The Roosevelt Rubber Lecture

"I want to talk to you about rubber--about rubber and the war-about rubber and the American people."

Last week Squire Roosevelt assumed one of his favorite roles, that of patient lecturer to the tenants of his constituency. He spoke over the radio to the nation. He made very clear the "why" of the rubber shortage.

The Whys. Rubber was a problem, said Mr. Roosevelt, because 92% of our normal supply had been cut off by the Japanese. The shortage would be even more serious if we had not built up a "huge stockpile" and if we were not now building up a great new synthetic-rubber industry.

But neither stockpile nor synthetic "both together will be enough to provide for the needs of our great new Army and Navy plus our civilian requirements as they now exist. . . ."

But even the 8% it was still possible to import did not sound dependable: 6% came from Ceylon--a long haul through Jap-infested waters--and the other 2% from Africa and Latin America.

OPA figured the sources of United Nations' supply for 1942 as: 706,000 long tons in the U.S. stockpile of which the President spoke; 453,000 tons of new crude (less losses from sinkings); 28,000 tons of synthetic production in the U.S.; 54,000 tons of synthetic in Russia. Total stores: 1,241,000 tons.

The needs: 271,000 tons for Army, Navy, Air & Merchant Marine; 82,000 tons for Lend-Lease; 150,000 tons for essential civilian uses (but none for the 27,000,000 U.S. passenger automobiles); 310,000 tons for other countries' essential needs. Total: 813,000 tons. This, subtracted from the stockpile, would leave only 428,000 tons with which to start 1943.

If OPA figures were true, the United Nations will not have enough rubber to supply their essential needs through 1943 and will actually face a shortage of some 5,000 tons.

Enough . . . Enough. "But there is one unknown factor in this problem," said Mr. Roosevelt cheerfully. The unknown was rubber scrap. How much rubber scrap is there in the country? The President, with the help of all the citizens and the 400,000 filling-station operators, proposed to find out.

He designated a two-week period (June 15-30) in which to get all the old rubber in "where it can stand up and be counted." For all rubber that citizens salvaged from cellars and attics, gas-station operators would pay 1-c- per pound. The Government will pay them back. Then, said Mr. Roosevelt, "We will make our plans. . . . One thing you can be sure of--we are going to see to it that there is enough rubber to build the planes to bomb Tokyo and Berlin-enough rubber to build the tanks to crush the enemy wherever we may find him--enough rubber to win the war."

But what if it turned out that there wasn't enough scrap? There certainly would not be enough to take care of the 27,000,000 passenger cars left out of the Federal reckoning, many of which are essential in the U.S. economy. Tires on these cars had only 60% of their life left. By the end of 1944, experts figured, only 1,200,000 cars will be left on the road. By the end of 1945: none. To save existing rubber the U.S. would finally have to submit to nationwide rationing of gas.

But Mr. Roosevelt wasn't ready to tell the country that--yet. Nearest he came to it was an appeal to "save tires by driving slowly and driving less."

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