The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-06-01

tliC HlOOlCIllS VI IS- @$A~&
conversion and
was interested in ascertaining how
he would meet it.
He is a crisp, heavy-set man with
knowledge of what is needed and
with unlimited ideas of how to do
the job. He has both business hope
and faith-a confidence that the
imagination of the American people
will devise methods of carrying for
ward our industrial postwar system
and faith that it cannot fail.
What he-aggressive lone wolf in
dustrial fighter that he is-thinks the
country needs primarily is compe-
tition. The first postwar industry
to which he is turning his attention
is, naturally, shipping. He was
growing about another business
leader who made a speech few
days back advocating scrapping Of
the American merchant marine. We
now have more ships than any ma
ton ever had on the seas, (number
is a military secret) and he thinks
they should be used. This will re-
quire government subsidy in his
opinion because competing Euro
pean lines have subsidies. I Judge
that he has in mind American ac-
QUESTION of the trade which Japan
formerly had in the Orient. He did
not mention current rumor that he
may build postwar ships for Russia,
although saw him shortly after he
left Molotov.
HAS MANY PLANS
The nation also needs 100000
homes, low cost homes, and he sees
in this field vast opportunities for
postwar activity, in his opinion.
Transportation should be entirely
revised. A lower cost fare should be
worked out on the railroads. Speed
highways should be extended, as the
nation in the future will continue to
move out from the cities. He sees
opportunities for building lower cost
cars in the automobile industry
(Which he does not believe is COM
petitive now and great possibilities
in development of health facilities
for the people. He would promote
health facilities in every possible
way to scope amounting to ma
tional industry.
Here is a man with ideas and the
kind of energetic imagination which
conceives new ventures when old
ones fail. He is now in metals, con-
ceiving new magnesium alloy for
steel, new kind of plaster, gyp-
sum, planes, chemicals.
BELIEVES IN COMPETITION
He is also in coal and steel, and in
each industry he attempts to main
tain a competitive spirit. He keeps
three offices in Washington instead
Of one and thus promotes greater
work energy among his own en-
ployees-and, of course, more pro-
duction.
I suspect his own reconversion
plan is already well under way.
There is much well-advised talk
about him expanding into foreign
production in Latin America and
elsewhere.
His enthusiastic spirit is symbolic
of the feeling among other business
men with whom I talk throughout
this area. In this respect it is some
what different from the East where
the trend runs to pessimism or
doubt, although labor is going home
in droves.
Everyone out here figures the Jap
war to take another year (my guess
is somewhat less than that) and
sees San Francisco and the Pacific
coast as gateways to the newly
opened island empires of the Pa
cific and the Orient. We may ex-
pect a doubling of our trade west
ward, and perhaps more.
There is much remaining of the
forty-niner gold strike ambition
among these business people and /
would not be surprised if they meet
their postwar problem which is
heavier than any other section, as
well as any another.