U.S.A. AFFAIRS

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 May 1942, Page 5

U.S.A. AFFAIRS

FORD’S NEV/ BOMBER SPEEDY CONSTRUCTION DETROIT, May 20. The first Ford bomber rolled off the half-mile assembly line at the vast Willowrun plant was a new plane technically described as 824. It weighs 30 tons, and is powered with four Pratt Whitney 1250 horse power motors. It has a cruising range of 3000 miles, a speed of 300 m.p.h. and carries lour tons of bombs, A Ford official revealed that the new factory expects to reach a production point of a bomber every h° ur > with workers doing three 8-houi shifts when high speed turn-out is attained. „ , An example of the factory s amazing efficiency is a huge milling machine performing 11 operations simultaneously, reducing the time to construct a centre-wing structure from several days to a fraction of an hour. AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION. WASHINGTON, May 20. Mr. Roosevelt has ordered the Secretary for the Navy (Colonel Knox) to relinquish possession of the three plants of the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, which the Navy took over because the output was unsatisfactory. The executive order said the President now finds the plant will be privately operated in a manner consistent with the war effort.

NEGROES IN NAVY. WASHINGTON, May 20. Following Colonel Knox’s orders, the Navy and the Marine Corps for the first time in history, will start to enlist negroes on June 1. The Navy will enlist one thousand negroes every month, while Marines are forming a special battalion of nine hundred men. N OR M ANDIE~S ALV AGE WASHINGTON, May 21, Colonel Knox reported to Mr Roosevelt that the Normandie can be salvaged. FARM RELIEF. WASHINGTON, May 20. The Semite, by sixty-two votes to eighteen, passed a Farm Appropriation Bill, authorising the Administration to spend six hundred and eighty million dollars and to make a loan of one hundred and eighty-five million dollars for farmers, and also to sell Governmental stocks of grain for feeding purposes under parity prices. This Bill means a victory for Mr. Roosvelt over the Congressional Farm Bloc, which have stubbornly opposed the giving of authority for this Administration to sell farm products under the parity prices. CONTROL OF~ECONOMICS (Rec. 10.10 a.m.) NEW YORK, May 21. Ex-President Hoover, in a speech at the National Industrial Conference Board, said Mr. Roosevelt must be given dictatorial economic powers, in br&'er to defeat the Axis, but he warned the nation that it must secure the recovery of suspended liberties after the war. Mr. .Hoover described the economic measures necessary to win total war as plain Fascist economics.

WOOL AND STEEL. (Rec. 10.30 a.m.) NEW YORK. May 21. The “Journal of Commerce’s” Boston correspondent says that the uncertainties caused by price-fixing, and the doubts regarding quantities allowable for civilian use of woollen goods, caused some slowing up in the market, but such uncertainties have not obscured the fact that woollen mills are absorbing raw materials at an exceedingly fast rate. The year 1941 saw ah unprecedented quantity of wool used, but 1942 is easily surpassing last year’s rate of consumption of wool in the United States. In the first quarter, 272 million pounds of wool were consumed, compared with 229 millions last year. The speculative side of wool trading has practically vanished, the only aspect being whether the traders are willing to lot any lots go below the ceilings, but buyers have received little encouragement in this direction. Foreign wools continue to have fair movement, with Australians holding the foremost place in line grades, although submarine activity caused advances in war risk insurance rates on shipments from Australia. Mr. Waller Tower, president of the American Iron and Steel Institute, at the annual meeting, to-day, said the industry was now consistently making over seven million tons of steel monthly. Every time the clock ticks, three tons of steel are being poured somewhere in the United Stales. The steel mills are now making nearly twice the tonnage plates of al! the rest of the world. The United States plate figure alone next month would be a million tons.

WAGES AND INCOME TAX. (Rec. 1.20) WASHINGTON. May 21. The Treasury recommended a proposal to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, to deduct a flat 10 per cent, from all wages and salaries, as an income tax instalment plan. Speaker Rayburn disclosed that both Colonel Knox and Mr. Stimson were of the opinion that Congressmen should not enlist in the armed services, otherwise Congress would be depleted by the loss of experienced Legislators.

WAR RISK INSURANCE. WASHINGTON. May 21. The House passed and sent to the Senate, a resolution increasing the war risk insurance fund by 210 million dollars, after the Appropriations Committee had reported that merchant ship losses were too great for the Companies io bear the risk. AIR RAID~EQUIPMENT NEW“yORK, ’’May 21. Mayor la Guardia accused Landis, director of the 0.C.D., with hindering the war effort, and advised Landis there should be less chatter and more supplies. Landis had said it was the fault of New York City authorities that the City failed' to obtain air-raid equipment. La Guardia reiterated that not a single piece of civilian protection equipment had been received by New York or any other city, although Congress appropriated one hundred million dollars for the purpose. LABOUR DISSENSIONS. (Recd. 2.20 p.m.) NEW YORK. May 21. The. C. 1.0. and United Auto Workers' President. R. J. Thomas, told the United Steelworkers’ Convention at Cleveland, to-day, that their unions would battle with forces which try to break up the labour movement, from without or within. Mr. Thomas made a tribute to Philip Murray and said: It can never be said of him that he gave his support to a Wall Street broker, who aspired to the Presidency. and who had never previously been a friend of Labour. He declared the Philip Murray isn’t preaching isolationism, nor setting himself above the President of the United States, nor attempting to undermine the President in this war.

Thomas was obviously referring to his expected showdown with John Lewis, which will probably be on Monday. The steelworkers gave an ovation to Thomas, standing.