Evening star., 1950-07-27

Ing tUU mlIlCaTy 1CemS ranging
from planes to mess-kits.
Hubert E. Howard, Munitions
Board chairman. has estimated he
could place orders for $16.6 billions
worth of items at once. The
products would include about half
the items procured for the last
war.
These plans, under which
typewriter company might become
a machine gun factory. are in
tended for total mobilization. how
ever-not for a limited program
such as President Truman out
lined in his $40 billion armament
request to Congress Wednesday.
Phantom Orders Placed.
For the job of retooling civilian
plants. the National Security Re-
sources Board has placed "phan-
tom" orders for 5000 million worth
of machine tolls, cutting tools and
gauges which would be needed for
conversion. kilograms from Wash
ington could change the phantom
orders overnight into real ones.
Another backstop is the stock
pile of strategic materials. On
hand or on order, it is understood.
are about half the 81 billion worth
of materials which the Munitions
Board believes would provide a
safe margin of supply for war.
A clearer picture of the stock
pile is due this week, when the
board asks Congress for additional
stockpiling funds of $605 million
in cash and $125 million In author
ity to let contracts. Mr.. Truman
has indicated a bigger program
will be sought.
List Is Long.
In some cases, probably a small
minority. the stockpile is complete.
No more lead is being purchased. |
But the list is long. running |
through the alphabet from alumni
mum. antimony and asbestos to
tin. tungsten and zinc.
In total, officials believe, the
prospect is encouraging for a fast
start on war production If full
scale war breaks out. The board
says unification of the armed
forces has helped to clear confu-
sion and competition among the
Army, Navy and Air Force.
Most of the private plants which
are capable of large war produc-
ton have been "allocated" to one
or the other of the military serv-
ices. The Army. presumably.
would have first call on a plant
capable of making small arms. If
the Navy wished to use that plant.
it would have to work through the
Army. The company would not be
bombarded with a series of con-
flicting high-priority orders such
as caused many breaks and delays
in production during the last war
when the services quarreled over
the output Of favored producers.
2 Groups of Plants.
The industrial plant reserve is
really two groups of plants. They
are:
First. the departmental re-
serve" owned and controlled by
the military. This group includes
nearly $50 ordnance and explosives
plants, arsenals, shell loading units
and other facilities. Some, like the
Detroit tank arsenal, are in pro-
duction. Others have not been used
since the war but are in standby |
condition and could be activated
quickly.
Second, the national industrial
reserve" consisting of 200 plants.
These war-built plants have been
sold or leased to industry under
contracts containing the So-called
national security clause" This
requires the private operator to
keep plant and machinery ready
to convert to war use within 120 |
days.
Big Plans Included.
The great Willow Run bomber
plant, which now produces Kaiser
Frazer automobiles. is subject to
such a clause. So is Henry J.
Kaiser's steel plant at Fontana,
Calf. and even the Big Inch and
Little Inch pipelines running from
Texas to New York.
In many cases the shift to war
production would be easy. Some
companies are making for the
civilian market the same things
they would make for the Govern
ment.
II the problem Of stepped-up
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