Evening star., 1941-08-10
b. the Associated Press.

b. the Associated Press.
The Office of Production Manage
ment yesterday placed steel in all
forms under fu!l Government pri-
ority control.
E. r. Stettinius, jr., defense l11ori-
ties director, issued the order, which
covers alloy steel, because of "a
growing shortage in certain types Of
steel products"
The order is designed to place all
defense needs for iron and steel
products ahead of civilian needs.
1t stipulateS that defense orders
must be accepted by steel companies,
subject TO certain exceptions. even
If the acceptance means the defer
ment of non-defense orders already
on the companies books.
The preference given defense or
ders extends to contracts for the
Army or Navy, for certain other
Government agencies and for Great
Britain or ANY other lend-lease
country"
Must Explain Purpose.
Beginning September l, purchase
orders for steel will have to be
accompanied by special form set
ting forth the purposes for which
the material will De used.
Steel has been under three forms
of Government control. but none of
them has been as rigid as the con-
trols applied to some other scarce
materials.
1t has been on the priorities crit
ical list. which permitted Army and
Navy purchasing officers to issue a
priority rating for their orders.
1t was under inventory control.
which required professors to file
monthly reports with the o. P. M.
1t also was under a general pref
erence order. which set up machin-
cry under which buyers could get
Government aid in obtaining de-
liveries.
Pig iron was put under full pri-
ority control on August 6.
Yesterdays full priorities control
order may put the choker" on out
put of civilian goods in thousands
of key lines, New York business
circles said.
Affects Many Items.
Automobiles, electric refrigerators,
kitchen ranges, washing machines
and other familiar items may ap-
pear in fewer numbers in display
rooms and on store counters.
With alloy steels as well as other
types going under priority, even
things like kitchenware, cutlery,
vacuum bottles, tin cans and variety
merchandise may feel a sharp pinch.
When the big S50000.000000 ma
tional defense program started, steel
company executives, meeting with
Government officials. believed that
steel producing facilities we're ade-
quate to provide all the metal need
ed for consumer goods industries
and for ornaments.
The Nation. in 1910. the year in
which the defense program was just
starting. used around 66,000000 tons
of steel. Full producing capacity
was estimated at around 64,000,000
tons and new plants with 3400,000
tons of annual capacity were under
construction. 1t was figured that
by operating plants full tilt, between
100000 and 21.000,000 tons of
steel over and above civilian re-
quirements could be produced and
taht this would be ample for ord
nance.
Defense Demands Increasing.
Defense demands, however, have
been soaring.
Steel companies. lighting every
available furnace, now are produc-
ing ingots at close to the full rated"
pace of $4,000 900 annually,
but there yet is not enough steel.
For the automobile industry, the
full priority announcement may be
particularly bad news. The auto
mobile companies, which in the
1941 model year just ended produced
5 100000 passenger cars and trucks,
almost as many as in the record
year 1929. long ago agreed to re-
duce the 1912 model output by 20
per cent. but with priorities on steels
of all kinds, the reduction may be
as much as so or so per cent.
Financial circles yesterday were
estimating that production of cleo
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