Evening star., 1943-04-21
Harper Warns
0fHeavyShift
To Vital Jobs
Monpower Deputy
Tells Business to
Plan Substitutions

Plan Substitutions
OF the $500 900 workers who must
be added to essential industries and
civilian services this year, one-half
will have to be women, older per-
sons, handicapped and migrants and
the other half obtained from less
essential industries, Fowler v. Har-
per, deputy chairman of the War
Manpower Commission, said last
night in an address to the Washing
ton Board of Trade.
Admitting this was harsh" pro-
gram, Mr.. Harper said that most
OF the able-bodied men" will go
into the armed services during the
year and will have to be replaced.
There is no backlog to draw
on" he added.
BY the end of this year, Mr.. Har-
per said, all but 1,50O, 900 able bodied
men of draft age will be in service.
This will mean, he said, that the
wise industrialists and businessman
will have to spend late hours at
the Office devising ways of using
women, older and handicapped per-
sons.
Turnover Handicaps Output.
In discussing the reasons for the
recent regulations regarding trans
fer of workers to higher-paid jobs
issued by War Manpower Chairman
Paul v. McNutt, Mr.. Harper de-
clared that labor turnover has been
one of the worst manpower menaces
to war production" He said that
in some war plants turnover went
as high as II to 20 per cent month.
Much of it, of course" he con-
tinued, lis necessary turnover and,
indeed. some of it desirable. For
example, transfers from nonessen-
tial activities to war industries and
to essential civilian occupations has
been encouraged by the War Man.
power Commission"
Mr.. Harper said that "It is be-
lieved that the regulations issued
Sunday (by Mr.. McNutt) will great
ly strengthen employment stabiliza-
tion plans and will encourage their
adoption in areas not now governed
by such plans" He explained that
already in some areas the stabiliza-
ton plans have reduced turnover
by so per cent and added that it
was not too optimistic to expect
that these plans backed by the
transfer regulations will result in
a general reduction of turnover in
a vast ma ajority of war centers by at
least that much"
Local Problem.
Mr.. Harper said the manpower
question was peculiarly local
problem" Although there are ex-
tremes of critical shortage areas
of labor and surplus areas, he de-
clared that workers cannot be moved
like checkers on a board. Some
cities, he pointed, cannot be ex-
panded any further to house addi-
tional war workers, making it nee
essary to use people already in the
community. Employers, the speaker
said emphatically, will have ito
get rid of prejudices and supersti-
tions."
Mr.. Harper indicated that amend
ments to the job-wage control Or
der of the i1rst of the week would
be issued in few days to permit
essential workers to take higher
paying jobs with new employees any,
where in the country, provided they
had VINO approval. The original
order made no provisions for such
transfers outside the 60 areas where
the VINO has put employment
StabiliZation plants into effect.
Ten new members were elected
to the Board of Directors. They
were Harry L. Merrick, vice presi-
dent, Kal Advertising, Inc; H. L.
Rust, jr., president, H. L. Rust Co.:
L. Gardner Moore, vice president
and general manager, Shoreham Ho-
tel Corp; Claude w. Owen, presi-
dent, E. G. Schafer Co.; Floyd D.
Akers, distributor, Capitol Cadillac
Co.; James E. Collifower, president,
James E. Collif1ower & Co., Inc;
A. G. Neal, president, Potomac Elec-
trio Power Co.; John A. Reilly,
president. Second National Bank,
and L. E. Williams, executive vice
president, Fries, Beal & Sharp Co.,
Inc.
Elect Officers Tomorrow.
Lanier P. McLachlen, president,
announced that a meeting of the
board will be held at IL am.
Saturday to elect new officers.
He also announced that the five
members of the Membership Com
mittee who have presented the
greatest number of applicants dur
ing the past year were C. ]. Mack,
j. Garrett Beitzell, Garret A. Pen
dleton, Russell w. Schneider and
Harold O. Payne.
On behalf of the Greater National
Capital Committee. Edgar Morris re-
ported that its hotel registry service
had aided 51,539 persons the last
IL months. He then introduced
Mack L. Langford, who will serve
as chairman of the campaign to
raise funds for the committee.
Billy Repaid, known as the Ply
ing Reporter" who broadcasts over
local station, predicted that this
would be long war and bitterly as
sailed Mayor LaGuardia of New
York City and Chairman May of
the House Military Affairs Commit
tee for statements he attributed to
them concerning the probable short
duration.
We're in this war all out until
the enemy is all in," he declared.
Later, Mr.. Harper, in reference to
Mr.. Repaid, said he could make no
prediction on the length of the war,
but added significantly: $50 far as
our plans are concerned, we aren't
going to be caught short by under
estimating the length of the war"
Mr.. Colliflower urged businessmen
to observe Good Friday and to make
it possible for their employees to do
likewise. Mr.. McLachlen presided
over the meeting, which was held in
the Mayflower Hotel.