Show Inside Labor Plane Plants Set for Huge Output By Victor Riesel i BUFFALO N N. J. J Oct I- I 1 II I with the government handling ing their steel-reinforced steel concrete concrete concrete con con- crete basement tunnels for size in the event they have to go underground round in a hurry and with wilh the Government handing out phantom contracts on which you dont don't begin in operations operations operations opera opera- until the defense secretary says go and with planes zipping along faster than sound which has distinct social as well as military possibilities I hit the airplane circuit to find out whether were we're on a wartime production basis Not yet yet but but soon Theres There's really big big- time airplane airplane airplane air air- plane production under way At Atthe Atthe Atthe the moment I gather from labor people in Detroit and in this highly Industrialized city and from Crom leaders of the machinist- machinist aircraft workers who just wound up their Grand Rapids convention that some 35 hU huge e jet bombers arc are being being- made carefully in plants which originally originally originally i nally turned out the now al almost almost almost al- al most outmoded B And there are arc well over 2000 WOO super-speed super jet bombers on order in plants across country from California's verdant Burbank Burbank Burbank Bur- Bur bank to Lon Long Islands Island's salty Farmingdale Farming R Republic e p pub u b l 1 i c aircraft aircraft air air- aircraft craft which almost literally used to spit out the fighting P during the half way conflict conflict conflict con con- a few years back The Lockheed plant at Burbank Burbank Burbank Bur- Bur bank has orders for some jet fighters while the Republic plant almost directly miles away vay on the Atlantic is working on 1200 Reports are that have already be been n delivered and can be dispatched anywhere in inthe inthe the world at short notice The big jet bombers which can swish over a city and drop their bombs practically unseen are being turned out by Boeing Production of some of these was stall stalled cd by the Independent Machinists Machinists Machinists' Ma Ma- strike lost after many weeks at Boeing in Seattle However the big B 29 plant in Wichita Kansas already is producing producing producing pro pro- the jet bombers Canada Is building buildIng building build- build Ing fighting craft too In Montreal Montreal Montreal Mon Mon- treal last week they were looking looking looking look look- ing for some 2000 mechanics ina in ina ina a big assembly plant there There are some jobs open in St. St Louis The Chance Vou Chance Vought ht is hiring in Oklahoma The Wichita Jet bomb plant is taking taking tak tak- in ing on men but not too many It Il should be known that after the war about 91 94 per cent of the nations nation's aircraft mechanics were laid of An And according to the Machinists' Machinists officials who talked to all their regional leaders last week only about 12 per cent of the wartime aircraft labor force will be rehired and working on planes by the middle of 1919 1949 So theres there's no real boom boom yet Much more than the current two billion dollars will will have I ha have ve to be spent before anything like the wartime labor shortage crisis begins to appear And that will happen only if it and when the government releases re releases releases re- re leases thousands of telegrams giving the signal t to manufacturers manufacturers manufacturers to turn their phantom orders into actual production Right now the government isn't betting on any immediate war However it is preparing for any emergency Within afew a afew afew few weeks this new preparation technique will slowly start meshing meshIng- its gears How Stand-by Stand orders for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of key tools and other wartime equipment will be placed The following year will see these early phantoms followed by at least three or four billion dollars worth of wait orders When each phantom order it placed the manufacturer is supposed supposed supposed sup sup- posed to develop the know-how know for tor production of what the government government gov goo wants of him If war comes the phantoms materials material material- ize If It not ot they disappear Lets Let's hope the ghosts are re renever never invoked Copyright N. N Y Post Corp |