While helping to weed our seminary's book collection, I came across a book published in 1973, The Sunny Side of FDR, a collection of "humorous vignettes" [sic] about the Roosevelt Regime compiled by a M. S. Venkataramani, then-dean of American Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University's School of International Studies (and published by Ohio University). Most of the stories were told by FDR himself in one form or another.

According to Venkataramani, FDR told the following story on January 6, 1942, about a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into the Pacific and European wars:

I sent for the Maritime Commission, and I pointed out to them that one of the really vital things we have to get is more tonnage, and while on the relative sinkings and buildings at the present time we are holding even, we have got to make substantial gains of building over losses.

And I said to them, "What are you making now?"

"Well, we are making nearly 6 million tons this year."

I said, "What can you step it up to?"

"Well," they said, "We can step--step it up another million tons."

I said, "Not enough. Go back and sharpen your pencils!"

That is just illustrative of the method.

So they went back and sharpened their pencils, and they came back and they said, "It will hurt terribly, but we believe that if we are told to we can turn out 8 million tons of shipping this year."

I said, "Now you are talking."

And I said, "All right now, for '43 what can you do? Can you turn out 2 million more tons, to a total of 10 million tons of shipping?"

And they scratched their heads, and came back and said, "Aye, aye, sir!"

That's just an illustration.

Then it came to planes, tanks, anti-aircraft guns. And I have been telling them to go back and sharpen their pencils!

I will let y'all point out the obvious similarities to any story told of Stalin, or Mao, or Kim Il Sung, or The Mahatma Obama (Peace be Upon Him), giving "on the spot" guidance to industry. Which is what this reads like. All an economy needs to produce effectively is, apparently, yes-men with really sharp pencils.