The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1944-11-09
Industrial DemObilizatiOn

Industrial denomination
Postwar reconversion planning has
been scuttled until the election returns
are in We have been so pre-occupied
with the war and the election that we
have neglected the peace. When We
Day comes land we hope it will come
In hurry, economic administrators
in Washington will be faced with
tough problems. We shall enter the
period of post war reconversion over
night, but at the present rate of plan
ming we shall not be prepared for it.
To make the many readiustments
which will be necessary to put the
economic system back on n peace basis
requires careful advance planning.
No one has written more intelligently
about the readjustments of the recon
version period than Robert Nathan. In
his new book, "Mobilzing for Abun.
dance he divides the problem into
four parts; GD termination of war
contracts, t2) disposal of war mate
rials and plants, CD rehabilitation of
labor, and (4) reconyersion of war
industries. The transition from guns
to butter is Il complicated one.
Outlining the basic problems i'm this
way is a good beginning Recent publ
cations of the Federal Government
indicate that these are the right cate
gories. But 10 plan properly for We
Day one must give vital content To
these categories.
II Is hard to plan during the election
period, however, since almost any sug-
gestions may be regarded as Il bid for
the votes of one or more interested
economic groups. Planning means co
ordination and coordination requires
the representation of all the interests
involved. Planning should be above
politics, although political action Is
usually required to prevent ii from CD
becoming the political football of one
economic group, or (2) II vague vote
catching device that will do no one
any real good.
There can be no better illustration
Of prediction equivocation on plan
ming than the report on Reconversion
submitted 10 the President by james
Byrnes on September 7th. II organized
labor can take any comfort In this re-
port IL is hard To see why. When the
way in Europe is over, cut-backs of 80
per cent are to be allowed Immediately
and the War Manpower Commission is
10 be notified of the availability of
manpower resulting from these cut
backs II is nice To be notified of any
serious problem, but does IL solve the
problem? There are $500 employees
of the War Department at work on
these cut-back problems right now.
They have not succeeded thus far IN
materially reducing cut back mem-
ployment" In such war areas as Buff
falo and other large cities. Their use
funess may prove great in the near
future. hut as Byrnes points out
There will be some time lag between
the curtailment and cancellation OF
war contracts and the resumption of
large civilian production" This Will
certainly be true, II no adequate plans
are now developed for the reconversion
of war industry.
What we need soon are comprehen-
slve, concrete plans for industrial re-
conversion and rehabilitation. Neither
major party has honored the voters,
especially the organized-labor voters,
with such plans. Nothing in the post
war planning of this country is more
urgent. AS workers we do not care
whether the prospects of unemploy-
ment in the reconversion period have
been exaggerated, as Byrnes says. We
must have genuine assurance that jobs
in civilian production will be forth