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Show council, which is sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers, Manufac-turers, a nation-wide survey of plant capacities Is being made. When the information is correlated cor-related and tabulated, it will be turned over to defense officials in Washington. Then they will know the practical details about thousands thous-ands of small plants Into which defense jobs can be put. Then there will be even more Instances like the soap manufacturer manufac-turer who is loading shells, the typewriter factory that is working on machine guns, and the stove company that is making special bolts. Under ordinary circumstances. It would be "impossible" for a manufacturer to take many of his best workers out of his own plant and turn them over to another manufacturer for training in a new line of work. Any man who did that long, under usual conditions, wouldn't stay in business long. But In on eastern state, one manufacturer is selecting about 700 of his own most capable workers work-ers and turning them over to a second manufacturer for training in making airplane engines. Not only that, but the first manufacturer manufac-turer is supplying free a huge building in which his workers are being trained to work for the other fellow. The first manufacturer manufac-turer is even furnishing heat for the building. It usually would be "impossible" "impossi-ble" for a manufacturer to deliver to a purchaser goods which cost him more than he gets for them. That would mean either bankruptcy bank-ruptcy or a new manager. But one manufacturer who got a sizeable order is doing just that. He expected to get new machines ma-chines more efficient than those now in use. He was to begin deliveries de-liveries in April. The new machines, ma-chines, however, won't be finished finish-ed until late March. So the manufacturer manu-facturer is making the goods on by JameS Preston The day of miracles may be gone but American Industry is doing the "impossible" these days in Its effort to supply defense goods to all those free nations now battling dictators. Authorities for that statement are none other than William S. Knudsnn and John D. BIggers who, through the new OPM, head tills country's defense production. Knudsen reported a couple of weoks ago that Industry already had done the "Impossible" but must do more. Now BIggers says that the word "Impossible" has been struck from the American manufacturers' vocabulary. Those statements, of course, are based on fact and not fancy. Many reports reaching Washington tell of now "Impossibles" which have boon accomplished by surmounting difficulties and problems which in ordinary times would be "impossible." "impos-sible." Some reports already have been repeated In this column. Here are a few more: Most defense contracts have been placed with fewer than a thousand manufacturers. The reason rea-son was that the government did not know where else to go. Neither Nei-ther government nor any other group had facts and figures describing de-scribing small plans here and there which alone are not big enough to handle the sizable defense de-fense order but which could do part of it. Government officials wanted Information about these small plants but they thought it was "Impossible" to get it. So now industry in-dustry itself is doing the job. Through the National Industrial old and less efficient machines and started deliveries February 1, more than two months ahead of schedule. So far he has had no assurance not even silent assurance assur-ance that the government will pay his higher costs. Another comparatively small manufacturer has made loans of more than $500,000 to even smaller small-er sub-contractors so they can turn out parts faster. The banks thought the loans were "impossible" "impos-sible" and wouldn't make them, so the manufacturer did. These are but a very few samples sam-ples of how the "impossible" is being done these days. Small wonder won-der that Knudsen and Biggers say that Word is going the way of the dodo. |