[Victory : Official Weekly Bulletin of the Office of War Information. V. 4, No. 20]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
-BULLETIN
OFFICIAL WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION
WASHINGTON, D. C.
MAY 19, 1943
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 20
OWI Report Shows Drop in Deaths From Wounds Received in Battle
Soldiers Get Best Medical Treatment Available In Well-Organized System of Hospitals
More than 97 percent of naval and marine wounded from Pearl Harbor to March 31, 1943, have recovered, the Office of War Information announced this week in a report on the care of the wounded by the medical departments of the Army and Navy.
Percentage figures for the recovery of Army wounded are not available at present owing to incompleteness of records from the fighting fronts, but an analysis of available data on Army wounded shows that recoveries are comparable to naval and marine percentages.
Never before in the history of the world has the fighting man had available the medical care and equipment the United States now furbishes its defenders. When medical supplies are delayed in reaching the front, American doctors are trained to perform their duties with whatever equipment is at hand. In the North African campaign, ships carrying medical material were torpedoed. Yet a system of caring for the wounded was established right from the beaches of the Mediterranean. The hundreds of recoveries from wounds testify to its effectiveness.
Begins With Soldier
Care of the wounded under the American system of military medicine begins with the soldier himself. Each man has fastened to his belt, easily removable, a first-aid packet, a package of sulfadiazine tablets—an improved member of the sulfa family of drugs—and sulfa powder. If the soldier is conscious after he has been wounded, he begins to take the sulfa tablets immediately. The special package releases them into his hand one at a time. He dusts the sulfa powder into his wound. He uses the first-aid packet.
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In all probability, however, a hospital corpsman has reached him before he has a chance to do this. The corpsman has a larger kit of supplies with him and administers quickly to the soldier, giving him an injection of a drug which stops pain almost instantly. He does not remain with the fallen soldier, as he has to move forward with the attack. After treatment he ties a tag to the soldier’s belt telling what type of treatment was administered, fixes a bit of gauze to a bayonet or a stick to mark the place where the soldier is, and goes ahead.
Mobile Hospitals
litter-bearers carry the soldier to a battalion aid station from 400 to 1,000 yards back. This station, a miniature hospital on wheels, is staffed by two physicians and assistants. It has operating instruments, anesthetics, sulfanilamide, opiates to relieve pain, hot drinks, and, most important, blood plasma to combat shock and loss of blood.
The battalion aid gtation may be compared to the emergency room in an ordinary hospital. Here the soldier receives treatment until he can be removed still farther back. In the usual case the soldier remains here a day or less, and then is evacuated by ambulance-jeep or other conveyance back to the collecting station, as he would be taken from the emergency room of a hospital to a ward for further treatment.
The collecting station also is mobile, and can be brought up as close to the .front line as necessary. Here the various cases are classified so that each man is assured of the exact type of treatment required for his particular injury. At these collecting stations there are a num-• ber of ambulances and other conveyances for getting the injured to them quickly.
From the collecting stations the more seriously wounded are evacuated to field hospitals or evacuation hospitals Which are usually some 5 to 7 miles back of the battle line. These field hospitals travel on six wheels, four of them with double tires to permit rapid movement over rough or soft ground and they can be brought right up to the battle line when necessary. They are ready for instant use, and a major operation can be performed in one of them a few minutes after a man is wounded. These units are equipped with the most modern medical and surgical supplies, and are staffed by expert surgeons with specialists available for all kinds of injuries.
Farthest back are the great general, or base, hospitals. These are not mobile. They are far removed from the battle area, sometimes several hundred miles. The general hospitals have 1,000 beds or more, and are the equal of the most elaborate city hospitals. The men may remain there until they are entirely cured and returned to duty, or they may be sent to general and convalescent hospitals in the United States.
To the U. S. A. by Plane
Often the trip to the home hospital is made by ambulance plane. There have been cases of men wounded on some distant battlefield several thousand miles away reaching this country faster than the report of their wounding.
One soldier, with a severe abdominal wound, was brought by ambulance plane from Egypt in 72 hours, and is now recovering rapidly in an Army hospital. Others have been flown from the Far East, Europe, India, Africa. The fact that a man knows he can be home in a couple of days from almost any part of the world is a tremendous morale -builder.
Mobile X-Ray Machines
One of the mobile units to which many a soldier owes his life is the mobile X-ray machine. In the last war these machines, although technically portable, were huge, clumsy affairs; several men were required to haul them from one room to another. The present battlefield X-ray unit can literally go into action with the men.
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May 19, 1943
In This Issue
Page
Report Fewer Deaths From Battle Wounds______521
Tunisian Victory Poses Italian Problem______522
The War Last Week___________________________523
War Production
WPB Halts Capital Equipment Expansion 524
More Conservation Programs Urged_____________525
War Manpower Planning Helps Reduce Plant Absences________526
War Wages and Labor Wage Increases Affect Prices Slightly_______527
War Rationing
Motorists to Get Ration Books by Mail________528
Rationing Reminders__________________________529
War Prices OPA District Offices Define Markets_________530
Coal Companies to Discuss Prices_____________531
Government in War 13,000 Aliens Arrested by FBI.______________532
Citizens Asked to Help Guard Nation__________533
The Congress Last Week______________________534
The President Last Week_____________________534
War Housing President Asks for Fund Increase____._____535
War Facts__________________________________ 536
War Transportation
Freight Rate Reduction Effects Saving_______537
Priorities____________________________ ______538
War Agriculture
WFA Moves to Stabilize Markets__________539
Appointments; Civil Service_________________540
War Releases___________________________ 541—543
Selective Service___________________________- 543
Nazi Banking Methods Loot Europe_________544
EDITOR’S NOTE
The material in VICTORY BULLETIN is prepared from releases of OWI and other Federal agencies and statements by Government officials. This material has been supplied to the press. Articles in this Bulletin may be reprinted or used by speakers without special permission, and the editor asks only that when excerpts are used their original meaning be preserved.
OFFICIAL BULLETIN of the Office of War Information. Published weekly by the Office of War Information. Printed at the United States Government Printing Office.
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Tunisian Victory Places First Bloc Of Energy People Under Army
Italians in Newly Conquered Territory Provide Problems for American Military Officials
While the capture of Tunisia by American, British and French military forces liberates the final segment of French North Africa from Axis domina-, tion, it leaves many problems, in addition to relief and rehabilitation, yet to be faced. One of the most important of these is the administration of the Italian population of Tunisia—the first major bloc of enemy peoples to come under the jurisdiction of American military authority in this war.
Tunisia, at thé time of the 1938 census, had an Italian population of 94,289 as against 108,068 Frenchmen. The entire population of Tunisia is 2,898,000. In the city of Tunis alone, there were 49,878 Italians out of a total population of 220,000. The size of the Italian population and its importance in local economic life, the privileges it has enjoyed as a result of treaties and conventions, the fact that the Italian Government maintained a number of “royal” schools in Tunisia, and that the Tunisian question has never ceased to be a matter of contention between France and Italy, has made the Italian factor one of primary importance in any study of conditions in Tunisia. .
Ties to Homeland
The Italian Government, in the past, has never reconciled itself to the French protectorate in Tunisia, and has made every endeavor to .maintain the national character of the Italian colony and to strengthen its ties with the homeland.
In 1881, when the French protectorate was established in Tunisia, there were about 21,000 Italians against less than 10,000 Frenchmen. The Italian population increased rapidly during the following 10 years. Since 1900 the increase of the French population has been more rapid. In 1938 there were 108,068 Frenchmen as against 94,289 Italians. The Italians were concentrated principally in the City of Tunis and the neighboring territory.
France, when it established the protectorate, had to take into account existing treaties between Tunisia. and foreign powers which guaranteed to the latter privileges of trade and jurisdic-’ tion under the so-called capitulations system. By direct negotiations in 1883
and 1897, these powers renounced their capitulation privileges to France.
