Evening star., 1944-07-11
Frankensteen Assai|s
Congress in Failure
To Plan Reconversion
BY w. H. SHIPPEN, Jr.,
Aviation Editor Of The Star.

BY w. H. SHIPPEN, Jr,
Aviation Editor Of The Star.
Failure" of Congress and other
Federal ofncials to plan for postwar
reconversion was aSsailed before q
Senate subcommittee today by Rich
ard T. Frankensteen. vice president
of the CIo United Automobile
Workers. .
Predicting 100000 airrraft workers
may lose their jobs before the end
of the year, Mr.. Frankensteen de-
clared the continuing dispute within
the War Production Board and
among other Government agencies
in regard to resumption of civilian
production is preventing the devel-
opment of plans for production of
badly-needed civilian goods to take
the place of war output.
The witness criticized Chairman
Murray of the Senate War Con-
tracts Subcommittee and Senator
George, Democratic. OF Georgia; !;
Majority Leader Barkley and MI
nority Leader Vandenberg because,
he said, Congress recessed without
taking action they had promised on
plans for setting up overall machin-
cry to handle reconversion and to
provide adequate interim unemploy-
ment benefits.
Seek Severance Pay.
Mr.. Frankensteen told the COM
mittee that all aircraft locals of the
UAW have been urged to open their
collective bargaining contracts to
ask for severance pay. He declared
this matter would be pushed before
the War Labor Board and added
that the workers would seek in
creased wage rates to counteract in
come reductions due to cutbacks in
the number of hours worked each
week.
The union spokesman also urged
unemployment insurance for war
workers thrown out of jobs during
reconversion.
Part-time employment of aircraft
workers in agriculture was recon-
mended to the committee by Chair
man Randolph of the House District
Committee. He said he believed
Henry Ford had somewhat similar
plan for the postwar era. The wit
ness expressed concern over a pos
sible economic disaster" when the
European phase of the war is over
unless every effort is made to plan
an orderly rehabilitation of war
workers.
Representative Randolph urged
that America help maintain it's air
power after the war by subsidizing
flight training for up to 100000 boys
and possibly girls in the Is and IT
year old groups. This program, he
said, should go along In the years
Immediately after the war, with a
Federal and a State landing field
development program. He recon-
mended that at least $l00000,000 be
spent on the airport construction
program after the war.
Manufacturers Testify.
In testifying yesterday, manufac-
turers agreed that adequate unem-
ployment insurance" is essential for
the orderly rehabilitation and re-
turn to peacetime industry of work.
ers whose services are no longer
needed in the war effort.
While, advocating the mainte-
nance of air power after the war. the
industrialists in particular asked
for unemployment insurance, for
adequate termination notice, for
the retraining of released workers,
and for transportation costs Of send
ing war workers back home.
The bitter lessons of the World
War and the present war we're cited
yesterday by J. Carlton Ward, jr.,
president of Fairchild Engine and
Airplane Corp. in an appeal for
preparedness policy which will foster
engineering advancement and air
power sufficient to maintain the
peace.
Mr. Ward told the War Contracts
Subcommittee that while in France
in 1910 he was shown a detailed
Nazi plan for conquest of the United
States by striking through Mexico
with mechanical equipment then
unavailable here. Had England
fallen, the plan might very we'll
have succeeded.
Fighters Saved Her.
England, however. was saved by
few superior fighters equipped
with radar, he said These fighters,
developed by private enterprise.
turned back the Luftwaffe. delayed
Hitlers invasion plans and helped
to save England and the world from
Nazi domination, in the opinion OF
the witness.
He pointed out that although
France emerged from the World
War as the worlds leading air
power, she allowed her equipment
to become obsolete and eventually
placed her faith in the Maginot
Line
Germany. too, made the fatal
mistake of sacrificing technical i'm
provement in favor of standardiza-
ton for quantity production. She
had quantity output, but not the
quality to compete with fewer Brit
ish models developed by private in
E,.