Evening star., 1943-10-16


to make Amer David Lawrence.
team automobile owners independent
of the caprice and arbitrary power
of the British-Dutch rubber cartel
in the Malay Peninsula and the
Dutch East Indies.
Back in 1910 when the British
Dutch cartel should have increased
materially its production of rubber
the representatives of that cartel
feared that America might buy too
much rubber and if the war ended
suddenly there would be a glut
which would depress the price. So
production was controlled and while
the American Government was
constantly pressing for more and
more production, only in the latter
part Of 194l, just before the attack
on Pearl Harbor, was production
raised to capacity by the British
Dutch cartel.
Process Long Known.
American scientists and American
rubber companies have long known
about synthetic rubber. Despite the
smoke screen which the Roosevelt
administration has attempted to
draw over the synthetic rubber
problem by claiming that failure
to pool patents or to make German
patents available was the reason
why the American people have not
gotten synthetic rubber tires, the
truth is that the American syn
thetic rubber industry repeatedly
was discouraged by the American
Government itself.
Indeed, those who advised that
synthetic rubber plants should be
built realized that American in
dustry was afraid to risk its capital
because OF the possibility that
no tariff protection would be
granted after the war and hence
the proposal was advanced per-
sistently that the American Govern
nlent should furnish the money to
build the synthetic rubber plants.
This was not done promptly and
one reason often suggested for the
delay is that the President foresaw
the tarlff problem and wanted to
postpone As long as possible the
building Of an American synthetic
rubber industry.
The record of the BritiSh-Dutch /
cartel in its dealings with the Amer /
lean rubber market is by no means
a creditable one. At one time in .
the early 20s the cartel saw that /
an independent supply either of
synthetic rubber or other natural
rubbers might be developed in this
hemisphere, possibly in South /
America, and this along with other
reasons prompted the cartel to drop
the price to as little as cents a
pound. Cheap labor in the East
Indies made this possible. Then
when the danger of competition was
passed, the price was lacked up to
ID cents and it so happens that the
American Government paid as high I.
as 20 cents Or more a pound in l94l. /
II it had: not been for the inter-
ventlon Of the American Govern
ment as a purchaser for all Ameri- /
can companies the price might have
hlChof op+o Al
the British down, and since Sinpa- |
pore fell, America has been export ,
ing rubber to Britain out of our
stockpile.
Churchill Doubtless Pleased.
Now the President tells the Amer
lean synthetic rubber industry and
the American automobile industry
that all the progress We have made
on synthetic rubber must to large
extent be thrown out the window.
The British-Dutch cartel is doubt
less pleased and Prime Minister
Churchill presumably will be happy
to assure the commercial interests
OF his country that imperialism of
that kind has been given a boost
by the decision OF President Roose-
welt to stand by the British-Dutch
cartel and refuse Americans { pro-
tective tariff,
The synthetic rubber experts say
that they cannot produce for less
than Is cents a pound though there
are some processes which might be
made for as little as cents a pound
II quantity orders could be assured,
But how can that be possible if the
american Government refuses to
give tariff protection of any kind
to the synthetic industry as it strug-
giles to get market? There is GER
talnly no justification for perma-
nent subsidy or permanent tariff,
but 1t would appear wise to assure
the synthetic rubber industry pro-
lection for at least a three or five
year period while processes were
being developed so as to get the
price down to somewhere near the
price OF the British Dutch cartel
But if President Roosevelt feels
that there must be no tariff at all,
his position must also inevitably be
that the British-Dutch cartel should
agree for period of at least to
10 years to fix the price of rubber
at figure of not more than 10 .
cents pound. Unless some fixed
price is assured, the American peo-
pie will find their synthetic rub
Der industry abandoned after the
war and the British-Dutch cartel
managers will have the American
tire user at their mercy ever after
ward
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