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Labor Does Its Part BEFORE THE ATTACK on Pearl Harbor, strikes in defense industries had seriously impeded America's effort to rearm. Between June 1, 1940, and Dec. 1, 1941, the OPM Labor Division listed 160 defense strikes of "primary significance," involving 280,100 workers, causing a loss of 2,667,900 man-days. Government's answer was the National Defense Meditation Board to settle labor controversies and above all to keep factories running while they were being settled. In ten months, the Board settled 92 disputes affecting 1,000,000 workers out of 114 submitted to it. Of the remaining 22, all are being discussed while workers stay on the job. Other Governmental conciliation agencies settled 583 disputes involving 2,000,000 workers before strikes developed. Ten days after Parl Harbor [[Pearl Harbor]], labor and management reached a wartime agreement abolishing strikes of lockouts in defense industries. The Labor Supply 5,000,000 workers are now employed in defense. 10,000,000 will be working for defense in six months. 15,000,000 will be working for defense at end of 1942. 20,000,000 will be working for defense at end of 1943. Where Will They Come From? THE UNEMPLOYED: Of an estimated 9,000,000 jobless in the United States, 5,200,000 have been absorbed. Half of the rest are expected to be working before next December. THE UNSKILLED: 2,500,000 workers have been trained in defense trades since the Summer of 1940. Since last August, 12,000 supervisors have been trained, 200,000 more will have been trained in six months, 350,000 will eventually be trained. THE WOMEN: There are now 500,000 women in defense industries-4 per 1,000. In 1918, there were 21 per 1,000. That can be done again. THE NON-ESSENTIAL INDUSTRIES: As the shift is made from a peace-time to a war-time economy, more and more consumer industries will stop operating in favor of war industries. Several million workers will thus be available for defense production. On the Home Front "Our plush days are over. We are no longer the carefree land of plenty, every counter heaped with chromium-coated gadgets, every store bursting with limitless supplies of shoes and sealing wax. Total war requires so many materials that there is just not enough to go around. The production of much needed ammunition requires copper that formerly went into ash trays, weatherstripped windows, or toy trains. We need the ammunition. We can do without the trains." THE WAR PRODUCTION BOARD has the job of seeing to it that we get the essential materials of war, and don't waste resources and energy on non-essentials. Its tasks include: plant expansion, establishment of priorities (in other words, deciding what industries need to get raw materials FIRST), conservation of waste materials etc. The Board expects to be able to divert $20,000,000,000 of productive capacity from civilian to war industry. PRICE CONTROL has been instituted to control inflation, which simply means increased prices; for if prices go up, battleships and airplanes will cost more, supplying them will be harder on the taxpayer. In December, 35% of all wholesale goods were subject to price control. Controlled steel prices have remained unchanged since September 1939. Controlled pig-iron prices have risen 15%, compared to 53% in the first World War. Controlled copper has risen 16%, compared to 113% in World War I. HOUSING for defense workers has provided a serious problem for more than 300 communities. Defense plants cannot expand unless workers have a place to live. The Coordinator of Defense Housing has worked out a $792,000,000 program to provide housing. In December, 129,154 housing units had been planned, 63,684 were completed, 43,000 were under construction. For temporary use, 8,745 trailers and portable homes and 11,051 dormitory units have been provided. Another 400,000 privately financed homes have been erected in defense areas. TRANSPORTATION of raw materials and finished foods is where some wartime efforts have broken down. The United States has sufficient fixed plant to meet the severest test, with 246,000 miles of railroads 30% of world mileage), 1,300,000 miles of surfaced road, 28,000 miles of navigable inland waterways, 310,000 miles of pipeline. But it must be utilized more efficiently. Railroads, which carry 61% of the nation's total freight load, last year handled 33,000,000,000 ton-miles more than in peak year 1929. This was done by: speeding handling of cars; eliminating indirect routings; tighter loading (average load per car was raised nine-tenths of a ton, equivalent fo use of an additional 26,000 cars. Since September 1939, railroads have added 150,000 new freight cars, ordered 75,000 more; added 1,000 locomotives, ordered 600 more. Trucks have increased from 4,600,000 to 5,000,000 in the past year. Pipe lines have increased 4,500 miles. And ice-breaking machines opened the Great Lakes to shipping earlier than usual in 1941. Aid for Our Allies EVEN BEFORE the United States got into the war, her golden bullets were being supplied to nations now her allies or potential allies. Under the Lend-Lease Act, 35 governments besides the British Empire are eligible for American To date, $13,000,000,000 has been appropriated for Lend-Lease, of which $1,200,000,000 has already been spent, $600,000,000 