Evening star., 1942-03-22
u. ). Rubber HOLDING
Now $4,000 Tons,
Jesse Jones Says
War Agencies Requests
Net Promptly by R. F. c.
He Reports to Glass
By OLIVER MCKEE.

Asserting that no defense &C
tivity has been delayed by a lack
of credit from or financing by
the Reconstruction Finance Corp.
and its subsidiaries, and that
every request from war agencies
has been promptly met" Sec
retary Of Commerce Jones, in a
special report to the President
and Congress yesterday, re-
vealed that the R. F. c., which
he also heads, and its subsidiary
companies have made war loans
and commitments aggregating
$1l,494, ,438,962.
Though expanding military re-
quirements. and the needs Of other
United Nations make necessary -
very strict rationing Of rubber" the
United States has a very much
better stockpile Of rubber than we
have had at any time Secretary
Jones declared.
Including 9O,503 tons Of so-called
barter rubber which the Rubber Re-
serve Co. took over from the Com
modify Credit Corp, the amount Of
rubber actually received, or in transit
to the United States, under the
Government purchase program, Is
approximately $4,000 tons, Mr..
Jones announced. This has been
acquired at a cost Of 1922 ,o00, 900.
Rise in Synthetics.
If construction materials are made
available to the contractors, facili-
ties for the manufacture Of 10000
tons of synthetic rubber per year
should be completed this year, $50
900 tons by June, 1943, and TOO 900
tons by the end Of 1943, Mr.. Jones
said. r. r. C. expenditures on syn
thetic rubber plants will amount to
$500, 100000.
Mr.. Jones listed the subsidiary
companies of the R. r. c. and said
they ARE all owned, managed and
operated by r. r. c. directors and
personnel, under my supervision. "
They act as service agencies in the
war program. When the President,
the War Production Board, the
Army, the Navy, the Maritime Com
mission or the Board of Economic
Welfare establishes the need for
plant facilities, materials or sup
plies, for which no other provision
is made, the r. F. c., when re-
uuested to do 50, undertakes to pro-
vide them. In this way it serves
those responsible for war produc-
ton policies. 1t does not make
policy.
"The larger defense loans made to
manufacturers engaged in fulfilling
Government contracts are made in
cooperation with the War Produc-
ton Board, and purchases of defense
supplies and strategic and critical
materials are made at the request
Of, or in cooperation with, the War
Production Board. Obviously very
substantial losses will result from
these war and defense operations"
Has Been Under Fire.
In recent months, Secretary Jones
has come under congressional fire
for allegedly not acting early enough
to meet the threatened rubber
shortage, through q program Of
SYNTHETIC rubber production. He
his also been criticized for alleged
delays in financing war projects.
Senator Glass. Democrat, of Vir-
Emia It was disclosed, had requested
Secretary Jones for a summary and
review OF the war operations of the
r. F. c. and its subsidiary COM
panies. This request resulted in the
special report made public yester-
day, setting forth, in detail, the
contributions of the r. r. c. and its
subsidiary agencies to the war effort
In the fall of 1910, Mr.. Jones said.
the subject of synthetic rubber was
di1cussed with representatives OF the
National Defense Council. The
President, he added. soon afterward
approved a s25 900 900 appropriation
for this purpose.
1--WE started negotiations with
some OF the rubber manufacturing
companies and oil companies for
the production OF synthetic rubber"
he said. The patents were not
generally available to all companies.
and the rubber industry as a whole
insisted upon having a part in any
synthetic rubber program that was
undertaken by the Government"
Refused to Spend Own Cash.
Neither the rubber companies
nor the oil companies owning the
patents were willing to spend any
OF their own money In manufac-
turing synthetic rubber, notwith-
standing that the rubber manufac-
turing industry, the oil industry,
and the automobile industry are all
dependent upon rubber tires for
their profits"
On May 16, 1941, Mr.. Jones said,