The French policy with regard to Italians in Tunisia has aimed toward gradual assimilation by means of naturalization and education, and through neutralization of Italian influence. Legislation favoring the interest of French citizens, incentives to encourage French immigration to Tunisia, the favored settlement of European other than Italian workers as regards wages, insurance, vacations, with a view to inducing Italians to ask for French citizenship, have been the principal means used toward this end.
Italian Schools Permitted
Although the 1896 Convention provided for the maintenance of Italian schools it did not allow the opening of new schools or the extension of existing facilities. Between 1911 and 1916 the French allowed the establishment of a number of private schools, but the Italian schools have not been in a position to keep pace with the growth of the Italian population. As a result a large number of Italian children have attended French schools.
The policy of the Italian Government both in pre-Fascist and Fascist times has been aimed at developing the national Italian consciousness of Italians in Tunisia and keeping their ties with the homeland alive and strong.
Increased Fascist Activity
The defeat of France gave added impetus to activities of the Italian Fascist organizations. Moreover, the presence of numerous Italian commissions for the purpose of demilitarizing Tunisia could not but give the Italian population an added sense of security" and power in their dealings with the French administration.
An aspect of the Tunisian-Italian question which appears to have come to the fore particularly since the war is the anti-Italian feeling among the Arabs. This feeling is particularly violent in the south of Tunisia, due to the proximity of the Libyan border and the indignation of the Arabs over the harsh treatment meted out by the Italians to their fellow Moslems in Libya.
May 19, 1943
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Thé War Last^eek . .
American Heavy Bombers Active Over Widespread War Fronts
Victory in North Africa Demonstrates Striking Power of Integrated Force
The weight and accuracy of America’s growing air power was felt last week on almost all the fronts of World War IL Big U. S. bombers covered Axis-held territory in Europe, the Mediterranean, the North Pacific,-and the South Pacific, hammering heavy blows against ports, armament works, supply and repair centers, and shipping.
The value of strategic bombing, carefully calculated and applied, was pointed out by the recent Allied victory in Tunisia, where Allied air superiority prevented the Axis from reinforcing or evacuating its beleagured African forces, and, in combination with the very effective naval blockade of northeastern Tunisia, kept the enemy immobilized while Allied ground forces closed in. ,
Chief Air Marshal Sir Arthur W. Tedder, describing in detail the strategy by which Allied planes strangled the Axis and prevented a Dunkirk evacuation of Tunisia, said: “A far-flung lasso with the noose gradually tightened to a strangling knot—that was the application of air power in the Mediterranean.”
Mediterranean Reopened to Allies
Extensive air operations are still being carried out against important Axis-held Mediterranean ports—shipping bases in Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia. Wednesday night (May 12) the strategic air force attacked railroad yards and docks at Naples, starting huge fires. Thursday, heavy and medium bombers with fighter escort attacked Cagliari, at the southern tip of Sardinia, hit several vessels lying in the harbor, set great fires in railroad yards and industrial areas, and shot down nine enemy aircraft.
All week these raids have continued. Augusta, on the east coast of Sicily, Civitavecchia, central Italian seaport 38 miles northwest of Rome, and several important Sardinian ports were among the targets picked out by thé Allied air fleet for attack. Ships, fuel ^storage facilities, ammunition dumps/docks, airfields, railroads, and industrial areas were all hit with devastating accuracy.
Now that Allied planes can be based in
North Africa and used to protect convoys, the Mediterranean sea route is “virtually open again,” according to Air Marshal Tedder. Although there may be losses in the Mediterranean, he said, convoys can now pass through the Sicilian Straits, saving more than 5,000 miles-for Allied ships en route to and from the East.
Results of Air Coordination
Summarizing the net result of coordinated use of air power in the campaign of Tunisia, the War Department announced that in the 6 months and 3 days of the African campaign the USAAF and the RAF destroyed 2,000 enemy planes while losing 770 of their own. In the first 11 days of May alone, the score was 300 Axis planes downed against 49 Allied planes lost—a ratio of 6 to 1.
And from May 7, the announcement said, the enemy’s air strength was almost at the mercy of the Allies, with the Axis losing approximately 11 planes for every plane the Allies lost. May 7 was the day Tunis and Bizerte fell to the
—Mats available.
British First Army and the U. S. Second Army Corps. On that day, Allied planes flew 2,748 sorties, an average of almost 2 a minute for the 24 hours. (A sortie is a single flight by one plane.)
But this record of plane against plane, impressive as it is, relates only a fragment, the War Department said, of the Air Forces’ contribution to the victorious North African campaign culminating in the Axis debacle on Cape Bon. The Mediterranean Air Command, under Sir Arthur Tedder, provided in the Tunisian campaign the first large-scale demonstration of the “resistlessness” of an aerial striking force employing all its capabilities in an integrated pattern.
Air Divisions Explained
Here, in this announcement, the War Department explained the composition of the Mediterranean Air Command and made clear the division of U. S air power into the strategic force, the tactical force, the reconnaissance wing, the coastal force, the troop carrier command, the training command, and the air service command.
The Strategic Air Force cut the enemy’s lines of supply and communications, which began in Italy and led through Sicily to Tunis and Bizerte. Composed of heavy bombers, medium bombers, and long-range. fighters, it struck continuously at Axis shipping, ports, harbors, bases, and other points from which the Axis might dispatch reinforcements of men and material.
The Tactical Air Force, operating in close cooperation with its Allied ground forces, threw its weight into “support bombing,” striking at enemy troops, armored forces, fortifications, airfields— targets ‘in the area of actual fighting or in the support of a battle at sea.
To the Troop Carrier Command went the job of operating scheduled courier planes to transport military personnel, mail, and supplies throughout the entire Northwest African Theater.
The Coastal Air Force was charged with the defense of the entire Allied-held northwest African coastline, the aerial protection of our convoys and the handling of antisubmarine operations. The job of the Training Command was to give all newly arrived combat crews training for the operations peculiar to the theater. The Air Service Command worked to supply and maintain the theater’s tactical organizations.
All of these commands, forces and services, the War Department said, provided the “team” that drove the Axis out of Africa.
(Continued on page 541)
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May 19f 1943
Wafffiûducfiôn^ . 1 -
WPB Calls Halt on Expansion Of Capital Equipment, Tools
Nation’s Physical Plant Now Adequate For Maximum Use of Men, Materials
With the exception of certain special programs, some special machinery, and further expansion of raw materials , production, the United States at last has the machine tools and the capital equipment it needs to build production to crush the Axis. For the first time in its history, the Nation now has a physical plant adequate to make the maximum use of its resources in men, skills, and materials.
Reaching of this significant milestone in the war program and in the Nation’s industrial development was signalized by action taken by the full board of the War Production Board. The action— designed to throw maximum strength into production of goods for the fighting fronts—called for two steps.
The first step involves a reexamination of all previously approved projects for construction of new manufacturing plants and machinery, to determine whether the need for them cannot be eliminated by a greater use of present structures, plant capacities, machine tools, and equipment. The second step calls for no purchase of new machine tools, machinery or equipment, or erection of buildings, until it has been conclusively proved that the work- cannot befione by existing facilities.
Will Stop Some Building
The effects of the move will be far-reaching. Some new facilities now being built will be stopped; some facilities which are now in place producing direct or indirect military goods will be curtailed, as shifts are made from one type of production to another. These shutdowns and curtailments represent a gain to the war effort; they free skilled craftsmen who are urgently needed in war plants, and they free for direct war production machinery and equipment which is needed with equal urgency. All in all, they make it possible to continue the rising rate of over-all war production which must be continued if the year’s program is to be met.
The action follows months of study of the facilities situation, in which a num
ber of cancelations of construction projects have previously been announced, and represents a united move by the armed services and WPB.
Its details were examined at a number of meetings of the Board of WPB, which brings together top officials of the War Department, the Navy Department, and other war agencies and which thus served as the means through which joint action by all of these agencies was readily obtained.
