"The Kelly"

U.S. businessmen who fear reconversion got a "guinea pig" to watch last week. By studying it they may get a clearer idea of what some of those fears amount to. The guinea pig: the Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. in Cumberland, Md.

Because of the rubber shortage, Kelly-Springfield, known in Cumberland as "The Kelly," was dawdling along under a, skeleton staff 18 months ago. Then The Kelly leased most of its 1,000,000 sq. ft. of plant to the War Department, contracted to turn out small-arms ammunition on a cost-plus-fixed-fee basis. Shrewd, handsome Kelly President Edmund Sidney Burke handled the conversion to war production. He stored some of the tire-making machinery in plant buildings, to be handy for the reconversion job which would come some day--no one expected it so soon. Kelly's payroll skyrocketed under war orders, soon reached an alltime high of 5,000 workers, of whom 2,500 were women. Half of the women had never worked in industry before.

The Woman Pays. Tiremaker Burke had been watching the industrial situation closely. He saw a pinch coming soon in tiremaking facilities. Last month he hustled to Washington, convinced WPB that it would be wise to cancel the lease and reconvert The Kelly to tires. Other ordnance plants took on The Kelly's orders, and just 12 days after the deal was made, the first workers were laid off. Within two weeks, the layoffs will jump to 2,000, will crescendo until, in three weeks, the payroll will be slashed approximately 75%, leaving the basic staff needed to install tiremaking equipment, 1,200 men. On Oct. 1, The Kelly quits making ammunition, starts on tires.

Significantly for U.S. industry, the women will be hit hardest by the change, in Cumberland they will find no cushion to soften the jolt. Few have worked long enough to be eligible for unemployment compensation. In ordnance work, women inspect, gauge, operate automatic machines. But tiremaking is a hard, dirty, heavy job. A mere 300 may eventually get back their jobs with The Kelly. The remainder, some of whom worked just long enough to buy fur coats on the installment plan, must move away to find jobs, stay at home, join the WACS.

The Men Wait. For the men it will be a matter of waiting, with unemployment compensation easing the wait. Within 30 days, bustling Mr. Burke expects to turn out his first synthetic rubber tire. From then on, re-employment will rise steadily until, in six months, the payroll will hit 2,200 (2,800 jobs less than the ordnance plant).

While this rise & fall in employment is typical of what will happen in thousands of U.S. plants, not typical is the way the company has dodged the horrific bugaboo now raising the hackles of U.S. businessmen--reconversion cost. The Government will foot the bill (standard practice when it leases a plant). With equal ease, the company will dodge smaller bugaboos. It need not scramble for equipment (WPB will see to that), nor fear that some other company will grab its market while it is reconverting.

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