The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1951-01-25
Freeze
May Be Necessary,
Truman Announce

w dSnlnRLOU lLHA - w men Iuil
mobilization comes, a manpowei
freeze may be necessary, President
Truman warned Jan. II. For the
present he supports the principle
Of voluntary cooperation.
In a general statement Of policy
on national manpower mobilization
Truman said that when the time
comes he will ask Congress foi
to assure the most ef-
fective use of our manpower re-
sources.
He listed the following control
possibilities:
1-Restrictions on the right Of
workers to change jobs.
2-Limitations on the number Of
persons working for an employer.
3-Federal control Of hiring.
Enforcement of standards to
obtain full use Of women, handi-
capped workers and minority
groups.
The President expressed hope
that voluntary manpower measures
will work. Present policy, he said,
should 'be consistent with and con.
tribute to the most advantageou
use of our manpower should full
mobilization become necessary"
The statement was drawn from
recommendations of the Nationa
Security Resources Board, Defense
Mobilizer Charles Wilson, the De-
partment of Defense, and Labor
Secretary Maurice Tobin.
Tobin, testifying before a Sen
ate subcommittee, opposed any
thing longer than a 48-hour week,
even in full mobilization. The 49,
hour week is still long way off,
he told the Preparedness subcom-
mittee of the Armed Services COM
mittee. The average work week in
manufacturing industries during
World War II hit a peak of 4512
hours. The present average week
is 4112 hours.
Before labor standards have to
be relaxed, there is an untapped
pool of five million men and women
who can be drawn into the work
force, the Labor Secretary said.
We can expect four million of these
to start work in the year beginning
July /, he predicted. There are
more than two million unemployed
job seekers at present.
To make it easier for more wo-
men to work, he said, the Federal
Security Administration will ask
Congress for funds to set up large
scale child-care centers and other
community facilities. The bulk of
the new women workers, he said,
should be housewives over 50.
Tobin supported the Defense De
partment's request for permission
to draft 1S-year-olds into the arm
ed forces and extend the draft
term to 27 months. He pointed out
that 18-year-olds in industry rare
ly have enough skill to merit defer
ment. Most occupational defer
ments have been for 25-and-26-
year-olds, he said. He urged strong
4hacn ho
The battle over the 18-year-olds|
is now dominating the committee
hearings. Sen. Wayne Morse (R,|
Ore.) commented that IAN awful
lot of emotionalism" has crept intc
the 1S-year-old issue" Many Con-
gressmen have come out flatlyl
against the drafting of 1S-year
olds on the ground that their mail
is running against it.
A proposal that they be drafted,
but not sent overseas until they are
10, is opposed by Defense Secretary
George C. Marshall. Marshall saysl
such limitation would tie hisl
hands and cut off a source of quick
troop supply in case of sudden
Senator Lyndon Johnson (D,l
Tex.), chairman of the subcommit- |
tee, is against the 18-year-old
draft. He has asked Marshall tol
reconsider his position. Johnson
has suggested that the problem be
eased by bringing in non-fathers
and non-veterans in the 1926 year
class.
A group of educators, including
Karl T. Compton, head of the Mass
achusetts Institute of Technology
and President Harold w. Dodd of
Princeton University, endorced the
to take 18-year-olds. 1t is
a good breaking point, they said,
between high school and entrance
nto college or a job.
Along with Senator Morse, theyl
argued that the "morals" of the
young men would not be affected
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