WORK FOR DEFENCE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 27, 11 March 1942, Page 6

WORK FOR DEFENCE

PARAMOUNT IN'"' UNITED STATES

ST L" PEN DOU S EX PEN DIT UliE

'■Here we are doini* practically nothing but tie fence work, non-de-I'caee work iieinu pigeon-holed till some future time," writes 3Mr C. A. Haddrell." ;i departmental lieacl of the General Electric Company, Massachusetts. Uni ted States of America. to a rrierul in W ellinpdon. Ah Haddi'el!. who k;ob his engineering course at Ciinlcvfonry f.olleue. ami late!" "worked at Siemens. Woolwich. London, has been. in the Uniled States for nearly -'U year.--. but keeps in icucii v.iih his unlive lain!. "We thought Hie last war "was a rf,-i>at expense. but In money ihis one will cost many times more." lie continues. "j. v 1 <> not believe it wail cosl its much in human !b'e>. though themay not be borne out in the Ger-man-Russian campaign. A mechanised army is the most expensive type yet conceived by num. 'Its cosi si;!filers the imagination and, while the United States .has not so far entered llie war (Ihe letter was writ-

ten on November 11), the most stupendous sums are being spent in preparation and for British and Russian supplies.

"There is only one big 11 y in the ointment and that is the labour situation. There are so many strikes that it would appear that the Germans Ave re at the back of them. The best thing that could happen Avould be a German raid to bring a lot of these people to their senses, and force them to discard some of their

leaders

"Shipbuilding is going ahead in the United States. In one day recently 14 ships Averc launched. Production is being increased rapidly. The Government took over one shipyard on account of a strike, a nil How thd Navy threatens to take over 350,000.000 dollars.' worth of construction YvOrk at San Diego, California, for the same reason. "We are getting along fairly well. Prices are going upward, taxes have jumped higli and will go higher. We have Federal, State and local taxes, and it has been claimed that

How the Navy threatens to take over 350,000.000 dollars.' worth of construction YvOrk at San Diego, California, fur the same reason.

"We are getting along fairly well. Prices are going upward, taxes have jumped higli and will go higher. We have Federal, State and local taxes, and it has been claimed that our per capita and our percentage total is now higher than in Britain. These things arc not pleasant for those on the eve of retirement . . .

|Ve have had to cut out our trips this summer on account of gasoline shortage. So< many of our tankers had been lent to England that supplies on the cast coast "were very low. At present the situation is better, as 40 tankers have been returned. A new oil pipe line was opened recently from Portland, Maine, to Montreal, a distance of 260 miles, constructed in 141 days. This line delivers 50,000 barrels of oil a day, and saves a lot of sea voyages."