Evening star., 1944-12-09
Roosevelt Tells nam
Reconversion Is Due
Al Earliest Moment
BY the Associated Press,

NEW YORK, Dec. 9.-President
Roosevelt said yesterday the Gov
ernment is prepared to release man
ufacturers for reconversion "at the
earliest possible moment" but en-
phasized that war needs come first.
This was his message to the Ma
tional Association of Manufacturers
at its 49th annual meeting:
Our national responsibility today
Is to bring the war to a victorious
conclusion. We hope the end is
near, but because of that fact the
effort must be all the greater. We
cannot relax, for if we do 1t gives
our enemies an opportunity to re-
cover from the staggering blows they
are receiving.
I'VE have our foes down. Let us
be sure that no act of ours permits
them to rise.
The manufacturers of the United
States, together with their workers,
have provided the tools with which
great successes have been won. They
must continue to do SO. No machine
or person needed for work can be
spared as long as our armed forces
have a need that has not been met.
When this has been done our mills,
our factories and our shops may
turn to the pursuits Of peace.
Government is prepared to re-
lease you for reconversion at the
earliest possible moment. Its plans
to this end have been made.
Il am confident that your mem
bers will continue to support the war
effort in the superb fashion that
they have been doing.
Il am equally confident that they
will cooperate as fully after this
war in maintaining high levels of
production and employment so that
all Americans may enjoy the eco
nomic benefits of peace"
Proper Relationship" Urged.
Calling for proper relation
ship of wartime programs, the
NAM in resolution urged:
l. War production until victory.
2. Maintenance of essential ci-
villain goods.
8. Pre-reconversion work in in
dustries on which substantial en-
ployment depends.
4. Reconversion - expansion and
resumption of civilian production
which does not interfere with war
production.
Looking into the peace period,
speakers told the manufacturers this
country is going to have to sell more
goods abroad to keep its workers
busy.
The businessmen were urged to
knock down barriers to trade and
to pave the way to permanent peace
by stimulating an interchange of
ideas through the worlds news
papers.
Dean Acheson Speaks.
Dean Acheson, Assistant Secretary
OF State, stressed the necessity of
expanding trade.
He estimated export sales of $l0.-
OOO,OO00 900 year might mean s.
1000 jobs in industry and 900 900
in agriculture.
Edward Riley. vice president of
General Motors Corp, declared,
however, that exports will not for
long be tolerated by our own people
here unless a reasonable prospect is
seen to exist for receiving payment
for them"
Wilbert Ward, vice president of
the National City Bank and presi-
dent of the Bankers Association for
Foreign Trade, made similar dec
laration.
On this question of payment for
goods sent abroad there were diver
gent views from businessmen of
other countries.
K. P. Chen, chairman of the
Shanghai Commercial g. Savings
Bank of Chungking and chairman
OF the Chinese delegation to the re-
cent International Business Confer
ence at Rye, N. Y, foresaw greater
United States-China trade if "con-
venient terms were offered. He also
proposed that American business
invest more money in Chinese indus
try.
Similar views came from DR.. Ger
vaseo A. de Posadas, Uruguayan
delegate to the Rye meeting. As far
as Latin America is concerned, he
said, United States businessmen
must help South American indus
tries with technical knowledge and
avoid competing with them if trade
is to expand.