War Footing

It is essential that our procurement be put into the highest gear at once . . . employes must make their maximum effort regardless of the long hours of hardship endured . . . production must be put on a 24-hour-a-day basis.--Under Secretary of War Robert Patterson.

We no longer are engaged in a defense program. We have but one goal and that is a military victory.--SPAB Director Donald Nelson.

When the shooting began in earnest, the U.S. economy took stock to find out just how far from a real war footing it was.

It had a year's supply of rubber, a year-old munitions industry which was just beginning to produce, some severe metals shortages. It had an industrial capacity which--being the world's greatest--was far superior to the economy of Japan or any other Axis partner. But despite 18 months of trials and errors, that economy was still a long way from producing what the U.S. needed.

Likeliest first steps to bridge this gap:

> Don Nelson stated that defense spending, now at the rate of about $21,000,000,000 a year, must rise to $40,000,000,000--nearly half the present national income.

> Subcontracting will become a working reality, not an overworked word; every foot of factory space convertible to defense will be needed.

> The reorganization of SPAB will be hastened, probably to one-man control.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.