Evening star., 1942-01-18
BY Clarke Beach,
Wide World News.

One mighty task facing leaders in every
community In the Nation is to get waste
full, spendthrift America to feed its
usable rubbish to the war machine.
It won't be done as 1t was in 1917-l918.
This Is conflict in which materials are
far more important than they were then,
and the job Of collecting metals, rubber
paper and rags is going to be done with
grim earnestness.
There are to be none Of the old-fash-
ioned. fancy campaigns to bring out the
trash. Those short Lived drives for spe-
cial materials produced comparatively
little. This time. instead Of campaigns,
there is going to be continuing program
which will get all needed waste materials
into circulation in steady, orderly flow.
Washington officials are getting the
work started, but they are asking local
communities to carry it out. The general
salvage section Of o. p. M, in co-opera-
ton with the Once of Civilian Defense,
Is arranging for States and localities to
set up their own salvage committees. o.
P. M. will furnish paid executive Sec
retary and stenographic help for the
State Committees, but its chief function
will be to give them advice and informa-
ton and to help supply speakers and
written material for distribution The
local committees will have the RESPONSE
bility for inducing housewives. farmers,
storekeepers and municipalities to sal
wage their waste materials
The junkman will have a prominent
role. o. c. D. tried to eliminate him
when 1t put on its aluminium collection
campaign In July, but the results were
unhappy. The aluminium was donated
directly to the Government; the Gov
eminent sold 1t to % smelters for con.
version into ingot.
But the smelters were not prepared
to do the chore which normally Is per.
formed by 1000 to 5000 junk dealers
cleaning, sorting, segregating and baling.
The smelters had no experience, help
or machinery for the work. This re-
suited in long delay, much controversy
and misunderstanding. Eventually the
aluminium was processed, and from it
defense plants obtained a substantial
quantity of badly needed metal. The
Government, however, had learned that
it was wise to use the junkman.
Call him direct and sell him your
waste materials, officials now are re-
questing. Or donate them to charita.
BILE agencies which collect and sell them
to dealers Among the agencies operat-
ing nationally are the Goodwill Indus
tries, Salvation Army, St. Vincent De
Paul Society, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts,
American Legion and parent-teacher
associations.
Don't try to donate waste materials
directly to the Government, as it has
no facilities for receiving and disposing
of them. That would only retard the
war effort.
The junk dealer will be glad to get
the scrap, and the charitable groups
will realize a good profit, because prices
are quite high. The Bureau Of Labor
Statistics estimates that the prices of
all waste materials have risen more
than sc per cent since August, 1899
soaring as demand from defense indus
tries increased.
The dealer will find it hard to
profiteer, unless he pays you or the
charitable agency less than he should
for what he buys. The price adminis-
traitor has placed ceilings on the prices
which he can charge the professors to
whom he sells.
The only thing worrying Herbert L.
Gutterson, who as chief Of the general
salvage section is the man primarily
responsible for household salvage, is the
scarcity Of junkmen In some regions. The
more there are, the easier 1t will be to
get the waste material into the hands
of industry.
Gutterson's records show, for instance,
that there Is not one Junk dealer in Ne.
8 Z M