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By the United Press
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President Roosevelt’s radio appeal on the scrap rubber campaign
June 12, 1942, 6:45 p.m. EWT
Broadcast audio:
I want to talk to you about rubber – about rubber and the war – about rubber and the American people.
When I say rubber I mean rubber. I don’t mean gasoline.
Gasoline is a serious problem only in certain sections of the country.
But rubber is a problem everywhere – from one end of the country to the other – in the Mississippi Valley as well as in the East – in the oil country as well as in the corn country or the iron country or the great industrial centers.
Rubber is a problem for this reason – because modern wars cannot be won without rubber and because 92% of our normal supply of rubber has been cut off by the Japanese.
That is serious. It would be more serious if we had not built up a stock pile of rubber before the war started: if we were not now building up a great new synthetic rubber industry. That takes time, so we have an immediate need.
Neither the stockpile, nor the synthetic plants which are now being built, nor both together, will be enough to provide for the needs of our great new Army and Navy plus our civilian requirements as they now exist.
The armed services have done what they can. They have eliminated rubber wherever possible. The Army, for example, has had to replace rubber treads with less efficient steel treads on many of its tanks. Army and Navy estimates of use of rubber have had to be curtailed all along the line.
But there is a limit to that.
You and I want the finest and most efficient Army and Navy the world has ever seen – an Army and Navy with the greatest and swiftest striking power. That means rubber – huge quantities of rubber – rubber for trucks and tanks and planes and gun mounts – rubber for gas masks and rubber for landing boats.
But it is not the Army and Navy alone which need rubber. The process of production also needs rubber. We need rubber to get our war workers back and forth to their plants – some of them far from workers’ homes. We need rubber to keep our essential goods and supplies moving.
All this adds up to a very serious problem – a problem which is a challenge to the sound judgment of the government and to the ingenuity of the American people. It is a problem we Americans are laboring to solve – a problem we will solve.
But there is one unknown factor in this problem. We know what our stock pile is. We know what our synthetic capacity will be. But we do not know how much used rubber there is in the country – used rubber which, reclaimed and reprocessed, can be combined with our supplies of new rubber to make those supplies go farther in meeting military and civilian needs.
Specifically, we don’t know how much used rubber there is in your cellar – your barn – your stock room – your garage – your attic.
There are as many opinions as there are experts, and until we know we can’t make our plans for the best use of the rubber we have.
The only way to find out is to get the used rubber in where it can stand up and be counted.
And that precisely is what we propose to do.
We are setting aside the two-week period from June 15 to June 30 – from 12:01 a.m., June 15, to 12:00 midnight, June 30 – to get the old rubber in.
We have asked the filling station operators – the thousands upon thousands of citizens who operate gas stations and garages from one end of the country to the other – to help. And they have generously and patriotically agreed to help: they and the oil companies which serve them.
They have agreed to take the old rubber in and to pay for it at the standard rate of a penny a pound – an amount which will later be refunded to them by the government.
I know that I don’t need to urge you to take part in this collection drive. All you need to know is the place to take your rubber and the time to take it there – and the fact that your country needs it.
We do not want you to turn in essential rubber that you need in your daily life – rubber you will have to replace by buying new things in the store. We do want every bit of rubber you can possibly spare – and in any quantity – less than a pound – many pounds. We want it in every form – old tires, old rubber raincoats, old garden hose, rubber shoes, bathing caps, gloves – whatever you have that is made of rubber. If you think it is rubber, take it to your nearest filling station.
Once the rubber is in, we will know what our supplies of used rubber are and we will make our plans accordingly. One thing you can be sure of – we are going to see to it that there is enough rubber to build the planes to bomb Tokyo and Berlin – enough rubber to build the tanks to crush the enemy wherever we may find him – enough rubber to win this war.
Here are two simple rules for this rubber emergency:
- Turn in all the old rubber – anywhere and everywhere.
- Cut the use of your car – save its tires by driving slowly and driving less.
I know the nation will respond.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9182
Establishing the Office of War Information
In recognition of the right of the American people and of all other peoples opposing the Axis aggressors to be truthfully informed about the common war effort, and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, by the First War Powers Act 1941, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, it is hereby ordered as follows:
- The following agencies, powers, and duties are transferred and consolidated into an Office of War Information which is hereby established within the Office for Emergency Management in the Executive Office of the President:
a) The Office of Facts and Figures and its powers and duties.
b) The Office of Government Reports and its powers and duties.
c) The powers and duties of the Coordinator of Information relating to the gathering of public information and its dissemination abroad, including, but not limited to, all powers and duties now assigned to the Foreign Information Service, Outpost, Publications, and Pictorial Branches of the Coordinator of Information.
d) The powers and duties of the Division of Information of the Office for Emergency Management relating to the dissemination of general public information on the war effort, except as provided in paragraph 10.
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At the head of the Office of War Information shall be a Director appointed by the President. The Director shall discharge and perform his functions and duties under the direction and supervision of the President. The Director may exercise his powers, authorities, and duties through such officials or agencies and in such manner as he may determine.
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There is established within the Office of War Information a Committee on War Information Policy consisting of the Director as Chairman, representatives of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Joint Psychological Warfare Committee, and of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, and such other members as the Director, with the approval of the President, may determine. The Committee on War Information Policy shall formulate basic policies and plans on war information, and shall advise with respect to the development of coordinated war information programs.
