Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-24
Shipping 10 Dictate
Production Strategy
In Coming Months
Gigantic War Tosks
Clearer to Nation,
Magazine Reports
Special Dispatch to The Star.

SPCAAei DASPebGU W lHt ctbT.
NEW YORK. Jan. 23.-Business
Week reports today that news OF
important Allied gains again shared
the headlines this week with do
nestle events that were making the
Nation and its executives more and
more aware of the gigantic war tasks
yet to be achieved. Breaking the
new production bottleneck is one
job. Meeting a summer rubber
crisis Is another. And official an
nouncement this week of a 10000
000-ton cargo ship goal for 1943 con-
flrmed overseas transport as an even
more important third.
The shipping shortage is the one
big limitation on our offensive
power, the chief determinant of
production strategy. Efforts to COM
bat U-boat depredations and to ex-
pand ship supply are cutting deep
into our war output; cargo ships
alone will take 10 per cent of 1943
steel. Box scores in the next few
months on sinkings versus build
ings-both for our. ships and for
German subs-Will be important in
shaping war prospects and decisions
on manpoWer as well as production.
Manpower Problem Cited.
For increasing attention soon
must be given to whether we can
ship our proposed armed forces. TWO
weeks ago President Roosevelt re-
vealed the 1912 year-end total of
men under arms as an astounding
100000, and continuance of cur
rent draft quotas would lift that to
100000 by midyear.
Before then the pool of young
sters will be drained, and fathers
may be due for call this summer
And between now and then seasonal
farm needs will reach their peak.
Partly, that timing is the factor be-
hind this weeks War Manpower
Commission order liberalizing the
basis for deferment of agricultural
labor,
But, actually, this is one of several
moves to put the farmhouse in
order. ALLEGATIONS of materials to
farm equipment makers have run
well above the low quotas previously
set, and the WPB may permit a
punching of 1913 output into the
first six months. On fertilizers
Secretary Wickard this week set up
a priority system for most crucial
crops. Acreage goals for potatoes
dried beans and truck crops were
upped. And agriculture's experts
are worrying over measures to meet
possible bottlenecks in autumn
transport of livestock and. possibly
in processing. These measures re-
feet more serious concern over farm
prospects than officials publicly
admit.
soft Goods" Low.
AS compared with the drop in
civilian supplies of everyday soft
goods" generally, the pinch in foods
is, percentagewise a mild one. Not
only new output of such goods will
be of, but also inventories of manu-
facturers and jobbers have, in many
cases, already been so far drained
as to aggravate the drop. For in
stance, even though new wool allo-
cations to civilians are up, the out
turn of women's coats and suits will
be down this season from last year
when large stocks of cloth still could
be used up.
AS retailers inventories, already
declining, begin to reach rock-bot-
tom, the temptation to evade jun
bled ceilings mounts. But OPA has
launched a Nation-w drive
against the black markets in meats
and fairly soon will tackle revision
of clothing ceilings to facilitate con-
sumner enforcement.
For price violations add fuel to the
fires now slowly burning in labor
breasts. Such unofficial" advances
in living costs may do as much
damage as official" jumps. A
month ago Business Week pointed
out that pressure for increased
wages was rising and that price
troubles could heat simmering labor
demands to boiling point. That is
not at all impossible in coming
months. If labor peace and the
present wage sterilization policy
prove irreconcilable, it's the latter
mats more likely to give.