Evening star., 1941-11-24

Practice, whose aim is to prevent
racial discrimination in the hiring
programs of manufacturers who re-
ceive defense contracts.
Outside the o. P. NJ, yet within 1t.
is the Supply Priorities and Alloca-
tions Board, created August % by an
executive order based on a long
study of the administrative difficult
ties within the old o. P. NJ, S. P. A.
B.. which has no pay roll or en-
ployes. It's executive director, Don
aid Nelson, is head of the Priorities
Division Of the O. p NJ. and his own
Office performs the clerical chores
of the S. P. A. B.
S. P. A. B. was set up to referee
the continual points of difference
between the price administrator
Leon Henderson, interested in con-
trolling prices to combat imitation
and to protect the citizen consumer
and the Priorities Division, whose
interest was in getting the goods
to the point where they could be
manufactured quickly for military
needs.
Decided Against Pipeline.
1t was S. P. A. B., which sits as
a sort of court, that decided against
the construction of an oil pipeline
across the Southeastern United
States into the Middle Atlantic area
on the score that consumer inter-
ests would not be injured and that
the steel required for the line would
be better used for military purposes
S. P. A. B. also decided that
the consumer could stand the gaf1
If the bright metal work were left
of future models of automobiles
o. P. M. seeks to supervise the
whole American industrial economy
with completeness that the N
r. A. never achieved. If the SLOW
ness of operations in all divisions
except the administrative services
is a fair indicator, what o. P. M
needs is not fewer, but more work.
ers. Some persons have suggested
that o. P. M. exerts too complete
control over American economy
but so long as no change is wrought
in the extent of that control, il
must be giant agency.
The chief source OF complaint
against the o. P. M. in the past has
been the molasses pace with which
applications for priorities passed
through the o. P. M. mill. The
complaint still is voiced occasionally
today, but recently there have been
few instances of lost applications
which were common headache be-
fore the reorganization that put
Donald Nelson in charge of priori-
ties in place Of Edward Stettinius
Inventory Being Completed.
Under Mr.. Nelson the materials
of our normal economy, most of
which have become materials Of
war, are to be divided among mill
tary and civilian users on the basis
of Nation wide inventory ordered
by Mr.. Nelson and just now being
completed. One problem which
arose in the early days of the prior
tiles system was connected with the
War and Navy Departments policy
of purchasing huge stocks of mate
rails in one lump to provide for
needs for long periods to come.
The War Department., in deciding
to build its huge new Offices in
Arlington, Va, at q time when all
building materials are scarce, has
added to this general problem of
priorities and scarcity.
o. P. M. is the businessman's or
ganization par excellence of the New
Deal-so much so that individual
officers of the permanent secretariat
of the United States Chamber of
Commerce, which for eight years
has found the Roosevelt administra-
ton worthy always of criticism, are
unsympathic with expressed knocks
at the o. p. M.
1t has, however, its brain trust"
element, the Office of Research and
Statistics, presided over by Stacy
May, who taught economics at Am
herst. Columbia, Dartmouth and
Cornell and for eight years was as
sistant director for the social
sciences at the Rockefeller Founda-
ton. Under him work $50 men and
women, who keep track of the ex-
penditure Of all the defense funds
and who provide the o. P. M. and al
the defense agencies with statistical
and economic information useful In
formulating policies.
The o. P. M. will not celebrate its
first birthday until January 7. II
was set up on the foundation of the
Advisory Commission to the Council
for National Defense, which in turr
was born during the war in France
May %, 1910. o. P. M. has beer
reorganized once, through the orde
which created S. P. A. B., and in
wardly it is a state Of almost con
slant reorganization.
4