The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1942-06-11
BEHIND THE SCENES IN
AMERICAN BUSINESS"
BY JOHN CRADDOCK

SARI-At this half-year point in the glObal
war, a general "communique' on the u. S..
economic front would sum things up some
thing like this: Uncle Sam has settled into
a reasonably steady stride, with wal indus
trial production running well on schedule,
SURPRISING all but the most widely-optimistic
forecasts; civilian trade has slowed down
greatly, the result of a three-way pressure
ID war bonds and stamps are taking an
ever-large share of income, (2) present and
future taxes discourage spending, and (3)
the gradual disappearance or unavailability
of many major articles of purchase
Of course, we must anticipate still more
drastic changes, even on the business front
more pinchings of priorities, more ration
ings, more taxes, more substitutions
But a principal-if rather intangible -
development is that at least the American
people by now have reached the point
where they have a fairly good idea of what
to expect in the way of wars economic
kickbacks.
. .
BITS O. BUSINESS-Total industrial pro-
duction is running about one and three
quarters times the 1859 average The
nations two largest steel mills, the Gary and
South Chicago plants of Carnegie-Illinois, hit
new all-time high for blast furnace and steel
output in May Devoe and Reynolds, the
paint concern, has launched a nationwide
campaign to bring in old paint brushes for
observation-disclosures no more big brlstles
for that use are coming from the Orient -.
Here's a finding by the National Industrial
Conference Board that surely reflects a basic
condition of the times: Analysis of the in
come statements of 27O corporations showed
that corporate profits in the first quarter.
before taxes, averaged 20 per cent ahead OF
the 1941 figures - but after reserves for
taxes, they averaged rs per cent below!
CONSULTATION, PLEASE - An unusual
example of the new emphasis that war has
put on selling service" when priorities or
other obstacles blast product-selling oppor-
~tunities was related to the national Sales Elk
cutives convention. Tire selling overnight has
broadened into a "consultant profession so
far as the truck field is concerned, earning
fees on the basis of actual "vehicle-mile per-
formance," said j. j. Newman, vice-presldnet
of B. F. Goodrich, explaining that under a
new tire conservation service department.,
tire engineers of the rubber company super
wise the whloe program of tire maintenance
and operation for concerns using fleets OF
buses or trucks. Under such contracts, he
said. where it is emphatically to the best in
terests of both operator and tire suppller to,
get the utmost service out of the tires" mil.
age and performance had greatly increased,
sometimes doubled. He said that in bus SER
,:oa en- 0n0 villas nor tire is 'OrQlnarV,
100. 900 miles mo uncommon"
y +
INITIAL HONORS-A top-notch Amerl-
can business man who has had a bountifu!
share of initials associated with his name
got a new one the other day when the Uni
versity of Michigan conferred an LID. (doc-
tor of laws) upon John D. Biggers for "un-
selfish interest in problems of government
and active devotion to public affairs He's
president of Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass COM
pany-popularly know as L-O-F-and the
citation mentioned his work in OPM and as
minister to London for the SPAB, in addition
to that as director of USCU Omitted States
Census of Unemployed), which he conducted
in the mid-3O's.
REALLY ALL OUT-At least one indus
trial leader whose company is playing an
important part in the war drive insists that
"all out" participation means going far be-
yond production of physical goods for war
needs. In presenting a six-point program for
the distilling industry in wartime, Lewis s
hosenstlei, board chairman of Schenley, rat
ed production of ethyl alcohol for smokeless
gunpowder as the most obvious must" lob.
But production of munitions alcohol instead
OF beverages, Rosenstiel holds, is only part