The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-11-05

Set The brssks
Drastic huf-Down
On Civilians
By RAYMOND cLArPER
WASzzTNoroN-For most Of Us
IL new controlled materials plan
q the War Production Board n
eomplicAfed and OF interest with
regard TO it purposes rather than
70 III method Of operation. An
i1ea Of IT. wide reach into indus
trial operations may be suggested
b. the fact that WPB II allowing
eleht months in which 70 put the
plan into fun operation.
II d . long overdue move. The
purpose Of the controlled mate
rails plan u to stop thu fragrant
ovsr-ordsrinK and scrambling for
short materials that has thrown
var production out Of balance.
We have airplanes without pro-
pellsrs. ships without engines. too
much Of some things and not
enough OF others. Some plants
must shut down while others catch
up.
Now WIPE u setting up . bank.
A bank loaded not with money.
hut with steel. copper and alumni
num- Those are for the present
to b the three controlled mate
rails. They are the real bottle
neclxs. Other materials are short.
hut II war production Ia built
around those three materials other
shortages probably win be auto
maticaily taken care Of. Rubber
may come into the plan later.
When the controlled materials
plan goes into effect. no one can
get steel. copper or aluminium
without clearing through the re-
quirements board Of wPB. That
board. under control Of Ferdinand
Eberstadt, vice-chairman Of WPB
ana until recently the executive Of
the joint army navy munitions
heard. win say where steel. copper
and aluminium shall 20. That
board win say what IL needed
first, what 10 needed next. and
who must wait or 20 without
Until now there has been Wild.
competitive grabbing for these
short materials by the army. navy.
maritime commission. lend lease
administration and by some other
agencies. Ordering was sometimes
done out Of Al proportion to rea-
sonAble needs simply because in an
uncontroIled production program
you had to get In early with
big order or some other agency
would get there first.
I don't mean that no effort has
been made to balance require
menfs. but the situation has been
almost uncomfortable. Often the
only way out was to stop some
contractor and divert materials
from him to some more urgent
program. Everybody had priori-
ties and they didn't mean much.
Now. m Leon Henderson says.
there win Be no more tickets sold
than there are seats In the theater.
War needs win be balanced. and
materials In the wPB bank win
b. drawn on by order. You. rum
ming your steel mill, can send your
steel only to the manufacturer
whose allotment number has been
forwarded 10 you by The WIPE.
That means rigid control for
war industry. II means control
over most of the industrial activ-
ity Of the country. Probably 70 to
80 per cent Of American Industrial
production win come under the
controlled materials plan. II Isn't
very different from what Germany
has done. But this d war. There
Int any escape from H. We
have tried TO avoid Il too long ~
q H.
Civilians are going 10 be shut
down on drsstically. Only about
one-and-s-half per cent Of next
PEARS steel production win Be re-
served for civilian uses. Only
three-fourths Of one per cent Of
copper production win be left for
civilian uses Most Of that win be
allowed to 80 only for repairs to
refrigerators. and that sort Of
thing.
Enough materials win be held
cut to keep things running. TO
keep farm implements working. TO
maintain utilities and other such
services 90 that the life Of the
country can 90 on But the squeeze
= on and il win be heavy. Make
No mistake about that
The outlook for the war is cali
ing for everything that can be put
into II The effect win b drastic
IN around But ! don't believe
thsrs can b the slightest doubt
about the nscessity for IT, This
war Il going to b the hardest
thing BY far that we ever went
through, and measures. no matter
how drastic. that win increase war
production or eliminate unneccs-
eary activity have to be taken