Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-04-06
You Can Pin
Rubber Case
On Anybody
Could Blame Standard
Oil or Even Roosevelt
BY PAUL MALLON

Truman committee-will show
the following residue of facts:
The synthetic rubber on which
our army will roll in the future
will be buna. the process which
Standard obtained from Hitler's
J. G.. Farben.
The manufacture of this syn
thetic rubber in anything like
the quantity needed was started
only after the war began.
The evidence as TO why il was
not started sooner can be twisted
around to blame nearly any one.
YOU can blame Standard on
L the suspicion that its early
offers to the government were
not ardently pursued because it
wanted royalties.
You can praise Standard. If
you choose. because its officials
were at least ahead of the gov
eminent in seeing a probable
need for synthetic rubber.
You can blame the Japs for
not telling us they were going to
cut off our eastern supply of
natural rubber.
You can even blame Roosevelt
because his pre-war inclinations
were against breaking off rela-
tons (by starting synthetic pro-
ductionD with our friendly (now
allied) British-Dutch rubber mo-
nopoly "a break which would
have plunged Java and the East
Indies into economic depression
and thus have laid another car
pet for the Japs TO walk in on.
YOU can blame Jesse Jones
for not having pressed the
matter to any earlier conclu-
sion. although he is supposed to
have a memo from the White
House in his possession asking
him not to offend the British
and Dutch by his rubber actions.
Or you can blame the limita-
tions of human vision for not
having permitted any one back
in 1910 and 1941-our states
men, our big business men. Con-
gress, or the nation, including
the Truman committee-to APP
preciate fully what a rubber
problem was in store for us
after last December Z.
STANDARD, in this case,
~ seems to have been a big
international business concern,
looking out for its own inter-
ests. but in a way short OF
treasonous implications. 1t did
not get the worst of its deal
with Farben. The synthetic
rubber patent il gave Hitler is
for a cheaper but less efficient
method than the one it got from
him.
The Butyl process it gave will
not be used much as long as
natural rubber cases are avail
able upon which to build buna
tires. No expert eye is needed
to detect the great difference
between them. You can mash
the soft butyl tire with your
hand.
Tests indicate it is good for
only 10000 miles at 35 to 40
miles an hour. 1t may be manu-
featured now for civilian use.
but the army will not want it
as long as it can get buna.
CTANDARD also obtained
~ from Hitler the process
for synthetic toluol. base for
TINT. One army official told the
Truman committee our pros
poets for TINT production would
be only one-fifth of what il is
today, without this process.
The evidence does not yet
show if Standard gave away its
process for synthetic gas, which
would be very valuable to Ger
many, but it does show Standard
collected about 1000 German
processes for whatever it gave.
NEW good words for Standard
seem justified. in fact, as II
was looking out for itself. 1t did
come to the national defense adj
visory council of the govern
ment as early as July or Sep
TENDER, 1910, and thus APP
parently reused the interest OF
Edward Stettinius and w. l..
Bait in the synthetic rubber
problem, and Bait urged Mr..
Roosevelt and Jones TO get busy
because the Japs might some
day cut our Far East rubber
supply.
Negotiations Jagged a year or
so before Jones authorized
money for four plants. Appar-
entity Standard wanted 3 per
cent royalty but now has finally
accepted consent decree CIV
ing up its claims to royalties
for the war period-which en-
tails loss of the money IT has
spent.
TN DEALING with other pri-
L vate business on the matter,
Standard apparently mainly was
trying to freeze out Goodrich
and some of the other COMPETE
tive patent holders. Is
There is some ground for the
committee supposition that 1t
did not lose its profits conscious
ness entirely until investigators
from the Truman committee
started calling around and ask
ing embarrassing questions
..o..,l~l,s 40 tko kahast IF Ace,ct