is Vital 10 United Nations
Crescent of Islands Blocks Jap Aggression
BY Forming Barrier Between Continents
Of Asia and Australia.
By BAUKHAGE
National Farm and Home Hour Commentator

But there are many dents in he.
sword already-more than 81 ships
lost in the first few days of the bat
tie in the Macassar straits, which
lie between Borneo and the Celebes.
Many more such losses will be ir.
reparable.
Successful, although scattered at
lacks by American and Dutch
planes and submarines and surface
ships are taking their toll. And even
though Japanese units may secure
some island bases near enough to
bomb the Australian coast, and
some ships are able to slip through
to raid coastal towns. the sword
hand will be badly strained. The
tough. well-fortifed, well-supplied
island of Java can deaden her blows.
And if enough other bases for allied
bombers and subs remain from
which the far-fung Nipponese invad-
ers can be harassed, her course
westward and southwark can be
checked
For the United Nations fighting at
the Malaysian barrier it is simply
problem of hanging on. For the
United States it is problem of pro-
ducing and delivering the goods.
Against us is first our late start
in war production; second, the great
distance to the front-about six
weeks from loading to unloading;
and third, lack of ships.
Into High Gear
We cannot make up lost time but
it is agreed that Donald (Battling)
Nelson and his war production board
will keep us in high gear from now
on.
AS for the ships, by June we will
be producing them at the rate Of two
a day-cargo ships. AS for the
precious cargoes, fighting planes
which have to be shipped-they are
being turned out in rapidly increas-
ing numbers. The figures are secret,
/ have it on good authority that it
would take only 1000 more planes to
give us superiority in the whole Pa
cific. But far less than that are
needed to establish superiority in
the present fighting area since
Japan must keep a large air force
at home for defense of her own
cities.
AS for the tanks and men, these
needs are not so pressing, but tanks
will soon be rolling to the tune Of
thousand month, and Garand
rifles for next years army Of seven
million men are being turned out a
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1942-02-12

WNU Service, 1s4S H Street. NV.
Washington. d. C.
BY the time these words are print
ed Singapore may have fallen. jap
anese bombers may be raiding
Australia and Japanese ships may
be in Australian waters. Even so,
according to the sober prediction Of
those in diplomatic and official cir
cles who are able to look at the war
map without wishful thinking, the
tide may still be turned against the
Japanese if one condition remains
the same. That condition is that the
United Nations continue to hold key
territory in that slim crescent Of is
lands, the Netherlands Indies which
form a barrier between the cont
nents Of Asia and Australia.
There are two reasons why these
experts believe this Malaysian bar
rier may be held in spite of jap
anese gains north and south of it
First, as one military man put it. by
rule of thumb Japan has already
stretched her supply lines so far
from her home bases that they may
be expected to snap in vital spots.
Second, because of successful delay
ing actions now going on, time is
fighting on the side of the United
Nations. time for sufficient re-
endorsements to arrive, especially
from the United States, which will
snatch air superiority away from the
Japanese and thus affect the tide of
battle.
japan has SO far extended her.
self, experts agree. that powerful
blow might topple her over back
wards. General Macarthur has held
Japanese army of 200,0 men in
the Philippines. Huge land, air and
sea forces have been drawn into the
siege of Singapore. Japanese troops
are fighting in Burma. 5000 miles
from the Manchukuoan border. They
are spread fan-wise from Sumatra
in the west 1000 miles along the
equator to the Solomon islands be-
yond New Guinea
United Nations Barrier
1t is the barrier the United Ma
tons have established from Sumatra
to the Solomon islands. with Java
as the key point, upon which japan
may break her curved scimitar Of
offense.
Japan has already penetrated
scattered islands in some places
in Borneo, New Guinea, in the Cele-
bes and in the Australian inundated
islands in the Bismarck archipelago
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1942-02-12
BOY SCOUTS

Chief Scout Executive West and
OCD Director LaGuardia in a
joint statement defined the rela-
tionship of the Boy Scouts to CT
william Defense for the duration of
the War. Boy Scouts can be i'm
mediately enrolled in the follow
ing groups in the civilian defense
set-up: ~ assisting emergency
medical units; (2) fire watchers;
(3) leadership in the development
CT adequate locally trained mes
senger service in which members
OF the Boy Scouts will have spe-
cial designation, supplementing
their uniform indicative of their
special training.
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1942-02-12
Unity In The Americas

The conference of American foreign minister's after
considerable discussion and some compromise, finally
reached agreement providing for breaking off diplo
matte relations with the Axis but leaving the timing
of such step to the individual countries
When the conference began, it was hoped by many
of the participants that every American republic would
Immediately break off diplomatic relations with the
Axis but, early in the conference it apparent that
Argentina and Chile not prepared to take this
STEP Eventually they may follow the lead of the other
republics.
The failure of the conference to reach a unanimous
agreement for immediate rupture with the Axis leads
some to the conclusion that the the conference
failure. This does not just appraisal of what
American republics The mere fact that delegates
from other nations willing to adjust the final
decision to comply with the wishes of Argentina and
Chile illustrates the difference between the processes of
democracy and those of the Axis powers
In connection with the stand taken by Argentina,
we should remember that country has large Italian
and German minority, working in close harmony with
pro-Axis groups in the Army and Administration and
an election looming during the present year.
Interesting the discussion of economic prob
lens relating to the welfare of Latin American nations
whose trade has been with Europe rather than the
serious diSlocaons in the economic life of the South
Americans who looked to the United States for relief,
especially credits to develop industry and concessions
to enable them to sell their surplus products. While
progress has been made along this ne there has
been difficulty in the fact that many South American
staples, like Argentine meat and Chilean copper, COM
pete with domestic production in this country and
excluded by tariffs and other barriers.
While the conference unable to make satisfac-
tory adjustments of these economic problems, the dis
cusson indicated considerable thought of the future
There proposals for closed hemisphere economy,
with uniform currency and stabilized monetary sys
tenn, the adjustment of foreign exchange difficulties
and the gradual reduction Of tariff walls
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1942-02-12
The Hermit
OF Shorktoofh Shoals

The Hermit of Sharktooth Shoals
came to town the other day with
the surprising news that instead of
being an enemy of man, the man.
eating shark is now to be regarded
as one of mans best friends, and an
especial friend of the farmers.
The Hermit is former newspa-
per associate of mine who has re-
nounced the noise and tumult of
cities and. now helps conduct shark
fishing establishment at Fort Pierce
off the east coast of Florida. Along
with most people, / had thought that
the commercial use, if any, for
sharks was limited to the hides. fol