Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1941-08-07
Self-Sufficiency

New York, states thaA"by proper
planning and action, the United
States can be self-sufficient in
terms of Hemisphere defense"
Here are the ways, according to
"Uncensored", in which shortages
can and are being met:
l. New plants. This is being done
for aluminium and steel. New smelt-
ers for the production of zinc and
lead are being pushed. In addition,
old smelters are being rehabilitated.
2. New domestic deposits. The
United States Bureau of Mines re-
Gently reported that the United States
will be able to produce substantial
amounts of mercury and anthony
from domestic deposits in an emer-
gency which involved the sudden
cessation of overseas supplies. The
Bureau has also recently found a
high-grade tungsten ore deposit and
one deposit of chromite ore which
has possibilities although in peace
time it is sub-commercial.
3. Conservation of materials. OPM
has recently requested cork professors
to cut their production in half for
the rest of the year. About 1000
tons of tin year will be saved by
the OPM's request for a reduction
of 10 per cent in the tin used for
coating tin cans. BY the 20 per cent
cut in auto production of 1912 models
and Is per cent cut in the produc-
ton of civilian rubber goods, ire
mendous quantity of these and other
raw materials now under partial or
complete priority control will be
saved.
4. Retaining waste materials. The
retaining rubber industry is cur
rently operating at 80 per cent of its
theoretical capacity of $4,000 long
tons annually. A special committee
of the National Academy of Science
estimated that about $4,000 long tons
of tin could be recovered from tin
cans each year if cost were no con-,
sideration. 4.
S. Synthetics. The production 81
synthetic rubber has risen in the last
year to total of 1000 tons. Recently
the RFC allotted $5,000,000 for fouH
synthetic rubber plants, each with
an initial capacity of $500 tons annuts
ally and an ultimate output of 10000
tons. Dupont will build a new neoe
prene plant with capacity of 10000
tons year. Current production Of
neoprene is 5000 tons year. SYM
thetic rubber capacity in operation
or being built is $4,000 tons annually.
Additional government plants will
raise the national figure to $4,000
tons actual and $4,000 tons potential
capacity.
6. Substitutes. Silver can be sub
stituted for tin in solder and thus
lower tin consumption more than 20
per cent. Aluminium foil can be re-.
placed by oilpaper, glassin, or cello-
plane. Bottle caps including milk
caps made of aluminium can be re-
placed by paper or some form of
sheet steel properly protected by plas-
tic and paint or by plastics alone.
Cooking utensils are being replaced
by some form of sheet steel with or
without enamel. In general plastics
alone, cast iron, steel with or with
out plastics, wood, paper, glass and
ceramics may be substituted for alu-
minum. The National Academy of
Science together with the Bureau of
Standards have worked out substi-'
tutes for aluminium, zinc, steel, leath-'
er, nickel, chromium, rubber, brass,
asbestos, copper, tin, bronze and lead
AS substitute for ferromanganese.
they recommend the use of Spiegel-,
eisen, which can be produced in suf-3
ficient quantities here to meet United
States needs. General Electric and
Westinghouse engineers have devel-
oped substitutes which they claim do
not impair the efficiency or economy
of operation of refrigerators, ranges,
washing machines and other house
hold appliances. Large producers of
consumer goods will probably be able,
because of their research staffs, to
find suitable substitutes Industries
that maintain trade-wide research
laboratories will also meet the crisis
more easily. 1t is only the small
producer, with no access to research
laboratories, who will face EXITING
tion.)
7. Hemisphere sources. Latin
America is vast emergency store
house filled with the materials the
United States needs. The RFC has
spent or is going to spend more than
$3.50, 100000 for reserves of copper,
tin and rubber. The Defense Supplies
Corp. and Metals Reserve Co., SUBJ
salaries of the RFC, have bought
since November 100000 tons of Latin
American copper, 100000 tons of
Chilean nitrates, and $4,000 tons of
Brazilian manganese. Huge pur-
chases of wool and hides have been
made in Argentina and Uruguay. The
Metals Reserve Co., will buy Bolivia's
entire production of tungsten ore for
the, next three years; there is also a
steady flow of tungsten ore from
Peru, Argentina and Mexico. Zinc
and lead have also been imported
from Latin America. The United
States and Brazil have recently con-
cluded trade agreement under which
the United States viii, for two years,
purchase the entire surplus of rub
hor titapil1n nickel iron chromium