Evening star., 1951-03-07
Government Expands
Steel Cut, Affecting
Long LIST Of Goods
BY the Associated Press

of me ASSoeioied ffeSs
The Government today greatly
expanded the list of items which
come under its 20 per cent steel
cut program and put it into eff
feet.
Makers%of these items-all con-
sumer durable goods ranging from
automobiles to pocket knives-will
be limited to using 20 per cent less
steel during the second quarter of
this year than they used in the
average quarter of the first half
Of last year.
An order from the National Pro-
duction Authority today put into
effect the percentage cut an
nounced February 20 by Manly
Fleischmann, NPA chief.
Affected Products Listed.
1t lists in detail for the first
time the products affected.
In addition to passenger cars,
furniture. refrigerators, radios and
television sets, which were men,
toned in the previous announce
ment, the list includes vacuum
cleaners and lawn mowers, cam
eras and ashtrayS, private air.
planes, garbage disposal units,
burial casketS and many others.
Also among the additional items
affected are porch and lawn fur
niture, theater seats, telephone
booths. fireplace fixtures. lamp
shades, carpet sweepers. stoves,
percolators and other cooking and
heating appliances. and dish
washing machines.
Still others listed are fans
under 16 inches, floor waxers and
polishers, electric mixers, domestic
hot water heaters, irons, laundry
equipment, phonograph record
players and combinations, home
and farm freezers, jewelry and
cocktail shakers, games and toys
and musical instruments.
Modification Expected.
The NPA is expected shortly to
modify the restriction originally
contemplated on the use of cop
per and aluminium.
The change was disclosed by an
NPA official and may permit
manufacturers of consumer dur
able goods to use more copper and
aluminium than initially was in
tended. 1t was even regarded as
possible that the automobile maker,
for example. might be able to use
more aluminium in place of steel
and thereby not have to cut his
unit production as deeply as 9TH
erWise.
The steel order comes a day
after the Government announced
it would stop buying tin for stock
piling. Such move had been
demanded by leaders in Congress
and elsewhere as a result of
charges of price gouging by pro-
ducers and spectators abroad.
Originally it was intended to
have the copper and aluminium
reductions apply to the manufac-
turer as well as to the fabricator
of parts. The NPA spokesman
said, however, this was found too
difficult to administer. There
fore, the coming order, he said,
will apply only at the fabrieator's
level.
May Use Substitutes.
The manufacturer of consumer
goods, as result, may use parts
without restriction, if he can get
his supplier of aluminium and cop
per parts to give him a larger
share of the supplier's output, or
If he can find additional sup
pliers. If the manufacturer can
substitute an aluminium part for
steel one, he may be able to
make more units, keeping within
his ceiling on steel.
The order is designed to save
about l million tons of steel in
the second quarter for defense
and defense-supporting programs.
1t is estimated that the needs of
these programs will be more than
million tons, or about % per
cent of the available supply.
NPA officials met yesterday
with representatives of the steel
plate industry and urged them to
increase production as quickly as
possible. The Government officials
said there is a steadily increasing
demand and that, to meet all
requirements, 1000 tons of plate
steel a month should be pro-
duced.