Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-12
BY Froneis ?. DoueIos

~ AtSU@tS - @V0SiVS
The Government is buying
platinum and hog bristles, opium
and diamonds.
It is buying other stuff, too,
and in mountainous quantities.
The purchases are going into the
strategic stockpile.
There are some 10 items on
the stockpile list. There are some
invisible items also: labor, time,
transportation and the life
blood of Seamen.
Probably the largest classifica-
ton of the listed items Is metals
and minerals. The stored ma
terials include such things as
dirty black piles Of manganese
ore, used in making steel, and
snowy mounds OF fluorspar, used
In both the steel and aluminium
industries.
Stockpiling is apwar measure.
That is, it is made necessary by
the threat Of war, when supplies
may be needed in q hurry and
sources at the far end Of the sea
lanes may be blocked by enemy
action.
S. Billion Business.
It is a whale of a big business.
The value of the materials
already stored plus that for
which contracts have been
signed runs to more than SIS
billion. About STA billion will
be- spent before the present pro-
gram is completed-and there
probably will be additions to the
program.
The buying, storage and man
agement is carried on by the
Emergency Procurement Service
Of the General Services Admins
tration. This is headed by A. J.
Walsh. a Government careerist.
and there is staff Of about 500.
Approximately half that number
is in the GSA Regional ONCE at
Seventh and D streets S.W.
From that point orders and
shipping instructions go to all
parts of the Free World. The
service has branch Offices in
London, Paris and Tokyo. En-
ployes In various parts of this
country inspect the purchased
material and supervise its stor-
age.
There is no one place you can
go and see the stockpile. There
are more than 500 locations.
They range from fields where
ores are piled in huge quantities.
to tank farms for oils, ware
houses and secure vaults for
items of high value in small bulk.
Platinum Is Most Precious.
About the most precious is
platinum, at 500 an ounce. It Is
used in the production of gaSo-
line, not jewelry. Hog bristles
are used for paint brushes and
other brushes. The best come
from China. We get none from
there now, so we save what we
have and buy bristles from India |
and Europe.
Opium is needed to make NOR |
phine to relieve the pain Of the
wounded. Industrial diamonds
are used in cutting tools and dia-
mond dust Is an abrasive. Snug
glers unwittingly help out in
the diamond an1assing opera
tions. When customs officers
seize diamonds GSA asks the
courts to award the stones to the |
procurement service. The service
has received in this way about
81 million in gem diamonds. |
They are being traded for an
equivalent value Of industrial
stones.
Some Of the materials deteri-
crate with time, and there has
to be a continuous turnover. The
hand soap you used today prob
ably contained some palm oil
once in the stockpile. Before it
deterioratedd it was sold from
one end Of the stockpile and q
fresh supply taken in at the
other. This rotation also ap-
plies to natural rubber and fihers
for rope and similar uses.
Invisible Items. Too.
As for invisible items in the
stockpile, the aluminium ingot |
offers q good example. It takes
10 kilowatt hours Of electricity
10 produce q pound Of aluminium.
A 30-pound aluminium ingot.
therefore. represents the stock
piling Of 500 XVIII. Of power. It |
AleO represents the labor and
AkA &tnnaA ~A~A~.~ -. A. 800 ,as1A.6 ~