760 State Papers and Addresses

With this in mind it is gratifying for me to acknowledge the splendid coop-
eration which the press of Maryland has unstintingly given, and the untiring
efforts of the Salvage Committees, in the counties and communities of our State.

Now, however, is not the time to relax. Rather we must redouble our ef-
forts. Our goal is far from accomplished. Much must be, and can be done, if
we are going1 to supply our Country with the materials, which you know it so
urgently needs.

You, who have been so diligently working on this problem are fully cogni-
zant of the need. It remains now to acquaint the people with the serious lack
of SCRAP materials which we must have to feed the insatiable appetite of
our production lines.

If we are to achieve our President's program of 125, 000 planes a year,
75, 000 tanks, 35, 000 anti-aircraft guns, and 10 million dead-weight tons of mer-
chant shipping, we need every pound of material available - - whether it comes
from our mines, or from our basements, attics or the farms.

Chairman Donald M. Nelson of the War Production Board has pointed out
that the steel industry has been rapidly steeping up its production - - from 67
million tons in 1940 to a record breaking 83 million ton® in 1941. Production
in 1942 already is ahead of 1941 but the need is to bring the industry's pro-
duction up to the full capacity of 90 million tons—a total equal to the output of
all the rest of the world.

This volume of production cannot be attained, Mr. Nelson warned, unless
at least 6 million tons of scrap material be obtained quickly.

The urgency is clear. Unfortnuately time is limited—since later efforts
will be retarded, and the campaign impeded by the approaching winter. If we
are to fulfill our obligations we must avail ourselves of the few weeks ahead -by
intensifying all efforts. The people in your communities recognize your leader-
ship; you represent the guiding force that can accomplish the job. It is on
this promise that I appeal to you for your whole-hearted cooperation in the
furtherance of this vital effort.

From many of the people it is difficult to realize that in a Nation of plenty
we should worry about shortages. In the past we have been wasteful. That
was because we could afford to waste. "BIGGER AND BETTER" was the
guiding principle of American Industry. "DISCARD THE OLD, BUY THE
NEW" was the annual appeal from the Nation's producers. On this principle
of obsolescence, factories thrived. America was, indeed, an industrial paradise.

The result of this policy has been an uncounsciously hoarded scrap pile
on the farms, in the homes, and in the factories that has been termed a veritable
"MINE ABOVE THE GROUND".

Someone has estimated that there is enough iron and steel on the farms
alone, if used with other materials, to make twice as many battleships as there
are in the world today, or enough two thousand pound bombs to drop three per
minute from giant bombers incessantly for more than three years. And this