The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-10-12
ny PETER EDISON

result that a lot of those things
you see floating through the air
aren't falling leaves at all, but
inter departmental memoranda
on colored sheets of onion-skin
paper, each containing another
idea for solving the manpower
crisis.
Within the War Manpower
Commission itself there are doz-
ems of drafts of proposed legis-
lation TO solve the shortages and
SURPRISES. Every VINO sub
committe has its own ideas and
congressional committees have
their ideas, too. 1t all makes in
teresting material for discussion
and more discussion, but it has
not much more Importance or
authority than that. For exam
pie
Jesse Irwin, formerly chief
press agent for Gov. Paul V.
McNutt's many activities, in
Guiding the Manpower Commits
sion, quit his job the other day
and went TO work for a Washing
ton newspaper.
First day on his new job, Jess
broke an exclusive story pur-
porting to give the draft of the
new manpower law and detail
ed account of why organized Ia
Dor was against it. The story was
a major sensation around Man
power headquarters, and a mi
nor sensation in other Washing
ton centers, but it didn't mean a
thing. The draft was apparently
one of the dozens that have been
drawn up and passed through
the hands of Bernard G. Gavit,
Manpower Commissions general
counsel who, like McNutt, is an
ex-dean of Indiana University
Law School. But the draft ex-
pose had not been approved by
anyone.
IT'S DEEP STUFF
Most of the double-domed.
deep-dish thinking, writing and
speaking that has been done on
the subject of manpower has
dealt with it as a national prob
lem. It is, to the extent that it
concerns every part of the coun-
try, but when you get it down
to the fundamentals, this big ma
tional problem spells out as a
number of local problems. To
contribute just one more piece
of paper to be raked. up and
burned at the curb in the Octo-
Der bonfire, these local problems
shake down like this:
According to DR.. William Ha-
Der, ex-University of Michigan
and U. S. Bureau of the Budget
economist, who is now chief of
the Planning Division of War
Manpower Commission, there
ar 317 Labor markets" in the
United States today - areas
where there is concentrated and
active hiring. For instance, Pitts
burgh, Youngstown, A kr on,
Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, De-
troit, Toledo are each active la
Dor markets in one chain.
Of the BIT labor market areas,
the Manpower Commission re-
ports indicate that 35 have sur
plus labor, so have shortages
now and 90 more anticipate
shortages within the next six
months. The remaining LAP -
nearly half of the total though
not necessarily representing half
of the total labor force are for
the time being adequately sup
piled. The important point here
is that the manpower shortage
problem does not cover the en-
tire United States like blank
ct.
In adding up the reports from
all these labor market areas you
can get totals on what the man
power requirements will be by
the end of 1913 and good many
experts have their own figures
on the items making up those
totals-many of the estimates
varying. DR.. Haber's estimates
are that by the end of 1913 the
total manpower requirements -
for Army, agriculture, war pro-
duction, essential civilian &C.
cupations-will be 100000
workers. The available supply
he estimates AZ 57,500,000, max
ing an apparent shortage of from
5 TO 6 million. That looks easy
but all such figures include a
number of variables which must
not be overlooked.
DEMAND AND RESERVE
The labor demand is cOncen.
trated. The reserve is dispersed
The .63 100000 figure assumes
the fullest possible C, INVERSION OF
Industry to war production, the
concentration of civilian indus.
try in plants that cannot be con
verted. 1t assumes smooth flow
of materials to all plants and q
removal of all bottlenecks which