All of this of course means that the Nation has increased its manufacturing capacity enormously. It has increased it so enormously that maintenance of . facility expansion at the 1942 level—which at times took nearly three million men from the country’s labor force—is obviously no longer called for. Likewise, when the production of all-important items such as ships and guns is governed by the supply of steel, it is no longer wise to divert from 20 to 24 percent of the Nation’s steel output to the construction field, as was the case at one time last year.
Limited by Lack of Materials
In many parts of the war program the volume of war matériel which can be produced is limited by the supply of materials available rather than by lack of manufacturing capacity. Any reduction which can be made in new construction thus will release for direct munitions production substantial quantities of steel and other metals which otherwise would go into buildings or into machinery. In the metal working industries as a whole, full two-shift operation of all machines would more than use up all of the materials presently available.
Thus there is now being undertaken, within the war program, a conversion job not unlike the conversion that accompanied industry’s, original change-over from civilian to military production.
Past experience in plant conversion and machine tool transfers indicates that many plant facilities originally planned for the production of curtailed items can be readily converted to the production of
Copper Recovery
Aids War Effort
Idle Copper Allocated to Date Totals 197 Million Pounds
The extent to which the War Production Board’s copper recovery program is aiding the Nation’s war industries is shown by the fact that to date 197,000,000 pounds of “idle and excessive” copper, both in primary and fabricated forms, have been allocated for war use.
The amount, WPB announced, represents two-thirds of the total amount of copper thus far reported under the program. Of the remaining 100,000,000 pounds reported, approximately 36,000,-000 pounds consist of assembled products contaminated with materials hot suitable for copper scrap. Arrangements for the movement of the balance are currently beifig made at Copper Recovery Corporation.
Original estimates were that “idle and excessive” côpper to be recovered ranged from 400,000,000 to 500,000,000 pounds. So far 114,000 firms have been approached in connection with the recovery program and plans are under way to ’ reach 98,000 plumbers, building contractors and their suppliers.
Some Retained by Owners
Of the amount thus far allocated, 62,-000,000 pounds are in the form of fabricated copper and copper-base alloy. Thirty million pounds have been directed into the regular scrap market, 56,000,000 pounds have been sold for use in present form, and 93,500,000 pounds have been allocated for remelting. The remaining 17,000,000 pounds have been retained by owners for production.
A substantial majority of owners of copper have agreed to sell idle material for remelting for war use at the special Government prices which are well above scrap prices.
items for which demands are more urgent. Examples were cited of facilities which in the past have been cleanly shifted from the production of one type of armament to another.
Two new tests will be applied by regional offices of the War Production Board before approval is given to priority ratings assigned by officers of the Army, Navy, or other Government agency for delivery of machine tools and capital equipment. These are, that the item requested must be required urgently, and that no suitable second-hand equipment or subcontracting facilities are available.
May 1% 1943
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323
WPB Orders Increase In Woolen Output
Yarn, Fabric Manufacture
To Be 6 Percent Higher
An increase of 6 percent in the production of wool yarn and wool fabric was called for last week by the War Production Board. At the same time the WPB announced amendments to the hosiery control order. Textile requirements for the war effort have created shortages in civilian and export supply, therefore it was deemed advisable to amend the hosiery order in the interests of. greater conservation.
Minimums Set for Gage
Minimum specifications as to gage, fineness of yarn, and construction of full-fashioned cotton hosiery are established by the new schedule to the order, as well as standards for length, area of heeï splicing, etc. Generally, the schedule represents no major departure from current manufacturing practices, with the exception that very fine cotton yarns Which have not been found serviceable or durable are eliminated as a conservation measure.
At the same time, the amended order resulted in a further assurance that full-fashioned rayon hosiery will wear well through the requirement that such hosiery must now have cotton reinforcement in the toe as a check against too rapid wear.
Restrictions of the schedule do not apply to modified or full lace mesh constructions, to jacquard mesh constructions, or to so-called nonrun or runproof hosiery.
“Every pound of wool yarn and every yard of wool fabric that can be produced are needed to meet our total requirement- for the balance of 1943,” said Kenneth W. Marriner, chief of the WPB Wool Branch.
“Last year the industry turned out a record total of 525 million, yards of wool fabrics and 89 million pounds of wool yarns.
“This year, because of larger military and lend-lease requirements, we must increase this production by a minimum of 6 percent—or at least 30 million yards.
“This relatively small increase in production can be achieved if every manufacturer does his utmost to boost his present rate of production in spite of the fact that the industry is already operating at record levels.”
Paper Conservation Program Urged By WPB for Schools, Colleges
Increased Demands for ’'V” Cartons
Necessitate Cut in Civilian Uses
Conservation programs which have reduced civilian consumption of such vital materials as plastics and steel, can readily be extended into other fields, the War Production Board indicated last week, calling for further curtailment in the use of paper. The WPB’s recommendations on paper conservation were directed to schools and Colleges throughout the country.
The results of the plastic’s conservation program were outlined by the Plastics Section, Chemicals Division, WPB.
“Not only is it impossible to produce high-grade and competitive war implements^ without plastics, but to maintain the mass production of war implements it is necessary to usé large quantities of plastics to the point where the capacity of the industry has been challenged in many instances by the load placed upon it,” the statement said.
“With the advent of Pearl Harbor, the industry’s problems along these lines were greatly intensified, and the difficulty of procuring equipment made necessary the establishment of close teamwork between the industry and Government with a view to providing those materials necessary to the building of our war machine.
“The requirements of the armed forces are naturally given first and most emphatic consideration, but the allocators must at all times be mindful of their responsibility to provide at least for the irreducible minimum essential civilian needs.”'
Sleeping Equipment
Although seriously affected by manpower shortages, Government restrictions on critical materials, and demands from the armed forces, manufacturers are managing to conserve steel and, at the same time, continue to turn out enough sleeping equipment to keep the homes of America supplied with beds, mattresses, springs, and studio couches, it was revealed in a supply status round-up by WPB.
Lack of steel is the biggest problem. Sacrificing metal - consuming inner-springs, mattress manufacturers have reverted to the construction of an earlier period. Cotton felt, hair, spongelike rubber, flax, twine, ticking, and skilled
labor add to the problems of wartime mattress makers. Yet with all these complications, substitutes are being discovered and civilian mattress production is about 75 percent of normal.
Paper Conservation
While unessential domestic uses of paper have been eliminated or greatly curtailed, paper requirements of our armed forces for the “V” packing boxes alone have increased to around 600,000 tons a year.
Said C. L. Hough, Jr., chief of the Division’s School and College Section:
“Let’s give serious thought to our paper requirements by putting into effect steps which have been recommended by WPB Chairman Donald M. Nelson.”
Among these steps were the following: No material should be printed, duplicated, or mimeographed unless it will make a direct contribution to the war. Any contemplated forms, pamphlets, form letters, etc., should be carefully estimated in advance, and the number ordered should be held to the minimum needed to accomplish the purpose. All material to be printed or duplicated should be checked to avoid mistakes which would require a rerun.
—Mats available.
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May 19, 1943
War Manpower .
Systematic Planning Important In Reducing Plant Absences
OWI Survey Shows Management Programs Help Cut Industrial Absenteeism
War plants without systematic plans for reducing the causes of absenteeism have nearly twice as high a rate of job absences as those which do have such programs, the Office of War Information reported this week. The OWI report was based on interviews with workers in various industries and various sections of the country, talks with a number of the absentees themselves, and information from the plants, representatives of labor and management, and community leaders.
Seven plants with systematic programs were found to have a job absence rate averaging 4.4 percent a month. Nine other war plants, with hit-or-miss methods, had an absence rate of 8.1 percent.
Reasons for Absenteeism
Analysis of absence records of 1,800 workers showed:
1. Married women are absent most. Next come single men, then single women. Married men are absent least.
2. Those who had been on the job between 3 months and 2 years were most frequently absent. Next came those with less than 3 months. Least absent were the old hands with more than 2 years’ experience.
3. New residents of a community are more often absent from the job than regular residents.
4. Workers who object to plant health or safety conditions, or lunch arrangements, or promotional policy, are more frequently absent than satisfied workers.
