Evening star., 1942-09-30
Nelson Predicts
Closing Of All
]
Non.War Plants
Tells Committee
Every FociIity
Must Be Used
Ry JAMES Y. NEWTON.

dONeIliineut dCQulSttlou iol biiD
war effort of the management,
labor, materials, machinery and
buildings of manufacturing firms
closed by war, and to assure dis
possessed small business a
chance to operate again after
the war, was suggested to Con-
gresS today by Donald M Nell
son, chairman of the War Pro-
duction Board,
In making the suggestion, Mr. Nell
son said that before the war is over,
we shall need to use in some way
for essential purposes all the man.
agement ability we have. all the
manpower we have and all the ma
terials we have" Mr. Nelson made
the statement before the Senate
Small Business Committee, headed
by Senator Murray, Democrat, OF
Montana.
Mr.. Nelson described the necessity
for complete dismantling of manu-
featuring facilities which cannot be
fitted into the war picture He said
management and labor would be
shifted to war work Machines
which could be used by war firms
would be moved, others of no current
use would be used for spare parts
or scrap. Plants would be used for
storage.
Effort Not COMPLETED
He said the Government had by
no means completed its efforts to
get into war production as many
civilian goods plants as possible.
There is much work in that line still
to be done. The committee later
will hear from officials of the
Smaller War Plants Corp, as to
steps already taken and of plans for
the future.
Mr. Nelson gave no data as to
the number of productive firms
which cannot be fitted directly into
war work. He repeated a previous
statement that casualties will be
high. The last figure given by
WPB was that $4,000 firms out OF
1874 900 manufacturing plants in the
country would be war casualties.
Annual productive output value of
these casualties was estimated at
between four and five billion
dollars
Mr.. Nelson urged that neither
Congress nor any administrative
agency take any action which will
lmmobiliSe into an unproductiye
state for the duration of the war
"any of the elements of productive
capacity-management, labor, ma
terials, machinery, buildings or COM
mercial land" All will be needed
vitally in the war, he said.
Outlines Work.
Mr.. Nelson said it would be the
work of the War Liabilities Ad-
justment Board, in addition to
helping small business in the post
war period to administer the orderly
adjustment of the financial claims
resultin gfrom~ Government acuui-
sition of closed productive facili-
ties-in other words, to lend assist
ance, financial and otherwise, to
enterprises adversely affected by
war. Almost all firms, he said, have
"overhanging liabilities" which nor
mally they would have been able to
discharge.
The postwar work of the board
would be:
l. To provide effective mechanism
Tor financing small business after
the war.
2. To provide effective means for
giving small business technical and
other assistance at the end of the
war.
3. To provide a mechanism for
giving to small business enterprises
broken up by the war peace pri-
orlty' in acquisition of machinery
ana equipment when the war is
over.
Sees Retraining Program.
Pointing out that the Job of as
surlng full use of the Nations man
power was the joint responsibility
OF WPB and the War Manpower
commission, Mr. Nelson said he be-
heved the VINO will start an ex-
tehslVe program for recruiting and
retralning both the proprietors and
workers of small businesses outside
the war effort Some of the unused
plants, he suggested, might be used
as training centers.
Discussing his proposal for crea-
Clon OF the new liabilities board, the
production chief said:
AS see 1t, we are all vitally in
terested in providing for a sound
economy when war is over. To me-
SOUND economy calls for annie
opportunity for small enterprises tn
enter particular fields and add their
imagination, initiative and drive tn
the competitive struggle to provide
more and better goods for all of ia
at continually lower prices. But tn
me this objective should not invoIve
putting machinery or labor or man
agement brains away in cold storage
Tor the duration of the war"
Mr.. Nelson admitted that in manv
areas WPB had made no more than
beginning in utilization for war
eHort OF the tangible, physical pro-
ouctlon capacities of the country
He added, I'VE are now aware of the
problems in organizing to meet them
ana Will mcve as rapidly as we know
or can learn how
Every effort either has or will no
made to bring manufacturers Of
purely peacetime goods directly into
war work, he continued. He said
the best method of converting tn
war was to bring the work to the
productive capacities and in partic-
ular to the machines.
Several Possibilities.
If this fails, Mr.. Nelson said. tha
nrst possibility is to use the machine
as 1t Is after putting it somewhere
else IN combination with other ma
chimes. A second possibility is to
modify the machine and use il
(see NELSON. Page A-Is.l ~