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Show tract, including six vessels order, ed by the British. The Federal Government declared de-clared in the beginning that underlying un-derlying labor policy must be. strong enough to maintain "the. morale of our people" because 'that is a defense asset at least as. vital and significant as guns,, tanks and planes. The National Defense Advisory-Commission Advisory-Commission reports: "The Decern, ber 1940 index of factory employ merit alone reached the highest point of any month in the prece-. eding 21 years." America at the Edge of War Washington, D. C. The United States Government has been making mak-ing history in recent weeks and the authority and rights of President Presi-dent Roosevelt have been settled by the acts of congress. The President Presi-dent has declared that the United States will oppose the war aims of Germany, Japan and Italy, and ' that "we, the American people are writing new history today," and will carry on as the arsnal for democracy, and "when (not if)" the Dictators are defeated, "then our country must continue to play its great part in the per. iod of world reconstruction.'' Today, To-day, the United States is on the edge of war, and the appropriation appropria-tion of $7 billion is only the beginning be-ginning of the cost of this tremendous tremen-dous undertaking. It seems proper that this letter let-ter should report ti the leading local newspapers in all parts of the nation a few facts regarding j the progress of national defense. The United States turned over to the British, in addition to the 50 over.age destroyers, up to January, 1941, 195 merchant ships, 900.000 rifles, 24,000 machine guns, 63,000 anti-craft machine guns, 230 tanks, 17 million pounds of T.N.T., and tremendous quanities of other materials. Except for the destroyers, the British paid for everything in dollars. In our swift beginnings the United States has awarded $11-5000,000,000 $11-5000,000,000 of contracts for war materials in the past 9 moths, and the first 80 per cent were placed with 62 groups of companies, com-panies, because they were the only firms that could make quick deliveries in exceptional quanitites automobile manufacturers, airplane air-plane companies, steel millsfl shipbuilders ship-builders munition supplies, tool companies, lumber mills, mine, owners, oil companies, rubber producers, and builders and contractors con-tractors in a thousand fields, turned tur-ned their operations from business as usual' and cut loose for natioal defense. The labor division of the National Nation-al Defense Advisory Commission says that 2 million men and women- went back to work in 1940, and that nearly 4 million more of the country's unemployed will be absorbed in defense enteavors. There is always a lot of loose talk during times of emergency like the presents to the effect that international bankers and the big manufacturers . are being favored by the government. An equally fictitious alarm concerns the claim that the United States is parting with the machines of war and giving away its ships, planes, and bombers to Great Britain. It is very important for the people to know that the army, Navy, Air Corps, and civilian officials of-ficials who are directing policies and creating speed and produc. tion, are solidly back of Presidens Roosevent's statement that the machines and implements of war "are not for storage but for active usage''. The spread of business in national na-tional defense is indicated by a Government report that shows how 500 firms in the Ohio river region were able to turn manufacturing manufac-turing plants that were partly idle in 15 cities into full production. produc-tion. In another instance three counties in the Schenantoah Valley Val-ley of Virginia pooled the facilities facili-ties of their manufacturing plants, which were 9 per cent idle, and landed enough subcontracts to give every worker in the region a job. Seven Government agencies are acting as a clearing house for schools, and other methods "in the fields of defense, labor supply sup-ply and training." In addition to a nationwide Government employment employ-ment service and vocational instruction in-struction in schools, there is "on-the-job" training to maintain a steadk flow of competent labor. The war and Navy Departments Depart-ments have called for 150 new plants, or plant expansions, in all! parts of the United States. EconJ omic aid to "ghost towns" fori small businesses are provided in the Government plan of "farm-1 ing out" defense orders among thousands of smaller shops. Ship construction is at post-war peak with 594 merchant vessals ' ow under construction or con- |