"Under lock and key—their contents secret even to the manufacturers in whose safes they now repose—sealed orders for war-time supplies have been placed by the U.S. War Department with 127 manufacturing plants in Minnesota.
The orders were placed in company vaults as part of a nationally-integrated plan to speed-up production in event of war emergency.
Similar orders, it was understood, have been placed with industrial blents in nearly all of the 48 states. Under government seal, they are not to be opened until authorization shall be forthcoming from the War Department.
Should an emergency occur, the orders in Minnesota plants would be put into effect by one of three following methods, depending upon the urgency of the situation: Telegrams ta plant owners; Announcements through the press; A general radio broadcast to "put emergency orders into effect."
Minnesota manufactures holding the orders do not know exactly what they will be called upon to produce but iLey do know the product will be one their plants are equipped to turn out.
It was generally understood they would call for the manufacture of small arms ammunition, woollen textile, bridge materials, shipbuilding materials and other supplies needed in a war emergency.
The War Department has revealed location of most of the plants, listing 58 in Minneapolis, 31 in St. Paul, 18 in Duluth, Twenty more are in other unnamed industrial cities.
It was assumed three of the 217 plants would produce naval materials and the other 124 manufacture army supplies.
At the time the emergency "economic mobilization" plan was being charted, an army oficial, detached from Chicago headquarters, made a survey of manufacturing blents in Minnesota to determine the type and extent of products they could be called upon to supply.
Minnesota plants are equipped to manufacture small arms ammunition, woollen textiles, communication equipment, bridge materials, brass products, tentage, shoes, artillery, machine tools, X-ray equipment, har" ness, saddlery, surgical instruments, road building machinery, batteries, refrigerators, radio equipment, ships, ship accessories, chests and trunks, combat or field wagons, furniture and precision instruments, And, also, artificial limbs.—United Press,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.