OFFENSIVE WEAPONS FIRST

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13772, 15 October 1942, Page 6

OFFENSIVE WEAPONS FIRST

WAR PRODUCTION IN UNITED STATES

Nelson Initiates New

Programme

Move To Overcome Lags

Washington, Aug. 25

Donald M. Nelson to-day put all war production on a new schedule of

offensive weapons first, states the

Christian Science Monitor

Mr Nelson in effect reasserted the War Production Board's decisive

authority over every procurement agency of the Government and initiated a whole series of actions de-

signed to overcome recent lags. He assumed complete control over the allocation of all critical materials.

Ife announced a new over-all programme, to go into effect during the last quarter of the current year, which will rectify the mal-distribu-tion of raw materials and which will assure a maximum output of offensive armaments.

He ended the independent scheduling of raw materials by the Army and Navy Munitions Board and put its staff to work under the aegis of the WPR.

lie also took to the WPB a closer supervision of all scheduling of munitions, tanks, airplane and ship

prod action. He took steps to withdraw from the Army and Navy Munitions Board some of the authority to order priorities on materials which, it has hitherto exercised. Confers With Labour He conferred with representatives of the American Federation of Labour and the Congress of Industrial Organisations on how to give workers a larger voice in war production policies. All in all, Mr Nelson appeared to he using the power of organisation and decision which the President delegated to him, and to he carrying through the early stages of a revamping of personnel and policy which will give second wind to the nation’s vast production race. The firmer control over raw materials allocations is an extension of the production requirements plan, (generally known as PRP), which has been devised over a period of several months and which will lie applied to American industry generally during the fourth quarter of this year. Its wide usage will mark another long step away from the straight priorities system put into effect when the arms programme began toward the direct allocation of materials in accordance with actual needs.

“Further changes and adjustments will he necessary so long as the strategic situation keeps shifting—probably as long as the war lasts — but we are satisfied that the new system is the best one available under present circumstances, and that it will do the job." Amory Houghton, director general for operations at the WPB. explained. Dy means of the new procedure, the V.TB will obtain data each quarter on about 95 per cent, of war industry’s basic materials requirements and inventories. Approximately 23,000 applications for the fourth quarter now have been received, it was stated, and these include all (ho large manufacturers. The applications include figures on present inventories and a forecast of material needs for the quarter. After the applications are acknowledged and numbered, one copy is sent to the Bureau of the Census, which has been enlisted by the WPB to tabulate the indicated total materials requirements. Under Mr Nelson’s new ruling the authorised quantities of materials will he limited by the requirements "■ comini tee determinations in the cast of the Army and Navy units, exactly like those of the industry branches.

Applications Checked Now, applications, before being returned to the companies as approved PRP certificates, will be checked by a review and approval section. A report on each PRP certificate authorising the use of scarce materials will be sent to the materials branches of the WPB which are responsible for month-to-month, allocations of the scarcest materials. The materials branches will fit the authorised deliveries of materials into the schedules of the producers of primary materials. WPB officials believe the result will be to establish a strong over-all control which will assure that materials are consigned to the plants which are of the greatest importance in the war programme. Spokesmen of the A. F. or L. and the C. I. 0.. contending that the labour division of the WPB is mere "window dressing." are seeking a more authoritative voice in determining the flow of materials to factories- the deferment of essential workers, establishment of manpower policies, defence housing,, safety on production lines, and the handling of idle materials and Inventories. During their conferences with Mr Xelson and other officials pLObert Watt, representing William Green, held that labour ''needs a place at the top in the formulation of policies dealing with the sort of probYms we have come here to discuss to-day." James P. Carey, vepesenting Philip Murray, insisted that labour knows it has most to lose if the Axis wins the war. "Labour knows production problems and should be brought in to help solve them," he said. The union leaders declared they felt that labour should not have to "learn what decisions have been made affecting them by reading newspapers."