Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-09-13

Az RHEN Inhn-Doe threw that hfty-feet
Wlength of garden hose into the rubber
w scrap, in the Government drive, ne
may not have known it but he was contriout-
ing a very important type of life insurance
TO some soldier or sailor.
The rubber that can be salvaged from
that hose according to experts of the U. ,.
Rubber Company, is just enough to make
pneumatic life-saving raft-something worth
more than its weight in gas ration tickets 10
any man in the Army or Navy VINO suooeny
finds himself in the middle of the ocean be-
cause his plane has been shot down, or an
enemy torpedo has forced him from sinking
ship,
Mr.. Does garden hose itself, may never
see such active duty. But every worn 5O-foot
hose added to the nations rubber stock piles
does mean that more RATS can be made
from whatever grade Of rubber is most suit
able for that purpose.
The battered old hot water bottle Mrs.
Doe decided she could get along without may
be stretched in its "reincanation," into two
wards of rubber sheeting for hospital pea
and the six worn rubbers that belonged TO
the Riddles are equal to pair of Army over
shoes.
An old inner tube can be patched just so
much and then it's worthless to its owner,
but there's enough raw material in two OF
these tubes for three heavy Army gas masks
More important so far since gas isn't be-
ing used, two old tires from the family hmou-
sine contain enough rubber for one new shoe
for an Army jeep truck.
But all of this old rubber, no matter
what II is, will go through many processes
and in most cases be combined with reason
able amount Of new crude rubber before IL
is made into anything.
The old rubber heels won't be what they
mead 20 no when thev iOin the Army.
Just how the retaining job will be done
ia a matter that has brought questions to the
minds of a good many men, women ana chill
dren who gave their soies, their toys, their
pirdles and their carriers SO. that the Army
and Navy can have tanks trucks and battle
ships equipped with rubber.
WIN old tires, rubber bands, shower cur
tains firemen's boots and bathing caps all 20
into one great melting pot, stirred by the hand
of rubber chemist until by some mysterious
magic out comes new rubber for tires adj
hesive tape and gas masks?
What is going 20 happen 70 all those rub
Der mats that were under the cuspidors IN
Washington will they be mixed up with that
lovely lavender one you had in your bathroom!
The answer is that first Of all the rubber
collected in tho Government drive will be
sorted according TO color. All white rubber
will be put in one pile, red rubber in another.
black in another and so on.
Then there will be grading according to
quality
All tires will be kept apart from other
rubber scrap, because they are the most valu-
able source Of reclaimed rubber. IL even
seems probable that everyone who owns them
will be asked 90 furnish second and third
helpings Of old tires 20 meet the emergency,
The Government will aliot a certain por-
ton Of the sorted scrap TO each of the rubber
plants where the retaining is done. The
largest Of these are the L S Rubber Company
plant at Naugatuck, Connecticut the Xylos,
owned by Firestone and the Goodyear and
Goodrich plants at Akron, Ohio.
But there also are number Of smaller
rubber retaining plants.
Working seven days week these plants