AN ARTICLE appearing in the July issue of Reader’s Digest, written by Congressman Ross A. Collins, the outstanding military expert in Congress, should have the attention of every American. For some twenty years, Congressman Collins has been preaching the need of more and more tanks, armored cars and airplanes, but it has taken several German blitzkriegs to awaken the Congress and the Army brass hats to action.
Now Congressman Collins is advocating “Youthful Leadership and Promotion by Merit,” and in his article urges specific means to achieve this end. American business puts a premium on vision, aggressiveness and creative efficiency. In the Army, seniority seems to be the only thing that counts.
Perhaps the seniority system is responsible for the complaints emanating from plants engaged in the production of munitions or war supplies. Many of these manufacturers, experienced in precision work for general public sale, find that the close limits forced on them by government engineers greatly restrict quantity production. And coming from the most efficient production groups in the world, these complaints are not just idle chatter by any means!
Here is an example of how business men get things done. A dealer in used machinery was asked for an opinion on reallocating machine tools in various government operated plants. The “brass hats” figured that several months would be required. The used machinery dealer did the job in just a few weeks, to the chagrin and amazement of the “slide rule” brigade. One more sterling example that knowing how, and doing it, gets a lot more done than just guessing or “gassing.”
