The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1943-02-04
COMMENT ON WORLD
EVENTS

Indies, the Malay Peninsula and other
southern territory are greatly hamper
ing the japanese war effort and play
ing havoc with the much touted de-
velopment of the so-called Greater
Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
The sharp upward rate of japanese
shipping losses in recent months tends
to aggravate the situation and to COM
plicate the japanese conduct of the
war, says word from Dutch and East
Indies labor circles to the Interna-
tional Transport Workers Federation
According to these sources, the large
teak and hardwood resources of the
eastern territories are ruthlessly eX-
plotted for the purpose of creating in
the shortest possible time fleets of inter-
island and coast vessels to be used for
troop and material war transports as
well as for commercial purposes. In
Java alone, more than 10000 acres are
covered with teakwood forests which
furnish excellent shipbuilding material.
These forests are now being stripped
with complete disregard of future
needs.
The general shortage of skilled man
power in war and related industries
forces the japanese occupation author
tiles to recruit native workers Wher-
ever they are available. However, the
IndOnesian population passively resists
the japanese slave drivers, and threats
backed by corresponding action are re-
quired to get the necessary manpower
for urgent work to be done. The want
and hardships brought to the natives
by the Nippon conquerors are openly
conceded by the japanese domestic
press.
In order to cope with these trans
portation problems number of fan
tastic plans have cropped up which
seem to be taken seriously by the
japanese themselves.
Elaborate plans for the construction
of tunnel between Singapore and
Sumatra, under the straits of Malacca,
have been made public.
A connecting railway between Sing
apore and Shanghai, by way of the
deadly swamp-filled Malay Peninsula
jungle is also contemplated which ac-
cording to its sponsors will shorten
travel between Singapore and Toxic
to days and thus help to solve mill
tary transport and supply problems.
4 x X
Decisions of the British Amalga
mated Engineering Union to admit
women to membership has inaugurated
new era in the history of British
trade unions. Hotherto, they had ad-
mitted semi-skilled workers only after
much hesitation, whereas against
women the doors We're entirely closed.
The increasing use of women's (there
are now about 10,O00OOO employed
has made it imperative to revise an
old principle which in wartime indus
try is outdated.
A large proportion of the women en-
ployed have entered the metal and the
metal working trades. Since the craft
unions did not admit them, they sought
ana found their way INTO lnduStrlal
unions. The two largest of these-the
Transport and General Workers Union
and the General and Municipal Work
ers UniOn-have each organized about
Il quarter of a million women.
x + 4
Workers can be simply machine
operators who carry out orders or
they can be human dynamos. The
loyalty of free persons is the strongest
human force. The method which seeks
cooperation assures more under any
circumstances - emergency or normal
because it releases resourcefulness.
In principle it is as old as human work
relations.-American FederatiOnist.