Evening star., 1943-01-31
WPB Report Admits
Disappointments in
Willow Run Operation
Review Of Detroit PIonts
Reveals Giant Foetory
Is Far From Its Peck
9y the Associated Press,

Is for from Its Peck
By the Associated Press.
Breaking some of the Official
silence about the Ford Motor Cos
huge Willow Run bomber plant
the War Production Board said
yesterday that there have been
many disappointments in connec-
ton with the Willow Run operation
and the plant. even now, is far
from peak production
Discussions about the reasons
for its long lag have been many"
the report continued without de-
failing them. But bombers are
being turned out and production
is increasing"
Operations of Willow Run and
other war plants in the Detroit
area were reviewed in a press re-
lease issued through the Office of
War Information and described as
IAN eyewitness account of war
production in Detroit--the biggest
arsenal In the arsenal of democ-
racy."
The report listed manpoWer as
the most serious problem at Willow
Run, which it noted is 80 miles
west Of Detroit.
All Require Training.
The plant is finding it difficult
to get competent workers-and to
hold those they hire" WPB said.
"The tooling job has proved to be
more efficient than is generally be-
lieved-even in Detroit-and not
more than half of the number of
workers at first thought necessary
will be required. But virtually all
of the newcomers require training
Approximately 10000 of those now
in the plant are women. officials
speak well of their application and
interest in the work, and their
demonstration of intelligence.
In November the plant hired
$500 workers and lost 2,10O, many
OF whom went into the armed
forces, the report noted.
The plants manpower problem.
according to WPB, has been ag-
gravated by the lack of adequate
housing near Willow Run.
The report continued:
Housing Delayed.
. Trailer camps clutter around
nearby towns. Along the roads may
be seen frame structures, some of
them hardly better than shacks,
being built by workers in their
of hours. Controversies as to the
Delection of sites delayed construc-
tion of large amount of housing
which had been planned for
workers.
Some help will come soon. how
ever, when the first of 5000 dormi-
tory units will be ready. Nearly
] 900 trailers are also being brought
IN. In the spring $500 family
dwelling units should be ready for
workers and their families. Several
thousand additional houses are also
Under construction In nearby places.
Willow Run exemplifies the man
power problems of Detroit-a short
age Of highly skilled machinists
who are key men, and a tremen-
dous turnover of workers because of
housing and transportation con-
gestion."
General Motors. with 1o4 plants
IN As cities and 13 States, lis the
largest producer of war materials in
the country" Within a 25-mile
radius OF Detroit it performs II op-
erations.
Cannon On Conyeyors.
TO the west" the report con-
tinued, ARE tanks and Diesel en-
gines, airplane instruments and sub
assemblies, parts for guns. military
trucks and aircraft engines. To
the north, anti-aircraft cannon of
20, 40 and 30 MN dimensions, aerial
torpedoes and parts for many other
products. Off to the east, 3 and s.
inch naval gun housings, bomber
shells, military truck
parts and tank transmissions. And
to the south. even across the De-
troit River in Canada, is to be
found GM-operated machine gun
plant within the 25-mile radius"
Engineers have put even the big
90-mm. cannon on conveyor line.
They have made it possible to make
10 Oerlikon nti-aircraft guns to-
day in the time it took to make five
a year ago.
Around the clock, WPB said, De-
troit lives with its labor manage
ment problems, its materials prob
lens, its tussles with the Federal
Government. Night clubs are open
until the early hours and taxi driv-
ers harvest fares by driving long
distances within the city"
Social Tension Great.
Detroit's rapid growth, Its racial
mixtures generating misunderstand-
ings. its giant corporations, its
strongly organized unions, its groups
who advance various social and
political ideas" all "mingle into a
fantastic picture of wartime pros
perity and social tensions" WPB
said.
Despite the fact that Detroit is
very prosperous, it does not take
easily to restraints on work or
pleasure.
Another situation that has Gre
ated difficulties is the growth of
the Negro population. One cannot
travel in Detroit without discover
ing instances of tension between
whites and Negroes. Negroes have
contributed their share to the re-
cent growth of the city and have
spread into areas where they have
not previously lived, and although
q survey indicates that they have
been given jobs only in proportion
OF their percentage of their total
population, the Negros improved
status is sometimes resented"