tion, many of the material controls are expected to be dropped within 6 months after the German collapse.

Even in its curtailed form, the spot plan has already provided several thousand authorizations, resulting in more than $700,000,000 worth of home-front goods, including refrigerators, stoves, and electric irons.

TO MAINTAIN SOME CONTROLS

"Because of continued heavy demands for textiles, lumber, rubber products and chemicals, some controls will probably have to be maintained until the end of the war in the Pacific," King said.

At the same time War Production Board announced the restoration to the farm machinery program of almost all of the tonnage slashed from second and third quarter allocations 2 weeks ago.

This move provides about 55,000 extra tons of steel for the current quarter, and 53,000 for the third quarter, and enables manufacturers to return to their first quarter output, in which 256,000 tons of steel was consumed.

The restored tonnage reflects recent munitions cut-backs, and was made, War Production Board stated, in response to an appeal by the War Food Administration. War Food Administration said that maximum output of farm machinery is essential to continuously stepped-up needs of farm products both on the war and home fronts.

EFFECT OF NEW ORDERS ON LITTLE BUSINESS

Mr. TABER. You do not mean that has been put into effect?

Mr. MAVERICK. That is in effect this morning, it went into effect last night.

Mr. TABER. How much does it amount to?

Mr. MAVERICK. A tremendous amount. It opens the doors to little business and it actually gives us many times as much work as we had last night when I was in here talking to you. It is a good thing because it is a sensible adjustment right in the middle of the war. a preparation for the future.

It is

I am one of the vice chairmen of the War Production Board. I have been out of town and up on the Hill lately, but I know earnest conversations have taken place at the W. P. B. meetings and intelligent conclusions have been reached under the leadership of Mr. Krug, Chairman of the W. P. B. But I am prefectly frank in saying to you that the spot reconversion order should never have been repealed. It always did good. It was in the excitement that occurred during the "bulge fight" in Belgium when some people were trying to prove that the American people were complacent and did not know a war was going on, that the order was repealed.

RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER WAR MOBILIZATION AND RECONVERSION ACT

Now that materials are going to be offered, I want to bring something up which is very important. I want to say that under the War Mobilization and Reconversion Act, the S. W. P. C. is enjoined to see that little business gets its share of materials, and that little business gets its quotas.

Let me proceed on the newspaper article. It goes on to say that the spot reconversion order has already started in operation. Then it shows that the control of aluminum, copper, and other materials is still in effect; we of the S. W. P. C. are specifically told and ordered by Congress to see that small business gets a proper share of materials. It is absolutely essential that this be done; if it is not

at 15 percent down, with the balance to be amortized in 5 years at an interest rate of 4 percent on the unpaid balance. Experience may show a need for more liberal terms, he said.

The directors also are extending Smaller War Plants Corporation authority to lease surplus tools to small business at 11⁄2 percent per month with option to buy.

WILL FOSTER ENTERPRISE

He said these terms would "foster new enterprise" and also "stimulate the acquisition by small plants of many tools which they may be hesitant to buy outright as they convert from war to peace."

Mr. Maverick pointed out that the Surplus Property Act authorizes Smaller War Plants Corporation to help small business finance "enterprises in connnection with the acquisition, conversion, and operation of plants and facilities which have been determined to be surplus property." He declared that "facilities” was a broad enough term to include machines, machine tools, and equipment. Mr. MAVERICK. Then I want to take up the Wall Street Journal of Saturday, April 28, 1945, and it says: "Foreign merchants.-As war speeds up they flood mails seeking trade with United States firms," and so forth.

This is the break-through on the matter of foreign trade in which we are interested as well as anyone else.

Then in the Journal of Commerce of Friday, April 27, one of the headlines says: "War Production Board establishes 1945-46 production goal for one-front war effort at $48,000,000,000.”

Another headline mentions reconversion pricing of the O. P. A. Here's a headline in the Baltimore Sun of April 28, 1945, which says "Civilian goods get 'go' sign."

And the subheading says: "W. P. B. makes spot reconversion plan Nation-wide."

The Washington Post had the original article in it that went to all of the press associations. It says: "W. P. B. restores 'spot plan' for reconversion," which entire article I would like to put into the record.

