Show washington D 0 SABOTAGE LABOR EMPLOYER most tragic thing about the pres ent chaotic labor situation la Is the blick black eye which a minority of labor ts Is giving to their co workers coworkers all over the country in the majority of 0 plants and shipyards men are working without interruption but in certain key plants so vital to the national defense that they could not have been picked by accident a small minority have bogged down production sometimes this happens through strikes sometimes through slowing up and sabotage so deliberate that behind it must lurk a definite attempt by communists to hold back national defense while labor has been hitting the headlines for or defense obstruction less publicized but equally obstructive has haa been the attitude of certain business elements among them the shipbuilders ship builders who dicke dickered fed endlessly with the U S maritime commission regarding the construction ot of desperately pera tely needed cargo vessels this program was adapted in january but to date data the commission has not been able to complete negotiations tor for quite all the ships the bethlehem fairfield shipyard inc inc ot of baltimore tor for instance battled the commission for two months over a tat at tee fee the commission proposed a base fee per ship to be reduced to 60 if not delivered by a certain deadline or increased to it if produced ahead ot of time but bethlehem rejected the penalty clause vigorously insisting on a fixed fee regardless of when the ships were produced for weeks while the shipping crisis dally daily grow grew more critical the controversy raged finally on march 18 the company backed down and accepted the commissions commission s terms under them bethlehem fairfield stands to collect a total tee fee of 0 5 on the SO 50 ships assigned it in addition it also garnered a government contract for or 13 ways and other construction paraphernalia pher phern nalia alid JULY OR ES ELSE FOR OR HITLER no one can ever tell just what is going on in the kremlin but here is how the ibe diplomatic dispatches explain the apparent shift of russia slightly over to 0 the british side of the war scale it is now generally agreed by the best U S military observers and probably also by the russians that hitler will have to win this war by july of this year or else tace face serious consequences these serious consequences will be 1 tremendously increased munitions and ship production by the U S A after july 1 american factories will really get into their stride 2 the necessity of finding food for europe next winter 3 the necessity of finding more oil off especially if the british succeed in blowing up rumanian oil all wells w which aich they definitely plan to do 4 the necessity of pulling a new rabbit out ot of the hat to please the german people so tar far hitler has pulled out new victories at periodic intervals austria czechoslovakia poland norway the low countries france but the rabbits have come fewer ewer and harder recently the german people are reported to be restless only answer to these dilemmas Is russia the vast and fertile fields of the ukraine rich in wheat iron ore and lying just across from the 0 oil 11 fields of the caucasus are sure to beckon to hitler and it if he still Is unable to take england by july it more than likely seems that he will bite off the ukraine this probability increases if war in the balkans disrupts the s spring pring planting for one reason why hitler has been so patient with I 1 is because the crops ot of the balkans are vital to germany all ot of which is not being lost upon russia FLOATING DEFENSE HOMES defense chiefs may soon inaugurate mobile housing units tor for defense workmen on the water as well as land if 11 the novel plan ot of housing coordinator co charles F palmer P pans ans out first negotiations ot of this sort sori were lor for the purchase ot of an excursion boat to alleviate a serious housing shortage at portsmouth va where a giant naval construction project i is under way it if successful here the plan may be tried out at other seaboard defense con centers tirs palmer hopes eventually to have a number ot of these floating hotels a DIZZY QUARTERS the tremendous expansion of de fe tense nse activities the last few months has sprawled already overblown government offices in washington into some unusual places an old skating rink has been leased to house alien registration t employees a department store asi warehouse formerly filled with withful fur alture now quarters 2300 war department desus part ment sad and can census sus clerks and a chain grocery warehouse was cleared of canned goods and banana su supplies tor for other employees |