Evening star., 1941-05-07
u. ). and Canada Plan
Economic Boards 10
Expedite Defense
Nations to CoIIuborote
On MobiIizing Resources
To Assist Britain
BY LLOYD LEHRBAS,
Associated Press STAFF Writer.

The United States ano Canada
will set up closely collaborating
ecoromic defense boards in the i'm
mediate future. it was learned au-
thoritative!y today, TO speed up mo-
bilization of North American re-
sources for aid-to- Britain and hem
isphere defense.
In the economic, industrial and f.
nancial fields, the new boards would
complement the work of the Joint
United States-Canadian Defense
Board set up year ago to co-ordin-
ate the military and naval defense
preparations of the dominion and
this country.
The immediate task of the new
economic boards, it was said, will
be to expedite the program contem-
plated in the agreement for Joint
United States-Canadian productive
efforts which President Roosevelt
and Prime Minister Mackenzie King
announced on April 20.
Objectives of Boards.
To this end, the twin boards will:
Coordinate the interchange of
raw materials and manufactured
products required for speedy as
Sistance to Britain and other embat-
tied nations, as well as for the hem
lsphere republics now bolstering
their defenSeS;
SynChronlze the production of
arms, planes and munitions so as
to take full advantage of all present
and planned manufacturing facili-
ties without duplication of effort;
and
Collaborate in solving economic,
industrial and financial problems
to achieve the maximum defense
and British aid results for both
nations.
The twin boards, it was learned,
will also make a long-range study
OF ways and means to cushion" the
economic after-effects of the war.
President Roosevelt is expected
to name the American board in the
near future, but no names we're
available today. Working plans,
meanwhile, were reported being
drafted in discussions on progress
here and at Ottawa
Scope of Working Plans.
These working plans, it was said,
probably would cover procurement
and routing of strategic raw ma
terials to factories urgently needing
them; Joint purchases of raw ma
terlalS at better prices and elmina-
ton of counter bidding: allotments
of orders to avoid bottlenecks, and
reduction of restrictions on normal
trade.
One report from Ottawa reported
the United States might agree to
accept the Canadian dollar, now at
discount. at par. United States
Treasury officials, however, have de-
MED any monetary arrangements.
However, they have been keeping in
close contact with Canadian officials
about the problem
A general principle already agreed
on, the Roosevelt Mackenzie King
statement said, was that in mo-
biizing the resources of this con-
tinent, each country should provide
the defense article which it is best
able to produce, and, above all, pro-
duce quickly, and that production
programs should be co-ordinated to
this end"
1t was hoped. the statement said,
that Canada, during the next year,
could supply the United States with
from S2O0,O00o00 to 100000 900
worth of defense articles urgently
required by the United States"
Among the Canadian produced
defense articles needed here, the
statement added, were certain
kinds of munitions. strategic ma
terials, aluminium and ships"