Evening star., 1942-07-04
British Food Ministry
To Purchase Tea for
All United Nations
Enemy-Owned Bomb
Plant Seized; Other
CiviIiun Front Notes

To stabilize the world tea mar
ket, disrupted by the war, the Brit
ish Ministry of Food will purchase
tea for all the United Nations. This
was announced at meeting of the
Tea Industry Advisory Committee
Full agreements on amounts and
grades to be furnished and on prices
to be charged the United States
will be reached In later discussions
in London.
The Ministry of Food will make
all purchases of tea in India. Ceylon
and East Africa. 1t will be allo-
Gated by a committee with head
quarters in London, on which the
United States will be represented,
Machinery to carry out distribu-
ton after tea reaches this country
has not yet been set up.
The Alien Property Custodian,
Leo T. Crowley, again has stepped
in to seize enemy property in this
country.
Perhaps the most important new
seizure is that or forge equipment
for a bomb and shell manufacturing
plant. which belonged to Edgar
Ausnit. a Rumanian national now
in this country. The equipment was
Immediately made available to the
Navy.
The equipment is capable of pro-
ducing 500 and 1000 pound bombs
and large caliber shells. 1t was
made three years ago for Rumanian
interests, and because of shipping
shortages has been lying idle at a
Brooklyn pier. Efforts of the Navy,
and British and Netherlands in
terests to purchase the equipment
were blocked by the owners.
WPB has set up within the Divi-
sion of Purchases a new section to
insure against waste Of precious
spacious in ships taking war ma
terials and supplies to United States
troops and Allies.
The new section will work for
more efficient use of space through
improved containers and packaging
methods. Albert Weigand Luhrs.
who has been with OPM and WPB
since last September, was ap-
pointed chief of the section.
WPB cut the processing, sale and
delivery of Manila cordage nearly in
half. No substantial additional
quantities of Manila fiber will be
coming into the country until the
war is won. The order will conserve
the supply for the Army, Navy,
Maritime Commission, and War
Shipping Administration, whose re-
quirements will increase as our
armed forces do, The. savings will
come from civilian users.
The base period for price ceilings
on ice were shifted by OPA from
March to April. Prices prevailing
In March, it was pointed out, were
the lowest in years and did not
reflect cost increases. Advances
made in ice prices in April were
reasonable, OPA stated.
A proposal Tor 1ntegratlOn OF all
the Nations transportation facilities
into limited number of systems was
advocated yesterday by witness be-
fore the Board of Transportation
and Research.
The board, created by the 1910
Transportation Act, is studying the
transportation problem with view
to recommending legislation.
Donald D. Conn, executive vice
president of the Transportation As
sociation of America, defining inte-
grafton as the working together of
all forms of transport for a mutual
advantage and composite service
to the public" suggested the creation
of II, IA or II transportation sys-
TENS, each system providing all types
of service-rail, highway, water and
air.
This could be brought about, he
testified, either through outright
consolidation or through contractual
operating companies.