Evening star., 1945-10-07
By Gould Lincoln.

surplus property administrator. The
Federal Government is winding up the
United States huge war effort with d
mass of goods and property on its hands
estimated to have cost 500 900 900 900.
The disposal of this property-as fast
as it is declared to be surplus us'i-will
require business acumen, coming from
experience, an adequate and active force,
and finally sufficient number Of outlets,
located where those who are desirous
of obtaining the many things which the
Government has for sale can make
contact.
The various agencies of the Govern
ment. principally the War and Navy
Departments, have declared total of
$3,716,0 900 900 worth of property surplus"
that is, no longer needed by the
overnment-through August. And as
of the same date, the Government had
disposed of total of s644 ,oo0, 900. These
figures clearly indicate that, up to the
present, the surface has been merely
scatched. 1t is true, however, that with
the close of hostilities, particularly after
VI day, the declarations of surplus
property began to roll in. For time i'm
mediately thereafter there were declara-
tions of 100000, 900 worth of consumer
goods day, for example, as surplus"
The main catagories of goods declared
surplus up to date are nonsalable
aircraft approximately two-thirds) , and
salable aircraft, metal working ma
chinery, industrial plants, real estate.
communications equipment, motor We
hicles and parts. The Government, how
ever, owns and will eventually dispose
of great variety of materials, running
from pins to ships.
Seeks to Avoid Errors.
Disposal of surplus property by the
Government not only has been a huge
job in the past, but it has been distinct
pain in the neck. We had our experiences
with surplus property on large scale
after the First World War. II is the aim
of Mr.. Symington and his aides to
improve vastly over the handling of
surplus property after that conflict. The
Government found itself with s7,00O,-
100000 worth of surplus property on its
hands then. No disposal organization
had been set up and the country was
engaged in great procurement program
when Armistice Day came. Much of the
Government property was simply ruined
as, for example, $4,000 bales of Gov
eminent cotton which were allowed
to rot at Nitro, w. Va, and 1000 Army
uyhin hoI
deterioration, of which many had not
even been uncrated.
Despite the fact that from 1918 to
1926 the Government sold a total of
$4,000, 900 of surpluses, there exists
in Government warehouses today equip
ment which was purchased for use not
only in World War I, but in the Spanish
American War. In the opinion of Mr..
Symington, no Government surplus
property, acquired for use in the war
just closed, should be permitted to clog
warehouses quarter of a century hence
1t becomes essential, therefore, that
the disposal of surplus property proceed
with as great speed as possible, at the
same time safeguarding the Govern
ments interests. And that is the policy
of the administrator. The Surplus
Property Administration, and its admin
istrator, it should be clearly understood,
however. lay down policies for the
disposal of this great mass of Govern
ment property-it does not itself sell
single item. The actual sales of prop
erty are made through other Govern
ment disposal agencies designated to sell
various categories of materials, when
they are declared to be surplus" The
administrator and his central agency
are there to put the drive and push
into disposal of this Government prop
erty and to lay down the rules by which
they shall be sold.
S335,OO0,0 900 Sold.
1t is interesting to note that the
Government received $685., 100000 for its
surplus property-growing out of this
war and disposed of by the end of
August. This is good bit more than
half of the original cost of this property
to the Government. In this connection
it may be recalled that the amount
recovered on surplus property, disposed
of within the United States after the
First World War, averaged about one
third of its cost, which after all was
considered not bad record. The great
bulk of the property owned by the Gov
ernment-the materials and machinery
and plants, have been used and there
has been deterioration. Furthermore,
this property was produced at war costs,