Love: After V-E Day
By Gilbert Love
What will the end of the war in Europe mean to us, personally? How many of the boys fighting over there will come home, and when? Will we have more gasoline and food? Will new autos and refrigerators be manufactured? Will prices and taxes be reduced?
No one knows exactly what’s going to happen, but we may be able to make a fairly good guess by piecing together statements and announcements that have come from various official sources. Here it is:
Many of the soldiers now in Europe will come home and be discharged – perhaps a quarter to a half of them. The Army announced last fall that discharges will be made on a “point” system. Points will be awarded for length of service, time spent overseas, decorations for combat activities, and any children that the soldier might have.
However, all soldiers with “high point values” will not be discharged. Those who are needed in the war against Japan will be retained.
More overseas, fewer transports
The men who are to be discharged won’t be home immediately. Bringing them back will be a huge job, complicated by the need for ships in the Pacific. It took eight months to bring the bulk of the Americans home from France in World War I. This time there are more men abroad, and fewer transports available. Estimates of the time that will be required run as high as 18 months.
Few men will be released by the Navy or Marines, because the Pacific war is their specialty. The draft will be continued, but a little later it may take only 18-year-olds.
Some increase in gasoline for civilians is predicted by most authorities. But don’t plan an auto tour. The increase won’t be that much. And railroad travel will continue to be difficult while men and supplies are being transferred to the Pacific.
The food situation gradually will improve as manpower is released by the Army and more farm equipment becomes available. It may be a long time, however, before we can get all the meat and butter we want.
Many will earn less
Production of autos, radios and household appliances will be resumed on a limited scale. Auto production may begin within six months.
Clothing and other textile products will not be too plentiful. Troops from Europe will have to be equipped with new uniforms for the Pacific climate, and many tents will be needed.
OPA price controls will remain in force. As normal conditions return, and prices begin to drop from the ceilings, the controls can be taken off one by one. Whether or not this will happen before the Japs are defeated is anybody’s guess.
Cutbacks in war orders will be gradual, and any unemployment that develops during the period of the Jap war will be temporary. Wages will remain at about present levels, but many persons will earn less as they go from high-pay war jobs to civilian occupations where the rates are lower.
The first visible result of V-E Day, here at home, is likely to be the lifting of the midnight curfew, the brownout, and the horse racing ban. Other improvements will come more slowly.