Heppner Gazette Times, April 23, 1942 3
Sat -jfiFHE
Washington, D. C, April 23.
There is no slowdown in the north
west of the maritime commission
shipbuilding program, but the re
sults are not as satisfactory on the
east coast. The high command,
which made a report on the war
program and what is required, fig
ured on an army of five million to
invade Germany through some spot
in Europe as yet undecided. To
transport this army (more than
twice the size of the army sent to
Europe in the first world war) it
was estimated that seven million
tons of shipping, or 1,000 ships,
would be required for a period of
over one year and that to maintain
such a force in the theater of op
erations about ten million tons, or
1,500 ships, would be required. This
would mean 2,500 ships on the At
lantic to transport the men and
keep them supplied. The report was
made prior to Pearl Harbor and no
estimate of ships for the Pacific
theater was included.
There has, apparently, been no
change in the chief objective land
forces to wipe out Hitler but the
big offensive was not planned to be
under way before July, 1943. The
ships under contract for the mari
time commission are not sufficient
for the Atlantic and Pacific, and
Rep. Martin Smith of Washington is
insisting that wooden vessels be
built to relieve the shortage of steel
plates, observing that a wooden ship,
if torpedoed, will not sink as quick
ly as a steel boat.
War production board is figuring
on some way to have the general
public surrender scrap rubber. Junk
dealers (those in the northwest must
ship to Los Angeles) say the price
they receive does not justify them
in going around to homes to collect
old hot water bottles, broken garden
hose, discarded rubbers, rubber
boots, raincoats, etc. WPB knows
that there are a million old tires
knocking around in private garages
and has the idea that owners of
passenger cars are hoarding these
in anticipation of the time when
they can be re-capped. However,
it is denied that private car owners
are hoarding this scrap nor are they
hopeful of having the tires re-capped,
but they are not inclined to
sell to a junk dealer for a dime,
and the junk men are not inclined to
make a house-to-house canvass.
For the present private passenger
cars have all the tires they had when
the office of price administration
cracked down. It is hinted that later
orders will be issued that no pri
vate car owner may have more than
five tires, and still later the spare
tires may be confiscated. The con
fiscation is in prospect.
Some of the starry-eyed econom
ists are hinting that there should
be complete rationing of food, cloth
ing and commodities on the Pacific
coast and the Atlantic coast. The
interior states would not be dis
turbed. While it does not make
sense, the argument for rationing
on the two coasts is that those areas
are targets for the enemy. There is,
however, a serious proposal to ra
tion certain articles later this year,
but the rationing will be nation
wide and not confined to the coasts.
Items considered are coffee and soap.
Plenty of coffee in South America
but no ships are available to bring
the beans to the United States.
Wool growers of the sheep states
may be interested to learn that one
of the advisors of WPB on wool
draws $120,000 a year from his
company in Boston and serves the
government at $1 a year. A witness
. before a senate committee declared
that this man announced he was in
the national capital to represent his
company and the wool industry.
Wool is gradually disappearing from
civilian clothing as the government
requires all the wool in sight for
the army. Western woolen mills
have been making shoddy for mon
ths at government request.
At a conference of military lead
ers and forest service officials it was
decided that $8,000,000 was required
as a minimum for emergency fire
fighting work in the forests. Tak
ing into consideration the require
ments for Douglas fir and pine for
ests, $18,000,000 was recommended
for the entire nation. When the
bill came through the house the
fund for the whole nation had been
slashed to $2,000,000. In the mean
time a total of $100,000,000 had been
voted for fire protection of towns
in danger zones. The disparity is
such that a strong effort is being
made before a sub-committee of the
senate and it is argued that the $8,
000,000 originally requested for the
western states be restored. Two
sources of forest fires are regarded
as very dangerous now. An organ
ized force of saboteurs could set
fires right and left. By incendiary
bombing light incendiary bombs
could be scattered for miles within
a few minutes. Best authorities in
the west have explained this to ad
ministration leaders, but so far with
out result.
We've got Axis to grind. Buy
Defense Bonds and Stamps.
Pumping Equipment
Allocated Farmers
Farmers of Oregon and other Pa
cific coast states who depend on
pumping equipment to supply irri
gation water for crops have now
been assured quotas for such equip
ment under a revised war produc
tion board order which recognizes
for the first time that pumping
equipment is essential. Notification
of this change has just been received
by F. E. Price, assisant dean of ag
riculture at Oregon State college,
who spent some time in Washington
with other western representatives
urging priorities for irrigation pump
ing equipment.
Paul L. Henry, chief of the farm
machinery section in the office of
agricultural defense relationships,
expressed his appreciation for Price's
efforts in behalf of the change, say
ing it was a vital factor in the strug
gle to win recognition for the press
ing needs of irrigation farmers.
Irrigation equipment assigned quo
tas, ranging from 50 to 132 per cent,
include turbine pumps of the small
er sizes and repair parts, centrifu
gal pumps and repair parts, electric
motors for irrigation pumps, and
distribution equipment with repair
parts.
11942
Ue've cocao a Song vsay is
Electric Mates, too!
5.85
8
.si
5.10
A
N
PRICE OF 100 KWH
OF PP&L ELECTRICITY IN
HEPPNER HOMES
4.97
4.54
1926
1928
1931
1936
1939
1942
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT made
these amazing reductions in your elec
tric rates without any help from the
public treasury! Pacific Power & Light
has put up all the money for its power
plants, transmission lines and sub
stations, and has taken all the risks of
pioneering and development.
Instead of receiving a tax subsidy,
PP&L has already paid over $10,000,000
in taxes. This year alone its rapidly
increasing tax bill will exceed $1,000,000.
You get lower and lower electric rates
government gets more and more tax
money. Business management always
gives a better bargain!
I
AN AMERICAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE
-3