More than half of the workers had specific suggestions in answer to the question of what can be done to cut down absenteeism. The most frequent suggestions were for rearrangement of hours of work and not granting overtime pay for the week in which the worker is absent. Other suggestions: Improve plant conditions, community conditions, wages, and productive efficiency, educate employees, reward regular attendance, discharge the absentees and put them in the army.
Criticism by many women workers and by some men centered around inadequate and unsanitary washroom facilities,
which are directly related to health. One machinery plant was found to have remodeled its washrooms and provided lounges for women. In an aircraft company with no lockers and inadequate washroom facilities, it was found that uniforms which quickly become oil-soaked are changed only once a week, and produce skin rashes and contribute to colds. Another company allows men a half hour on company time to shower and change, and is installing a laundry to supply fresh underwear, overalls, and socks each day.
The difference in absences between plants with programs and those without was shown in two aircraft companies in the same community, where housing, working and living conditions were substantially the same for both groups of workers. The absence rate in the yard with a systematic program, one of the most thorough of all the plants surveyed, was half that of the other.
Investigations Asked
A plant has taken a long step in dealing with the problem of absenteeism if it institutes a systematic investigatory procedure for absences, the survey disclosed. It also was found that when a plant provides facilities for the workers’ convenience, his reasons for absence are automatically reduced.
Punitive methods were used in some of the plants, including dismissals and lay-offs, but these seem to be used mostly as threats except in a few flagrant examples. One shipyard tried to shame absentees by issuing “Hitler checks” for time lost, but the resentment was so strong that the company quickly dropped the plan. Some workers quit, and many brought in evidence they were ill or had other justifiable reasons for absence.
Medical and accident prevention programs were major factors in systematic antiabsenteeism efforts. Some plants have medical staffs or clinics, and visiting nurses. A staff of safety men, insistence upon safety shoes and other devices, and requirement that simple safety rules be universally observed have also been used effectively.
Map Manpower Plan For District IV
Regional Program Covers
Four Southern States
A regional plan for employment stabilization in War Manpower Commission’s Region IV, as developed by the Regional Management and Labor Committee, was announced last week by Leo R. Werts, acting regional director. Region IV covers the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and North Carolina.
The new stabilization plan became effective on May 15.
“The purpose of the plan is to provide Government, management, and labor with an effective system for providing workers where needed to do war production and essential civilian work,” Mr. Werts said. “The plan provides for holding Workers on their jobs where needed or permitting them to transfer to other jobs under certain conditions.”
ENTIRE NATION COVERED BY STABILIZATION PLANS
The entire Nation is now covered by regional stabilization plans established with the approval of labor-management committees, Paul V. McNutt, Chairman of the War Manpower Commission, disclosed on Monday.
The last sector not covered, that with regional headquarters at Chicago, adopted its job control plan at midnight Sunday, May 16.
These regional plans will cover all communities until the localities adopt their own area stabilization plans, Mr. McNutt told reporters.
The plan provides that an employer in essential industry may not hire a worker whose most recent employment was in an essential industry unless such a worker presents either a statement of availability from his most recent employer or a statement of availability from the local United States Employment Office.
Under the plan workers may transfer from one essential industry to another if such a step will aid in the effective prosecution of the war.
The plan also outlines valid reasons which entitle an employee to a statement of availability and sets up procedures under which statements may be obtained.
May 19, 1943
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527.
War Wages and Labor . .
WLB Reports Past Wage Increases
Had Little Effect on Prices
Byrnes’ Directive Clarifies and Defines
Board’s Wage Adjustment Authority
Wage-adjustment powers of the National War Labor Board under the “Hold-the-Line” Executive Order of April 8 were clarified and defined by Director of Economic Stabilization Byrnes last week. At the same time the Board, in its first monthly report to the Senate, disclosed the extent to which even before the issuance of the “Hold-the-Line” Order, the WLB had been holding its part of the line.
Effect of Increases on Prices
“Wage adjustments approved by the Board as a result of all the voluntary wage applications affected prices in only 8 cases out of 3,000 Chairman William H. Davis of the WLB pointed out last week.
Mr. Davis’ statement was made in a letter transmitting a WLB report to the Senate analyzing the results of the Board’s wage stabilization program.
Statistics Cited
~ In 99.2 percent of the voluntary applications, employers have stated that no price increase would be requested if the proposed adjustment were approved. In two-thirds of the remaining 0.8 percent of the cases, - the OPA denied the requested price relief.
“The Board therefore has been able to make great strides toward stabilizing wage^ without affecting the price structure,” Davis stated.
Straight-time hourly rates in manufacturing industries increased only 1.9 cents, or 2₄3 percent, during the period September 1942 to February 1943. This was only a third of the rise during the same period a year ago. “Even this small figure,” Chairman Davis pointed out, “because it includes factors such as-upgrading and shifts to higher-paid war jobs, overstates the actual change in basic wage and salary rates since last October.”
Few Basic Changes
Less than one-fourth of the increased industrial pay roll during the past winter resulted from changes in basic wage
and salary rates, the only factor over which the WLB has any control. Over three-fourths of the increase. Chairman Davis told the Senate, “resulted from factors inherent in the national purpose to win the war: expanding employment, increases in hours of work, and shifts of workers from low-paid civilian to higher skilled and higher paid war jobs.”
“The typical applicant for wage and salary relief before the War Labor Board since the act of Congress of October 2, has been a small businessman with no union in his plant, seeking relief for less than one-half of his work force,” Chairman Davis pointed out on the basis of figures contained in the report. Seventy-seven percent of the voluntary applications for wage adjustments were filed by employers alone; 70 percent of the voluntary applicants employed fewer than 100 workers; and the average applicant wanted to adjust the wages and salaries of only 41 percent of his total number of employees.
Authority Partly Restored
After a series of conferences between members of the WLB and James F. Byrnes, Director of Economic Stabilization, as to the interpretation of the Executive Order of April 8 and the policies to be pursued under it, Director Byrnes on May 12 issued a clarifying order.
Byrnes said that his directive— -
(a) reaffirms the Little Steel formula, under which the WLB continued to be able to make wage and salary adjustments even after the issuance of the “Hold-the-Line” Order;
(b) makes clear the authority of the Board to make wage adjustments under the authority contained in the order, provided such adjustments are within the existing price structure and within existing levels of production costs;
(c) makes clear that any wage adjustments which may furnish the basis either to increase price ceilings or increase production costs cannot become effective until approved by the Director.
Board Accuses Lewis Of Defiance of Law
Challenges U. S. Sovereignty And Aids Enemy, WEB Says
The National War Labor Board issued the following unanimous statement Monday after John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America refused to respond to the Board’s order that the UMW meet with the bituminous coal operators and the Board to consider the resumption of collective bargaining:
“(1> The issue now confronting the Nation in this dispute is whether Mr. Lewis is above and beyond the laws which apply to all other citizens of the United States.
“(2) The labor dispute in this case, like all other labor disputes, is within the jurisdiction of the National War Labor Board under Executive Order 9017 of January 12, 1942.
“(3) This law applies to the coal miners and coal operators as well as to every other citizen of the United States.
“(4) In demanding a wage increase and at the same time refusing to seek the approval of the National War Labor Board, Mr. Lewis is defying the lawfully established procedures of the Government of the United States.
"(5) This is not only a defiance of our laws, but it is also the only thing that stands in the way of the working out of a new contract for the mine workers by orderly peaceful procedure in accordance with the order of the National War Labor Board of May 14, 1943, and the national stabilization policy under the act of Congress of October 2, 1942.
“(6) This defiance challenges the sovereignty of the United States in time of war and gives aid and comfort to our enemies.”
The Board met with the operators Monday morning as planned, although UMW representatives refused to appear. The Board instructed'the operators to proceed with negotiations in the dispute only under the conditions contained in the Board’s order of May 14.
