Show ECONOMIC highlights industrial news review january 31 marked an end to an era on taht day the great detroit automobile factories turned out their last cars the next day marked the beginning of a new era them the motor plants working on a 24 hour aday a day basis began the tremendous job of switching to war production there is a striking symbolism in that change the automobile industry is a magnificent example of tree free enterprise at work to improve th ohp standard of living and to give the public a better product tor for less money but the arts of peace must take a back seat now and the arts of destruction hold the center oi 01 the stage what is taking place in detroit is taking place in aalthe all the other industrial du clu areas of this country in in a thousand and and one different kinds of industry and business busine ss the american production machine is unequaled its potential arms capacity is greater than that of all the other powers combined but we are start ing to use this machine at a very late date our enemies have a long ead start on us while the demo were giving their energies to bettering the lot of the people aie ie total states were devoting theirs with ruthless single purpose to the creation of armies navies and air forces the most valuable commod ty in this war is time and we make the most of it it stinting lothing now the series of disasters which have taken place in the pacific are a grim testimonial to more than 20 years of blindness inefficiency and wishful thinking on the part of this country england and at other her demo craties cra cies so far as the quality of the united nations troops are concerned we need have no qualms it is a fact that in every instance where those troops have met axis troops on resembling even n terms they have emerged victor ious the tiny dutch navy and air force has inflicted blow after blow against a japan which is infinitely stronger in every military branch empire troops in malaya took a heavy toll of an enemy which outnumbered them terribly and had virtually complete mastery of sky and sea A relative handful of american and filipino soldiers under the great general macarthur Mar Arthur have held off a japanese army es estimated timatea 1 at more than men and they have done that with almost no hope ot of relief or aid the tragedy is that macarthur and other leaders were j given so little to work with we delayed we refused to read the writing on the wall we practiced business as usual and politics as usual and strikes as usual and so the defeats we have suffered became inevitable now there has been some reorganization in government designed to 0 o give it flexibility and speed donald nelson is using the vast powers conferred upon him to cut out dead wood and clear the way for swift and decisive action industry is confident of its ability to do the job no matter how long and arduous it proves to be As raymond clapper recently wrote 1 I have talked with executives of the chief automobile companies and I 1 lavent heard a defeatist word they are making it a matter of personal and firm pride to demonstrate that in war production they can astonish the world just as they did in automobile production that confident attitude extends throughout the industry one of the most difficult jobs for the immediate future will be to mobilize small factories for war work it is much easier to produce the peace to war transition in gigantic industries with their great staffs endless facilities and vast re sources of capital knowledge and talent but these great plants cant do the whole job there are thousands th Z s of small plants in this country which can make needed parts and which possess machine tools and other equipment which must mus I 1 be utilized past efforts to do this were ineffectual now a new division has been established by mr nelson to deal with the problem y and much is expected some think that even one man ships will be drawn into the vast plan of total war production there will be no unemployed soon save for a scattering of ables the army w will ill be doubled in size and that will mean than or more american men in the prime of life will be serving in uniform plans are on foot for putting women to work on jobs that used i to be done entirely by men driving trucks and taxis performing minor industrial operations etc 6 months from now the problem will be how to find enough workers this arms pr program will require the use of every pair of capable hands in the country ou |