AMERICAN MAN-POWER.

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 243, 15 October 1942, Page 4

AMERICAN MAN-POWER.

It is to the great reservoir of the man-power of the United States thatl the Allies are looking for the additional strength required for the winning of the war witli due decisiveness. Tremendous reserves have still to be drawn from this source of strength, and first-elass importance attaches to the steps now being taken to bring thern to bear. The introduction by Senator Taft of a Bill providing for a new office, that of director of man-power, brings the American psople more closely to the concept of total war. It is proposed to invest the manpower director with ever-all authority for recruiting personnel for the armed forces, agriculture, industry and essential civilian occupations. The measure Is not, however, carried to the length of regarding every competent person — male or female — as liable for direct harnessing to tho war effort, subject only1 to the requirement that essential civilian services shall be maintained at a working level. Senator Taft said he believed the time had not yet arrived when it would be necessary to adopt a system of forced labour for factories and farms. The size

of the Army is not determined, but Mr Donald Nelson, head of the Wax Production Board, said that 10,000,000 could be equipped and kept supplied with food, munitions and replacements. Another estimate is 13,000,000. It is agreed all round that now the British have reached what may be called saturation point in man-power the United States must provide the remainder required for final, victories on land. It is pointed Ciut, however, that the consequent demand on the industrial resources of the United States would mean a diminution of the outflow of lend-lease supplies. The Washington correspondent of the New York Times remarks that "there arises the home problem of equipment, the solution of which is equally vital to the Allies and ourselves." Perhaps the problem would be less difdcult if the compulsory principle were applied to the business of providing adequate supplies of labour for the factories. However, the United States has a very large margin to cover in the utilisation of its man-power and industrial resources. Recently the newly-created Office of War Information told the country forthrightly that "as a nation we are not yet ankle-deep in the war" and that both in the field and at home "we have done pretty well but not well enough. " At home "our production, measured by our standards of a couple of years ago, is amazing ; measured against what we need to win, it is not yet enough." A few weeks ago the New York correspondent of the London Times wrote that the country had been startled to learn that there had been some' curtailments of war production. Too many materials are still going into the production of civilian goods. Ironically, speeding up of the war machine has caused it, in some places, to slow down. Finished war materials have been produced so much faster than anyone thought they could be that some assem'bly plants have outrun temporarily their supplies of parts, and thert was a like situatibn in some of the parts factories with relation to raw and semi-finished materials. The plant capacity of the American industry has been increased very substantially both before and since June, 1940, when the United States began to arm itself in real earnest. But the full potentialities of that capacity have yet to be realised. "In comparison with the sacrifices made by any other countries at war, or even with some of the neutral countries, the sacrifices made by the civilian population of the United States are almost absurdly slight, " added the *New York correspondent. "But long before their income tax toi 11s are before them next March there will be few Americans who will not know that they are in a war." _v