The May 14 order was issued on the basis of preliminary findings by a tripartite panel of the WLB. It provided that both parties meet with the Board to work out arrangements for the resumption of bargaining, prior to undertaking further negotiations. The order also provided that any wage agreement reached will be subject to WLB approval, that work must continue uninterruptedly in the mines, and that any wage adjustment will be retroactive to March 31.
528
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
May 79. 794?
War Rationing . . . ;
Car Owners Outside East to Get New Ration Books by Mail
Application Forms Available About June 22; Eastern Motorists Use Present Books
Twenty-five million car owners and 160,000 motorcyclists will get their next basic gasoline ration books (A and D) by mail, under plans announced Sunday by Price Administrator Prentiss M. Brown.
This is the third big ration job to be handled by mail this year. OPA recently announced that applications for War Ration Book 3 and the renewal of the fuel oil rations would be handled by mail.
The basic books for motorists outside the eastern shortage area expire on July 21, and it is to replace these that the mail-order plan has been devised. Motorists in the 17 Eastern States will continue to use their present books, the A-6 coupons becoming valid in the shortage area on July 22.
Eliminates Registration
Under the streamlined procedure which eliminates another registration at school or ration board sites, a motorist outside the gasoline shortage area will:
1. Pick up a simple application form any time beginning about June 22 at a service station or other conveniently located place designated by his local ration board.
2. Fill out the form and mail it to his War Price and Rationing Board together with (a) the signed back cover of his present “A” book, and (b) his current tire inspection record showing that proper inspections have been made.
Boards will begin processing these applications as soon as they start coming in, so that all new “A” books should be mailed out and in the hands of motorists before July 21. However, to be sure of getting a new “A” book by the time the old one expires, motorists should act promptly in filing their applications, OPA warned.
Applies to Motor cyclists
Motorcycle owners outside the East will follow the same procedure as motorists. Those in the East, however, will be asked to go, or write, to their ration boards for an application form. The relatively small number of motorcyclists, OPA explained, would make a general
distribution of forms at filling stations too expensive and wasteful.
Both car owners and motorcyclists will use the same application form which is similar to the one used for basic rations last year. It simply asks for the owner’s name and address and the description of his vehicle. All the needed information may be obtained from the registration card and the old tire inspection record issued the car or motorcycle.
Boards May Revoke Rations
The power of War Price and Rationing Boards to revoke gasoline rations of motorists and other gasoline users has been broadened, and they may conduct hearings without referring the case to the District OPA office in many instances, the Office of Price Administration announced on May 11.
In only two types of cases may a Board suspend or revoke ration coupons without consulting the District OPA office, or without a hearing.
These are:
1. Where the Board finds that the holder of a ration is not entitled to the ration on the basis of facts stated in his application.
This enables a Board to review applications at any time, and recall any coupons that were over-issued, or which were issued on the basis of misinformation.
2. Where the Office of Defense Transportation has certified to the Board that a ration holder has violated ODT regulations.
The Office of Defense Transportation makes recommendations for revocation of rations in whole or in part in such cases, and OPA rationing boards are expected to act in accordance with these recomment^itions. Appeals are to be made to ODT, not to the OPA Board. Reports brought to a rationing board of any violation of ODT regulations by the operator of a commercial vehicle are referred to the ODT for investigation and recommendation.
Boards are instructed to serve notices of hearings at least 3 days in advance, so that ration holders will have an opportunity to meet the charges.
OPA Amends Meat Rationing Rules
Greater Freedom Afforded
For Farm Families
The Office of Price Administration during the past week amended its meat rationing regulations to wipe out certain restrictions on the customhouse slaughtering of home-produced livestock for consumption on the farm, defined home-canned foods as distinguished from commercially canned products, and authorized reductions in the point value of some grades of farm butter.
Under the meat regulations as originally drawn, a farmer who brought his own cattle to a custom slaughtering house for slaughter and dressing had to surrender his red point stamps for the resulting meat, while if he killed and dressed the animal himself on the farm the meat was .ration free.
The regulations now provide that a farmer and his family may consume meat raised on any farm he owns or ■operates, and may transfer meat from one of his farms to another to provide food for members of the household, without giving up ration points.
However, if the farm owner lives in a city, or any place other than a farm, he must give up ration points for the meat he consumes off the farm, although he need not necessarily pay for the meat in money.
Priced at 8 Points
Under the processed foods rationing program, OPA explained, all home-canned fruits and vegetables have a “point price” of 8 points per quart. Commercially processed foods, on the other hand, have specific point values assigned to each kind and container weight, according to the Official Table of Point Values.
Processed foods are considered to be “home-canned” if they have been canned in a kitchen primarily used for the preparation of meals, or in a kitchen used to demonstrate the preparation of such meals, as in a school or home economics center; or if they have been canned in a separate building or shed which a farm home has equipped for canning purposes—provided that the owner has first obtained permission from his local ration board to treat food produced there as home canned. This permission will be granted if the applicant indicates clearly that the facilities are not of commercial-production scale.
May 19, 194$
★ VICTORY BULLETIN *
529
Rationing Reminders
WAR RATION BOOK THREE
Application cards, good for a single individual or an entire family, will be distributed by letter carriers May 20 through June 5.
FOOD
Meats, fats, oils, cheeses, canned fish.—Red stamps A through D have expired; E through H remain valid for the entire month of May; J becomes valid May 23.
Processed Foods.—Blue stamps A through F have expired; G through J remain valid for the month of May.
Coffee.—Stamp No. 23 in War Ration Book One is valid for 1 pound through May 30.
Sugar.—Stamp No. 12 in War Ration Book One is valid for 5 pounds through May 30. Announcement of final plan$ whereby housewives may obtain sugar for home canning will be made this week.
STOVES
Nation-wide rationing of heating and cooking stoves that burn coal, wood, oil, or gas will begin in the latter part of June. (See next column.)
FUEL OIL
Period 5 coupons remain valid in all zones until September 30. They are worth 10 gallons for class 1 users and 100 gallons for class 2 users in all rationed areas except southern Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Kentucky, where they are worth 11 and 110 gallons respectively.
It is planned to give householders in the 33 fuel-oil-rationed States and the District of Columbia their next season’s ration coupons through the mails, and to permit the use of approximately one-third of next season’s coupons beginning July 1 so that tanks may be filled during the summer season.
Apartment houses, rooming houses, hotels, and similar residential buildings using fuel oil for hot water purposes only will be eligible to receive extra rations if basic hot water needs have increased.
GASOLINE
B and C coupons expire according to dates indicated on individual books. A-5 coupons are good for three gallons in Eastern States and four gallons elsewhere. In the 17 Eastern States and the District of Columbia validity runs to July 21; in the rest of the country, validity rims to May 21.
OPA has asked cooperation of law enforcement agencies in weeding out willful violators of the pleasure-driving ban—those persons who use their B and C books for nonessential driving.
Commercial vehicle operators whose gasoline allotments have been reduced will be required to surrender their excess T coupons to the ODT when their operations are reviewed or when their revised Certificates of War Necessity are issued.
Members of the armed forces on leave or furlough for three days or more may qualify for a special ration of gasoline for personal errands for which other means of transportation are not available.
For information on distribution of new basic ration books, see page 528.
TIRES
Owners of passenger cars and commercial vehicles using tires smaller than 7.50 x 20 may get their casings recapped with reclaimed rubber camelback without applying to their local War Price and Rationing Boards for certificates.
Drivers with gasoline rations for more than 240 miles monthly are eligible for any grade of new tires when jpresent casings are not recappable. The only drivers who can be issued new tire certificates even though they have recappable casings are those in occupations where they sometimes have to drive at such high speeds on emergency calls that recaps might not be safe.
An eligible truck operator who is unable to get rationing certificates for new tires because his War Price and Rationing Board has exhausted its quota can obtain certificates for used tires instead.
SHOES
Stamp No. 17 in War Ration Book One is valid for one pair of shoes through June 15. Certain types of shoes are not rationed.
Rationing of Stoves To Begin in June
OPA Expands Ration Plan
To Cover Entire Nation
Nation-wide rationing of heating and cooking stoves that burn coal, wood, oil or gas will begin late in June, Price Administrator Prentiss M. Brown announced last week.
