Evening star., 1941-05-23

been dlSCardeQ. Usually WHen dH
American citizen or group of
citizens come into court, they argue
their case before an impartial
judge and submit the evidence to
him. To carry on through the
medium of a Senate debate cam
paign to discredit the defendants
in q case while the judge has the
case before him for decision is not
regarded by the American bar as
either justice or ethics.
An examination of the verbatim
records of the debate in the Senate
this week reveals that United States
Senators were fed data from the
court argument by Government at
torneyS and apparently were per-
suaded to use charges which had not
been proved or decided upon in
court as a basis for about as unfair
an attack as has been written into
Senate history.
America has been for years the
sole producer, 1t today has the ex-
pert knowledge to expand produc-
ton and furnish aluminium for the
defense program. Yet it is being
attacked as monopoly"
Mistake Charged.
Once the aluminium company is
discredited, it will next be other
American businesses, so it is i'm
portant to analyze the debate and
reveal the extent of the misrepre-
sentation and the nature of the
smoke screen being drawn to hide
the colossal mistake in judgment
made by the present administration
in failing to estimate accurately the
airplane program We needed and
hence the requisite amount of
aluminium.
The Senator then lifted from
private memorandum issued by the
attorneys for the Antitrust Di-
vision scores of matters as facts"
that were pure argument before
the court which has the question
under advisement at the moment.
Charges have been made that the
aluminium Conpany controls pat
ents to make aluminium, but the
fact is there have been no patents
since 1909. Likewise the Reynolds
Metal Co, competitor, has gone
into the aluminium business this
very year and has had no trouble
arranging for a production of 1OO,-
900 900 pounds already.
Other Senators during the course
OF the debate charged that the
aluminium company had given as
surances that there was enough
aluminium for defense and had so
Influenced the defense officials in
Washington to say the same thing.
The fact is that at the time the
statement was issued last fall there
was no shortage in sight for defense
needs.
Misleading figures, moreover, were
given during the debate concern
ing Germany's production. Sena-
tor La Toilette, taking too literally
an old Department of Justice memo,
says aluminium production in the
United States is at present 327,-
600. 900 pounds. He doesn't know
that the present capacity is nearly
double that figure due to the very
patriotism and business foresight
of the aluminium company. De-
spite the talk of German produc-
ton and Hitler's supposedly clever
use of the cartel system, the Bu-
reau of Mines is authority for the
statement that Germany in 1910
produced only 460,0OO,000 pounds of
aluminium, and that when one adds
the facilities of the occupied coun-
tries of the European continent the
total may run to only about 640,-
100000 pounds.
Figures Criticized.
American production at the end
Of 1910 was around 100000 900
pounds and Is today approaching
60O,OOO,0o0 pounds and by July,
1912, will exceed 825 ooO, 900 pounds.
The price of alumium has come
down from 20 cents to II cents and
In another couple years is expected
to reach 10 cents a pound.
Talk of inability to meet defense
needs depends on who estimates the
needs and when the airplanes and
engines are to be built. Nobody has
yet guaranteed that America will
build 10000 military airplanes this
year, but even if there were $4,000
a year, and the average amount of
aluminium In military plane is
10000 pounds, it would take only
500, 100000 pounds to meet defense
needs. The o. P. M. is talking
about the need for 100000 900
pounds of aluminium for military
needs alone, but nobody in authority
has as yet ventured to say how
these figures are arrived at. 1t
begins 10 look as If there Is move
efoot auegedly to justify the New
Deal m furnishing funds for the
building OF Government-owned
plants 10 make aluminium and to
add electric power plants just to
fight o successful American COM
pany.
Inc AltnI1IluIu W. VI AIucilC
has risked additional capital of $780,
900 900 in making more aluminium
this year. This Is 10000 900 more
than the total worth of all the air
craft plants in the United States
at the end of 1899. But this Is not
the only risk. With civilian sales
gone for the present and with other
companies making substitutes and
taking away customers which 1t
took the aluminium company years
70 build up, the risk to the alumni
mum company's future is big one.
This sort of risk, and especially the
putting up of 5000, 100000 of pri-
vate capital, is not being appreci-
ated. 1t is being sniped at by the
department of injustice at Wash
ington Just to be able to get Con-
gress to appropriate s75o'ooo more
Of the taxpayers money for jobs
Sa silva h,ireoi1protS