Evening star., 1945-10-07
Surplus Sales O. Monumental Task
Administrator Syngton Well Equipped Guide Rapid Disposal
Billion in Goods Without Disrupting Business

First World War. During the war now
ended he was attached to the staff of
the commanding general, 1st Marine
Amphibious Corps. Col. Redding, who
was chief of public relations for Gen.
Omar N. Bradley's 18th Army Group,
for many years previously was as
sociated with the Chicago American.
Symington's Experience Wide.
Other key positions in the new organ
ization are filled by James J.. Wads-
worth, son of Representative Wadsworth
of New York, appointed deputy admin
istrator for claimant agencies, and Eu-
gene M. zuckert, executive assistant to
the administrator The latter was until
recently a lieutenant q. g. in the
Navy, and handled aviation supply un-
der Rear Admiral James M. Irish. Before
entering the armed forces he was legal
and statistical consultant and instructor
for the Army Air Force, and earlier still
he was assistant dean and professor in
the Harvard Graduate School of Busi-
ness
Mr. Symington, the administrator, has
had wide business experience. He halls
from st. Louis, Mo-, although he comes
of an old Baltimore family. His father
was a distinguished judge, and his
father-in-law is Representative Wads-
worth of New York He was at one time
head OF the Emerson Electric Co. A big
man, with surplus of energy, he should
prove a driving force in the agency
which he now heads.
AS already pointed out, the Surplus
Property Administration is not making
sales These are handled by disposal
agencies Reconstruction Finance
Corp, the Department of Commerce, the
War Shipping Administration, the
United States Maritime Commission, the
Department OF Agriculture, the National
Housing Agency, the Federal Works
Agency, the Department of the Interior
and the State Department. The sale of
surplus property in foreign lands-of
which there is a great deal, has been
turned over recently to the State De-
partment. The handling of this material
by the State Department puts the de-
partment in position to deal effectively
concessions to the United States. Goods
purchased abroad cannot be shipped
into this country, except for reprocessing
and subsequent shipping abroad.
Sales Offices Widely Spread.
Consumer gooGs are sold by the De-
partment of Commerce. through regional
sales offices located across and up and
down the United States. Capital and
producers goods are handled by the RFC,
also through widely distributed sales
offices. Consumer goods are those Gus
tomarily sold through retail distributors
and include, for example, textiles and
wearing apparel, household and Office
equipment and furniture, automotiye
vehicles and parts, agricultural and con-
struction- machinery, Photographic
equipment and hundreds of other items.
Capital and producer goods, on the otle..
hand, include industrial plants and
equipment, of which the Government
owns billions of dollars worth; raw ma.
terials, industrial real estate and air.
craft, machinery, machine tools, metals,
ores, petroleum and coal, electrical,
communications and transportation
equipment
Agricultural commodities and food,
declared surplus property, are sold by
the Commodity Credit Corp of the De-
partment of Agriculture. They include
feed, processed foods, dairy products,
etc. Houses and housing facilities are
put up for sale by the Federal Public
Housing Authority of the National
Housing Agency. Included are perma-
nent housing sold for use on its present
site. demountable housing, which may
be sold for use on it's present site or for
removal, and temporary housing which
will be sold only for removal. Also there
is included real estate related to hous-
ing projects and certain housing fix
lures and equipment.
Certain kinds of Government property
are sold by agencies outside the regular
surplus sales organization-mostly by
the Army and Navy, and consist of scrap
or salvage or nominal amounts of prop
erty of various kinds. With the assist
ance of the Army and Navy, war con-
tractors sell their own terminated con-
tractor inventories.
Veterans Have Priority.
The Smaller War Plants Corn. has
been designated as the agency to assist
small businessmen to find the kind of
surplus property they wish to acquire.
The corporation also has authority to
exercise its first priority as a Federal
agency in the purchase of surpluses for
resale to small business Further, the
purchase of surplus property for resale
(See SURPLUS, Page C-91