PRIORITIES IN THE MIDST OF POTENTIAL PLENTY
Priorities In The Midst of Potential Plenty HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT but little publicized disclosures in Congress recently have served to confirm the growing suspicion that priorities unemployment and...
...Rich Manganese Deposits Undeveloped The O'Mahoney report boldly raised the question whether drastic curtailment of civilian industry is necessary in view of the presence of materials in the United States "which we have in abundance but have not used...
...norance of American resources ! have combined to create shortages which in many cases are artificial...
...The same story of domestic deposits is told with respect to chrome, tungsten, antimony, mercury, and nickel...
...The debate on amendment of the Neutrality Act called attention to the fact that we are in dire need of shipping to bring manganese in from other countries...
...Priorities In The Midst of Potential Plenty HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT but little publicized disclosures in Congress recently have served to confirm the growing suspicion that priorities unemployment and the strangulation of small business are far from inevitable even under a multi-billion...
...The undeveloped mineral reserves of the western states constitute a challenge to a people who are rich beyond their dreams, but who have been led to believe that they are poor in the materials that they need...
...Harry S. Truman, chairman of the Senate Defense Investigating Committee, estimated the other day that the diversion of only two per cent of strategic materials would save the 130,000 small business men who are being mangled by priorities...
...O'Mahoney pointed out that "it deals with the practically unlimited natural resources of the United States, and shows quite clearly, I think, that if the United States should undertake, either by government action or by private action, or by a combination of both, to develop these resources, we might, if not prevent, at least make a substantial reduction in the shortages which are now threatening the civil supply of this country...
...We Are Rich Beyond Our Dreams Corroborating its contention that "we have neglected our own resources and have been content to depend on the output of other lands," the Committee's report pointed to tungsten from China, manganese from Russia's Caucasus mountain area, and chrome from Africa—all available in America's West...
...Pointing out that he was not criticizing OPM's priorities order, Leavy said: "I do criticize the OPM and the Defense Plant Corporation for failing to avail themselves of the opportunity which was presented to them months ago, and which still exists, to produce an unlimited amount of metallic magnesium by utilizing cheap Grand Coulee power and the large magnesite deposits at Chewelah, Wash...
...An astonishing lack of intelligent planning, sloppy administra-: tion, and an almost incredible ig...
...In presenting the report to the Senate, Sen...
...Monopolistic control of mining industries has prevented exploration and development of new sources of supply by centering the fabricating plants in the East...
...Charles L. Leavy, Washington Democrat, last week...
...Joseph O'Mahoney, chairman of the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, released a special report revealing that the United States actually has rich, undeveloped deposits of minerals on which priority restrictions are being clamped...
...Heretofore, metallic magnesium has been producd tinder an almost 100 per cent monopoly by the Dow Chemical Company, and a price structure" maintained at all times with relation to the price structure prevailing in aluminum...
...Scarcities thus created are paralyzing small business and disrupting the civilian life of the nation...
...The Committee lamented the fact that "deplorably little has been done in aid of the development of these known deposits...
...Sen...
...I desire particularly to call attention to the table prepared by the Bureau of Mines which shows )there are now available, but not developed, more than eight and a half million tons of ore capable of developing a million and a quarter tons of that rare mineral, manganese...
...At about the same time, Sen...
...The report which I present shows that we have a great deal of it here...
...The result is it is now necessary to institute a vigorous research program to classify our known reserves in the West and determine which of them are most available to meet our present requirements...
...There need be no shortage whatever of magnesium metal," he said in the House, "if those in authority and who have the responsibility of production were to give greater consideration to producing this important metal than they do to maintaining the status quo in the field of production...
...Leavy Cites Washington Deposits Still another blast at the manner in which the United States is handling its problem of strategic materials came from Rep...
...dollar rearmament program...
Vol. 5 • December 1941 • No. 49