worth of exports sent abroad. The rhythm of utilization of these funds is rapidly increasing: in March, 1941, $18,000,000 was spent; in November the amount was $283,000,000. How Lend-Lease money has been allocated is shown at right. It has built bases in Rangoon, Burma; Karachi, India; Eritrea, on Africa's east coast; and in northern Ireland. It has sent 1,000,000 tons of food to England despite Hitler's submarines. Next year, food shipments will represent 6 or 7% of our total farm production. By the middle of 1942 we will have sent to England: Dairy products representing 5,600,000,000 pounds of milk. Meat and lard from 9,000,000 hogs. Eggs from 40,000,000 hens. 45,000,000 chickens. TOTAL LEASE-LEND APPROPRIATIONS TO DATE, $13,000,000,000. [[Pie Chart, sections clockwise starting with upper left]]] $2 BILLION for shipping $2.8 BILLION for aviation $1 BILLION for Russia $2.2 BILLION balance for food, building bases, etc. $5 BILLION for land war-tanks, military supplies, expanding production facilities Washington Merry-Go-Round By DREW PEARSON and ROBERT S. ALLEN (The authors of the column in this space below are given the widest latitude. Their viewpoints do not necessarily always reflect those of the Sunday Mirror) WASHINGTON,-Biggest fight on Capitol Hill on writing new taxes will be over the sales tax. Wall Street already laid pipelines to certain Congressmen for a sales tax instead of heavier corporation taxes, and it is going to be a battle. The man in the thick of it is now obscure, but the public will hear a lot about Randolph Paul, better known to big firms who hire the nation's best tax experts, than to the rest of the country. Paul has written books on Federal income taxes and gave up a $250,000 law practice to work for virtually nothing for the Government. But, big business will get no comfort from Paul on sales taxes. He is opposed to this levy because it induces inflation. "Add four cents to the sales price of any commodity," Paul argues, "and a few more pennies on the price of a whole row of other commodities, and labor has an excuse to ask for increased wages. Prices have gone up, and labor claims it is entitled to the increase. Once the increase is granted, industry has an excuse for increasing prices, and the whole thing starts over again. It can be the most vicious circle in our economic life." Anti-Sales Tax Instead of a sales tax, Paul favors a series of very stiff taxes all along the line. Most drastic is to tax lowest bracket incomes. Paul points out that if you take 72 per cent from the man making $50,000 a year, he merely increases salaries to associates, spends more on institutional advertising, decreases his net. This also leads to inflation. Paul favors taxing the higher brackets heavily, but warns that the $1,200,000,000 additional attainable from this source is peanuts compared with what the country has to raise. Real spending power is in the lower incomes and Paul contends these must bear the big part of the budget. Other Paul proposals are: (1) Heavy corporation taxes; (2) stiff excess profit taxes; (3) plugging all loop-holes in tax laws; (4) excise tax on certain luxuries which would not increase cost of living. His recommendations will be adopted by Secretary Morgenthau and the White House, Whether Congress will adopt them will be decided after a tough tax battle - especially over the sales tax. Senate Feuds THERE is a blood feud between Vermont's two GOP Senators, Warren Austin and David Aiken. They were on opposite sides of the pre-war foreign policy, Austin supporting Roosevelt, Aiken on the America First side. Another row is over expulsion of Senator William Langer of North Dakota as unfit. Austin favored unseating Langer; Aiken fought it. Another feud is between Republican Senators Bob Taft of Ohio, and Carter Glass, Virginia Democrat. It's a Senate byword that if anybody wants Glass' vote, he can get it by telling the Virginian Taft is against it. And Oregon's Republican Senator Rufus C. Holman hates the Wagner Labor Relations Act so, that when he is in doubt about a bill he asks how Bob Wagner is going to vote-then ballots the other way. Open Sesame LEON Henderson is guarded by so many secretaries and functionaries, even members of Congress have a hard time getting to him. Officials of Alaska, with a price problem, tried for days to get an audience. A little gray-haired lady found the answer. Mrs. John McCormack, wife of Alaska's selective service head was at a woman's club functioning in Washington, where Henderson submitted to questioning. Mrs. McCormack put the Alaskan problem to him at the meeting, and he invited her to call at his office. "The people around the office," said Henderson, "will try to keep you out, but just march straight in." Mrs. McCormack saw Henderson, came away with a promise of action. Weary Skeleton AN old friend of the President, dropping in, suggested he must find it trying to be confined to the White House by pressure of war matters. Roosevelt told this story: Two skeletons hung in a doctor's closet. One, with a sigh, remarked, "I'm tired of hanging around here." (Copyright, 1942, by United Features Syndicate) [[Image]] TAFT [[Image]] GLASS They're feuding...but they're not the only ones... EDITORIAL PAGE OF THE SUNDAY MIRROR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1942 PAGE 25
