The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-09-14

about this rubber director job two years agoV It was September 10, l942, when the famous Barueh re- port came out, predicting a national military and civilian collapse unless certain corrective measures were taken at once. Thereupon William F, Big Bill" Jeffers was named rubber director and the air began to turn blue,
 Big Bill quarreled with everyone Army, Navy, Congress, OWH's Elmer Davis, Underseeretary of War Ro- bert Patterson, JefferS resigned after year, saying his Job was G5iS, Ie turned .. over .s Colonel Bradley Dewey, who in less than a year recommended that his office be abolished. HERE'S HOW THE REPORT
 WORKED OUT
 By way of e checkup, here are a number of the recommendations of the Barueh committee, the actions Of government agencies in carrying out these recommendations, and what actually happened,
 l, The Barueh report called for no speeds over 35 miles an hour. This has been maintained for pas senger cars, but has been relaxed for trucks carrying priority cargoes,
 2, Recommended national restrie- tions on mileage and gas rationing were imposed on e 5000 miles per car, per year basis. They were further cut In the east, because of e gasoline shortage,
 3, Compulsory periodic tire in- speetion was instituted but was abandoned in i944 because 1t was found unnecessary and Q nuisance,
 (. Recommended release of more rubber to civilians for tires and recApping, to maintain essential civilian driving, has been possible to degree, but the tire bottleneek is 0 shortage of manpower,
 These VarianeeS between program recommendation and their eXecu- ton do not moan that the Barueh report was wrong In principle, The "geaFed to rubber" national eco- nomy has been able to keep rolling because of tire and gas conseva. tlon-and because synthetic rubber was better and It's production furth- CT along than the Baruch report could foresee,
 5, The Barueh report recon. mended expansion of the production of thiokol to 6o,0o0 tons year, for use in retreads. This entire program has been dropped-after making 7o0 tons in i943-beeause the stuff was not needed
 6. As recommended, mission was sent to Moscow to learn how the Russians made synthetic rubber, but 1t learned little not already known.
 MORE BUTADIENE
 RECOMMENDED
 2. Production of an additional 100000 tons of butadiene a year was recommended, and the rubber di- rector authorized i2 additional re. finery conversion projects With a total capacity of 10000 tons q year Later, he cancelled eight Of them with capacity of i05,00o tons, be- cause they were not needed.
 0. Construction of facilities to produce an additional i4000 tons of buna-S rubber was recommend- cd, This was not carried out because plants previously authorized were found able to produce at over l2O per cent capacity,
 Q. Making of So,0oo additional tons of buna.S from grain was recommended, but never ordered by the rubber director.
 10. !Herease of neoprene produc. ton capacity by 10000 tons a year was recommended, The rubber diree- tor ordered this in November i942, cancelled in February, l94S, reorder' ed 1t April, le44,
 Tn short. says the Rubber Reserve report: "The present synthetic rub. Der program Is basically the same as that which had already been put into effect prior to the date the Rubber Survey committee was ap. pointed, the only changes being the addition of the four remaining re@ finery conversion projects, reduction of butyl rubber productive capacity, the increase in neoprene capacity"