Evening star., 1942-03-15
Grave Shortage
Of Labor Seen
By Autumn
ToIk Of Factory Jobs
For Women on Large
Scale Increases
BY PAUL GESNER and
WILLIAM PINKERTON,

developments now commanding the
attention of industrial executives:
Manpower for both factories and
the armed services is getting shorter.
By September, when auto plant
conversions are complete and scores
OF new arms producing units start
operating, the situation may be ex-
tremely tight. Farm help is scarce
IN many sections.
Millions of women eventually may
have to be shifted from houseWork
to war factory jobs, the Bureau of
Census thinks. Principal reserve
after all available manpower is en-
ployed, says the bureau, are the
l5,600,000 housewives between the
ages of l8 and a.
Some quarters are urging the
start Of long-range program to
train thousands of new factory
WorkerS-bOth men and women
now. 1t is held that with more
workers, armament output could be
doubled in many lines on present
machines.
Drafting of men with deferred
selective service ratings for war
plant jobs is actively being con-
sidered.
Gasoline TO be Curbed.
On top of the ending of motor
car production and the tire-sales
ban, limited gasoline use is being
planned for the Eastern Seaboard
again, because of sea tanker trans
portation difficulties.
Industrial executives who get
around the country say the aging
tire situation is showing up clear
est in parking lots for workers
cars at busy factories. The num-
Der of cars on the lots now are
25 to so per cent fewer than three
months ago. Four and five men
drive to work in one car.
Government officials still are
burning the midnight oil over the
apparently coming tire crisis. The
experts say in order to handle the
transportation of workers, doctors,
nurses, etc, around 100000 pas
senger cars will have to be kept
running and price administrator
Leon Henderson says that at best"
rubber will be available for only
100000 cars.
New Steel Record Set.
The Nations steel mills did Il
again this week. Acting on orders
from the top administration Offices
to produce more steel, and forget
costs" the industry turned out l.
654, 500 tons of ingots, the largest
for any week in history. This
topped by 3,40O tons the previous
record high of 1851 tons for
the preceding week.
A slight dip in electric power pro-
duction was attributed in part to
the new daylght-saving war time
and the lengthening DAYS as summer
Railway freight load
ings in the latest week sagged a
bit, too, but topped a year ago by
3.8 per cent.
lax Deadilne wear.
Scores of citizens were busy to-
day making out their Federal in
come tax returns, which are due
tomorrow. The laSt-minute rush to
file returns all this week, however,
didn't hurt retail trade
In many former years merchan-
disc sales in the stores along Main
street took a little dip in the week
leading up to March IS. Dollar
volume of retail business for the
country as whole averaged II to
18 per cent above last year, with
the only slowing OF demand COM
ing in a few high-cost items like
Price Rise Continues.
Foods in wholesale markets con-
tinued to rise. The Dun & Brad
street index of cash wholesale food
prices climbed to $3.50, the highest
level in 16 years, and compared
with S3.57 in the preceding week
The present figure is 375 per cent
above the $2.61 year ago.
Advancing during the week we're
lard, cocoa, eggs, raisins, steers,
hogs, sheep and lambs. A little
lower after recent advances were
-four, wheat. corn, rye, oats, barley,
potatoes and beans.
At midweek Price Administrator
announced temporary
price ceilings for nearly all pork
products.
Huge Output Planned.
An indication of how high arms
making sights have been raised
was given i'm an announcement by
General Motors Corp. Chairman
Alfred P. Sloan, jr, that his COM
pany was planning on a production
peak which would require 100000
salaried and hourly paid workers.
The most such workers the COM
pany ever employed at one time
was 292, 900 last June.