Under direction from the War Production Board, OPA is expanding the plan under which coal and oil heating stoves are already rationed in 32 States where fuel oil is rationed. The plan for rationing cooking stoves as well as heating stoves was developed to assure fair distribution of the limited number available, Mr. Brown stated.
After the plan goes into effect, applicants for a stove purchase certificate must qualify under these general eligibility rules: that the stove is to be used in essential living or working space; that the applicant has no stove that can be used or must have the stove to replace one worn out beyond repair; that the applicant has not within 60 days disposed of a stove-which could have been used.
Will Ration Six Types
Six specific types of stoves will be rationed under the program: coal or wood heating stoves (including laundry stoves, but excluding water heaters); oil heating stoves; gas heating stoves; coal or wood cooking stoves; oil cooking stoves; and gas cooking stoves.
Anyone who wants to buy a stove after plan becomes effective will apply first to his War Price and Rationing Board for a purchase certificate which will be issued on the basis of need.
However, the number of purchase certificates which a War Price and Rationing Board may issue will be limited by a quota system set up to assure fair allocation of the total supply of stoves.
Dealers and wholesalers, on dates to be announced, will register their 1941 sales of new stoves and their present inventory of new stoves with War Price and Rationing Boards. The Board will then assign each dealer or wholesaler an inventory allowance. Manufacturers will register with OPA in Washington on a special form to be supplied them.
The question of whether- a householder can or cannot convert his oil burning furnace to the use of coal or wood will not be raised in connection with next season’s domestic rations.
530
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
May 19, 1943
OPA District Offices Empowered To Define 127 Market Areas .
New Dollars-and-Cents Community Program Clarified by OPA Announcement
Following the announcement of dol-lars-and-cents community ceiling prices, the Office of Price Administration last week gave its district offices powers necessary to put such ceilings into effect.
Clarifying the dollars-and-cents price program, OPA announced that the community prices apply to every retail seller except retail route sellers. District offices of OPA were empowered to define the 127 market areas involved and were also given authority to select brands and package sizes for pricing, collect basic cost data, compute retail community prices and issue community price orders. In setting the prices, OPA selected brands and package sizes that make up approximately 70 percent of the total sales in the area. In some cases it was necessary to limit brand coverage to' meet the time schedule, but this will be rectified in a short time.
Meat Prices Reduced
Carrying out Price Administrator Prentiss M. Brown’s promise to roll back food prices wherever possible, OPA has issued a number of new regulations reducing the price of meat and certain other commodities.
Maximum retail prices for all parts of processed hams (bone-in) and processed picnic hams are cut back from one to three cents per pound. At thé same time, the portion of the ham itself that may be sold in slices is increased to one-third from the former one-fifth.
In a further step to tighten control of retail prices of meat, OPA formalized by amendment its earlier request that a group of the largest retail meat distributors hold their selling prices at least 10 percent below the dollars-and-cents ceilings which go into effect next Monday.
Price Administrator Brown had previously requested these distributors to maintain the lower ceilings until the OPA had further opportunity to appraise the feasibility of establishing a special pricing classification for the largest-volume sellers.
The schedule of canners’ maximum prices for tuna fish, bonito and yellowtail were revised from $1 to $3 a case for the
one-pound size, depending on the species. Since retail prices for this fish are obtained by applying first wholesalers’ and then retailers’ mark-ups, the action means a reduction of from 1 to 3 cents a half-pound can at the retail level, again depending on species.
Two revisions of previous policy were also announced. The differential of 75 cents a hundredweight in favor of selected seed potatoes over maximum prices for table stock was removed. At the same time the prohibition against the sale of the selected seed potatoes for human consumption was lifted.
The prohibition against the sale of certified seed potatoes for human consumption still stands.
Adjustments Must Be Uniform
The policy of providing for adjustable pricing on sales of meat to war procurement agencies was ended today.
OPA’s action has the effect of maintaining the war procurement agencies on the same basis as other buyers, since no evidence has been developed during thè past 10 months which shows that the cost of doing business with war procurement agencies is higher than civilian costs. Further, the granting of any price differentials for government sales creates market disturbances. In making this change the Administrator is satisfied that price control adjustments for meats cannot be made on a class-of-trade basis, but must be made uniformly.
The permission originally granted April 23 to Government war procurement agencies to waive certain discounts in the purchase of beef was extended a second time.
Correcting an error in original calculation of the prices, OPA advanced the maximum price of fresh picnic hams (round half) 3 cents a pound in the Middle Atlantic and Northeastern States and in the Rocky Mountain area. *
At the same time, OPA added another price classification to the Prosciutto ham pricing schedule.
A mark-up for primary distributors of dried fruits was put in effect to facilitate the flow of dried fruits to small wholesalers.
Directory Designed To Speed Inquiries
OPA List Links Commodities With Personnel in Charge
In line with the policy of simplifying price procedure, the Office of Price Administration last week announced a number of changes and innoyations designed to facilitate price adjustment applications and to help the public in its dealings with OPA.
Anyone wishing to discuss matters pertaining to a specific commodity or service with OPA will find the new Directory of Commodities and Services of interest. By use of an alphabetical list of commodities, which covers 5,000 items, the visitor to OPA can easily find the individual he is seeking and his telephone extension number. Items affected by rationing orders are annotated and the directory also includes rationing regulations and the personnel of the organization administering them.
The current issue is the first of the directories to be made public and may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., for 30 cents. The publication will be revised and re-issued periodically.
Price adjustment applications and petitions for amendment of price regulations no longer need to be notarized, according to a recent ruling. This does not apply to protests or documents filed in support of protests, however, since these constitute the basis for court action and are subject to different rules. They must continue to be notarized.
Other Changes Introduced
Several other changes were introduced last week to improve and clarify procedure for handling price adjustment applications on war goods:
1. Commodities and services covered previously by the general term “essential to the war effort” now are specifically defined as those sold to the Army, Navy, Maritime Commission or the War Shipping Administration, for lend-lease purposes, and to an Allied Government.
2. Contracts for war goods with the exception of scrap and waste material and meats may be entered into, and bids or offers made, at prices higher than the established maximums during the five days prior to the filing of an application for adjustment as well as until final disposition of the application, but payments are prohibited at the higher level until action has been taken on the adjustment application.
May 19, 1943
k VICTORY BULLETIN ★
331
Coal Executives
Discuss Prices
Operators of Company Stores
Asked, to State Earnings
Solid Fuels Administrator Harold I* Ickes announced that he had called the heads of 10 of the largest coal companies and the officers in charge of their commissaries to Washington to discuss prices charged in company stores and action which might be taken to minimize the cost of living of the miners. The officials were requested to bring with them earnings statements of their stores for the past three years and data showing prices charged for food and clothing.
The operating managers of all mines -taken over by the Government also have been directed to file detailed reports on company store operations and to set up accounting systems immediately which would enable Government investigators to make an easy determination of the cpsts and selling prices of all things sold by them.
Must Comply With OP A
-Federal mine managers already are under directions ■ from Administrator Ickes to operate their stores and commissaries in strict compliance with maximum price regulations issued by the Office of Price Administration.
Telegrams asking the executives to meet with Administrator Ickes at the Department of the Interior stated that the purpose of the meeting was “to discuss prices charged in company stores as they affect the cost of living, and nature of action which should be taken immediately to minimize this cost.”
The telegrams were sent to the following heads of coal companies:
Benjamin Fairless, United States Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa.; J. P. Williams, Koppers Coal Co., Pittsburgh; J. B. Morrow, Pittsburgh Coal Co., Pittsburgh; George Humphreys, M. A. Hanna Co., Cleveland, Ohio; Charles Dunlap, Berwind-White Coal Mining Co., New York, N. Y.; O. L. Alexander, Pocahontas Fuel Co., New York; J. D. Francis, Island Creek Coal Co., Huntington,/ W. Va.; Robert Hill, Consolidation Coal Co., New York; Eugene Grace, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Bethlehem, Pa.,₍and Heath S. Clark, Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Co.,, Indiana, Pa. The steel companies represented in the list operate “captive” coal mines.
