Evening star., 1941-06-03
Mandatory Priorities

The signing by President Roose-
velt yesterday of legislation placing
American industry under a system of
mandatory priorities for virtually all
production represents an important
step toward the full mobilization of
the Nations resources which is plain
ly required to safeguard the Western
| Hemisphere from the threat of to-
talitarian aggression Heretofore,
under the law, priorities have been
applicable only in the case of actual
War and Navy Department contacts.
In other fields of production, the
priorities division of the Office of
Production Management has been
dependent on the voluntary cooper
alton of industry for the effectiveness
of it's preferential schedules. Though
American manufacturers, on the
whole, have co-operated with de-
fenSe officials, in some instances, 1t
Is said, there has been a reluctance
to give the right of way to British
aid contracts, and those of Federal
agencies other than the Army and
Navy.
The new legislation gives o. P. M.
power to impose mandatory priorities
on orders for countries receiving
help under the lease-lend law, for
Government agencies other than the
armed services, and for goods needed
to meet essential civilian needs.
These priorities will apply both to
subcontractorS as we'll as prime con-
tractors. The authority vested in
the o. P. N. seems sufficiently broad
to enable it to eliminate any indus
trial bottleneck that may develop,
and resolve all conflicts between ci-
william and military demands. In the
long run, this legislation should con-
tribute much, therefore, to speeding
up the defense program.
During the first World War the
priority system proved highly effec-
tive in marshaling the vast potential
of American industry. From
method to secure preference for mill
tary orders, the system by progressive
extensions became the central fea-
ture in our war economy. Though
the Army and Navy exercised some
priority powers when the United
States entered the war in April, 1917,
it was not until after the establish
ment of the War Industries Board,
nearly four months later, that the
system emerged as an important
factor in regulating the output of
American industry.
In September, 1917, Federal off,
cials began to use their priority
powers, derived from several different
statutes, to regulate production
through the issuance of priority GER
tificates. Applied initially to iron and
steel products, these certificates were
later extended to many other ma
terials. On July /, 1918, all producers
OF raw materials and manufactured
goods, with the exception of food,
feed and fuel, were asked to observe
priority schedules. Later, machinery
was set up to curtail the output of
non-war industries.
With the establishment OF manda-
tory priorities for the bulk of Ameri-
can industrial production, control is
as far-reaching today as it was in
1918, more than a year after our en-
trance into the World War. In his
book, Taking the Profits Out of War;"
Bernard M. Baruch, chairman of the
War Industries Board in 1918, de-
clared that the priority system had
proved effective beyond the hopes
of its proponents" In view of its
success during the World War years,
there is every reason to believe that
it will be equally effective, in the
present emergency, in securing a
maximum output of defense ma
terialS