The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1943-07-15
Synthetic Tires
Due Late in "A
Recaps Must Do Pending
New Industry's Progress,
Officials Say.

WASHINGTON Of the ma.
tons q million passenger car own
ers are not going to get any new syn
thetic tires before at least the last
half of 1914, says the New York Her
aid Tribune. It is expected that
some synthetic tires will be avail
able for essential civilian driving by
September, 1914, but how many Is
still an open question. The answer
viii depend upon progress In manu-
facture, in which there are still many
uncertainties. -.
Civilians will not get any newly
manufactured crude rubber tires
even then, and probably not until
after the war ends, when military
requirements for the natural product
will have abated.
The supply of tires now on hand is
limited to those manufactured prior
to Pearl Harbor and still in stock,
a small supply of Victory" or war
tires, and about five million tires
collected through the idle-tire pur-
chase plan, most Of which require
repairs or recapping. All Of these
tires together represent about one
half a tire for every car now in
operation. ~a
Recapping Important.
The five tires now in the posses
sion of the average owner, multi
piled by q million car owners. In
general constitutes the nations
priceless civilian automobile rubber
reserve.
To keep passenger cars rolling.
new castings from the slim stock on
hand were made available on April
1 to certain ''B" and CO.. card
holders for replacement Of tires
worn beyond the recapping stage,
but the main hope for the continued
use Of passenger cars for the rest
of this year and for the first nine
months of 1914 lies in the recapping
phase Of the rubber program.
Fortunately, no restrictions are
deemed necessary at this time and
none are in sight on obtaining "grade
F camelback" recaps. -. a. ii
The supply of reclaimed rubber
. and facilities for recapping passen.
ger-car tires now seems adequate to
carry civilian automobiles through
the critical months ahead. But there
Is a catch here. Good tire car
cases may be recapped from two
to as many as five times. but their
successful use is predicated on
speeds of less than IS miles an hour.
At higher speeds. recaps are liable
to failure.
Speed Restrictions Stand.
It follows that the passenger-car
driver must face the fact that there
can be no relief from speed restric-
tions at least until synthetic rubber
gets into big production in 1914. Also
it becomes quite apparent why car
owners must give greater attention
to upkeep of their automobiles. par
ticularly inspection Of tires. air pres
sure and wheel alignment.
Gas rationing, basic in the rubber
conservation program. has been Sue
cessful. but it has not to date result
ed in the tire savings contemplated
in the Baruch committee rubber re-
port Of September. That committee
strongly recommended reduction
from the then 6,700-mile national
average to 5000 miles. AS Of Jantl-
airy / a reduction to $500 miles
had been accomplished. This figure
was somewhat lowered nationally by
the pleasure-driving ban in the East
ern states, now lifted. But further
reduction Of probably 800 miles or
more, or about per cent for every
passenger car now operating, is es-
sential. ~