Evening star., 1946-06-09
House Group Plans
To Protect Store Of
WAR Films, Photos

for the preservation of the millions
OF feet of film and stacks of photo
graphs which made World War II
the best documented war in history
appeared as a possibility yesterday.
Chairman Lanham of the House
Public Buildings and Grounds Com
mittee told The Star he plans to
hold closed meeting OF his COM
mite this week to Sc if something
can be done to meet an acute
shortage of Government film stor-
age facilities.
Legislation was introduced last
fall by Mr.. Lanham to provide for
a 100000 film storage building at
Suitland, Md. This would meet the
pressing need of the National
Archives and the Library of Con-
gress for space to store the stagger-
ing quantities of film which were
shot during the conflict. 1t would
also care for large amounts of copy
right material and foreign films
deemed valuable for educational
and historical purposes.
However, the veterans housing
shortage caused Mr. Lanham's COM
mittee to hold up all public build
ing legislation.
Warn Against Delay.
Archives and library officials said
yesterday, however, that if the Gov
ernment held up provision of stor-
age facilities too long, what hap
pened after World War I might re-
occur.
From $4,000 900 to $4,000 900 feet
Of film were shot in the last war.
There is now in existence about
100 900 feet of it, officials said. At
the start of World War II, this coun-
try was forced to borrow combat and
training film from the British to
train our troops they added.
Archives officials estimate that
when all the film from World War
II has been checked for duplicate
and worthless material, there will
still be 3OO,000000 feet of it to store
for poSterity.
One official described the amount
of film which is now being turned
over to the National Archives as an
avalanche" There are estimated
to be 24000,000 feet $4,000 thou
sand-foot reels) of War Department
training film alone-film which
| Saved the United States millions of
dollars and thousands of lives"
Mostly Inflammable Variety.
The Navy has thousands upon
thousands more reels, he said.
The vast majority of this film is Of
the nitrate variety which is highly
| inf1ammable and even explosive
when confined too closely Solidly
built storage vaults with the latest
in fire protection and blowout
panels are necessary to preserve it.,
he added.
At the Library Of Congress, the
! film storage problem is complicated
almost beyond that of the National
Archives by the fact great quantities
of civil film which has been sub
mitted for copyright comes there in
addition to war and other Govern
ment film.
John Bradley, director of the L.
brary's motion picture project. said
commercial films sent for copyright
ing are now returned to their pro-
ducers. Library officials are keeping
their fingers crossed in the hope
that some day when it has storage
facilities it will be able to get them
Important Films Listed.
Vernon D. Tate, who has charge
OF the Natior1aT Archives photo
graphic records, yesterday listed for
The Star a few of the important
film records for which adequate
storage facilities are lacking:
III. X-rays OF all persons entering
tand leaving the armed services
same 100000 of them-which he
described as "one of the most i'm
portant medical records in exist
ence."
2. Photographic copies of German
dye-stuff secrets worth $4,000 900
to $15,000,0 to American industry.
3. Approximately 1900, 900 900 feet
OF V-mail film from servicemen and
two to three billion feet of official
V-mail negatives, from which Sc
lections of historical significance
may be made at some future date.
4. Aerial photographs of Is per
cent OF the land surface of the
earth - some of it never before
photographed or mapped. This film
is expected to be of tremendous
value to geographers and the armed
services, Mr.. Tate said
Present Government-owne film
storage facilities in Washington now
consist Of 81 vaults at Suitland,
eight vaults in the Archives Build
ing and a few in the Library Of
Congress.
Expensive vaults are now rented
in New York and other cities. Some
| film is stored in old powder maya
zines, in warehouses and wherever
place can be found for it. A vault
holds about 1000 reels or about
1000, 900 feet of film.
It is estimated that 200 additional
vaults at Suitland are needed to
cope with the situation.
GrndIntoe n Aaur kAo..;.