Mr. Kaiser Goes to Washington

Once before big, bald Henry J. Kaiser, the West Coast's dam-building, shipbuilding, build-anything tycoon, had blitzed Washington into giving him what he wanted. That was when he wangled $50,000,000 from Jesse Jones to build a steel plant to supply his brand-new amateur shipyards. Now he was out after bigger stakes. He had broached direct to the public his bold proposal to build 5,000 giant cargo planes (TIME, July 27). Now he descended on Washington with the avowed intention of creating public clamor for his breath-taking scheme.

In one day Builder Kaiser, rolling swiftly about the town, testified before two Senate committees, conferred with WPBoss Donald Nelson, spoke at a National Press Club luncheon, held a two-hour press conference for women reporters in his chart-littered suite at the Shoreham Hotel. The women were fascinated by a man who talked facts to them, who did not talk down to them. His proposal even crashed the society page of the Washington Post, under that paper's new wartime policy of writing social notes almost exclusively about people active in the war effort (see p. 51).

Henry Kaiser was working at the same feverish pitch which permitted him to build Boulder Dam two years ahead of schedule, by which he cut the time for constructing a Liberty ship from 105 down to 46 days. He was frankly indulging in a vast piece of bluff; he frankly wanted the Army and the Administration to call his hand; thus, in the old American way, he would get a chance to make good or shut up. Bluntly he told the Senate Committees that his plan would not cut into the bomber program. He said he was planning to prepare his own mines and mills for production of minerals and alloys. He said he could train his own skilled labor. He denied that the precision work in plane-building could stump a shipbuilder (in spite of the fact that planemakers say it is still stumping converted automakers--and that he has been a shipbuilder for only 20 months). Anyhow, he snorted, 40% of the work in building planes was in adminsnation, purchasing and expediting.

Many there were, both in & out of Washington, who felt that if anybody could do it, dynamic Henry Kaiser was the kind of man. Such a supporter was Grover C. Loening, pioneer airman, adviser to WPB's air-cargo committee. He favored the plan 100%. His only proviso: Kaiser must not cut into combat-plane production. Kaiser-boosters passed around a Bell Aircraft Co. cartoon which seemed to them very apropos (see cut, p. 22).*

The Facts. The principal argument against Henry Kaiser's big idea (with which few citizens disagreed in principle) was the raw-material shortage. Resourceful Henry Kaiser might use the chrome in California soil, tin from Nevada, but he did not convince WPB of his ability to get all his needed metals. Fact is that part of the Army's combat-plane program is already lagging for lack of raw materials. Donald Nelson promised Kaiser "plenty of action." if--a big "if"--it can be proved that the Kaiser dream will not cut into the combat-plane program.

In the midst of the discussion came pregnant words from cargo-advocate Grover Loening. Testifying before a Senate Military Affairs Subcommittee, he said: "We must give up the idea that because something cannot be done before two or three years, that it is no good for this war. I venture to predict that when a real all-out air war is envisioned, we will find that five to ten cargo planes should be built for each combat plane, whereas now the ratio is one cargo plane for every 15 or 20 combat aircraft." Mr. Loening said he saw no reason why an airplane hull should not be built of steel in a shipyard, pointed out that one Liberty ship contains enough steel for 200 cargo-plane hulls. Said he: "We must use initiative and imagination to the utmost rather than find stock reasons why something cannot be done."

*The cartoon's science is faulty: total wing area in relation to body weight is not the sole criterion of ability to fly. Equally important in powered flight is engine output.

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