Evening star., 1942-09-20
Small Concerns
Face Drastic
War Changes
As Many as go, 900
Moy Be Affected by
Concentration
By FRANK NacMILLEN,

NEW YORK, Sept. 19.-Drastic
new moves to concentrate civilian
industry for war, which are ex-
pected to have especial repercus-
sions on small manufacturers, are
in the making at Washington, in
dustrial sources here said today.
The possibility that as many as
$4,000 small plants throughout the
country might be affected to some
degree by coming moves to simplify
and standardize products so they
may be made in smaller number
of factories was predicted by OBJ
servers who professed to know OF
forthcoming Washington orders.
There are roughly 10000 manu-
featuring plants in the country, of
which competent authorities esti-
mate $4,000, or a third, are engaged
in war work, directly or indirectly.
another third in more or less essen
tial production for civilian use and
the remainder either unable to pro-
duce goods required for war or SO
far not so engaged.
Washington measures now in the
making, industrial men here be-
lieve, will be directed at the latter
third.
Face Telescoping.
These establishments will either
have to find a place in the war
production program shortly or face
the prospect of being "telescoped,"
SO that a few firms do the work
of many. or of closing their doors
and letting their labor supply go
to concerns doing work more di-
rectly connected with the war.
The first move is expected to be
an order covering a wide field of
non-essential' industries, reduc-
ing very sharply the number Of
types and sizes of goods they are
allowed to produce.
The result is expected to be that
number of plants will be able to
produce in quantity the new sim
plified" product.
1t will also clear the way to later
steps. already contemplated, in
which the remaining plants. given
orders to concentrate their produc-
| ton in few factories to free
| others for war work, will have only
relatively simple universal" types
| to produce, capable of being made
in any factory remaining in the
| business.
| Steps Already Taken.
Long steps have already been
! taken in such simplification orders,
which are regarded here as only
/ forerunners of concentration Of
civilian production still to come.
Baby carriages, bicycles, heating
boilers, cement, many kinds of con-
tainers, cooking appliances, hairpins,
women's apparel and lingerie, hand
tools, radio tubes, mems work cloth
/ ing, trucks. rubber footwear are only
some of the products which have
already been simplified or standard
1 lied to some extent to save mate
| rials and labor, and as a possible
| preliminary to concentration of pro-
duction in few plants.
Other products which an in
formed industrial source believes
will be touched by simplifica ton
regulations shortly, unless they are
included in blanket order possibly
to be contained in the forthcom-
ing Washington pronouncement,
include:
Sewing machines, ranges, lamps,
farm machinery, all sorts of small
electric equipment, raZors and razor
blades, toys, lawn mowers, metal
signs. sporting goods, umbrellas,
Photographic films, caskets and
vending machines.
Directed by Coonley.
1t is under the direction of How
ard Coonley, former president Of
the National Association of Manu-
| facturers and one of the pioneers
| who helped develop the American
Standards Association, the principal
civilian engineering agency which
has worked in the simplification
| field.
| Steps are known to be under way
at Washington under which COM
| panles frozen out of their normal
markets by concentration of produc-
ton IN few plants will lreceive some
sort OF compensation from the con-
Germs which the Government allows
TO remain in the civilian production
| field
Such a course would follow the
English pattern, where nucleus
plants have been nominated by
the government to carry on neces-
sary civilian production under a
klck-back system under which they
compensate their former competi-
tors IN the event the latter have not
nPPn QhcOrhad int