Evening star., 1942-12-16
BEW
Continued From First Page)

day, Mr.. Jones, taking up the rub
ber claim, said:
Mr.. Perkins did not explain that
the development of the production
of rubber in the Amazon Valley on
the scale We have undertaken It,,
and the sending of large number
of men there, would only follow
agreements between our Govern
ment and the Brazilian government.
When that was obtained through
the State Department., the develop
ment program started. All the men
engaged in this work are employees
Of the Rubber Reserve Co.. selected
by 1t in cooperation with the Board
Of Economic Welfare"
Mr.. Jones also charged Mr..
Perkins with neglecting to say that
in May. 1941, RFC. in cooperation
with the State Department., ne
gotiated an agreement with Brazil
restricting to the United States for
two years the entire exportable sur
plus of II strategic materials pro-
duced in Brazil, including rubber.
In Portugal, Spain and elsewhere.
Mr.. Jones said, notwithstanding
Mr.. Perkins statement to the con-
trary, goods costing between s2,50O,-
900 and 100000 had been bought
lin Spain. Portugal and elsewhere)
and put in warehouses prior to April
13, 1912"
Other Points al Issue.
There were other points on which
Mr.. Perkins and Mr.. Jones disagreed.
The testimony was given. at a
series Of closed hearings, after two
Republican committee members,
Senators Danaher of Connecticut
and Tobey Of New Hampshire, had
proposed an amendment to a
pending RFC loan-authorization bill
restoring to that agency veto power
over BEW expenditure. But after
hearing Mr.. Perkins and ice Presi-
dent Wallace. Senator Danaher in
dicated he would not press the
amendment and Senator Tobey said
he was Impressed" by the recital of
the worldwide activities of BEW.
In his direct testimony, Mr.. Jones
outlined the present activities of
RFC, which include financing the
steel-expansion program, plants for
machine tools, oil pipe lines and a
WIDE range OF other war measures.
He added:
I'VE are providing for the plant
ing OF flbers in Latin America that
formerly came from Manila. We
are buying drugs wherever we can
get them. We bought the sugar crop
from Cuba in order to have enough
molasses for the making OF alcohol
for war supply. With the approval
OF the President, we are paying the
extraordinary cost OF transportation
on sugar. We have had to move
sugar from the West to New Eng
land in order that they might have
sugar there.
Axis Air Lines Eliminated,
I'VE have eliminated the Axis
powers from all influence in ayia-
ton in South America. Originally
there were some $4,000 miles that
they owned and operated. We have
gotten them all out. Those aviation
lines are now locally owned or Amer
iccan owned. They are using our
equipment now"
How does that come under RFC?"
asked Chairman Wagner.
I'VE are much in the position of
a hen with big setting of eggs"
said Mr.. Jones There are a lot of
these things requiring attention, and
If there is nobody else to do them,
we do it."
AS for synthetic rubber, Mr.. Jones
added. the Rubber Reserve Co. and
the Defense Plant Corp. (both RFC
subsidiaries) nave arranged with ST
rubber, oil, chemical. utility and other
companies to provide, construct or
operate plants for the annual
production Of 6e3.000 tons of
butadiene. 172,000 tons OF styrene
and many other necessary chemicals.
Mr.. Jones said that. while the
Board of Economic Warfare con-
sisted of himself, the Vice President,
who is chairman, and the Secretaries