Evening star., 1951-01-07
Small Plants
Feel Squeeze
By Clark Beech

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ufactures the tiny washers thai
are nodded into rubber heels 81
that the heels can be nailed tt
shoes. It can't get the little Bit
of steel it needs to keep in pro-
duction.
It is one of the major suppliers
of such washers. If it can't turn
them out the entire shoe industry
will be adversely affected. And
defense workers must have shoes
Defense plants need electric
power, and utility companies need
copper and aluminium wire to
transmit it. But small Carroll
ton, Ga, wire plant almost went
out of business because all OF its
copper and most Of Its aluminium
supply was cut OF.
A Minneapolis company tows
barges on the Mississippi River
many of them laden with sup
plies for defense plants. 1t could
not buy enough barges to fulfl
it's contracts because Shipbuilders
could not get enough steel fol
them.
Many a small business is taking
a beating as result of the lnobili.
cation program.
The Senate Small Business
Committee has received so man!
appeals for help that Chairman
Sparkman, Democrat, of Alabam;
says it is gravely concerned les
large numbers of small businesses
60 to the wall.
The Senators concern ism
wholly a matter of sympathy fol
the little fellows. Many point ou
that in a period of total mobiliza'
ton the country would need theil
productive capacity. And the!
don't like to see small business
getting smaller while big busines
gets bigger.
The committee has arranged
for many small factories to ge
the materials they need, but i
believes they are only a small
fraction of those that are II
trouble.
Senator Sparkman has in
structed the committee staff tx
prepare for hearings beginning
January 18 on the current prob
lens of small business.
New Agency Proposed
Although the chief problem
now is in the shortage of mate
rials-principally steel, aluminium
copper, zinc and plastics-befor'
long it is expected that the draf
will threaten the foremen ant
skilled workmen around whom
many small enterprises are built
Senator Sparkman has appointed
a subcommittee headed by Sen
ator Benton, Democrat, of Con
necticut, to keep watch on th
manpower problem.
Since July the committee ha
been sponsoring small bushes
clinics throughout the country
Local businessmen are brough
together for a full days sessio
and are told by Washington eX
perts how they can do bushes
with the Government during tn
mobilization period.
Senator Sparkman has intro
duced bill, with Representatlv
Patman, Democrat, Texas, chair
man Of the House Committee O
Small Business, to set up a small
er defense plants corporation
This would centralize all the gov
erp1nent's efforts on behalf {
small business.
The legislators are recallln
what happened in the first yeal
of the last war. Between Decem
Der. 1941 and December, 1943, tn
total Of business concerns in tn
United States dropped from 3
million to 100000, net loss
4l0.OGC. Nearly all of these WEI
small businesses.
Small manufacturer of civllia
goods were squeezed out of exist
ence fol- lack of materials an
skilled workmen. They couldn
convert their plants and get cor
tracts for war goods in time t
save themselves.
The Government, nevertheless,
much better prepared to safegua1
the interests of small business
this time than it was early in tt
last war.
Many laws have been enacte
since then to protect small bus
ness.
James L. Kelly, acting directt
of NPA's Office of Small Bus
ness, says he does not belieN
there has been any widespree
injurr = small business yet.
(DistriL ~.2d by the Associated Press.