Show I II 1 Y 1 I. I T 7 T rUe U. U S. S Industry Depends on Tin 1 Precious Imported White Gold Editors Editor's Note First of two articles on tin vital 1 tal metal in American rearming By TOM WOLF XEA NEA Service Staff Correspondent NEW YORK Aug 27 The 27 The wheels of American industry and I defense roll on tin Gears and bearings which make the machine age possible on and through which machine energy is transferred from engine sources to utilization are compounded from tin Tin most maligned but most strategically vital of ol all metals put the machine into machin war var Yet a rearming America which normally consumes more nore than half the worlds world's supply of this precious white gold is virtually I tin barren When the national advisory defense defense de de- de- de tense commission worries about tin it thinks of such tin alloyed metals as bronze babbit bearing and solder Comes Conies Long Way ay More than 80 per cent of the 75 tons of ol tin the United States annually imports travels half hall way around the world world from from British Malaya 69 per cent and the Dutch East Indies Almost Almo t all the rest comes through England's smelters from mines either in m controlled British-controlled Nigeria or in Bolivia sole appreciable producer of tin in the western hemisphere The United States might get its Bolivian tin direct from South America instead of through England Eng Eng- land land except except that America has no smelters for refining the crude ore As early as 1937 the state department de department de- de department started asking a reces reces- troubled sion-troubled congress for funds to buy a tin reserve It was not until June 1939 that congress enacted enacted en en- acted the strategic and critical materials materials ma ma- act And the then and subsequently appropriated appropriated did not begin to meet defense requirements It is not surprising then that one of ol the defense commissions commission's first concerns was for lowly tin tm Since its formation in 1937 the British dominated International nal tin cartel has controlled production production production tion of 95 per cent of the worlds world's tin mines The cartel allots production production production pro pro- quotas to the mining countries countries countries coun coun- tries according to world demand thereby pegging tin prices Offers Purchase To this cartel went the defense commission with the aid of the Reconstruction Finance corpora corpora- tion In order to buy a ton tin reserve above and beyond normal normal normal nor nor- mal U. U S S. S needs the commission offered of of- to purchase at 50 cents a pound slightly less than the then then- prevailing price all tin offered for forone forone one year An agreement was reached effective July 1 I and the I I tin cartel upped its members' members pro pro- quotas to per cent of their normal ceilings ceilings m m effect lifting all production restrictions The resultant rise in tin tion pleased even even the optimists among U. U S. S tin experts In the words of one of them There ismore Is Ismore ismore more tin for America on oct the water today than the industry has every known The situation looks bright II if The If of of course is if the shippIng shippIng shipping ship ship- ping lanes Janes stay open for it will take at least a year to deliver the tons on order If the sea lanes are closed one or all nIl of the following must result 1 American domestic production production production tion must be raised to a maximum estimated at 1000 tons annually an infinitesimal portion of ol what's needed Past American tin sources mainly in Alaska have never yielded more than a J year ear I 2 A substitute for tin must t b be found to line ors cans for civilian uses releasing for military p purposes purposes pur- pur r- r poses tin normally used i in his manner 3 Recovery of scrap tin must be increased 4 America must build smelters smelters smelt smelt- ers to refine Bolivian ores ores the the only ones which would not be affected by European or Asiatic blockades Already the defense council is considering the possibility possIbility possibility of ol U U. U S. S smelters If these smelters are built the spotlight of U. U S. S defense would rapidly illuminate a small tr tropical pl al South American country and a short round South American mul mul- tI-m tI ti The country is Bolivia and the theman theman theman man is Simon Patino Tin King of ol Bolivia ria owner of 60 per cent of ol its ore |