Show D y No Great J Obstacle to fo Industry Many Factories Making Consumers Goods j 4 For Services Numerous Others to toA ca r. r A f Require Only Minor Changes B By BAUKHAGE News New Analyst and Commentator Service Union Trust Building Washington D D. D C. C has begun and it looks as if one prediction made back when conversion had been accomplished accomplished accomplished ac ac- with many an ache and groan gronn would come come true Then the experts predicted that r conver- conver conversion sion would be easier than conversion Eighty per cent of ot the factories we are now told by officials of ot the department of commerce will not do a major job This is largely because many industries industries industries indus indus- tries now furnishing supplies to the them m military will continue to manufacture manufacture ture the same supplies for civilians- civilians clothing food tood printing electrical think of whole appliances appliances you you can a lot of others yourself It will be no great problem for the makers of such products to shift from one market market market mar mar- ket to another from another from Uncle Sam to John Q Consumer Some industries whose present final product differs considerably from rom the civilian goods the they make wont won't have such major difficulties either cither It will please the ladies to learn that even the folks who have been making parachutes will have little or no trouble changing back to tb stockings The nylon people simply simply simply sim sim- ply have to change spools There are a number of ot other predictions predictions predictions pre pre- dictions concerning the future of businesses business s big and little and one ef of them Is that 40 per cent of ot the Industries although they wont won't dothe dothe do dothe the business th they y are doing today with Uncle Sam as a customer will have bave a bigger demand to meet than the they had in the boom year of 1929 And this condition will continue say the prophets of ot profits for two or three years on the impetus of the present up pent-up buying power of ot the nation If It we keep our heads meanwhile there is no reason why the period of prosperity cannot be extended But what about the other t types pes of business which were expanded by war demands for products which wont won't have any civilian market Well our American business ingenuity ingenuity ingenuity inge inge- and our native ve mechanical inventive inventive in in- genius they tell us are goIng goIng going go- go Ing to step into the picture again Then there will be the natural evolution evolution evo evo- lution which will eliminate the be be- low-average low business man and establish establish establish es es- es- es a survival of ot the fittest Yankee Ingenuity To the Fore What started me off oft on this topic was a typical example of how this Inventive genius stimulated by war demands has laid the foundation for lor turning what started as a little two-room two factory hi into to a big sm smalltown smalltown small small- ll- ll town business The man with the Inventive genius is a frequent WashIngton Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington visitor these days His name Is Burl E. E SherrilL The name of the town is Peru Ind population Sherrill is a modest Hoosier genius in his forties who managed to make a living from tinkering and selling the patents on the gadgets he Invented Then one day he made something he be liked so well he be didn't want to part with the idea behind it so he decided to manufacture it him Wm- self It was a priced popular-priced magnetic mag- mag magnetic magnetic mag mag- compass for use in steel- steel bodied automobiles and trucks Sherrill rented three offices right righton on the public square of Peru turned them into his factory and started ut Soon he began to expand pushIng pushIng push- push Ing lug lawyers d doctors real estate men out of the way But I am getting I ahead of my story Sherrill was a born InVentor although although al nl- al- al though he didn't realize it and started started started start start- ed off oil to study law After two years at the University of Chicago he found that his hunger for the law was appeased his hunger for three meals a day was not He went went to work managing a little neighborhood shoe store in Chicago This gave him a n chance to tinker in the kitch hitch laboratory en in his flat fiat Then be begot begot begot got a chance at a job back in Indiana In In- diana repairing diana repairing radios in Peru This gave him lots of opportunity to tinker and he patented inventions and sold them which bolstered his Income considerably Finally he be evolved the compass which he wouldn't part with He was able to hire a small stall staff of workers workers then then came the war and no more civilian I Butos But there were lots of military vehicles vehicles vehicles ve ve- and after our blind tanks had lost themselves in the African des erts Washington found out about Sherrill and gave him the challenge of making a compass for use in motorized motorized motorized mo mo- equipment of ot various kinds Sherrill went to work and produced his models The Carnegie Institute the army engineers and the war college looked them over and put their okeh on them The inventor moved downstairs and took the whole first floor of the building on Perus Peru's public square The 20 men who had assembled the auto compasses compasses compasses com com- passes were Increased to working at a regular assembly line Next came a call from the Maritime Marl Marl- time commission A compass for steel steell lifeboats was needed Like the tanks tank's too many had been left to towander towander towander wander on the high seas blind Further Further Further Fur Fur- ther inventive genius was required for this job for a steel lifeboat passes much of its life lie on the steel deck of a 3 ship A few months ago the new compass was approved and production production production pro pro- is now under way Some day of ot course the last war order will arrive at the factory in Peru but because of the war ingenuity of ot one man a product product product prod prod- has been created the demand for which will continue for such war machines as are still needed plus a demand for civilian use which will return the moment restrictions on motor travel and transportation are over In addition I understand from Sherrill a new hearing aid is in the making War a Spur to toM M Many any Entrepreneurs To reconvert to the manufacture of civilian products no change of machinery or assembly line Jine nor any retooling will be necessary at atthe atthe atthe the Sherrill lJ factory Nor will the number of employees have to be re re- Ul ut course not many inventors are endowed with wi enough business sense to run plants plant of ot their own Sherrill appears to be an exception When he got his first arm army order he was asked when he could deliver how many compasses He named the figure figure figure fig fig- ure and the day and what wha t is more he lived up to his promise which was more than many manufacturers with less foresight and more unforeseen unforeseen unforeseen seen hurdles have been able to do There are other inventors and other other other oth oth- er business men who like Sherrill have received from war demands the stimulation which will push them ahead and carry them through the breakers of Sherrill himself has no technical education He calls himself a graduate from a But he can talk with the scientists and the experts and what is more he makes the pictures he draws on his drawing board sometimes sometimes some- some times tunes in hi the small hours in pajamas and slippers work He has the typical Ameri American an Ingenuity ingenuity ingenuity In in- shared by thousands of others others others oth oth- ers who helped win the war for us usand usand usand and who will keep us from losing the peace Recently a listener wrote in with witha a suggestion that a fitting memorial for the late President Roosevelt could be provided in a manner which would aid the bond drive She suggested suggested suggested sug sug- that if it bonds were contributed contributed contributed contrib contrib- for tor a memorial commensurate with our sorrow and regret by the time these bonds matured we would be able to buy the most magnificent magnificent magnificent memorial in the world In honor honorof of ot our greatest President Then she concludes I am one of the many little people who would gladly contribute a n small bond now but may not be able to give anything later The psychology of that suggestion is interesting Regardless of what the purpose of ot a fund might be what a splendid way of ot raising it and thus achieving exactly what the government government government govern govern- ment wishes 10 achieve by the sale of at bonds the double purpose of securing securing securing se se- se- se curing cash to defray war expenses and also reducing the amount of in inflationary inflationary inflationary in- in pocket It struck me as such a good idea that I sent it along to Ted Gamble who is in charge of such matters in connection with the Seventh War loan Next ext to making suggestions for selling bonds I suppose one of the best things one can do is buy them Of course if it everybody followed followed followed fol fol- fol- fol lowed that sense horse-sense plan and bought simply for tor the security of ot their own future the treasury wouldn't need any suggestions |