Evening star., 1953-04-24
Wade H. Cooper.
A Protest

Inc prestige OF The Evening Star
as the National Capitals senior daily
newspaper is not enhanced by the
publication of such gross inaccuracies
and Misrepresentation as those in
David LaWrence's article in the April
IA issue. Your readers are entitled to
the facts. Here they are:
. l. The claim, quoted from a speech
in the Senate March 18, that "the
country has received savings of over
$500 million in tin purchases" as a
result of the activities of the Senate
Preparedness Subcommittee has not
been subStantiated and cannot be sub
Stantiated. @. ,-...-.
AS the American Metal Market point
ed out editorially July 25, 1852, the
claim of $500 million Savings" first
committees July II report, is a "fan-
taStic Self-compliment." The editorial
explained that the subcommittee had
apparently assumed % that the peak
price of tin in February, 1851, would
have remained around 50 pound
for the following five years and (2) that
the United States would have bought
100000 long tons at that price-if the
subcommittee had not intervened. That
just doesn't make sense.
2. Mr.. Lawrence says: "The fact is
that foreign producers were gouging
the American people by forcing up the
prices of rubber and tin which were
needed for our stockpile of war ma
terials after the Korean war broke out"
There is not a word of truth in that
statement The producers did not force
up the price of tin. What did force up
the price of tin was the speculation
created and accelerated by the dismal
failure of the United States Govern
ment to recognize the need for an
orderly accumulation of tin for the
national stockpile. ... .
Even the least experienced business
man knows that he cannot buy any
thing at satisfactory price if he pro-
claims to the world beforehand that
he must have huge quantity of some
commodity and is willing to pay any
price in order to get it. Yet that is
precisely what the United States Gov
ernment did. .'.-
3. Mr.. Lawrence quotes a reference
in the Preparedness Committees sup
Elemental report on tin. dated July is.
1852, to "the stranglehold of the inter-
national tin combine" The fact is
that there was no such combine" The
sole object of this wholly irresponsible,
false and misleading innuendo was to
shift the blame from Washington, where
official ineptitude caused all OF the
trouble, to Malaga, which was in no way
responsible.
4. MIR. Lawrence says: "It is signif-
icant, that some of the tin producers
tried to drive a wedge between the State
Department and the Senate committee
by issuing pamphlet clearly implying
that the State Department disagreed
with the recommendations Of the COM
mittee. :. The department denied this
later" That statement is absolutely
false. "' s'''-' - ''
So Mr. Lawrence's advice to we'll
known Senator to consult the former
chairman of the Preparedness Subcom-
mite for expert advice about dealing
with foreign relations falls fiat. In
stead of protecting the interests of the
United States, the subcommittee i'm
periled the security of the United
States, Malaga and the rest of the free
world by debating the suspension of
United States purchases of tin from
Malaga during the most critical year OF
the Communist guerrilla war in that
country. This embargo encouraged the
Communists to intensity their attacks
upon tin mines and rubber plantations.
And in the United States, tin stocks
fell to dangerously low level during
the national emergency created by the
war in Korea.
Lynn w. MeekinS,
Director, the Malayan Tin Bureau.
Editors note. Mr.. .Meekins' quar-
rel is more with Senator Lyndon
johnson than with Columnist Law
renee for quoting the Senator's Pre-
paredness Investigating Committee
on the international tin combine"
Mr.. Lawrence was less interested in
the tin dispute than in pointing out
that Senator Johnson seemingly was
dabbling in State Department mat
ters without raising the fuss that
Senator Mccarthy raised in the
Greek ship deal.)