Evening star., 1943-03-28

tne Ministry OF Economic Warfare here.
All the time, they point out, Germany's
need for men behind the lines is getting
greater, due to various factors First in
Importance Is the extremely successful
Allied paper blockade" which has ef-
1ectlvely closed German ports to all food
shipments from the outside. 1t has i'm
modified at least 100000 men who
must be kept on the land Also it is
pointed out, the miners cannot be moved.
These, one authority said, ARE the men
who make life possible"
There is second cIass-those "who
make life endurable." They number we'll
over 100000 in Germany today and
include those in the clothing, transporta-
ton, building and more or less luxury
industries. Many of these may be drawn
on in dire necessity, but to do so would
create vicious circle which is little an
preciated except by manpower experts.
First, the constantly increasing air raids
over Germany make almost absolutely
essential the presence of many thousands
OF skilled workers to replace the build
1ngs and articles destroyed The longer
this is delayed the more difficult ordinary
living becomes and the lower morale
sinks. Also essential to keep up civilian
morale is continuous production of
what might be called, by stretch of the
imagination luxury goods That is, bit
ter experience has shown, men and Wom-
en- will not work, or will work only half
heartedly, If there is nothing for which
thoU
lash fails to spur them very much.
The third class are the men in essen
tial war industries and there is a rather
spirited argument going on at present
according to reports reaching here, be-
tween the military authorities and such
organizations as the Hamburg Chamber
OF Commerce. The generals say the army
must have the men, the industrial leaders
that they cannot carry out production
orders without them
interchangeable Nazis.
In the original Nazl conception soldiers
would be practically interchangeable be-
tween front and factory. This was es-
peclally true in the more mechanized de-
partments OF the army, such as the
panzer divisions. During lulls in the
hghting, such as were anticipated in
Russian winter, soldiers would be given
factory leaves.
One of the real thrills of economic
warfare experts here was when it was
learned authoritatively that the soldiers
were not getting these leaves last VIM
ter Now, it appears, the factories
themselves must be drawn on for the
benefit of the Army and production is
bound to take big drop.
In 1912, it is believed, Hitler was able
to replace large proportion of his
casualties by the 18-19-year-old draft.
Now II and 18 year olds are being called
up, but it is proposed to defer the actual
induction Of the former until the end of
the year. The 18-year-old class cannot
be expected to furnish more than 50O,0O
recruits and the deficiency probably will
have to be made up from the essential
workers. 1t is not yet proposed to use
the 16-year-old boys in actual fighting.
The pool from which the other necessary
requirements can be drawn numbers
about 5500,000, but the loss of every
man taken from this pool will be seri-
ously felt.
An important factor in the drain on
German manpower now being felt, one
authority pointed out, is the wearing
out of machinery, especially railroad
trains which have become the nations
almost sole source OF transport. now
that the seas are denied her.
If nothing else defeats Germany"
this expert said, friction will"
Vital Transportation.
Thus, he pointed out, 1t requires 80
railroad trains covering q distance Of
about 1900 miles to bring to Hamburg
the amount of Rumanian oil which once
could be carried in one 3,000-ton tanker.
The tanker did not wear out and re-
quired only small crew. The railroad
equipment requires q very large crew
and wears out quickly. Many workers
are absolutely essential to keep 1t in
repair or to replace it.
Germany must supply italy with coal.
The normal route would be from the
Ruhr coal fields to italian ports almost
entirely by ship via Rotterdam. Now
everything must 60 by trains through
the Alps and the wear and tear on the
equipment Is tremendous.