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Show WGO-ROUflD Washington, D. C. SHOE FIGHT A hot fight is raging backstage between the WPB and the OPA over shoe leather. Inside fact is that ie shoes you are wearing are interior in-terior not entirely because the best leather is rightfully being allocated to the armed forces. That is only part of the story. Another reason why your shoes are inferior and your shoe bill higher high-er is that certain industry moguls !n WPB's leather and shoe branch have been blocking a program to prolong the wear of civilian shoes 3y the application of wax and oil treatments to soles. The process :osts only two or three cents a shoe, but many manufacturers don't 'ike it because it isn't flossy enough. They say that consumers prefer shoes with a high, light polish on 3ie sole, though they admit that this polish robs the sole of some of Its wearing quality. Bureau of Standards experts have testified at hearings of the senate ivar-mobilization committee, headed by West Virginia's Sen. Harley Kil-fore, Kil-fore, that the use of oil (by actual test) prolongs the life of shoes 14 per cent, while soles treated with wax preparations last from 30 to 41 per cent longer. This has been corroborated by leading industry spokesmen, including includ-ing Paul C. Wolfer, a vice president presi-dent of the Douglas Shoe company, ivho is a consultant in the standards division of the OPA. Wolfer not only urged general adoption of oil-ivax oil-ivax treatments but intimated that the government should crack down on the shoe industry and require it. 4In addition to cutting down the, nation's shoe bill, another factor tVolfer emphasized was wartime conservation of leather. So far, however, how-ever, the OPA has made little progress prog-ress in selling the oil-treatment idea to the WPB. Some manufacturers have adopted the sole treatments voluntarily, but only' on a very limited lim-ited scale. The big shoe companies, OPA claims, are antagonistic. In this, they have the potent backing of the SNTPB's leather and shoe branch, headed by Lawrence B. Sheppard, a vice president of the Hanover Shoe company. Before the Kilgore committee, Sheppard expounded at length on "manufacturing difficulties . . . lack of conclusive tests," and other ob-lections ob-lections Jo a government order requiring re-quiring the oil treatment of soles. His statement was effectively contradicted con-tradicted by other witnesses, who brought out that tests had been adequate ade-quate and that facilities for sole treatments could be installed throughout the country with little difficulty and at small cost. NOTE: The Kilgore committee has finally sent a hot note to Donald Nelson demanding that he issue an Drder to compel the general adoption adop-tion of sole treatments by shoe companies. com-panies. DESK ADMIRALS The navy is doing a magnificent Job whenever it goes into action in the Pacific, but members of the Truman Tru-man committee are not convinced that this is true of all the desk admirals ad-mirals or their flunkies in Washington. Washing-ton. Among other things, they are casting a curious eye at the manner in which Adm. Ernie King and his staff preserve the myth of being "at sea" when actually they sit at desks in Washington. To make the myth more realistic, Admiral King lives most of the week on a yacht in the Potomac. It is a small yacht and his multitudinous staff has no room to live there with him. However, they draw extra pay for the hazards of life "at sea." So when payday arrives, the pay master carries a satchel down t( Admiral King's yacht to pay off the staff. The paymaster knows ful well that the men are not on thi yacht. However, he goes througl this ritual, then comes back fron the yacht to the navy department where he finds the men and give.' them their pay. STEEL-WAGE DISPUTE Hard-working Will Davis, chairman chair-man of the War Labor board, is having hav-ing a tough time selecting a panel to settle the vital question of wages in the steel industry. He proposes a panel of three, one representing labor, one the steel industry, one the public, with three alternates. But though he has called up all sorts of people and literally begged them to serve, their patriotism seems deficient when it comes to labor disputes. Meanwhile, the steel companies, faced with retroactive pay for whatever what-ever wage decision is finally handed down, are getting restless. MERRY-GO-ROUND C.New Mexico is more aroused over the Bataan atrocities than any other oth-er state, because the entire New Mexican National Guard, being able to speak Spanish, was sent to the Philippines and those who survived were captured there . . ..FDR may have a hard time carrying the state. C. "The Shortest Route to Japan" is the slogan of the Korean AfTairs institute, in-stitute, which has just opened offices of-fices in Washington. It is urging use of Korean bases onlv 600 miles from Tokyo. |
