Evening star., 1941-07-09
La Guardia and 0.P.M.
Row Over Collection
0fSerap Aluminium
Defense Authorities
Fear WruneIe Presuees
More Serious Ones
BY JAMES FREE.

Civilian Defense Director r. Fl.
La Guardia and ONCE for Produc-
ton Management leaders nave been
engaged in virtually a knock-down-
and-drag- fight over their first
joint major activity-Nation-w
collection Of scrap aluminium and
its diversion to defense - 1t was
learned today.
Since the collection is not sched-
uled to begin until July 81 the
chances are that the main points
of the dispute will have been settled
before that time, but neutral de-
fense authorities have expressed
concern that the wrangls may prove
to be a forerunner of more serious
controversies.
Mayor LaGuardia has objected
strenuously to what ne considers
unnecessary o. P. M. promotion
and red tape and unwarranted de-
ference to waste material dealers.
o. P NJ chiefs have been Upset
by the Mayors refusal to heed their
advice in the aluminium scrap coll
lection.
Opposes o. p. NJ. Plan.
1t was agreed at the outset Of
the campaign that Mr.. LaGuardias s
civilian defense organization would
handle collection of discarded
aluminium through Boy Scouts,
| American LegiOnnaires and other
civic and patriotic groups, with
o. P. M. then taking over and see
| ing to it that the metal was utilized
| for defense. But this distinction
was not definite enough 10 avert
friction.
One of the fundamentals of the
o. P. M. plan for converting the
scrap metal TO defense was that
collections were to be checked over
by the civilian defense workers and
| deposited and classified on q nom
profit basis by local waste material
| dealers.
Mayor La Guardia opposed this
strongly asserting that the scrap
material should be shipped directly
to smelters, with the dealers being
left out of the picture altogether.
o. P M pointed out to the Mayor
that smelters asked to handle scrap
not classified by experienced deal
ers would find their overhead costs
greatly increased. Moreover. they
maintained that sorting. preparing
and shipping could be done more
efficiently and cheaply by dealers
than by civilians not familiar with
the task
Disagree on Publicity.
A number of conferences were
held on this and related points,
with the o. P. MS side of the ques-
ton finally being argued by John
D. Biggers. chief of the production
division, and today the outcome was
still in doubt.
From the start Mayor La Guardla
and those handling press relations
for o. P. M. have disagreed on how
the publicity for the scrap collection
campaign should be conducted.
Defense press relations men were
puzzled by Mr. La Guardias pub
lie assertion that. in the collec-
ton campaign. We're not going to
have any experts and we're not going
to have any statistics and we're not
going to have books and pamphlets
of instructions" Local civilian de-
fenSe groups, it was said, were writ
ing Washington in large numbers for
just such information.
Housewives Warned.
In the end, defense press men took
matters in their own hands and had
instruction literature printed.
There have been no announce
ments out of the Mayors Office or
o. P. M. regarding the campaign
for more than a week From an
other source-Miss Harriet Elliott s
consumer division of the Office OF
Price Administration and Civilian
Supply-late yesterday came an ap-
peal TO the Nations housewives not
to give any of their aluminium
utensils to any but authorized col.
lectors and. in any case. to hold or
to them until July 81. Miss Elliott
urged all housewives to take part in
the program. and cautioned them
not to contribute any utensils that
would have to be replaced immedi-
ately.