University of Virginia Library

Rubber

The salvage of rubber started in 1941 along with paper, scrap
metals, rags, and aluminum. From January through May, 1942,
twenty-two and one half tons were collected by two dealers in
Charlottesville and Albemarle. With the loss of the Dutch East
Indies, ninety per cent of the nation's crude rubber supply was cut
off, and President Roosevelt proposed a nationwide campaign for
the salvage of rubber during the last two weeks of June, 1942. The
oil industries were called upon by the War Production Board to
lend their personnel, offer their service stations as collection depots,
and buy all types of reclaimable rubber at a uniform price. People
were urged, however, to conserve usable goods such as galoshes and
overshoes in order to prevent a rush demand for them when their
production became impossible.[31]

In Charlottesville Mrs. Lyttelton Waddell launched the drive on
June 18, and Scouts and school children, all called Commandos for
this particular occasion, worked and “raided” until July 10. The
local Salvage Committee unofficially predicted a pile of over 400,000
pounds. On July 3 the committee telegraphed Richmond: “Gasoline
distributors here want to know what to do with rubber. Haven't
enough storage space. Quota exceeded.” More than half a million
pounds had been turned in to the oil companies, which served as
collecting stations. The local organization having the highest record
was the Charlottesville Oil Corporation, which received more than
160,000 pounds. Between August 1 and October 15 a total of
250.5 tons of rubber was collected from the city and county, according
to a report from C. D. Searson.[32]

As the national stockpile of reclaimed natural rubber was well
supplied from the 1942 drives and the manufacture of synthetic
rubber made headway, systematic salvage of natural rubber products
was suspended in June, 1943, until further notice. For this reason
the collection of little more than one ton of scrap rubber was reported
by the city at the end of 1943.[33]