Evening star., 1942-07-30
Kaiser Tells Senators
He Can Build CARGO
Planes in 10 Months
Several Large Aircraft
Firms Agree With Plan,
Ship Official Says
BY J. A. O'LEARY.

Henry J. Kaiser, West Coast
Shipbuilder, told a Senate Mill
tary Affairs Subcommittee today
that if given the green light to
start building big cargo planes
to overcome the submarine men
ace, he could turn out the first
plane in 10 months.
Earlier he had revealed to the
Truman Defense Investigating Com
mittee that several of the largest
aircraft manufacturers concur in
the feasibility of his proposal.
Breathing optimism and conf
dence in Americas ability to meet
any construction problem, Mr. Kaiser
unfolded his plan and declared:
I'VE are a great people. We just
haven't got down to work"
Before he left the stand Mr..
Kaiser emphasized he was not pro-
posing that he alone build big air
carriers
Il want the North, the East, the
South and the West to do the job"
Disagrees With Rickenbacker.
Mr.. Kaiser testified that several
OF the country's largest aircraft
manufacturers support his belief
that American industry can build
the planes to carry supplies to bat
tie fronts in reasonable time.
Taking sharp issue with Capt.
Eddie Rickenbacker, who contended
yesterday shipyards should not 60
into plane building, Mr.. Kaiser said
he had never seen q ship launched
before he went into the shipbuild-
ing business in December, 1910, and
is now sending vessels down the
ways completed in 46 days.
Chairman Truman brought out
that the Maritime Commission orig
inally had allowed the company
140 days to build those ships.
Il don't think 46 days is fast"
Mr.. Kaiser rejoined. Il hope in
two months to get the time down
to 20 days"
Would Rise to Occasion.
AS he launched into a reply to
Capt. Rickenbacker's testimony
about the inability Of shipyards to
| build cargo planes, Senator Tru-
man interrupted to observe:
THE same thing was said about
conversion of the automobile indus
try. That does not carry much
weight with me. I think a job can
be done if there is will to do it."
Mr.. Kaiser said he wondered II
Capt. Rickenbacker knew that the
United States Steel Co. and the
Bethlehem Steel Co. carry out the
complicated Job of building destroy
ers in addition to producing steel.
If those companies were called on
| by the President to say whether they
could build cargo planes, Mr.. Kaiser
declared, there isn't any question
that :ney would rise to the occa-
sion"
Asserting that his proposal for
large cargo planeS--to get away from
the submarine menace-is not "a
wild fantastic scheme" Mr. Kaiser
| told the committee why he believed
large shipyards could undertake the
task.
The principal requirements, he
said, would be organization of large
forces of employees. sufficient work
ing area, railroad and water termi-
nal facilities and housing for the
workers. The West Coast shipyards,
he said. have those essential facili-
ties He admitted conversion OF
some of the shipyard machine tools
would be necessary. and that 1t
would be greater than in the case
OF changing the automobile plants
over TO war production.
Can Lick Any Bottleneck.
He refused. however. to be
stumped by any suggested bottleneck
of materials or machines.
The way to break bottleneck, he
said. is to build plant to produce
any material you cannot get other
wise. Last April, he explained, he
began building steel plant that
will produce pig iron in December
and plate steel by January. He re-
called that to build one of the big
dams in the West in recent years, he
first built cement factory, after
he had been told that only God and
few manufacturers can produce
cement"
Answering queries about the en-
gines for cargo planes, Mr.. Kaiser
said that if the American automo-
) bile industry, which formerly built
IS per cent of the worlds cars, can
not built them, it would be sad
picture.
/ Senator Connally. Decocrat. OF
Texas wanted to know il Mr. Kaiser s
yards would have to abandon or
, curtail the building of surface
transports to undertake cargo
! planes.
Misconccption About Steel.
we would do both" the witness
replied. II believe our production
OF ships will be curtailed in spite Of