(The article referred to is as follows:)

WAR PRODUCTION BOARD RESTORES "SPOT PLAN" FOR RECONVERSION

(By Fred Brandeis)

The War Production Board yesterday took another major step toward reconversion by restoring throughout the Nation its spot authorization plan for civilian production.

Under the plan, developed last August by Donald M. Nelson, manufacturers who can show their regional War Production Board offices that they have machinery and can obtain labor not needed for war work, will receive permission to resume making civilian goods.

When munitions requirements were suddenly boosted after the German push last December, the plan was suspended in 184 group 1 and 2 tight labor areas, which included most of the country's industrial centers.

WILL ABSORB SLACK

The program was restored, War Production Board chairman J. A. Krug said, as part of the Board's adjustment to reduced military demands, and specifically as a means of preventing the idleness of facilities and manpower released by contract cancelations.

While controlled metals-steel, copper, and aluminum-will not become immediately available for allotment to authorized civilian manufacturers, as was intended in the original spot plan, War Production Board noted that "idle and excess" stocks in inventory may be used for authorized production. In addi

tion, many of the material controls are expected to be dropped within 6 months after the German collapse.

Even in its curtailed form, the spot plan has already provided several thousand authorizations, resulting in more than $700,000,000 worth of home-front goods, including refrigerators, stoves, and electric irons.

TO MAINTAIN SOME CONTROLS

"Because of continued heavy demands for textiles, lumber, rubber products and chemicals, some controls will probably have to be maintained until the end of the war in the Pacific," King said.

At the same time War Production Board announced the restoration to the farm machinery program of almost all of the tonnage slashed from second and third quarter allocations 2 weeks ago.

This move provides about 55,000 extra tons of steel for the current quarter, and 53,000 for the third quarter, and enables manufacturers to return to their first quarter output, in which 256,000 tons of steel was consumed.

The restored tonnage reflects recent munitions cut-backs, and was made, War Production Board stated, in response to an appeal by the War Food Administration. War Food Administration said that maximum output of farm machinery is essential to continuously stepped-up needs of farm products both on the war and home fronts.

EFFECT OF NEW ORDERS ON LITTLE BUSINESS

Mr. TABER. You do not mean that has been put into effect? Mr. MAVERICK. That is in effect this morning, it went into effect last night.

Mr. TABER. How much does it amount to?

Mr. MAVERICK. A tremendous amount. It opens the doors to little business and it actually gives us many times as much work as we had last night when I was in here talking to you. It is a good thing because it is a sensible adjustment right in the middle of the war. It is a preparation for the future.

I am one of the vice chairmen of the War Production Board. I have been out of town and up on the Hill lately, but I know earnest conversations have taken place at the W. P. B. meetings and intelligent conclusions have been reached under the leadership of Mr. Krug, Chairman of the W. P. B. But I am prefectly frank in saying to you that the spot reconversion order should never have been repealed. It always did good. It was in the excitement that occarred during the "bulge fight" in Belgium when some people were trying to prove that the American people were complacent and did not know a war was going on, that the order was repealed.

RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER WAR MOBILIZATION AND RECONVERSION ACT

Now that materials are going to be offered, I want to bring something up which is very important. I want to say that under the War Mobilization and Reconversion Act, the S. W. P. C. is enLed to see that little business gets its share of materials, and that Lule business gets its quotas.

Let me proceed on the newspaper article. It goes on to say that the pot reconversion order has already started in operation. Then shows that the control of aluminum, copper, and other materials estall in effect; we of the S. W. P. C. are specifically told and ordered by Congress to see that small business gets a proper share of materials. It is absolutely essential that this be done; if it is not

done, there will be huge stock piles and hoarding of materials by big concerns, which will keep the little ones from getting started, and keep free enterprise and competition from even getting on their feet. So, we have additional duties since we were here last night.

NEWS ARTICLE ON STEEL FOR FARM MACHINERY

Here is the New York Times of Saturday, April 28-that's this morning. I want to just read a headline from it. It says: "W. P. B. revives order for civilian goods," and then it says one thing which is extremely interesting:

Further easing of controls depends on war gains-more steel for farm machinery.

