Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-08-14
Production
Ills Laid to
Government
People Beginning TO Learn
Outlines Of Problem
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

storm since the first Fremont
tory gust from the Office of y!
Information last week an6
becomes apparent that the GOV
eminent. not the people, has
been responsible.
Up TO this time, the people
hadn't the faintest notion of the
mass problems of production on
such a scale and 1t may be
added that they were misled to
believe that everything was
going very well.
Now. for the first time. the
people are learning the rough
outlines of this gigantic problem.
We are learning that some
factories, having plenty Of what
il takes to manufacture their
allotted gadgets, have run
ahead of other plants which
were short of other materials
needed for other parts destined
10 be fitted into the same gun,
tank or ship.
We are learning that some
business men, being smarter and
more forehanded than others
and waiting to get on with the
war, hustled around and laid in
supplies to the impoverishment
of those others.
THERE was an inkling Of this
Il sort of trouble last winter
when a tough and ruthless in
dustrialist who turned to the
creation of airplanes was unof-
ficially accused Of slowing down
production for the purpose OF
running up his profits.
1t was explained that. on the
contrary, he was facing short
age Of some parts from SUBJ
manufacturers long way off, a
shortage which would stall his
own job. and therefore reduced
speed rather than clean up
everything on hand and dispense
his staff.
Having laid them off, he then
would have had 10 reassemble
those who remained on the lot
and recruit and fit into the pro-
duetion scheme new workers in
place OF those who surely would
have strayed off down the road
10 new jobs.
Another case was that OF the
Higgins Shipyard in Louisiana
where construction work was
sawed off regardless Of the
financial loss because the supply
of steel was no more than
enough, il il was enough. for
the existing yards and was more
urgently needed for available
ways than for additional yards.
OUR people know nothing
" about such things and will
be surprised, most Of us. 10
learn a showdown may not be
against the public interest under
some conditions.
The people know nothing
about rates or problems. of pro-
duction on such a scale and the
information given out by the
government has been in COM
parative but unknown quanti-
ties.
Moreover. bad as the news Is
on the basis Of production COM
pared 10 total need, IL can't be
so terribly bad on the plain basis
OF achievement.
The plants are visible TO the
naked eye. One OF the great pro-
duction bosses of the govern
ment, visiting a huge bomber
plant. remarked that If we could
throw buildings at the Germans
and japanese we could lick them
in an hour, for we had certainly
put up some colossal plants in
practically no time.
Moreover, the vehicles, planes.
and weapons and uniforms are
visible TO the naked eye which
still retains a fading impression
of a humiIiating spectacle not
more than 1S months ago in
which the soldiers Of the first
draft were playing with mock
weapons and hypothetical tanks
and we were told that we hadn't
enough first-class planes to fight
Guatemala.
We were. so unmilitary. so un-
armed that when Britain lost
her weapons in France. the best
we could send to England were
some old French 75s and single
shot Springfields, and they
begged and were glad to get
from us a collection of ordinary
household 22s and target pistols.
A YEAR ago, be II remem-
"a bered. our great problem
was "tooling up and we were
not In a position TO use more
than a pinch Of many raw ma
terials of which we have now
used up huge stocks, because
most plants weren't ready to
produce anything.
That great job seems TO have
been rushed TO completion in
much less time than Germany
used for a similar task. and
now the cry is shortage or I'M
equal distribution of materials
and labor, which is a job of ma
tional management or govern
ment and not any responsibility
of the people. who couldn't do
anything about it if they tried
beyond economizing as individu-