Evening star., 1942-02-23
Labor Shortage Faced
As Nation Speeds
Big War Drive
10000, 900 to Wear
Uniforms, OverolIs
By December
BY FRANK I. WELLER,
Wide World News.

~ AsExAN1A - SAkASASt
Wide World News.
The first real labor shortage In
modern America will occur between
July l, 1912, and July !, 1943, If ma
tional mobilization of man power
for war proceeds according to plan
Those dates bracket the year In
which President Roosevelt hopes to
convert so per cent of American
industry to war production and to
spend more than $50 900, 900 900 for
fighting materiel.
BY December of this year, the
schedule calls for an additional TO-
100000 Of war production workers
and 100000 more men for the
armed forces, and decreases Of TO-
10000 in the number of monde
fense, agricultural, self-employed
and unemployed workers.
No Washington source will esti-
mate now where labor shortage may
fall, but authorities forecast not
only complete mobilization of man
power but also a real labor short
age" They say the scarcity will
be much more marked than during
the last war. This time Uncle Sam
is arming his Allies as we'll as him.
self.
Vast Readjustment Faced.
For many it seems fantastic that
a Nation of 130, 900 900 which has
1000 900 unemployed in its best years
and saw idleness mount to 5000 600
during the depression, now should
face a labor shortage.
Few fully realize yet the tremen-
dous labor readjustment in store.
The defense effort started 18 months
ago with less than 100000 men in
uniform and only few thousand
persons employed in war factories.
BY next December, 100000 will be
in service and $1,000, 900 employed
at making war goods.
approximately 20 per cent of all
industrial plants Joined early de-
fense and lend-lease production,
most of them without disturbing
their commercial contracts. Now,
suddenly, there is to be $50 per
cent increase in the number OF war
plants, and this time it Is an all
out job.
The overtone of such a picture is
the shortage, already seriously felt,
of labor sufficiently skilled for the
more intricate operations OF war
production machinery. Later there
will not be enough skilled men to
replace civilian craftsmen called
into the armed services and war fac
tories.
Older Men Needed.
Oficials indicate that older men.
many of them veterans in their own
lines but wholly unprepared for es-
sential farm and factory jobs, ana
perhaps 100000 women, must be
trained for labor replacement. Some
of these, especially the women. are
finding their way into airplane, am
munition, ordnance, fuse and pow
der plants.
OF the 5O,35O 900 women in Amer
lea IA years of age or over, l2'Soo'-
900 now are part of the national Ia
Dor force, and 1,265, ,53S reporting
exnerience list themselves as seek
ing work. Another 100000 per-
haps. could be recruited from the
%, ,551 $50 women doing home work,
and the Ass ,971 in schools and COL
leges.
Wherever employed, women have
proved satisfactory in replacing men
in light mass-production industries
involving relatively simple high
speed machine and assembly opera
tions. Officials warn, however. that
there is a limit beyond which the
employment of women will endan-
ger sound family life"
They say the labor force, expected
to reach 57,4O0,000 by December,
can be increased to limited degree
bv employing women and more
school boys, and by greater employ
ment of Negroes in industries which
normally exclude them.
During the last war the world
record for driving rivets was broken
by a singing colored crew IN an
American shipyard.
Authorities urge employers 10
ease unnecessary bans against JOBS
for foreign-born when they are
known to be loyal, willing and able
Big as this country is, it adds only
600 900 workers of all classes year
to the labor force.
incentives Planned.
The War Production Board tenta-
lively plans to operate every ma
chine tool "a hours a day and per-
haps offer bonuses and medals 10
men making the highest scores: IL
points dramatically to the British
experience after Dunkirk when fac
tory workers stayed on the job until
they dropped from exhaustion. Iney
now work a maximum OF 1O12 hours
q day.
Labor and farm organizations
naturally wish to keep their men at
present jobs, but the best guess here
is that their effort will fall short.
The younger age groups are So uei-
nitely needed for a 1000, ,000-man
armed force that few see much
chance of deferment for farm and
factory workers between 20 and 80
inclusive. They are the fibre OF the
forces.
The British have found it far wiser
to defer, where they must, the mill
tary service of men between 80 and
40 in essential work and switch the
younger ones back and forth from
combat duty to factory production
as the emergency demands.
Modern mechanical warfare re-
uuires almost every man to be a
of sorts, and the Agricul-
ture Department is urging farmers to
try carrying their added production
burden with local help now available
or to use older ex-farm hands and
"farmerettes" from whatever dis
tance they may have to come.
TT,1 %a xovx, tho v,,nyoy,,oyf of 10 bov