The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1942-12-04
Was hin Isliy DIG
Synthetic Rubber Industry
Achieved Within One Year
Speedy Adoption of Rubber Manufacturing
Program SLAVES "a Years From Time
Required to Launch New Industry.
BY BAUKHAGE
NesDs Analyst and Commentator.


tents Of which looked just alike to me
Ia milky substance. One was the
pure latex from the rubber tree. The
other was a synthetic product made
from alcohol of petroleum.
II am not a chemist" LETTERS
said, land / don't intend to be one.
Those are just the ABC's."
| He went back to the: immediate
problem before him, which is to
keep America rolling until the syn
thetic factories start to work.
"Are you going to be able to do
that?" asked.
SIT is not impossible if everybody
plays the game" he said. II know
| you can't regiment the American
people. and / am not in favor Of
trying to do it, but when the people
understand what we are trying to
do for them, I think they will CO.
operate. / have gotten splendid CO.
operation already from big BUSH
ness, little business and individuals.
| It is reassuring to learn how people
react when they know what we are
doing. ! get all kinds of letters-and
answer all Of them.
"When the people realize how inn
portant it is to help us help them
save rubber, they will cooperate. In
the last war we had lot OF flags
and parades, went down to the train
to see the fellows off with a band.
There doesn't seem to be any OF
that in this war. It might be a
good thing. But when the people
realize that the most vital thing in
our war effort is saving rubber,
we are going to see something tam
| gible."
At that point Mr.. LETTERS dropped
an aside, one of the little human
remarks that are typical of him,
tinged though it is with a touch Of
irony maybe if the people didn't
run around so much they could visit
their neighbors and they might
make friends and get better friends
that way"
Rubber and Economics
Rubber affects the social life Of
the people, no doubt-the whole
American economy, rightly or
wrongly, is built on rubber and we
can't change it. Look at the farm
er. We have to have food. The
farmer can't 60 back to the horse
and wagon. II he could get the
horses, we couldn't build the wagons
now. He has to get the crops to
| market-it all comes back to trans
portation.
"We'll keep them on rubber. Gas
rationing is rough justice. 1t works
hardships on some. Some take adj
vantage Of tits the man who has
three gallons more than he needs
and uses them to ride around the
country that is the waster. But !
think we'll get cooperation"
I went back to problem two: the
building Of the synthetic industry.
"The government will own the
plants" said, won't that make
postwar problems?" He said to me,
eyes, the government will own the
plants and the product will be manu-
featured on what amounts to man.
agement fee basis. A lot Of other
things" he said, twill be made UNI
der the same conditions"
"But I'm not interested in post
war problems" LETTERS went on,
''my job is to help win the war. I'm
less bugs develop that we can't take
care Of. we'll do it. And If we do,
we'll accomplish in a year and a
half what it usually takes Is years
to do"
Cooperation will do that-and
keep the country on rubber mean
while-and cooperation means big
business, little business and the
folks "who eat in the kitchen" as
Mr.. LETTERS puts it. 'They have the
balance Of power" he says.
About Wasted Coal
/ According to the United States
Office of the Bituminous Coal Con-
sumers' Counsel bituminous or
''soft" coal is the backbone Of
America. It supplies industry with
more than one-haH of the power and
energy required to produce the
weapons of war. Creates nearly IS
per cent of the electricity used in
our nation. Heats more than so per
cent Of the homes Of America. Four
out Of five Of all the railroad loco
motives Of the country get their
power from bituminous coal.
twenty-five million tons Of "soft"
coal will be wasted by the domestic
consumer this year unless more
than usual care is exercised In the
operation Of home heating furnaces.