More Is Not Enough

Cartoonists had patriotically taken up the Administration's new campaign against complacency. They drew charts with deeply sagging lines to show how U.S. war production had fallen off. Administration orators still stumped the land decrying lagging production. Editorial writers loyally joined in, attacking overconfidence.

Then last week WPB Chairman Donald Nelson issued his own chart showing official U.S. war-production progress. Nowhere on it was the deep dip in output that the alarmists had reported in the past two months. Production was still rising, if only 2% in June. To most citizens, the chart looked like glowing proof that the U.S. had pulled off a production miracle. Even if output now seemed to be leveling off, ever-optimistic Donald Nelson had an explanation: "Additional increases are harder to get. . . . America is now in the stratosphere of production, and to reach higher altitudes requires supercharging."

But Donald Nelson's chart had two faults. The 2% overall rise concealed alarming declines in specific war industries; and the tough job of U.S. production is not to keep just ahead of previous output but to make substantial gains, stratosphere or no stratosphere, to meet the armed forces' increased demands as the decisive battles near. Optimist Nelson's chart would have served the anti-complacency drive better had it shown U.S. production inching up gradually against a background of swiftly rising military demands. At the halfway mark in 1943, 43% of the year's "currently scheduled" munitions had been turned out. But to reach increased goals, the U.S. average monthly output would have to be 30% more for the rest of '43 than in the first months.

Nelson's figures did not look as good as his chart:

Aircraft: Up 3%, but "considerably short of expectations." In the preceding four months, aircraft production had shot up 10% or more each month.

Merchant Vessels: Work actually done TIME, August 9, 1943 was up 11% but ship deliveries were down about 100,000 deadweight tons from the May record. But "the 1943 objective . . . will in all likelihood be met."

Naval Vessels: Deliveries were up 13% over May, but work actually done in June showed a "small decrease."

Artillery: Production of selfpropelled artillery was down 13%; all other types declined 7%. Small arms and infantry weapons increased 14%.

Ammunition: "Schedules have been cut back to absorb excess inventories."

Transportation: Trucks and other motor transport were lagging. "Certain design problems" were still holding up large-scale armored-car deliveries.

Construction: Government-financed war construction was down 4% from May.

Expenditures: The Government spent $7,688 millions in June, 4% more than in May.

The significant fact about U.S. war production is that it is still not enough.

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