•—Mats available.
Store’s Relation to Company
The letters to the Government’s operating mine managers directed them to list the names and addresses of each company store and its relation to the mining company, information whether the store sells to the public as well as to mine workers, a brief description or a list of the kinds of commodities sold by the store, and information as to whether any of these commodities are available to mine workers at independent stores in the community.
The letter stated:
“If your company, or any subsidiary or affiliate, operates a store or commissary in connection with the mines now in Government possession, you are di
rected immediately to institute a system of books and records, and to retain all Invoices of goods purchased, which will permit easy determination of the costs and the selling prices of all things sold in such store or commissary.”
Preliminary investigations have revealed large mark-ups in prices charged for shoes, clothing, furniture, and other commodities in certain instances.
“The prices charged miners for food, clothing, and other necessary goods by company stores operated or connected with the mines taken over by the Government will be thoroughly explored, and appropriate steps will be taken to see that the mine workers are charged fair prices,” Administrator Ickes said.
532
* VICTORY BULLETIN ★
May 19, 1943
Gövernment in War ■. ■ .
FBI Has Arrested 13,000 Aliens
Since U. S. Entry Into War
Agency Investigates Sabotage, Sedition, Enforces Selective Service Rulings
Less than 1 hour after the Japanese bombs started falling on Pearl Harbor at about 7:55 a. m., Honolulu time, December 7, 1941, the FBI had gone into action. The entire service went on a 24 hour basis and all annual leave was canceled. The necessary precautions were taken immediately to prevent and forestall any possible damage to defense plants, communication facilities and vital installations.
For Director J. Edgar Hoover and the entire personnel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation the entrance of the United States into the world-wide struggle meant only an intensification of a war which began almost 3 years before. In the early summer of 1939 the President of the United States called upon the FBI to be the central coordinating agency in the handling of civilian matters pertaining to the Nation’s secu- -rity. The outbreak of war furnished the “go” signal—immediately special agents of the FBI and cooperating local law enforcement officers swept into action and wrecked whatever plans our enemies may have had to destroy us from within.
Disloyal Aliens Held
As darkness settled on December 8, 1941,- a total of 1,771 alien enemies, of whom the majority were Japanese, had been taken out of circulation. (Less than 100 were arrested during a corresponding period at the time of World War I.) The program was continued during the weeks and months which followed and to date apprehensions have totaled approx-: imately 13,000. Those unable to give convincing evidence of their loyalty tb the United States have been held for internment, parole or release by hearing boards. Over 4,800 alien enemies have been interned, while those paroled and released after hearings total 3,361 and 1,187, respectively. The cases of others are presently awaiting disposition. Over 23,000 premises of alien enemies have been searched for contraband, and great quantities of unlawful materials have been located and seized.
The expeditious removal of this menace within our midst was the result of careful planning, thorough preparation, and intensive effort by the FBI. A complete investigation was made prior to Pearl Harbor of each alien who might be dangerous in the event of war. This foresight enabled thie FBI and cooperating local officers to take effective action immediately when war came and to do it without trampling upon the rights of innocent individuals.
TELL THE FBl-IT WILL B0 A BETTER JOB
That the Federal Bureau of Investigation has met with success in combating the saboteur is evidenced by the complete absence of foreign-inspired sabotage in this war. When Germany dispatched to our shores by submarine two groups of destructionists laden down with large quantities of explosive devices, the FBI, within 2 weeks, apprehended all eight of the saboteurs and frustrated their schemes.
While no foreign-directed acts of sabotage have been committed, the FBI has investigated over 9,200 cases of reported sabotage since January 1, 1940. In approximately 760 cases it was found that sabotage in some form had been committed. In most of these, the damage or attempted damage was traced to spite work, gross negligence, or similar causes. In a very few cases, FBI investigation revealed that misguided individuals, act
ing on their own initiative, sought to harm the American war effort or aid that of our enemies.
Industrial Plants Protected
The FBI did not wait for saboteurs to land or to commit actual damage to our war effort. Beginning in 1939, Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation surveyed the protective facilities of America’s leading industrial plants, and as a result of suggestions made to the managements there was a tightening up from the protective standpoint all along the industrial front. Some 25,000 plants, including the approximately 2,350 which were surveyed, were given the benefit of a comprehensive FBI booklet on industrial protection.
The sedition statutes as well as the laws pertaining to the registration of foreign agents have been other potent weapons of the FBI. William Dudley Pelley, Ellis O. Jones, Robert Noble, and George W. Christians, to mention only a few, have been sentenced as sedition-ists since Pearl Harbor.
Enforce Selective Service
A phase of the FBI’s work most intimately connected with the war effort is the enforcement of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. Already 200,000 cases have been investigated by the FBI and cooperating local officers. Almost 80,000 men have been located and compliance with the draft law secured, while 5,000 registrations and some 5,600 inductions have been effected through investigative efforts. Some few have flaunted the law, resulting in slightly over 4,000 convictions for draft evasion. Through the FBI’s efforts manpower in quantity has been furnished for the armed forces. The program has been handled quietly but effectively, without the confusion of the mass “slacker” raids which were conducted during the era of World War I.
In fighting the battle on the nome front the FBI has taken every precaution to protect the rights and reputations of innocent individuals.
Private citizens individually and through patriotic organizations and other groups are cooperating closely with the Bureau and upon request are refraining from rumormongering and vigilantism. As requested by the Chief Executive on January 8, 1943, citizens should continue to refer to the nearest office of the FBI—without prior evaluation or investigation—any and all pertinent information concerning the Nation’s internal security.
May 19, 1943
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
533
New Crop of Trained Saboteurs
Will Try to Enter Country
Citizens Asked To Cooperate With FBI In Guarding America’s War Effort
Increasingly in 1943, every American citizen—whether on the farm, in a small town, or in a metropolis—must consider himself an individual “listening post” for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, because a new crop of rigorously trained Nazi saboteurs will soon be graduated from Berlin’s crack school for sabotage and loosed upon the world.
Unless Americans give this help, the OWI warned in a review of citizens’ cooperation with the Federal Bureau since 1939, the FBI cannot guarantee to maintain its present remarkable record: no single successful foreign-directed act of sabotage in this war.
Never was this need for citizen cooperation greater than “at this very time”— OWI quoted J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI—“when more than a score of saboteurs are being trained by the German High Command at its highly organized sabotage school, to be sent to all parts of the world to obstruct the war effort of the United Nations.”
The FBI does not underestimate the determination of the German High Command to stiffen up in its training of agents, to profit by its recent sad experiences, particularly in the United States.
Last year alone more than 218,000 reports concerning persons or situations thought to be dangerous to the national security reached the FBI, OWI disclosed. The investigative agency cites numerous actual cases of how American citizens have aided the bureau in its gigantic task of safeguarding internal security and coordinating internal information for the uses of Army, Navy, and other Government intelligence services.
Rules for Civilians
The FBI’s whole puzzle is sometimes all in place but one piece. Any individual’s information could prove to be that missing piece—a first rule for citizen cooperate with FBI.
A second rule for citizens is: Don’t fail to turn in an item because you think somebody else may do so.
That no report is too insignificant to be considered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a third rule for citizen cooperation—if the citizen is sincere in his belief that his observation of facts points
to a situation imperiling the national security. An old lady on the Pacific Coast was not “embarrassed” in reporting to the FBI a certain young man who always had money to spend yet never showed signs of any honest labor. She told FBI agents that she hated to be critical, but that by her standards everybody had to work for his living, especially in these times. FBI investigation led to the arrest and internment of the young man as a dangerous enemy alien.
It is true that many reports received by the FBI are unfounded. Thus a “spy” observing a war plant through a telescope turned out to be an 18-year-old boy trying to get a close glimpse of his war-worker girl friend. A Nazi Party pennant “flying defiantly in the breeze” was only a flag devised by a child.