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Consistent with the war information policies of the President and with the foreign policy of the United States, and after consultation with the Committee on War Information Policy, the Director shall perform the following functions and duties:
a) Formulate and carry out, through the use of press, radio, motion picture, and other facilities, information programs designed to facilitate the development of an informed and intelligent understanding, at home and abroad, of the status and progress of the war effort and of the war policies, activities, and aims of the Government.
b) Coordinate the war informational activities of all Federal departments and agencies for the purpose of assuring an accurate and consistent flow of war information to the public and the world at large.
c) Obtain, study, and analyze information concerning the war effort and advise the agencies concerned with the dissemination of such information as to the most appropriate and effective means of keeping the public adequately and accurately informed.
d) Review, clear, and approve all proposed radio and motion picture programs sponsored by Federal departments and agencies; and serve as the central point of clearance and contact for the radio broadcasting and motion-picture industries, respectively, in their relationships with Federal departments and agencies concerning such Government programs.
e) Maintain liaison with the information agencies of the United Nations for the purpose of relating the Government’s informational programs and facilities to those of such Nations.
f) Perform such other functions and duties relating to war information as the President may from time to time determine.
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The Director is authorized to issue such directives concerning war information as he may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Order, and such directives shall be binding upon the several Federal departments and agencies. He may establish by regulation the types and classes of informational programs and releases which shall require clearance and approval by his office prior to dissemination. The Director may require the curtailment or elimination of any Federal information service, program, or release which he deems to be wasteful or not directly related to the prosecution of the war effort.
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The authority, functions, and duties of the Director shall not extend to the Western Hemisphere exclusive of the United States and Canada.
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The formulation and carrying out of informational programs relating exclusively to the authorized activities of the several departments and agencies of the Government shall remain with such departments and agencies, but such informational programs shall conform to the policies formulated or approved by the Office of War Information. The several departments and agencies of the Government shall make available to the Director, upon his request, such information and data as may be necessary to the performance of his functions and duties.
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The Director of the Office of War Information and the Director of Censorship shall collaborate in the performance of their respective functions for the purpose of facilitating the prompt and full dissemination of all available information which will not give aid to the enemy.
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The Director of the Office of War Information and the Defense Communications Board shall collaborate in the performance of their respective functions for the purpose of facilitating the broadcast of war information to the peoples abroad.
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The functions of the Division of Information of the Office for Emergency Management with respect to the provision of press and publication services relating to the specific activities of the constituent agencies of the Office for Emergency Management are transferred to those constituent agencies respectively, and the Division of Information is accordingly abolished.
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Within the limits of such funds as may be made available to the Office of War Information, the Director may employ necessary personnel and make provision for the necessary supplies, facilities, and services. He may provide for the internal management and organization of the Office of War Information in such manner as he may determine.
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All records, contracts, and property (including office equipment) of the several agencies and all records, contracts, and property used primarily in the administration of any powers and duties transferred or consolidated by this Order, and all personnel used in the administration of such agencies, powers, and duties (including officers whose chief duties relate to such administration) are transferred to the Office of War Information, for use in the administration of the agencies, powers, and duties transferred or consolidated by this Order; provided, that any personnel transferred to the Office of War Information by this Order, found by the Director of the Office of War Information to be in excess of the personnel necessary for the administration of the powers and duties transferred to the Office of War Information, shall be retransfered under existing procedure to other positions in the Government service, or separated from the service.
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So much of the unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds available for the use of any agency in the exercise of any power or duty transferred or consolidated by this Order or for the use of the head of any agency in the exercise of any power or duty so transferred or consolidated, as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget with the approval of the President shall determine, shall be transferred to the Office of War Information, for use in connection with the exercise of powers or duties so transferred or consolidated. In determining the amount to be transferred, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget may include an amount to provide for the liquidation of obligations incurred against such appropriations, allocations, or other funds prior to the transfer or consolidation.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
The White House
June 13, 1942
Presidential order establishing the Office of Strategic Services
June 13, 1942
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, it is ordered as follows:
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The office of Coordinator of Information established by Order of July 11, 1941, exclusive of the foreign information activities transferred to the Office of War Information by Executive Order of June 13, 1942, shall hereafter be known as the Office of Strategic Services, and is hereby transferred to the jurisdiction of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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The Office of Strategic Services shall perform the following duties:
a) Collect and analyze such strategic information as may be required by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.
b) Plan and operate such special services as may be directed by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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At the head of the Office of Strategic Services shall be a Director of Strategic Services who shall be appointed by the President and who shall perform his duties under the direction and supervision of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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William J. Donovan is hereby appointed as Director of Strategic Services.
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The Order of July 11, 1941, is hereby revoked.
U.S. War Department (June 13, 1942)
Communiqué No. 227
British Isles.
The War Department announced today the arrival of additional units of the U.S. Army in the British Isles. Negro troops are included in this contingent.
There is nothing to report from other areas.
U.S. Navy Department (June 13, 1942)
Information just received by the Navy Department is to the effect that the Japanese have made landings on a small scale on Attu Island, at the extreme tip of the Aleutian Archipelago and that Japanese ships have been reported in the harbor of Kiska in the Rat group.
Japanese operations in the Aleutian area are still in progress, according to the information received, although continuing Army and Navy aircraft attacks have forced them to retire from the populated regions of the islands.
Attacks of the Army and Navy forces in the area against these operations are continuing. Weather conditions in these outlying islands precluded air search operations until within the last 24 hours.