Evening star., 1942-07-19
Vast Expansion Seen
Ahead in Human
Wants, Needs
Wilson, Busy Chief
Of General Motors,
Scorns Defeutism
BY DAVID ]. WILKIE,

DETROIT, July 1s-Under the
impetus of the slogan, Produce
More for Victory" the armament
production program of the General
Motors Corp. rapidly is heading
toward colossal proportions.
Much of the credit for the effort
belongs to a youthful-appearing
electrical engineer, who is top work.
man among something like quar-
ter Of a million employees.
But Charles Erwin Wilson. tall,
broad-s h dered the white
thatched president of the corpora
ton, who is So years old today, prob
ably would say the credit belongs
to every one Of the men and women
engaged in the battle of production.
His associates will tell you, how
ever. that his administrative ca
pacity is a vital factor in the vast
production job.
Proud to Be Citizen.
Il don't think of myself as man.
ager who happens to be charged
with considerable responsibility at
the moment" Wilson explains in
discussing his attitude toward the
task he and his company have I'm
dertaken. Il think of myself rather
as citizen, trying to make social
contribution and hoping that in re-
turn I will get social reward"
That is the philosophy which the
engaging, well-liked Wilson (who
won an engineering degree from
Carnegie Tech before his 18th birth
day. brings to his job as head of
the largest automobile company in
the world, now devoted wholly to
the war effort His credo is simple
he believes in education, In work
and production and that it is worth
while ito get along with people" ;"
The list OF products of General
Motors in the war effort is a for
midable one. It ranges all the way
from tiny ball bearings, just visible
to the naked eye, to giant Army
tanks. In dollar volume it already
is far beyond the 100000, 900 a
month level.
Sees Room to Grow.
Wilson believes he was favored
in living in time that saw the
country develop in an industrial and
productive way" But, he maintains,
that development is nowhere near
its limit.
Human wants and human needs,
he asserts, will expand in the future
just as they have in the past.
Although in the midst of the war
effort Wilson talks rather sparingly
Of the future, he persists in the be-
lief that neither chronological devel-
opments nor the wars impact have
lessened or will lessen future oppor-
tunity for the Individual.
Perhaps in other countries" he
says, they have other ways of doing
things that are best for them. 1
don't think we have to change basic
ally any of our American ways Of
doing things to win this war. We
just have to think first of our coun-
try and that we are its citizens"
Wilson holds that the theory that
technology has brought human en-
deavor to halt and ultimately may
leave the world with a permanently
large unemployed class is defeat
ist philosophy, based on the erron-
eous assumption that "the millions
of people who still do not have the
present normal comforts OF life do
not want them and will not make
the effort to get them"
Wilson was born in Minerva. Ohio
where his father was principal and
his mother teacher of the Minerva
! school.
Education Runs in Family.
Education, you see," Wilson smil-
ingly observes, was matter OF
family pride"
When he was 4 years old his fam
lily moved to Mineral City, Ohio
Moving to Pittsburgh when he was
IA he finished his high school course
and enrolled at Carnegie Tech
Graduating with his priced electrical
engineering degree in 1909, he took
oii nPPA Sodl DC Hllll lllS
Westinghouse Electric g. Manufac-
turing Co, 1t was while there ir
1912 that he designed the first auto
mobile starting motor made by the
Westinghouse company
Subsequently he was made engi-
neer in charge of automotive elec.
trical equipment for Westinghouse
During the first World War he hac
charge of the design and develop.
ment of Westinghouse radio genera.
tors and dynamotors for the Army
and Navy.
He joined General Motors in 1s1!
as chief engineer and sales man
ager of the automobile division o
the Remy Electric Co. In 1923 h,
became a vice president of Genera
Motors, dealing chiefly with the cor
porations industrial relations ant
business planning activities. He ros'
to the presidency in January, 194l