Evening star., 1942-12-06

front-manpower, imitation and rubber.
The first serious impact on American
ways of life was due to the shortage of
rubber This was Nation Of 80 900 900
motor vehicles For three decades the rub
Der tire had become more and more in
eXtricably woven through every economic
and sociological phase OF the daily living
of 13O,000,000 people.
All this required close to 1000, 900 tons
of rubber year and the wartime needs
of the Army and Navy raised the re-
quirements higher than ever Ninty per
cent OF the rubber in the world came
from the Dutch East Indies and British
Malaga. And the Federal Government
had been lax about setting up a stock
pile. The news of Japan's inexorable
forward march in those distant areas
was news of a crisis in rubber crisis,
therefore, in American transportation.
People Complacent.
America accepted the situation COM
placently enough at first. The people
believed that the national ingenuity
would find a quick way out of the dilem-
ma through development of an industrial
process for making synthetic rubber.
Synthetic was the only hope. 1t would be
a 10-year Job to produce a substantial
crop in the tropical areas of the New
World. South America, native home of
the hevea tree, which transplanted, -four
ished in the Far East, was producing an
inconsequential amount of rubber last
December, and much of that rubber was
deep in difficult jungles.
Yet when the country turned to the
actual large scale production Of synthetic
rubber, it. found itself faced with one of
the most intricate chemical, engineering.
economic and political controversies in
It's history. There were grave conflicts
of interest between the holders of vari-
Gus materials from which the substitute
rubber could be made. The petroleum
producers insisted that the wisest pro-
gram would be to make synethetic from
OIL Farm spokesmen urged that bu-
tadiene be made from alcohol pro-
duced from farm goods.
The Federal Loan Agency. headed by
Jesse Jones, and it's Defense Plants Corp.
favored the petroleum program and
early in 1912 began to finance the con-
struction of what are known as poly
merization plants to make the rubber.
In February the population grew rest
less with wonder about how soon the
rubber difficulty was to be solved. Sem
ator Gillette, Democrat, Of Iowa pro-
NOTED congressional hearings Of inquiry
into why the farmer could not be bene-
fitted by rubber Vague statements by
the administrations spokesmen sug-
gested that synthetic rubber was just
around the corner, but Leon Hender-
son, chairman Of the Once Of Price
Administration. urged people to save
automobile rubber by using bicycles.
Shortly thereafter manufacture Of
bicycles was halted.
Rubber Issue Acute.
The rubber issue was growing acute by
May, when the War Production Board
suggested that people should use their
autos only when necessary in order to
save rubber. The U-boat warfare in the
Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean and
the need for sending all tankers across
the ocean for military purposes instead
of up the east coast with their cargoes
brought the question of gasoline ration
ing to head in the East in the spring
But as time wore on, more and more
suggestions were made for Nationwide
gasoline rationing in order to save not
gas but rubber.
President Roosevelt confused the
problem in June by saying all was well
about rubber. But in August he ap-
pointed three-man comp1ittee to study
the rubber problem-Bernard Baruch,
President Conant Of Harvard and Presi-
dent Compton Of Massachusetts, Insti-
tute of Technology. They recommended
Nationwide gasoline rationing, which
became reality at November's end
Three gallons week was the top except
in special cases.
Now, after year Of war the synthetic
program, with both oil and alcohol as
starting materials, is getting into full
swing.
The only manpower problem when the
war began was to get the men to increase
the sizes of the Army, Navy and Marine
Corps. Congress has passed bills during
the past year for the military service
registration of all between 18 and ga.
But in total war there is q Job for every
body. In January this year there was q
wave of "priorities unemployment" but
it soon became plain that some system
OF dividing up Americas men-and
women-so that there were enough in
uniform, enough in the factory and
enough on the farm would have to be
devised.
On April 18 President Roosevelt estab-
lished the War Manpower Commission
and made Paul v. McNutt It's chairman
McNutt was empowered by directive"
to exercise broad authority in his field,
but he found that to WELD this power
would put him ia . direct controversy