Growth

In a speech before Washington's National Press Club last week, Defense Mobilizer Charles E. Wilson ticked off some impressive figures on how fast the U.S. is expanding its industrial plant for the long pull ahead. Items:

P: Steel capacity in 1952 will be rising at the rate of a million tons every three months, will soon reach 120 million tons a year.* (On Dec. 10, the U.S. steel industry turned out the 100 millionth ton of steel in 1951. Previous record: 89 million tons in 1944.)

P: Oil-refining capacity (already greater than the rest of the world put together) will soon be boosted another 15%. P: Aluminum production is being doubled. By June 1952, the U.S. will be able to make 40% more aluminum than at the peak of World War II. P: Electric power is being expanded by 40%, has already been upped 21.5% since the Korean war started. "Imagine," said Wilson, "in a couple of years, we will have half again as much power as the nation has been able to produce since the discovery of electricity."

*Compared with 18 million tons for England, an estimated 28 million tons for Russia.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.