Show Round Merry By Drew Pearson WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Now Now that Donald M. M Nelson Nelson Is even appealing for old war monuments it Is interesting to recall the state departments department's conversations conversations conversations con con- regarding scrap iroe for Japan As early as August 1940 Secretaries Stimson Stimson Stimson son Ickes Knox and persuaded the president to sign sigI an embargo against further shipments of ot scrap iron to Japan But when Secretary Hull saw the embargo he held it up persuaded the president to modify It so that it applied only to No 1 grade of ot scrap XOn i X iOn On another occasion before Pearl Harbor Vice Pr President Henry A A. A Wallace Wallac sat sat in on n conferences conferences conferences con con- with the state department and urged an Immediate embargo on scrap iron to Japan Were going to wake up and find ourselves caught short short argued Wallace with the scrap Iron being fired back a at us In the form of bombs Secretary Hulls Hull's representative smiled condescendingly con con- Lets be patient he said we may find that Japan Is fighting on our side in the end Would Scrap Scrap Masterminds' Masterminds War Var chiefs are not saying so publicly but they ardently hope Nelson meant what he said when he announced an intensified campaign to stimulate the flow of ot all vital scrap materials for the scrap collection phase of ot his organization is one of the worst muddles of ot the war program Some war chiefs also think he must he-must must start his intensified campaign by s scrapping rapping the bUngling bUngling bungling bUn- bUn gling heads of ot bureau of ot industrial conservation conservation con con- in charge of ot scrap collection Under Director Lessing Rosenwald and Deputy Deputy Deputy Dep Dep- uty Director Paul C. C Cabot this bureau has been beep one of ot the biggest busts of ot and they have a a. confidential l letter fetter in their files officially telling them so The lett letter r is from Undersecretary Undersecretary Undersecretary tary of ot War Robert Patterson and Undersecretary tary of ot Navy James Forrestal who bluntly told Rosenwald and Cabot that their agency has been very ineffectual This should have been nothing new to the two gentlemen involved for last winter more than 30 steel mills suspended work for lack of scrap iron Even now although all mills are operatIng operating operating ing Rosenwald and Cabot are still puttering around on plans to build up an ample reserve stockpile of scrap fOr next winter Tin Mess Bless Even Worse The mismanagement of scrap scrap tin collection has been even worse if that is possible Tin is one of the most acutely scarce metals in the U. U S. S A. A Yet except for some half- half baked faltering efforts little has been done to collect the thousands of tons of tin cans easily obtained from the p patriotic housewives of ot the whole country These cans incidentally would also provide scrap Iron rAt At present the United States has five tin- tin salvage plants with a a. capacity of tons Others planned and under construction will raise this figure to around tons in 1943 nut But ut meanwhile due to the bungling of Rosenwald and Cabot the plants already in existence arent aren't getting getting- enough tin scrap to keep them running running- at full load That is 15 the sort of masterminding that has botched the record of ot the bureau of ot industrial Industrial industrial Indus indus- trial conservation from its start J Pressure High Boys Doya Here Is another ge gem of masterminding Spurred by a barrage of ot complaints RosenWald Rosenwald Rosenwald Rosen Rosen- wald and Cabot finally decided they had to do something spectacular and do it fast They hit hiton hiton hiton on the Idea of a a. wide nation-wide government financed advertising campaign to boom the faltering faltering- scrap collection programs program Weeks were spent drawing up plans After which the advertising program was turned over overto overto overto to the firm of Hill Knowlton This is the same firm which the senate civil liberties investigating Investigating investigating gating committee criticised so severely for conducting conducting conducting con con- ducting an campaign on behalf of steel companies But that Isn't all Insiders say that Hill Knowlton have called in to assist them James Selvage former National Manufacturers' Manufacturers association association association asso asso- publicity man who recently departed from froma a a. day a navy department job while under the hot laborite fire It was charged that Selvage while working for the navy secretly raised money from business men to finance a a. campaign against the presidents president's war labor policies Copyright 1912 by United Feature Syndicate |