Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-10-07
PegIer Clean:
Ideas but Moi
Much Scrap?
Bumpers CIR
Favor as Substitutes
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER


THE proposal to throw onto
the scrap pile all the auto
mobile bumpers in the country.
a tonnage of pretty good steel
that would come to something
between 100000 and 500, 900 tons
has raised considerable enthusi-
asm. but not an awful lot of
metal.
The hitch is lack of organiza-
ton, although some people in-|
sist that it just amt safe to|
drive without regulation bump
ers and, furthermore. that theI
insurance companies and. in|
some places, the law, might OBJ
ject.
All these objections could bel
satisfied. however. with wooden|
bumpers, because any crash of
sufficient force to break up al
2 by 6 board would smash the|
vitals of car and probably
drive the steering post into theI
shippers chest and bust his ever
loving old lady's skull against
the top frame of the windshield
YOU may observe that I have
L toned down my opinion of
the quality OF this bumper steel
for salvage purposes.
The reason is that Edwin. G..
Barringer, president and execu-|
tive secretary OF the Institute
OF Scrap Iron and Steel in Wash
ington. which would seem to bel
the chamber of commerce of the|
scrap industry, writes that al
though the basic material of
the bumper is good carbon steel.
the nickel and chrome platire|
are deleterious elements W.
impart hardness and i'm -
welding. :"
He says, however, that there|
should be some form of STEEL
in which such scrap would bel
useful and, Furthermore, the|
auto salvage division of the|
WPB has stated that these|
bumpers are urgently needed
right now
Barringer also urges that
people be not deceived by the|
sight Of large stocks in local
yards, because we had only
100000 tons in the hands oil
scrap dealers on June 80, as
against 100000 tons a year ago
and 100000 tons two years
ago.
He explains something that
few of US would realize when
he says that this 100000 rep
resents dangerously low aver
age of two scrap automobiles
in the hands of each dealer.
This" he says, "ia an ex-
treme minimum, owing TO the
fact that the dealers must &C.
cumulate scrap by the carload
and there are IS separate
grades which must be kept dis
tinct, Dealers have reached the
maximum tonnage they can get
from normal sources"
FRANKLIN GIRARD, state
l. forester. wires from Boise,
Ida, that he has adopted wooden
bumpers, and o. p. Andres
wires from Fort Wayne a sug-
gestion that the 2S5. 900 slot
machines in the country are
outlawed in most states and
contain lot of good metal in
Guiding brass.
DR.. w. A. Moore, a chiroprac-
tor Of Sterling, Col. writes that
he has in mind another uselrss
article which should yielA
good supply of materials, BENG
the juke box, now TO be seen
and, much worse, heard in most
restaurants OF our fair and
smiling land.
Besides the metals, each Of
these horror boxes contains
large amounts of nerve-racking
noise that makes q person, Ak
minded" the doctor says, and
when / mentioned his idea to
Jimmy Petrillo. the dictator Of
the musicians union. he hoped
out of the BARRIERS chair and
wanted to start a parade right
away, led by union band.
But when / proposed that we
also throw in several thousand
tons Of saxophones and those
other CHASTITY horns that whinny
and 60 wah-wah he called me a
musical ignoramus.