Evening star., 1942-05-27


sooner we understand that the bet
ter, so that we can start trying COM
pletely to forget ourselves for tbs
duration.
Some one in Washington must
know the answer. There must be
some one who knows If this country
can out-spend and out-build the
rest of the world and still preserve
a life-as-usual front, or II 1t must
pare to the bone on all nom
essentials.
To date, no fiat statement covering
this matter has been made. Con-
slider the rubber situation. 1t fur
nishes a good example Of what we
are driving at.
There is an admitted shortage OF
the precious stuff. An acute and
even grim" shortage to use the
words of the w. P. B. heads. All
sorts of tables and charts and what
not have been issued To show that
by the middle of next year or the
beginning Of 1914 we won't have
sufficient rubber for our military
needs. 1t is admitted that the syn
thetic rubber industry is tagging and
must not be counted on too strongly.
The Importance of the stuff Is ham,
mered home again and again. And,
it has been said that by mid 1943
the tires on private automobiles will
constitute the country's only reserve
pile of rubber If this dismal pic
ture is true--and there is certainly
no reason to doubt that it isn't
then why in the name Of common
sense isn't that more-precious-than-
gold-Stock pile of rubber on civilian
automobiles guarded? Why isn't it
protected by measures worthy of an
essential so essential that the win-
ming or losing of the war might very
well depend on it?
1t can't make much sense Just to
hint at the requisition of civilian
tires. If they are going to be needed
for planes, tanks, ships and all the
other implements of warfare now
is the time to take them from civil
ians. 1t would take the head statis-
tician from Mars to figure out Just
how much of the civilian rubber
will be consumed between now and
the middle of 1912. 1t is rolling
millions Of miles a day, every day,
and each time a tire turns there Is
just that much less rubber.
80
We trust the Government isn't
under the belief that all the civilian
cars that are rolling today are roll
ing only on essential tasks. On city
streets, on highways, on suburban
avenues cars are being operated to-
day just as they were before De-
cember and for no more vital pur-
| POoCS SGACs dubO14ON14CS al dZS
much part Of the American way
OF living as the very air. Sure, it
would be a tremendous blow to us
to have to do absolutely without
automobile transportation. But II
4 the rubber is needed to win the war
how can there be any argument as
to the wisdom of giving them up?
| We wonder sometimes If the Gov
ernment really knows how ready the
men and women of this country
are to make sacrifices. There was a
time, and it wasn't 50 long ago
either, that this country had to be
eased into making sacrifices, had
to be gently led into giving up the
things it had enjoyed 20 long. But
that isn't true any more. 1t Is ready
to 60 TO town now. 1t has made up
its mind that the sooner it goes all
the way, the sooner it lays every
thing on the line, the sooner victory
will come and with victory return
to normal living. 1t would rather
shoot the works, so to speak, in the
hope of getting the thing done
with, than to deal in half measures
and have it drag on for heaven
knows how long.
I Give this country honest, tough,
fortnight leadership and it win
pour" 1t on.
Distributed by McNaught Syndicate. Inc)