Evening star., 1943-04-06
The Political Mill
Utilization Of Rubber and Other FederuIIy
Controlled Plants Is Major Postwar Problem

IONS OF DuCyl ana 4UOOO TONS OF
thickol. With very little varia-
tion, this is the original program
for rubber production, before the
Baruch committee made its re-
port. Failure to obtain necessary
prioritieS at the hands of the
WPB hampered the program, but
under the driving force of Will
liam M. Jeffers, rubber director,
the whole program is moving for
war dmore and more rapidly.
The supply of synthetic rubber
is being augmented by natural
rubber from Brazil in large
quantities and such rubber as
can be obtained from other
sources.
In round numbers, the RFC
has $3.50, ,0O0, 900 invested in these
synthetic rubber plants. This,
with capital required to buy ma
teriaS, to carry on manufacture
and to carry stocks, brings the
total outlay somewhere in the
neighborhood of billion dollars,
The synthetic rubber indus
try is a perfect example of the
way the Government has gone
into business as a result of the
war. The Defense Plant Corp.
a subsidiary of the RFC, has built
and equipped almost 1,50O plants
and other facilities, costing ap-
proxlmately $1,000, 900, 900. These
plants are all owned by the cor
poration. They include plants
for the manufacture Of airplanes,
for the production of ordance,
radios, machine tools, steel, alum
mum, high octane gasoline, ships,
engines, pipe lines, ETC., in addi-
ton to rubber.
Now what's to be done with
this vast business investment
when the war is over? There
will be an annual productive
capacity of 2,150,O00,O00 pounds
OF aluminium, for example, more
than one-half of which will be
owned by the Government. In
1899 only 327,OOO,OOO pounds
was privately produced. The
synthetic rubber industry is
practically entirely new and
Government owned.
In the opinion of the man who
has had charge of this tremen-
dous outlay of money, Mr.. Jones,
Congress must prayerfully con-
slider this problem, with the aid
OF Government and business.
He Is not convinced that the
Government must retain the
ownership or operation of these
great plants. Nor does he be-
lleve they must be sacrificed.
But he is convinced that Gov-
ernment and private industry
must work together to utilize
In peace a great part of the
machinery which has been built
to meet war needs.
Two Conflicting Views Expected
There will be a drive in some
quarters to keep the Govern
ment in business on big scale.
In other quarters the insistence
will be that the Government sell
to private industry at bargain
prices. Neither proposal sounds
intelligent. The problem, Mr..
Jones insists, can be solved If
business and Government will
work together intelligently.
1t is not entirely domestic
problem, either. For the inter-
ests of other nations will be
involved. For example, those
which produce natural rubber
and supplied this country in the
past. 1t would be folly for this
country to discard and scrap
completely the industries produc-
Ing synthetic goods, after the
war. This country never again
should be in a position where it
can be cut of completely from
necessary supplies.
The question will be, however,
to what extent this country is
willing to give away national ad-
vantage In order to help world
ocoropoy