New-York tribune., 1918-02-26
Not a Non-Essential
0 the Editor of The Tribune

To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: In your issue of February 22 Won
call attention in your editorial column to
the glass industry as having been discovered
to be real non-essential. The tone of this
editorial is somewhat sarcastic. Whether
TINS IS intentional not | cannot say. but
IN any event l believe it to be worthy of
comment.
Inc glass industry as a whole has probably
done more voluntary conserving than anv
other one industry in the country. The large
majority OF glass factories have voluntarily
reduced their production at least one-half
already, with the sole object in view of con-
serving fuel. In these cases further red1c
ton would mean the closing of the plants
Inc overhead has practically remained the
same. Ihe element Of profit, therefore. to
winch you refer is probably less than in
many other industries at the present time
The materials necessary to the production
OF glass are not necessary to the production
oi other INES except to a small extent with
the one eXceptlon-fuel. Glass factories are
now using less than half the fuel thew
were three years ago owing to the voluntary
conservation above referred to- They are
however, not reducing the cost of production.
OWING to the tremendous advances in the
modlties necessary Potash, as a case in
point, could be bought before the war Of
between and cents a pound. To-day the
market price IS anywhere between 60 cents
ana 9l.2o, and IS unobtainable even at these
prices' excepting in very small quantities.
An Arbitrary Shut down
1t is not time to critcsc the Admins
tratlon for any act tending toward conserva
tlon OF materials necessary to guarantee
victory for the Allies. We will all sufror
any loss or privaton to gain this end. How
ever 1T does not seem just at this time that
an industry such as this should be arbitrarily
required to practically shut down without
irst thoroughly Investigating the conditions
ana determlnlng how far conservation can be
effected without tremendous financial loss ia
The industry itself | would unhcsitatinclv
say that at least so per cent of the labo,
employed IN the industry is beyond the mill
tary age, and the particular trainjno docs
not fit these men for any other skilled work
Finally, while glass as a product NAV be
construed to a certain extent as a nonosso,
tlal as regards the elements required to con-
duct the war, 1t is a production which in IFS
manufacture Is not utilizing the products
necessary to produce the strict essentials
Each glass factory should therefore he nar.
Wll'eu 10 continue on such basis as TO
conserve as great an amount of essential
materials as possible without being required
to completely disorganize. This can be dome
by determining the number of furnaces .
factory shall be permitted to operate To
guarantee 1T against absolute loss, but need
mot require the shutting down of all fur
haces. 1t may be Of interest to note that tho
characteristics of glass furnace are sucb
that 1T must be continuously run. If a
furnace IS once let out after being in opera
10 abc
furnace itself and every pot (the container
IN which the glass Is melted), involving a
direct loss Of from $4,000 to 5000, accord
ing to its size. A. DOUGLAS NASH
Flushing, n. Y, FeD. %, 1918
| 1t is painful to record, but the edi-
torlal in question was as Mr.. Nash sns-
plclons, writ sarcastic. The rise in tbe
price of glass, to which we alluded was
we thought, sufficient evidence of its nt;l.
lty IN conserving the available food sun
ply, and therefore that it would be difgicnl+
to discover less Of a non-essential --En )