Evening star., 1943-07-17

, Is better than cotton. Experts of
the Army, the industry and my Office
disagree.
: It'll trail along with those who
have had a lifetime of experience
with tires and tire testing, particu-
larly when essential truck and bus
transportation, the civilian economy
the outcome of battles and the lives
, of soldiers are the price of being
too late with too little without an
insurance policy"
Rayon Called Better; Safer"
. Acting Secretary of War Patter-
son declared:
: Large, heavy-duty tires with
E rayon cord are better and safer than
: with cotton cord. Our decision rests
on felo tests is supported by
practically all the tire industry, and
1t is to be borne in mind that the
tire industry has heavy invest
ment in cotton mills"
t Asserting 1t was too late" to stop
a current rayon expansion program
{ equal to about one-third of the nor
NAL tire cord demand, the commit
tee warned, however, that "a second
program totaling lo0,000,O0O pounds
Is now starting, virtually to double
this expansion"
The 100000 pounds capacity,
already approved, it asserted, will
cost an estimated $4,000, 900, while
the 1o0,o00.O0O additional would
probably cost S40,000000.
The committee considers many
other competing programs more
worth this great expenditure of
dollars, men and materials" said
the report.
, 1t recommended that further ex-
! pansion of rayon cord facilities be
deferred until proper and COM
plete tests" are made, insisting that
tests conducted by the War Depart
ment so far failed to indicate su-
periority" for rayon tire cord in
the Army tire sizes for which the
; bulk of the new expansion would
be used.
Peril TO South Seen.
Saying that "the effects of the
War Department prediction for
rayon' would be "a disaster to the
postwar economy of the South
loss Of 10 per cent of the domestic
cotton market and asserting that
Strong profit possibilities" may be
in the offing for chemical COM
panies, the committee contended:
Certain officials" of the War De-
psrtment who have had much to do
with the tests came from COM
panies which are among those
which have for several years ad-
vocated the use of rayon tires"
end the departments Industry
Committee on these tires lis DOM
mated by representatives. of such
companies
The report charged that the War
Department has made its original
decision in favor of rayon cord
without the benefit of any ade-
ouate tests or scientific evidence"
The War Department originally
relied on opinions primarily of the
four big rubber companies, which
had been selling rayon cord tires,
that rayon would prove superior to
cotton cord in synthetic tires" the
report said This theory first was
based chiefly on an argument that
cotton would not stand the heat
generated in synthetic rubber
tire.
But now the War Department has
changed its position, the report con-
tinued and relies primarily on an
argument that cotton has less re
sistence to bruise- break" in syn
thetlc rubber tires.
The committee said it was inter
esting to note" that in tests con-
Quoted by the War Department in
October and November, 1912. cot
ton proved superior to rayon in nat
ural rubber tires for military pur-
poses, according to the testimony of
the officer in charge of the tests"