"Maybe They Should Make Hari-Kari Swords..."

Remember what I said, "It's the little things that you have to keep an eye out for..."

Well, here's a story that talks about the end of an era....

The Gun That Won the West...may now be made in the East. I mean Far-East.
Here's the story:

When it comes to firearms, there is perhaps no better known American weapon than the one made famous by John Wayne in Stagecoach, the Winchester. Well, Winchester, one of those names that is uniquely American, now manufactured by US Repeating Firearms Company, is getting set to close down at the end of the month. No big deal as big deals go. Whereas at one time Winchester was a big employer, now there are only 200 left on the payroll in the New Haven plant. What does this mean? Not much aside from the fact that another 200 skilled workers will be joining the legions of the unemployed enough perhaps to fill another Hooverville.

Why is Winchester closing down? According to a corporate spokesman, only 80,000 Winchesters and other models were turned out this year whereas the plant has the capacity to manufacture over 300,000 such arms annually.

Paul D. Mennato, a spokesman for the company, says that this contrasts with the 19,000 people on payroll during the forties when Winchester had its own police department and hospital.

The original Winchester repeating rifle earned its fame in the 1860's when the company first introduced the idea of a repeating rifle and it became popular with settlers looking to move west.

In the intervening years, the company was sold to a company based in Belgium, called Herstal Group, which now intends to make some of the arms in plants in Japan.

It seems nobody's worrying about the 200 workers, many in their fifties, who will have no place to go. Ironically, as the workers discuss their limited prospects in a world that seems mostly unconcerned, we pass by a sign that reads: "Through these gates pass the greatest craftsmen who make the world-famous Winchester firearms." It's just another little reminder that many things have changed about America including it seems our ability to lead in things other than war...and even there it seems incompetents run the show...

Les Aaron