Show I Henry McLemore Says I BUFFALO N. N Y One of ot Americas America's favorite sports these days is taking a whack at the theO O 0 P PM M. M Not a nice up stand-up whack but a rabbit punch sort of whack from behind You know a lick that catches Knudsen and his boys off oft guard They have no defense for that sort of blow They are standing up against the country with a Jim Figg stance fending off licks that come head on We are convinced that 99 per percent percent percent cent of the blows delivered against the defense effort are swung from ignorance There is no telling how ow many we ourselves ourselves ourselves our our- selves have thrown since June 1 the date when we quit re reporting reporting re re- porting the activities of athletes and muscles and jumped into the field of mind and matter The city of Buffalo has been beena a a. revelation to us v From city hall hail to suburb it is filled with capitalists and laborers laC laborers la- la C borers who are doing their dead level best to get together and produce the things this country needs to become a military power Sitting in New York it was wasso wasso wasso so easy to criticize what this combination accomplished From Froma a distance of miles it was easy to pick flaws But when you come face to face with the men who put up the money for buildings and machines and with the men who run those machines and talk to them about bout the problems you get a new slant This country believes in itself too much There is the feeling as the emergency mounts in in intensity intensity intensity in- in that the United States can at any time it wants to start all the countries countries countries coun coun- tries in the world There is a feeling that with the simple pushing of a button or the issuing issuing issuing ing of a command our factories will start turning out tanks planes guns and all the other implements of war at a rate superior superior superior su su- su- su to any other country Inthe in inthe inthe the world We believe that feeling still exists We believe that the biggest biggest big big- gest factor in the lack of confidence confidence confidence dence in the defense work up to now is based on the deep and ad abiding faith of ot Americans that at any given moment Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pitts Pitts- burgh Buffalo New York Chicago Chicago Chi Chi- Chicago cago Birmingham Detroit Toledo Toledo Toledo To To- ledo Akron and 10 other cities can just turn loose and swamp the world with anything from tanks tans to tin cans In Buffalo we hav have talked to tomen tomen tomen men who had an answer for I bottlenecks United States would eventually challenge the world in production production production tion but who pointed out out- that time was needed We talked to a man who manufactures engines for the torpedo boats All of a sudden the government threw a tremendous tremendous tremendous tre tre- tre- tre order in his lap He is behind schedule In the public eye he is a failure He told us why he wa was behind Reason No 1 He cant can't turn turnout turnout turnout out a motor without Jt a crank crank- haft shaft There are two crankshaft companies in the thc country No statesman was vas foresighted enough to ord order r the enlargement enlargement enlarge enlarge- enlargement ment of crankshaft companies several years ago Reason eason No 2 His company barely I struggled through the depression No new machinery was added The machinery used was old and almost worn out but the men who operated it knew its weaknesses and how to handle it Then all of a sudden the government required a second second sec see ond and third shift work the machinery The new men couldn't work the old stuff Reason No 3 During the years between 1932 and 1938 there was no need for manufacturers manufacturers manufacturers to build up a supply of ot skilled laborers During the depression depression depression de de- de- de the business of ot teaching teaching teaching teach teach- ing apprentices disappeared So now there is no reserve of young workers to call on The man I talked to is head of only an ordinary sized company There must be hundreds of companies companies com com- companies the same size or larger handling defense orders So the problem can be multiplied until you get tired of multiplying So dont don't fuss at the American defense effort It is pretty good A year from now when we start throwing from the floor therell there'll be no country they'll be no combination combination com corn of countries able to tie our shoes when it comes to turning turning turning turn turn- ing out weapons of war If you dont don't believe this just come to Buffalo and study what is going on here This is the No 1 country in the world Never forget it But it is going to ask days to prove it |