U.S. WAR SUPPLIES

Grey River Argus, 22 May 1942, Page 5

U.S. WAR SUPPLIES

WARNING AGAINST ALLIED QUARREL

President Beats Farmers

[Aust. & N.Z. Cable Aisn.) (Rec. 9.30) WASHINGTON, May 20. Mr. S. Early, Secretary to President Roosevelt, speaking at Toledo, in Ohio, uttered a warning -against dissension among the Allies, saying: “We know that, if the United Nations ever fall to quarrelling about who should have th? next plane, the next gun, or the next tank the grisly cause, of the Axis will be much advanced, and the cause of the' United Naiticms be that much imperilled.” , , President Roosevelt has ordered Colonel Knox, Navy Secretary, .to relinquish possession of three plants of the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation. The Navy took these plants over because their output was unsatisfalctory. In his Executive Order, said the President, he now finds that the plants will be privately operated in a manner consistent with the war effort. The Senate, 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-live million dollars for farmers,, and also to sell Governmental stocks of gram for feeding purposes under parity prices. This .'Bill means a victory for Mr Roosevelt of the Cangressional Farm Bloc, which have stubbornly opposed the giving of authority for this Administration to sell farm products under the parity prices. 1 LONDON, May 20. At his Press conference in Washington to-day Mr Roosevelt denied that the recent dispatch of more American troops to Northern Ireland meant that Australia was being ignored. “That’s a new’ one on me he said, when the question was put to him. “There is no basis whatever for that impression.” "

NEGROES TO ENTER U.S. NAVY.

FOR FIRST TIME

(Rec. 12.10). 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 everv .month, while Marines are forming a special battalion of nine hundred men.'

First Ford Bomber VAST PLANT COMES INTO ACTION. (Rec. 1.5) 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 four tons of bomb’s. A Ford official revealed that the new factory expects to reach a production point of a bomber every hour, with workers doing three 8-hour shifts when high speed, turnout 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. 8.0.W. RUGBY, May 18.

Recorded developments in American aircraft production show how Mr. Rooseveit's goal of 60,000 machines in 1942 is being carried out. Production exceeded 2,000 in October, and by the end of December 5,000 engines monthly were coming off the assembly lines'. Floor space in factories then occupied 45,000,000 square feet, compared with 9,500,000 in 1939. It is being increased to 80,000,000 this year. Whereas 194,000 workers were employed in January, 1941, there were 326,000 in December. By this Autumn the number is expected to exceed 700,000. The output in 1942 is expected to. be double last year’s in value. American officials stated in December that the output of engines surpassed Germany’s and the production of aircraft would exceed Germany’s in the early Spring of 1942. This point has now been left behind. A speaker in the House of Representatives said recently that the United States was producing 33,000 aircraft monthly. These figures are seen in London in the light of Mr. Churchill’s recent statement that this year the British and American bomber offensive against Germany will be one of the principal features of the war. It is pointed out that the devastating raids already carried out hav'e been the work of the Royal Air Force alone.