that ttw U. S. population would hit a peak—probably around 1980—and then decline. As I recall it. they thought that peak might be around 154,000,000— a mark we actually passed about five years ago What About Our Labor Force? The current boom in people is the result of an unexpectedly high birth rate and a steadily declining mor tality. Modern medicine conquers many of the diseases which in the past have cut life short. Thus the area of our greatest population gain is among the very young and among our senior citizens. The adults who form the labor force are a decreas ing segment of the total population. That being the case, we should be more concerned about labor-man agement relations in future years. I forecast that labor-force growth may continue to lag the total popu lation rise to an increasing degree during the next twenty years. This widening gap will create problems for management except as the auto

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