Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-03-05
Rush Business
Reported by
Tire Recappers
Shops Far Behind
On Orders Following
Lifting Of Bon
BY NORMAN KAHL.

Tire repairmen throughout the
District have been swamped with
recapping jobs since the Once of
Price Administration eliminated the
necessity of obtaining certificates, a
survey today disclosed
1t is practically impossible to get
a tire recapped anywhere in the city
In less than a week. Several places
reported they were 10 days to two
weeks behind.
The rush began, it was reported,
on February % when the OPA ruled
1t was no longer necessary for car
owners to get certificates from their
local rationing boards before they
could have. their tires recapped.
Before that, properietors of several
shops said, business was compare
lively slow and marked by a pro-
fusion of red tape for both the
dealer and the car-owner.
Papers Often Out of Date.
When certificates were still re-
quired, one fireman said. many driy-
ers came in with papers from their
boards which were no longer valid.
They would apply for recapping, it
was said, and the validity dates of
the certificates would be based on
the date of application.
"The only trouble was" the dealer
said, 1T would sometimes take the
board several weeks to get around
to issuing the certificate. BY the time
the car owner got it, he had only a
day or two left and by the time he
brought it in, the certificate was no
good. Then we'd have to send him
back to 60 through the whole thing
again"
The repairmen are taking all the
tires that come in to their shops,
but they are making no promises as
to when they can be delivered. In
addition to the volume of business.
they have to contend with the man.
power problem. Good recappers they
said, are hard to get these days.
See Drop in Demand.
The proprietor of one tire shop
said he had 300 tires waiting to be
handled in his shop and another 500
in a storeroom. Others said they
were getting more than they could
handle, although some believed that
business would level of soon and
give them a chance to catch up.
Al LOT them approved the OPA &C
ton of eliminating the need for
certificates.
After ALL" one tire man said, "a
driver knows when his tires are
wearing down and need recapping.
He knows he can't get any new rub
Der, so he isn't going to be careless
with what he has,
Work Spread Out Now.
Another tire man pointed out that
motorists may now bring their tires
in one at time and continue to use
their car. =
Before, if. several tires were
reaching the recapping point" he
said, "the driver would get certifi-
Gates for them all at once to save
the bother of reapplying later on.
He would then have to have all the
work done at once. That meant he
would have to lay his car up for
several days"
Since grade 3 replacement tires
were consolidated with grade 2 and
made unavailable to "A" book driv-
ers and B" motorists with less than
$50 miles, there has also been a rush
for used and recapped tires, it was
reported. Several dealers said they
were taking reservations from their
customers and promising to supply
them as soon as possible. The Gov
eminent is releasing a quantity Of
used and recapped tires to dealers
on a quota basis, but not all tire
shops have yet received their allot-
! ments.