The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-09-04
Pennsylvania City Finds Jobs,
 Trains Home Folk To F1H Them
BY s. BURTON HEATH NRA Staff Correspondent

Williamsport, Pa., Sept. 4-Trans- DtiOn from war to peace holds few kears for Williamsport.
 Most war-industrial communities are worrying - rightfully - about Nidespread unemployment, over- burdened relief rolls, vacant hous- lng. idle merchants, heavy taxa kion to pay for abandoned sewers and water supply and streete and Nchools and recreational facilities. But Williamsport has virtually none of these, nor expects to have.
 Tn 0 modest way Wnl1amsport Doomed during the war. Employ nnant rose 4i per cent--from l0,540 Co i4,S52 just before warG end lthe top, in 1943, was 17,95O. A number of new factories came into existence in and around this city e make war materials. :.
 But the boom was accomplished with Q minimum of immigration a-so little, in fact, that the 41 per cent rise in employment was achieved with an increase of less Chan six per cent in population. And of the new factories brought Into the community only one, an airplane engine and propeller plant, has to cut back very greatly as Army-Navy contracts are cancelled. Even that factory is expected to continue on a worthwhile though reduced schedule.
 The reason for Williamsport's pre- Rerred position and for the confl- dence with which 1t faces the inl- mediate future IS the Williamsport Technical Institute, a branch of the public school system that has at- kracted nationwide attention and has made its director, Dr. George H. Parkes, recognized authority pn adult vocational education.
 Beginning early in the Great De- pression and continuing throughout Ehe war, Williamsport was able to attract desirable industries with good postwar prospects because the Institute was able to guarantee them an ample supply of compe- tent high-grade labor.
 "Nice Girls" Hired
 The way pr. Parkes works may be Illustrated by the experience Of Che Franklin Hosiery Mills, which moved here because of a specific promise of skilled help. The corl- pany had an eye particularly upon the city's pool of "nice girls of the sort who don't work in factories" ,"
 pr. Parkes took over section of the company's plant, set up It's machinery, installed Institute irl- structors, and then selected some very high type girls and trained them. To get the sort Of workers the company wanted, pr. Parkes had to visit homes and personally assure parents that he would look after their girls. When the com- pany began operations, he checked constantly to see that all promises were kept.
 This was before war had ended the depression. The girls included many with excellent educations. They were to set the tone of the mill. They did. Though the plant eventually employed between three and four hundred girls, the 76 se- nected and trained by the Institute established an atmosphere in which undesirable types did not last long
 By offering similar service, the Institute contributed substantially Co bringing here 17 plants that after N-E day still employed more than 5000 men and women-almost one fourth of the city's total employ Rnent.
 Nor does Institute service stop with the original training program.
 "I'm on the prowl for payroll jobs AAo support the people of this com-