Evening star., 1942-08-22

America war pulse Is beating
faster If inquiries made at the U. S.
Information Center accurately re-
feet national trends.
There has been little decrease in
the number of inquiries made there
in person or by telephone each week
since the Office was opened at Four
teenth street and Pennsylvania ave-
nue. NV. early in May, but a dis
tinct change in the nature of re-
quests has been noted. Where the
emphasis was on conversion of
peacetime plants into war produc-
ton AsfeW months ago.. the majority
of buSine4k inquiries now deal with
prioritieS, rationing and other re-
strictive regulations, officials say.
There is close relationship be-
tween changing war developments
and the nature of inquiries, it is
said, indicating hardening of the
wars reaction. Because their per-
sonal lives are being directly af-
fected by rationing, thousands of
inquiries reveal distinct consumer
interest in war measures. BY the
same token, priorities have become
the No. interest of business enter
prises.
Operated by Inquiries Bureau.
The Information Center, now op-
Grated by the Bureau of Inquiries,
Office of War Informa ton, has had
its facilities used by approximately
250,000 persons since the building
was opened May 4. Congressional
critics termed the building. during
its construction, waste of funds.
The Information Center, then un-
der the Supervision of the Office of
Government Reports, of which Low
ell Mellett was director, is now a
division under the control of Elmer
Davis, Owl chief.
In its first weeks operations,
May 4l0, the center handled 1927
inquiries. For the week June 29-
July the total was l4495, from
July 1919 the number of inquiries
totaled 1856 and for the week of
August 3-8 the total was l2,790.
Off1cials explained that a 6 pm.
closing, which was started in July,
tended to reduce the total number
of inquiries as compared with the
May and June totals, during which
period the center was kept open
until pm.
To check the type of service de-
sired, officials at the Information
Center each day require written
analysis from counter clerks and
staff specialists. The bulk of the
inquiries still concern Government
locations and personnel. A typical
days tabulation disclosed 80 per-
sons asking information concerning
rationing, with an additional 81
wanting to know about price con-
troll regulations.
Extrasts From Analyses.
The center has nine staff spe-
cialists who guide businessmen
through a maze of red tape to
Government Offices handling par
ticular problems. The range of in
quiries is shown by the following
extracts from analyses:
Whom do I contact to sell RATS
to the Coast Guard?
Whom do I see in WPB about
the manufacture of glycerin?
Where can new ore be tested
when companies are manufacturing
plastics?
Where can I find out how much
steel is used in large bomb?
Has the Red Cross issued call
| for surgical instruments?
How many gallons of fuel oil
will be allotted to the State of
Minnesota this winter?
What branch of the Army should
I contact to sell coconut shells fol
the manufacture of activated char
coal for gas masks?
Query on Wooden Barges.
Whom should one see regarding
contracts for wooden barges fol
/ the transportation of oil?
Are there any rife practice
training courses for women? How
DO you go about joining the
WAVES or WAACS? Are there de-
tense training courses for women?
When will the Pan-American
Highway be completed?
What is the latitude and longi.
tude of the Washington Monu.
ment?
rs CAA now limited to the armee
forces only7