The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1945-04-05


Acting Commissioner Hinric
of the Labor News Review, over
casting System, as the guest OF A
ductor of the program.
While Hinrichs admitted that the
nation faces serious manpower prob
lem, he emphasized that the picture is
not entirely unfavorable and that
workers are still being obtained for
changing war requirements. His sub
ject was Employment = Current
Facts and Trends"
Cites splendid Record"
After referring to statement
made some weeks ago by Mr.. Dennis,
showing that factories, stores, rail
roads and mines have already hired
more than 6.5 million workers, half OF
them women, who would look for jobs
in normal times and also that most
persons are working days week,
whereas they formerly worked 3,
Hinrichs said:
"This is a splendid record, and
made possible our tremendous expan-
sion in munitions production without
any serious curtailment of the living
standards of most American families.
Nevertheless" he continued, "the
manpower pinch is definitely with US
and must be faced. In the last IL
months we increased the size of our
armed forces by about Ia million
men and women. These Ia million
had to come from somewhere, and our
figures suggest that a large proper
ton of them came out of civilian en-
ployment. This shows up in drop OF
nearly $4,000 in the number Of men
and women working in all kinds OF
industrial and commercial jobs dur
ing the past year.
Care in Recruiting Urged
"Most of us are reminded every day
Of the manpower problem. Sometimes,
the restaurant service is slow or it
takes long time to get waited on at
the grocery store. Perhaps we have to
wait two weeks or more to get our
shoes fixed or a radio repaired While
all these things are annoying, they
can hardly be called substantial sacri-
fices.
"Much more important is what is
happening to employment in our fac
tories where we produce munitions
and the essentials for civilian living.
!. We must be very careful in, ,recgpitlng
the 100000 men that the MW sand
Navy will need over the%heN
months not to take men with skills
ra-
placed. Tool makers, for instance, re-
quire years of training; but they are
part Of the backbone of a factory's
working force on whom the produc-
ton Of the entire plant depends.
"Then there are heavy jobs -- IN
foundries, in mines, in numbering
operations where men are needed.
They can't be replaced by women or
by young boys just out of school. II
men are drafted from these essential
industries, production will go down
unless they can be replaced by men
from other industries.
"In February our factories had just
a little over l3 million wage earners-
about a million less than "A year ago.
This drop affected practically all OF
the various manufacturing industries,
iron and steel, food products, machin-
cry, textiles, and the others.
Significant Recent Changes
"But the most significant changes
are those which have occurred in the
last few months. They reflect the
changing requirements of the armed
forces. Munitions employment reach
ed peak in November 1913. From
that time on, because of increasing
efficiency, we were able to maintain
steady flow Of production with a
decreasing number of workers. Then
too, optimistic predictions of an early
collapse of Germany caused some cut
backs in war production. So employ
ment declined for about year.
Battle experience in the fall OF
1914, however, led the Army to re-
wise its estimates of the need for GER
tain kinds of products shells, for |
example. Production in wartime must |
always be- responsive to changing !
needs. So also must be employment. |
Thus last December this downward |
trend in munitions employment had to
be reversed In February there were
about $4,000 more wage earners in
munitions factories thanNin Novem- |
ber, 1914. This isn't the whole story,
however. Fewer workers are needed
and are employed in shipyards today |
than last fall.
Employment Still Responsive
"On the other hand, in the indus
tries manufacturing ordnance mate
rials the iron and steel products
industries and the chemical industries,
for example-many more workers are
needed. Employment in these indus
tries alone expanded by nearly l20,-
TYv tha Nou RatSv Rocc