The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-08-07

bottle caps, a large percentage of the tin cans which housewives in 14O different communities have been so faithfully collecting to be used for bombs and war weapons.
 Furthermore, the two chiefs of WIPES Conservation Division, Ju- Illus Rosenwald and Paul Cabot, have given their OK to letting these companies get part of the tin cans.
 This has aroused the vigorous opposition of lesser lights in the WIPE, particularly the men charged with collecting tin. They are Burtin M. Parks, chief of WIPES tin can unit; Leslie Merrill, dep- uty chief; and Edward Place, of flee administrator. They have been Seething mad over the stand of their superiors and feel that the entire conservation program may be wrecked by this "busineSs-as- usual" policy.
 Cabot and Rosenwald give as their reason the fact that Ameri- can troops and war workers need soft drinks and it is better for them to have soft drinks than in- toxicating liquors. However, one big soft drink company, Coca Cola, has refused to take advan- tage of the collected tin cans to make bottle caps, and real fact is that the biggest users are brewers.
 SEETHING WIPE
 Here is the inside story on the situation which has been boiling inside the WIPE for days.
 When tin and iron first be- came scarce, the brewers and bOttIing companies were ordered by WIPE to reduce their use of bottle caps to 70 per cent of 194O. They protested. An appeal hearing was held, but the order was kept in effect, and mean while the tin can unit of the WIPE had started its campaign to get housewives to save tin cans.
 This was not an easy campaign, first, because tin cans are bulky unless cut in two and spread flat; second, because collection is dif- ficult. However, the campaign was started in 36 larger eastern cities, then extended to 104 addi- tional cities, ah in cooperation with local mayors and local sal wage committees, which did an excellent job.
 Simultaneously, WIPES tin can unit went to Charles R. Van Et- ten and Lieut.. Herbert J. Cohen of the Salvage Division of the Ar1ny's Quartermaster Corps and arranged to salvage large sized tin cans used in great quantity by the army. Van Etten and Cohen welcomed the idea.
 ARMY BALKS
 But their superior, Col. Robert M. Falkenau, chief of the Quarter masters Salvage Division did not. The Army, he said, was supposed to train men to fight, not save tin cans. And he didn't want army cooks cluttering up the kit chens with empty cans.
 After much persuasion, how eyer. Col. Falkenau was persuad- ed to try the idea at least in army camps around Pittsburgh and New Jersey. Later the plan spread to other camps.
 It must be kept in mind that the salvage job is run through regular business channels. When you save tin for national defense, 1t goes to your local community organization. The organization sells 1t for a nominal sum to de thinning" plants, where 1t is prepared for use in munitions in- dustries as scrap steel and tin or as scrap for bombs, all at a price set by WIPE.
 When the Army Quartermaster Salvage Division makes its collec- tions, 1t operates just As village or municipality. It has supply of tunked material available for sale to the "de.tinning" outfits. :.