Evening star., 1943-01-05
Alcohol Program Held
Adequate for Needs
Of Synthetic Rubber
Senate Subcommittee
Is Told More Plants
Are Projected
BY he Associated Press.

by ne Associated Press.
A high ranking War Production
Board official assured Senate Agri-
culture Subcommittee today that
sufficient alcohol production was in
prospect to meet all industrial needs,
including the synthetic rubber pro-
gram.
At the same time. DR.. Walter G.
Whitman. assistant director OF
WPB's chemicals branch, testified
that surveys to establish sites for
additional grain alcohol plants. now
under way throughout the Mid
western grain belt, would be COM
pleted next month.
These sites will be held in reserve
for construction as needed, he said,
to supplement the production of
100000 gallons of alcohol expected
annually from the combined manu-
facture of recently approved plants
for Omaha, Nebr.: Muscatine, Iowa,
and Kansas City. Mo.
Dr. Whitman estimated l943
alcohol needs for smokeless powder.
other Army and Navy uses, anti
freeze, and 200O00,0O0 gallons for
synthetic rubber at $4,000, 900
gallons.
Without counting on the alcohol
capacity of the three new plants,
expected to start production no
later than next October, DR.. Whit
man said production of 0,0O0 900
gallons was assured, and to this
could be added a stockpile of 54,-
000,0 900 gallons.
The 200,O00,000 gallons allocated
to synthetic rubber, he testified, will
be utilized at II butadiene plants en-
visioned for completion this year
three or four by June. The first, at
Institute, w. Va, is expected to start
production in February, Butaliene is
the basic ingredient OF synthetic
rubber
Doubles Use of Grain.
DR. Whitman estimated the grain
alcohol program would utilize 300
100000 bushels of corn and wheat
in 1914, as compared with current
rate of 100000, 900 bushels.
Senator Wheeler, Democrat. of
Montana complained that New
Deal planners. economists and ideal
lists, looking 50 much to the post
war period. should look little more
to the postwar farm problem.
He asserted huge quantities Of
surplus wheat had been allowed to
rot in storage "and l can't under
stand why it hasn't been used"
Senator Wheeler criticized adop-
ton Of process for alcohol produc-
ton under which wheat is sent to
millers and ground INTO a coarse
-four before being shipped to alcohol
plants. instead of equipping the
alcohol plants with grinding ma
chinery.
The witness said he couldn't agree
with the Senator. but your argu-
ment is with the Department of
Agriculture.
Il don't care with whom it Is.
Senator Wheeler snapped back.
Any business man would say it is
a cock-eyed scheme"
Mr.. Whitman retorted that the
wheat-flour process was deyeloped
by Du Pont. He said it was adopted
for war purposes and additional
grinding machinery was difficult to
procure
Gillette Hears Of Lag.
Opening new inquiry into the
progress OF construction of grain
alcohol plants to step up synthetic
rubber production, Senator Gillette
Democrat, of Iowa voiced deter
mination today to force some one
| to change his attitude"
Senator Gillette, chairman of the
subcommittee, declared that infor-
nation received by the committee
indicated that plants projected to
manufacture alcohol from corn
grain and other farm crops were
falling far behind schedule"
He called DR.. Whitman in what
he said was IAN exploratory investi-
. CATION to find out who is delaying
construction of these plants"
Jeffers Held Handicapped.
Senator Gillette said with the
need for additional rubber growing
more acute every day. 1T is impera-
tive that We manufacture a maxi
mum possible amount of the syn
thetic product from grain alcohol.
Senator Wheeler agreed and as
serted that while Rubber Ad-
minstrator William NJ Jeffers was
doing IAN honest and conscientious
job, he finds himself handicapped by
the red tape of bureaucracy and the
refusal Of the departments to give
him necessary priorities.'
This. in my opinion, grows out of
lack of objectivity by inside WPB
officials" Senator Wheeler said.
There can be no question that
somebody in WPB and some of the
other departments either consciously
or through stupidity has held up the
manufacture of rubber out of grain
alcohol"