Word: stettiniuses
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Before Pearl Harbor synthetic rubber was regarded as the average man regards his life insurance: protection against the unthinkable. NDAC's Ed Stettinius pleaded for 100,000 tons of insurance. But to Jesse Jones the rates seemed too high. They obviously were too high for large-scale private investment so long as Buna-S cost 25-35? a Ib. and natural rubber, even at war-kited rates, only 20?. In May 1941, the same day that his RFC head. Emil Schram, told Congress "I think we will have to start rationing rubber very soon," Jesse himself said: "Unless...
Materials & Men. The shortages which sprang from U.S. soil in 1941 like armed men from dragon's teeth took most businessmen by surprise. Ed Stettinius got his surprise as early as February, when the vast expansion of the plane program forced him to retract his previous reassurances and put aluminum, as well as machine tools, under the first full mandatory priorities. By year's end the defense demand had also elbowed civilian demand out of the market for copper, brass, nickel, tungsten, zinc, magnesium, tin, and even steel...
...Stettinius and John David Biggers were typical of the socially-conscious businessmen who came to Washington at Roosevelt's call. Stettinius had inherited wealth and a feeling for public service; when he went to Washington he resigned his board chairmanship of U.S. Steel. Biggers had reached the presidency of Libbey-Owens-Ford by way of the secretaryship of the Toledo Chamber of Commerce...
...Stettinius had charge of raw materials and priorities; Biggers of production. They were to be the bridge between Army & Navy procurement and the U.S. industrial machine. In the political atmosphere of most of 1941, it would have taken tougher and more ambitious men than Ed & Jack to give orders to either party. Instead, Army and Navy were asked if they felt the U.S. had enough raw materials for their needs; since their own needs at first were small, they said yes. The businessmen, for their part, were asked to do thus and so for the Government as a favor...
When the materials shortages developed, priorities were freely handed out. But since there had been no overall measurement of supply & demand ("They kept raising the sights on us"), priorities orders were soon as unredeemable as Confederate money. Manufacturers, hot for certainty, began to hide and hoard materials; and Ed Stettinius was kicked upstairs to be Lend-Lease Administrator...