Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1943-03-18

in the machine tool industry, for
example, is SO hours. Ten import
ant war industries are working on a
work week in excess of 48 hours for
each employe.
It is to be hoped that the same
good judgment that frustrated the
reactionaries when they attempted to
make political capital out of strikes
and the 4O-hour law will prevent
them from accomplishing their pur-
poses in the current controversy over
absenteeism.
No Common Denomination.
When Donald Nelson announced to
the American people three months
ago that the United States was then
turning out combat ornaments in
as great a volume as the entire
Axis" and that the tide of produc-
ton is now running strongly in our
favor" it must have been obvious to
those who read his words that Amer
lean labor had been one of the great
factors in making such an achieve
ment possible. Tanks are not built
by bank credits. They take work
skillful work, by men and women in
| overallS. ~ 80
Undersecretary of War Robert p
Patterson reported only few days
ago that production of equipment for
the air and ground forces of the Army
in January was three and a half
times as great as in January a year
ago.
The problem of absenteeism then is
clearly not one of forcing labor to
work. Labor is pitching in with
determination to win the war on
the production front that is being
translated into greater production
records every month.
There is no possible common de-
nominator that will allow any mean
ingful comparison between what the
men are contributing to victory on
the fighting fronts and the contri-
button being made by the men and
women on the production front.
They are all doing their parts, as
loyal Americans should.
Force Misses The Point.
AbSenteeism is, a malady with
many causes. Some are physical,
some are social, others are economic,
and many are purely psychological. |
The constructive way to approach it |
is to determine in each individual |
case what the cause is and then deal
with that. If the worker is sick,
he should be given medical attention.
If he is living in unwholesome and
demoralizing surroundings, as is so
in the boom towns of this
war, housing should be provided.
If he is careless about coming to work
because his employer is boarding
labor and he is not given enough to
DO, boarding should be ended and
production techniques and shop or
sanization methods should be pro-
vided and made more efficient.
To attempt to solve the problem
by, forcing men and women into jobs
and threatening to turn delinquents
over to the draft boards for mill
tary service, the work or fight idea,
misses the whole point.
There may be, and undoubtedly al
ways are, irresponsible individuals
who will not live up to their respon-
sibilities as American citizens, wheth-
er they are put behind work bench
Or behind an anti-aircraft gun. They
are not significant portion, how
ever, of American citizenry or Amer
can labor. r. .@.~e
Invoking Hitler's Device.
The great rank and file of Amer
can men and women are eager to
DO their part in the war effort what
ever it may be if they are given an
to do it. No force is
needed. That does not need to be
taken on faith any longer. It has
been demonstrated in the progress
Of our war production.
Furthermore, if the nation comes
10 regard military service as a pen
atty for slackers it will certainly be
a slap in the face for those heroic
men who have. freely gone forth in
the honest belief that it is to be con-
'idered privilege to serve their
in the armed forces.
To give employers the unchecked
power of liquidating any employee
who may have the God-given indie
oendence of Americans to stand up
for his rights-by invoking the estab-
lished device of Hitler and Mussolini
and sending him to the front to get
rid of him has no place in this coun-
try. Yet that is a sample of what
is being proposed in the name of
"absenteeism"