At this time I do not understand the actual meaning of that, except that there should be more farm machinery both in America and for export, because we can make a lot of money on export. France, for instance, has not had any new farm machinery or fertilizers for 5 years. At the same time small business needs this steel, and we may have to make a fight to see that small business gets it. There are a lot of small manufacturers of farm implements, some of them in New York State.

The New York Times of the same date, Saturday, April 28, has an editorial in it entitled, "The Hard Days of Peace." And many newspapers today contain editorials calling attention to the fact of the serious problems to come.

But let me conclude this statement: First, the Smaller War Plants Corporation issues no orders or regulations of any kind whatsoever. We are not a restrictive body.

We try to assist small businessmen who are unable to come to Washington, who are unable to hire expensive lobbyists, or representatives, whatever you want to call them. We try to make it so that they can understand and cope with the orders being issued by the other agencies. This includes orders issued by the War Department, the Navy Department, the W. P. B., the W. F. A., the O. P. A., the O. D. T., the F. E. A., and the War Labor Board. That is partly what our job is.

So, I am making, I think, a relevant reply to Mr. Taber yesterday when he suspected our agency might stop people from getting things. What we are trying to do is the opposite from that. We are not a regulatory body, and we are trying to be helpful.

AID TO SMALL BUSINESS IN SECURING SURPLUS MATERIALS

The second point I want to make again is that we are not a disposal agency. Small business, as well as large business, goes to the disposal agencies to acquire the surplus that is being sold. In other words, we are not an agency which interferes with that. People do not have to come to our office. No organization has to come to our office at all, but under the instructions of Congress in the surplus bill we try to see that, when surplus is sold, small business secures its share. We try to find the needs of small business. Through our operations in surplus property the small businessman is enabled to satisfy his needs in the surplus market without wasting limited capital and expensive travel to points of sale, and so forth.

Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. How do you do that?.

Mr. MAVERICK. We do that by the listings that we get from little business. We get at businesses that know the supply, or are beginning to know the supply, and we are building up records on the needs of tools, implements, and all kinds of merchandise and machinery needs. How do we do it? Above all, we get this on account of the fact that we have had 3 years' experience dealing together with small plants. You cannot have men working constantly for 3 years or with small plants without them being favorable to them and knowing their problems. We have had certain men with us who did not like their jobs, or were not fitted for them; they are gone. Others have learned

by experience or inclination, or both, and have stayed with this job. Πρ go, for instance, and make a sale for a man. Through our powers under the Surplus Property Act a man gives a certified check for it, and we get the property for him, or see that he gets it. But I will say very frankly, that it is only a very small portion of what we intend to do. We intend to do an awful lot. Our work should be greatly expanded.

PROCEDURE FOR HELPING SMALL BUSINESS OBTAIN SURPLUS GOVERNMENT PROPERTY

Mr. LUDLOW. What arrangement do you have for the allocation of surplus war materials to small business? What is your definite arrangement?

Mr. MAVERICK. I would rather have the specific answer to that be given by Mr. Lamb, who is in charge of that work, and then afterward I will put the regulations in themselves. That will show it in detail.

Mr. LUDLOW. I think the text of the regulations ought to go in the record.

Mr. CANNON. If they are not too voluminous.

Mr. MAVERICK. No; they are not too voluminous. We will cut them down.

(The matter referred to is as follows:

PROPOSED FIELD PROCEDURE

APRIL 27, 1945.

To be issued by Assistant to the Chairman in charge of Field Activities, Chief, Office of Reconversion

Subject: Procedure for helping small business obtain surplus Government property.

Betion 1. Purpose.

01 The purpose of this procedure is to define the responsibilities and opering procedure of the Smaller War Plants Corporation to assist small business in **iring any surplus Government property in which it may be interested and to tline the financial arrangements which may be required respecting the acquisi* of such surplus property as provided by Public Law 457, Seventy-eighth ugress.

01 Pursuant to General Administrative Order No. 32, dated August 1, 1944, 4: General Order No. 3, dated November 20, 1944, the Surplus Property Division was established in the Office of Reconversion.

The Surplus Property Act charges the Smaller War Plants Corporation th the protection of small business interests in surplus property as it relates "purchase, acquisition, or disposal.