| Show p o Mounting Battle Tempo A Calls for More Material A ABig Big Problem Is to Route Manpower Into Critical Y I Work Labor Needs Vary Throughout l' l Different Areas By BAUKHAGE I Analyst and Commentator Service Union Trust Building Washington D. D C C. C What is wrong with the American war effort on the home front Why all this excitement over a anew anew anew new draft of manpower Didn't War Var Byrnes say that our our war production almost equalled the production of the entire world These questions are being asked in many minds I have asked them of the men whose job it is to get things done in Washington and I want to try to put their answers before you Let me quote one sentence spoken by War Byrnes himself Critical production no longer feeds Leeds pipe-lines pipe or goes into strategic strategic strategic strate strate- gic reserves reserves reserves-it it is going right into battle If we compare critical production production production tion with fighting units perhaps the recent German offensive counter-offensive will help us see the picture When Von drive started men and tanks and guns and trucks critical production in other words all had to be poured into actual battle The result was that there were just lust not enough of them in m the right place at the right time and our line crumbled There were no immediate reserves to throw in and bolster the defense Later on when the veterans from the Third army and the First army and the British troops arrived the tide was turned They represented the reserves of critical production production production tion which should have been there all the time timet For many months on that particular lar front only the men in the front lines were needed There were I enough men there to take care of the normal enemy opposing them It was a minimum force without enough reserve to take care of maximum need and they were thrown back That is the situation in war production production production pro pro- today Certain critical supplies supplies supplies sup sup- plies airplanes tanks other vehicles vehicles vehicles cles and their accessories certain types of ordnance certain types of ammunition are being used so fast in battle that if an extra strain developed at a certain point there would not be any reserve to call upon pon Changing Conditions Alter Planning Why are these things lacking Why didn't we pile them up as we wedo wedo wedo do other things until we had enough to take care of an emergency Chiefly because their greatest need developed after we started our war programs Reserves for the future can only be based on present information mation oration or estimates based on previous ous knowledge or lucky guessing 1 When the war began nobody not even even the Japs who used amphibious warfare in the early stages to the best advantage had any idea of the type and number of landing- landing craft to say nothing of the technique technique technique tech tech- of operating them which are used in the latest Allied operations The contrast between the Japanese landing in Lingayen bay and the American landing three years later in the same place is astounding Byrnes used as examples of other inventions and improvements over old models jet planes new types of radar and the like Today 55 per cent of our war production d docs dres not need to rise Some of it is properly declining But there are other parts of the program which are lagging that should mount because they are critical production Of course some some plants making such goods are temporarily closed while tooling re-tooling for new models Others are under construction But many plants lack nothing except manpower those for example e m making king certain ert it f types of f planes and tanks and ships Tires are being ground to pieces by shell I splinters in the mud of Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxem Luxem- bourg and Belgium Tanks are rolling rolling rolling roll roll- ing from New Guinea to the Philippines Philippines Philippines Philip Philip- pines to the Rhine and bigger and better ones are demanded There is isa isa a constant need for all kinds of ammunition ammunition ammunition am am- but there is critical need for certain types of ammunition both heavy and light And so we come to the main problem problem problem lem which is really the only problem problem problem lem today today manpower We have the I raw material and will have eave the manufacturing facilities in time Undersecretary of War Var Patterson told old the house military affairs committee committee committee com com- that in the first six months of 1945 men would be needed for war production and industry necessary to the war effort I have talked with the War Var Manpower Manpower Man- Man power ower commission experts and they break reak down those figures something like ike this One hundred and fifty thousand men needed immediately for critical war production One hundred and fifty thousand more for other war production to take care of the normal turn-over turn expected replacements etc The remaining must be retained in civilian production and ana services which have to be continued in order to maintain the total war effort The situation is summed up in hi general terms this way The manpower manpower manpower man man- power power mobilization problem is is not notis as is large as it was in 1942 and 1943 but jut it is more acute in certain lines ines Two things contribute to making making mak- mak ing ng ing it more acute One is the fact that we haven't the pool of either civilian production or the unemployed unemployed unemployed from which to draw as we had lad at the start Second because the needs are critical battle needs they must be satisfied immediately immediately immediately im im- im- im mediately or the actual line front activities may be immediately af- af One thing which must be considered considered considered consid consid- ered is the geographical shift of ot the American labor force a point which affects the general situation for or it involves moving a worker from rom place to place And in the present present present pres pres- ent need although the West coast where labor is concentrated is still the most critical area the building of new factories to meet new needs and the change in the type ype of needs from one established factory in one place to one in another another another an an- other place involves the question of suasion or force on the worker For instance there is a great need in Utah and Wyoming for workers workers workers work work- ers in coal mines The scattered foundry foun ry sections from Michigan and Ohio through Pennsylvania and New York to New England are critical areas Even plane production production tion ion concentrated in the West has its problems for although some airplane airplane airplane air air- plane factories on the Pacific coast have lave closed down many of the new factories for the flying fortresses and other new models are in areas other than the West coast We have the man and woman- woman power in the nation to take care of the need It is a question of getting I the right man in the right place Causes Letdown There are several reasons why the right man and woman is not inthe in inthe inthe the right place now One is due to toan toan toan an error in judgment which may or may not be blameworthy Germanys Germany's Germanys Germany's Germanys Germany's Ger Ger- many's come back power for which I attempted to set forth certain certain certain tain re reasons sons in two preceding columns columns columns col col- was underestimated This caused a shortage in hi certain types of weapons Superabundance in others The latter put men out of work and caused them to seek war non-war jobs lobs We had counted on a amore amore amore more mobile type of warfare We did not think we needed the heavy artillery to blast Germany out of powerful defenses We Ve counted too heavily on enemy vulnerability to the bombing of German cities That was both a psychological and strate stra stra- te c l err error r. r Underestimating the length of the European war also had a bad psychological psychological psychological effect It caused many workers to quit war work for what they thought would be more permanent permanent permanent per per- manent employment It caused great pressure on Washington to begin begin begin be be- gin as War Byrnes admits was wrong He said we could not do two things a at t once could not pursue an out all-out war production effort while simultaneously releasing materials facilities and manpower for civilian production The man and his job were separated separated separated sepa sepa- rated too by the improvement of models and creation of new equip equip- ment No one can be blamed for this But frequently as I have shown it tended to place the job and the man miles apart |
