American Companies Frofit From Vietnam War

from 'Die Zeit'. "For the in ustries on America's west - coast, the intensification of the war in South East Asia means the beginning of a great boom= and managers in California frankly admit this openly. One of them confessed in an interview with the magazine 'Newsweek': "The economic results of the escalation are for us the cream on the cake", 'Die Zeit' gave as an example that the Norris-Thermdor Company of Los Angeles has revealed the following figures: it ships to South Vietnam each month 500,000 2,75-inch rockets and 40,000 bombs. In the last six months, the profits of the enterprise increased no less than 155% The rate of growth of profits in the aircraft industry is almost the same as that in the munitions factories, The United Aircraft Company announced that its rate of profit in 1965 was 70%. The Lockheed Aircraft Corporation with 1.7 billion dollars worth of defence orders is the most important business partner of the Pentagon. It expects to continue to receive big orders for the starfizhter planes. The profits are not confined to the munitions industry. Big shbping interests in San /rancisco have seen prosperity for the first time since the korean wars the Defence Department has chartered more than 100 merchant ships of wiich 87 are: liberty ships 'mothballed' since the Second World “ar, Aviation companies are doing a brisk business, 220 tons of materials are airlifted to South Vietnam daily. For example, the Seaboard “orld Airlines uses 1/3 of its capacity ship supplies to Vietnam, This alone almost doubled its profits in 1965, The pharmaceutical industry reported that the demand for .uinine was so great that its sellin. price rose from 0.35 dollar an ounce in 1964 to 3.25 dollars at present. Freight cars of the railway transport companies were bringing supplies day and night to ports along the west coast. Textile mills were turnin; out a large quantity of trousers for the Army. The price of shoes rose by 12% in a few months because the Defence :inisbry had placed big emergency orders with shoe factories for supplies of ariy boots. All these companies are making fartunes out of one of the most costly small-scale wars ever launched by the United *tates.