Evening star., 1942-09-11
Roosevelt 10 Act
Monday 10 Set
UpRubber r'Czar'
President, Nelson
Confer on Selection
Of Administrator

President Roosevelt said today
he plans action Monday to put
the Nations rubber conservation
and production program under a
single administrator and to carry
out other recommendations of
the Baruch committee.
While executive plans will be
ready Monday for making effective
practically all the committees rec
concentrations, the President ex-
planned that machinery would have
to be set up through local boards
to apply Nation wide gasoline ra-
tioning-which he insisted should
be called mileage rationing.
Appointment of rubber admins
traitor will be the first step in car
rying out the Baruch Committee
recommendations. Mr.. Roosevelt
said he already had talked with
Donald Nelson, War Production
Board chairman, and that they
would agree on the administrator
by Monday
Legislation Held Not Needed.
Under the committees recon-
mendation, the administrator will be
appointed officially by Mr.. Nelson
with the Rubber Reserve Co, the
Petroleum Co-ordinator and other
Government agencies concerned with
the rubber program being ordered to
act under the new administrator
direction.
The President pointed out that
the Baruch Committee had given a
rule of thumb for gasoline rationing
by recommending that the average
mileage on passenger automobiles
and trucks be held down to 5000
miles year.
Expressing his dislike for the
term of gasoline rationing, the Pres
ident said there are lots of ways
to restrict mileage, and one of them
is to allow only enough gasoline
for the allotted miles a car.
He said he did not believe any
legislation would be necessary to
put the committees recommended
tions into effect.
Exactly what steps will be taken to.
@AAAOASO q 1l0UlOildl SDCCu Oh
35 miles an hour will be left up to
the new rubber administrator, Mr.
Roosevelt indicated.
Roosevelt Describes Test,
He then described test he had
| made recently on highway near
his Hyde Park estate, which con-
vlnced him that motorists generally
now are not complying with the
Federal and State requests to cut
their speeds in order to conserve
| their tires.
He explained that when he Is
motoring on highway, the Secret
Service and police escort do not let
any other cars pass him. He made
the test, he went on. by driving for
IL miles along main road at an
| even speed of IS miles an hour.
| BY the time he turned in his gate,
the President said % cars had piled
up in line behind him-indicating
that they had been going more than
IS miles an hour before they were
slowed down by his escort.
Congress Gets Report.
The President said in transmitting
the Baruch recommendations to
Congress yesterday that all of them
would be put into effect as rapidly
as arrangements can be made"
Several weeks must elapse before
gasoline rationing, already effective
| in the East, can be applied to the
entire country, Robert Horton, dep
uty price administrator, said. He
explained that printing and dis
tr1buting ration books would take
considerable time.
Under the proposed setup for the.
rubber organization MIR. Nelson
would be responsible for the pro-
gram, but would "divest himself of
direct concern" by delegating au-
thorlty I'm all matters relating tn
rubber" to the new administrator.
The committee insisted that
ne should be man of unusual ca
pacity, a thoroughly competent
operating and manufacturing ex-
ecutive, preferably with experience
IN the rubber industry"
1t Will be the new administrator.
Joo to prevent a recurrence of
Wnat the committee referred tn aS
past errors growing out of procras-
tlnatlons, indecisions, conflict of
authority, clashes of personalities
lack OF understanding. ~
Meanwhile, the report of the con :.
mlttee composed of Bernard NJ
Baruch, DR.. James B. Conant pras
1oent OF Harvard University, and nr
Kari T. Compton, president ~ ~.
continued ON Page A-l8, Column A.