Evening star., 1941-03-10
0. P. N. Will Spread
Defense Contracts
To Avert BoftIenecks
$1,000 Concerns HundIine
Orders, but zoo, 900
Are Qualified
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Enactment of the lease-lend bill,
defense officials said today, will
signal the start of a Nationwide
drive to spread out work on arma-
ment contracts so new orders for
both British and American forces
may be awarded without danger
of production Jams.
Explaining the necessity for the
drive. these officials said approx
mately 80 per cent OF the $4,000
100000 in defense contracts awarded
between last June and December
went to 600 large concerns.
About $1,000 prime contractors
received awards, but of these more
than 10000 shared $1,000 900
worth of orders while the remain
ing few hundred divided about
$4,000 100000 worth.
Concentration Of orders was re-
ported to be a matter of utmost
concern to the Office of Production
Management and it was said that
efforts to farm out" defense work
to subContraCtors might become O..
P. MS most important activity in
the next few months.
Campaign Started.
The campaign to break up big de-
fense contracts is to be carried into
every section of the country in an
attempt to get small machine shops,
fouLdries and mills into armament
production.
o. P NJ S officials estimated that
there are about 100000 concerns in
the United States able to handle
defense orders, although roughly
half of them can undertake only
small assignments. They also esti-
mated that about half the countrys
machine tools were idle or working
less than eight hours a day.
The o. P. NJ. took the first step
toward its spread-the-Work cam
paign by disContinuing the old Office
of Small Business Activities and
creating the Defense Contract
Service.
John D. Biggers, o. P. M. produc-
ton chief, named Robert L. Mehor-
nay, Kansas City industrialist, TO
head the service and Mr.. Mehornay
has put up the framework for a
national organization and started
a series Of regional meetings de-
signed TO stimulate Subcontracting.
He formed 36 field offices to survey
manufacturing facilities and CO.
operate with holders Of large con-
tracts in subletting part OF the work.
BOttleneCks Feared.
Concern over concentration of or
ders was attributed chiefly to fear of
bottlenecks developing as additional
contracts are awarded. But one
official said that production would
not be delayed if work could be
sublet promptly
Commenting on the policy pursued
IN awarding contracts during the
first months of the defense program,
officials said that to get materials
for the Army and Navy in a hurry
It was necessary to go to firms with
abundant executive, engineering and
factory personnel
1t would have consumed too much
time, they declared. to have tried to
deal with 100000 firms.
Service Centralized.
Meanwhile, Capitalization of fis-
cal, personnel and information
services of the Office of Production
Management and the National De-
fense Advisory Commission was
announced. The services will func-
tion under the Office of Emergency
Management.
1t was explained that the o. P. M.
and N. D. A. c. will operate as here
tofore, and that the change is
largely a bookkeeping one designed
to reduce administrative complica-
tionS.
Created in 1889 under reorganiza-
ton powers granted the President,
the Office of Emergency Manage
ment thus far has been mainly a
skeleton organization. run by Presi-
dent Roosevelt through William H.
MCReynoldS, one of his admin
istrative assistants, acting as o. E. M.
IaisOn officer.
Today's change was effected by
President Roosevelt in a letter to
the Budget Bureau. 1t was an
nounced that the o. E. M. also
would handle administrative mat
ters for the defense housing CO.
ordinator. the Office of the CO.
ordinator of health and welfare and
related defense activities and the
Office of the Defense Communica-
tions Board
Information service for the de-
fense agencies has been Co-ordinated
under Robert L. Horton, with Robert
w Straus as administrative as
sistant.