Evening star., 1945-07-29
Surplus Property Sales
To Find Eager Market
Disposal of Everything From Factories to Food
Surrounded by Many Complications
Involving Economic Security
By San, Shelton.

tions: AS much as possible of the money
value of this property should be recov-
cred for the United States Treasury to
apply on reduction Of the staggering
national debt; the consumer goods and
raw materials will be needed to bring
early relief from serious shortages; the
war plants should be turned to peace
time production on the fullest possible
scale in order to provide employment
and to hold national income as nearly
as possible up to existing levels; to
discard and abandon this property and
facilities would be wasteful destruction
of valuable national assets.
Says Laws Need Clarifying.
From the standpoint of national well
fare, therefore, the problem is how to
utilize this vast store OF property so az
not to disrupt but rather to stimulate
the whole economy of production and
distribution.
In the opinion Of retiring Chair an
Gillette, the laws enacted by Congress
governing the disposition of surplus
property need considerable clarifying to
enable the Surplus Property Board to
operate with the desirable efficiency and
expedition.
The Surplus Property Board, COM
posed of three members appointed by
the President, is hedged in by too many
restrictions, he thinks. 1t is set up
within the Office of War Mobilization
and Reconversion, which means that the
director of that Office, if he wished,
could veto any act of the Board. Thus
the Board, although charged with the
responsibility for disposing of surplus
property is denied final authority.
Gillette pointed out that provisions OF
the Surplus Property Act and other
laws set up so many priorities and
preferences in the disposal of surplus
property as to severely limit the dis
cretion of the board. States and other
political subdivisions and unsupported
institutions and other nonprofit insti-
tutions must be given the first oppor-
tunity to buy certain types of supplies.
The number of units entitled to such
preference was estimated by Gillette
at 49,, ,0Oo
Single Administrator Urged.
The administration of surplus prop
erty disposal was hampered also, Gillette
said, by being under three-man board.
Since Gillette's resignation President
Truman has recommended to Congress
that a single administrator should re-
place the board.
For efficient administration of surplus
property disposal Gillette made these
two principal recommendations:
l. That the agency in charge should
be independent of any other Federal
agency, responsible only to Congress
and the President.
| 2. That a single administrator rather
than board should be at the head Of
| the agency.
| One of the Senate's closest students
of surplus property problems, Joseph c.
| OMahoney of wyoming. who Is chair
man of the War Contracts Subcommit-
thinks the Surplus Property Board has
made good start.
Senator OMahoney highly commend.
ed the boards recent statement of policy
intended to give local and independent
business interests the advantage in the
acquisition of industrial plants which
no longer are needed for war purposes.
The law permits sales at fair" price
rather than to the highest bidder.
Under this provision the board recon-
mends that plants be disposed of so as
to contribute to free enterprise and to
keep them from getting into the hands
| of monopolies or of purchasers who
might close them in order to prevent
| competition. Advance negotiation for
the sale OF plants, before they stop war
| production, was recommended by the
board to avoid interruption of employ
ment.
| Would Protect Little Fellow.
Clumsy or dishonest handling OF sur
plus property could encourage monopo-
lies, squeeze out little businesses, impose
exorbitant prices on the public and re-
suit in national scandals. AS larger
quantities of consumer goods become
available, particularly in the fields
where shortages now exist, there will
be keen competition among business
concerns for these goods. One of the
problems is to see that small businesses
are afforded the opportunity to get a
fair share of such goods. Where such
goods are sold at bargain prices, as they
will be, a few big merchants, If per-
mitted to do so, would grab the entire
supply.
Government-owned war production
plants, including their equipment, have
cost the taxpayers is billion dollars.
Their production is one-flfth of the
country's total They are for the pro-
duction of steel, aluminium, magnesium,
synthetic rubber, aircraft, ships, ammu-
milton, tanks, chemicals and many other
commodities and articles contributing
to the prosecution of the war.
Until recently most of these plants
were in full operation, employing hum
dreds of thousands. Now they are being
shut down. One of the largest to stou
production is the Ford Willow Run
bomber plant in Michigan. The Gov
ernment's investment in this plant ex-
ceeds $4,000 900. Just before it closed
down it employed $4,000 persons. About
5000 others were employed in other
Ford plants making parts for the
bombers produced In the Willow Run
plant, and it was estimated that ap-
proximately 10000 employees of subcon-
tractors were engaged in the manufac-
ture of parts and components.
Seek to Keep Plants Going.
A Senate subcommittee considered the