Evening star., 1945-03-11

material and manpower. the number
of ways is the sole limit to the number
of ships we can build"
OF labor troubles, Mr. Kaiser says:
"They are 80 per cent management
troubles. If you pay good wages you
get good men,"
His formula for running a score OF
up competent stan and depend on them.
In addition to ships. Mr.. Kaiser has
produced cement, manganese and steel
for the war effort. In the postwar
era he has plans for the construction
of 5000 small airports and landing
strips along highways. He foresees jobs
in this task for 4,500 600 men. He also
envisages large-scale production of
three-room prefabricated houses which
can be sold for s1,500.
High Tribute to Higgins.
Mr. Higgins, a native of Omaha and
prewar lumberman, will be remembered
in the war effort mainly for the thou
sands of powerful, shallow-draft boats
he has built to land American soldiers
and marines on the coast of France and
the islands of the Pacific. Last year,
when the New Orleans builder turned
out his 10,000th craft, he listened with
pride as Rear Admiral E. L. Cochrane
of the Navy's Bureau Of Ships told him:
THE success which our amphibious
forces have been achieving against the
strongholds of the enemy on both sides
of the globe could not have been won
without the contribution of the men and
women of Higgins"
Like many great inventions, the Hig-
gins landing craft, which can be run up
on .beaches at high speeds without
damaging themselves, was born of a
simple idea. In his logging business on
the Louisiana bayous, Mr.. Higgins need
ed very shallow-draft boats with pro-
pellers place so that they would not be
fouled by sunken logs or sandbars
Finding none on the market, he built
his own, encasing the propellers in a
protective tunnel. They were the pro-
totypes of the Army's landing craft.
Also Builds Planes.
In addition to his big boat building
program, Mr.. Higgins erected $27 7,000,-
600 plant with As acres of floor space
at Michaud, La, on what was once q
swamp. There he turns out C-46 Com
mando transport planes. He also hls
built thousands of marine engines and
developed new type of rescue boat,
fully equipped with blankets, medical
supplies and blood plasma, which can
be dropped from an airplane
The New Orleans industrialist in 1912
became engaged in hot fight with the
Government when the Maritime Com
mission suddenly Cancelled a contract it
had given him to build 200 Liberty ships.
Their reason was that existing yards
could use all steel available at that time.
The Truman Committee investigated the
cancellation and MIR. Higgins relations
with Washington were cool for time.
However, he turned with energy to his
landing boat and aircraft programs and
by improved production methods so
lowered the cost of the former that he
voluntarily returned $5O0,0O0 to the
Government.
In addition to small boats and
planes, his plants have turned out water
purifiers for troops In jungle regions,
small but high-capacity water pumps,
smoke generators, gun mounts and cool
ing systems for rapid-flre guns.
Reynolds Spreads Out.
Another performer of production
marvels has been r. S. Reynolds of the
Reynolds Metals Co.
Mr.. Reynolds, whose home is In Rich
mond, Va, was, like Mr.. Kaiser, po-
tent force IN Amsr1can industry long