FBI men, however, prefer to have too many reports rather than too few, though this means extra work for them. They have two means of collecting in
formation on subversive activities: first of all, from what people tell them; and secondly, from what they observe. Even after they have made their own expert observations, facts might slip through their fingers entirely through bad breaks unless they get help from the people.
Important in War Plants
Nowhere, however, are the sharp eyes and ears of Americans more valuable than in war production plants, according to OWI. Hundreds of harmless facts may be turned in by war workers that lead nowhere, and frequently the individual’s report may not seem very important to him. But it can have fantastic importance to the FBI.
Early this year, OWI concluded, President Roosevelt requested all patriotic organizations and citizens to cooperate actively with the FBI. Long before that time, however, Americans in all walks of life were acting as listening posts for the bureau. To these, the FBI guarantees two things: that they need never consider themselves to be “wasting the time of important men” in bringing in or phoning reports; and that whatever they disclose to the FBI will remain completely confidential between the individual and the Bureau.
Music While They Work.
—Mats available.
534
4c VICTORY BULLETIN ★
May 19, 1943
Senate Passes Revised Rumi Plan;
Navy Appropriation Approved
House Committee Reports Connally Bill With Request for Immediate Action
The Senate passed a revision of the Rumi plan last week, bringing the debate on methods of putting income-tax collections on a current basis nearer to a close. The measure, which was sent back to the House, would allow 100-per-cent abatement on the individual’s 1942 or 1943 income, whichever was lower. (This is the chief difference from the House-approved bill, which would give 100 percent abatement on 1942 taxes for lower income groups, with declining percentages from there on up the income scale.) An antiwindfall clause in the Senate bill provides that where a person’s income in the tax-abated year exceeds by more than $10,000 his income in 1938, 1939, or 1940, he must pay taxes on the excess.
Largest Navy Appropriation
Other problems of war finance occupied both Houses last week. The House Appropriations Committee approved the largest naval appropriation bill in history—$29,463,687,198. The emphasis on naval aviation was evidenced by the amount of funds earmarked for the Bureau of Naval Aeronautics, which was almost as much as the appropriation for construction and replacement of naval vessels. In another action the House passed and sent to the Senate a bill authorizing the acquisition and conversion of a million tons of landing boats and other small craft which Chairman Vinson, of the Naval Affairs Committee, said would be used “for opening second fronts wherever necessary in the world.” A similar bill had been reported favorably by the Senate Naval Affairs Committee earlier in the week.
In addition to the naval bill, the House Appropriations Committee approved an urgent deficiency appropriation of $134,-141,279.86 for Government Departments in 1943. Most of the sum was recommended for overtime pay for Government workers, recently, authorized by Congress. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported favorably the legislative and judiciary appropriations bill carrying $40,943,778 for fiscal 1944; and the Senate chamber returned the $1,102,-
381,425 Treasury-Post Office Appropriations bill for 1944 to conference with the House.
Plant Seizure Bill Approved
The House Military Affairs Committee reported the Connally Plant Seizure bill, having added manyTéatures of the Smith bill, which passed thè House last session. As redrafted, the measure:
Provides for secret ballot of union members, before a strike can be called in war plants; requires that all labor organizations register with the NLRB and give full financial statements of receipts; prohibits strikes in war plants for 60 days after the WLB takes over jurisdiction of labor disputes; provides penalties of $5,000 and 1 year in jail for persons found guilty of promoting strikes in plants which the Government has taken over; gives the WLB power to subpena witnesses and data.
The Committee requested that the bill be enacted without delay because of the May 19 deadline set by United Mine Workers officials for further action on the coal mine situation.
Reciprocal Trade Act Extended
To enable the Government to continue waging battle on the economic front, the House passed and sent to the Senate a bill extending the' Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act for 2 years. The vote was 342 to 65. The House also passed-a resolution providing for a 90-day extension of the Guffey Coal Act, effective upon the expiration of the present 30-day extension.
A bill creating an Office of Civilian Supply to administer the country’s civilian needs was passed by the Senate. The new office would have power equal to other claimant agencies. Also passed and sent to the House was a bill to extend relief work of the WPA in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands after the WPA is abolished June 30. The program, which will be administered by FWA, is considered necessary because thè war has increased rather than decreased unemployment in the Islands.
The^Prgside^
President Confers
With Churchill
Open Series of Discussions On Strategy, Prisoners
At his press conference on May 14, President Roosevelt told reporters that no news of importance would be coming from the White House for the next several days. The President explained that he planned to spend the week end conr ferring with Prime Minister Churchill who arrived in Washington on May 11. On this trip—his third to Washington since the entry of the United States into the war—Mr. Churchill was accompanied by ranking military and naval experts.
The President and the Prime Minister met at the White House on the afternoon of May 14 with their full staffs, This was the second . such conference held since Mr. Churchill’s arrival. Earlier in the day the President told his press conference that the question of what was to be done with Axis soldiers taken prisoner in North Africa had come up in his conferences with, Mr. Churchill. The President said that he assumed a large number of the Germans and Italians captured in Tunisian battles would be brought to this country.
Investigate Miners⁹. Pines
At the same press conference the Presi-ident announced that he had asked Secretary Ickes to investigate reports that some coal miners had been fined for not returning to their jobs on May 3, as the President had requested. These particular miners were understood to have gone to work the following day.
The meeting of the Pacific War Council which was scheduled to be held at the White House on May 13 was canceled. On that day the President made public the text of a letter he had addressed to Congress, to Vice President Wallace, and to Speaker Rayburn, asking for an-additional $400,000,000 to provide housing for workers in war industries. (For details see p. 535.)
On May 12, the President nominated Anthony J. Drexel Biddle to be full Ambassador to the rqfpgee Government of Czechoslovakia in London. At the same time, Mr. Roosevelt nominated Douglas Maggs of Durham, N. C., to be Solicitor of the Labor Department.'
May 19, 1943
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
535
Housing and Construction. . .
President Asks Congress to Increase War Housing Funds by $400,000,000
Says Shelter Must Be Provided for l,100>000 In Industrial Areas During Coming Year
To shelter the 1,100,000 war workers who are expected to migrate to war jobs within the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, President Roosevelt asked Congress last week to increase the funds to be used for war housing by $400,000,-000.
“It is a noteworthy fact in relation to the whole war effort that under the existing war-housing program more than three million workers in intense war production have been provided or are being provided with necessary shelter. In addition to placements in existing structures, the present program embraces more than a million and a half units of construction, approximating twice the total volume of homes built in the United States in a better-than-normal building year. The size of this program, founded as it is upon minimum absolute need, affords some measurement of the disastrous impairment of war production that would confront us if war housing were not provided in sufficient volume and on time.”
Wartime Difficulties
“It is hard to build houses in time of war,” President Roosevelt said. “It is even harder in time of war to combine the building of houses with maximum economy in the use of men, money, and materials. It is therefore encouraging to know that more than half of the necessary war-housing accommodations thus far projected is being provided through the more effective use of existing structures; that another substantial portion is being attained through the prudent and economical repair, enlargement or ‘conversion’ of existing dwellings so that they may shelter additional war workers; that only about two-fifths of the need is being supplied by new construction; and that more than one-half of this new construction is being financed with private funds.”
The President said he was gratified to see that a “new spirit with regard to housing activities pervades the Congress.” He took cognizance of recent reports of Congressional Committees
which have emphasized the need for more housing in specified critical areas.
“The war is not over,” the President continued. “War production and the employment of men and women in war plants have not reached their peak, even where the plants are completed. The constant rearrangements in the nature and disposition of our total working force, produced by the increasing inroads of Selective Service, develop gaps that must be filled in part by the migration of women and older workers, and consequently intensify old needs or develop new needs for war housing.
“Even after making every reasonable allowance for the use of local labor supply, including the training of new types of workers, the best estimates indicate an in-migration of 1,000,000 war workers into areas of war-production activity during the fiscal year 1944. These workers must be housed or they cannot do their job.”
Private Financing Encouraged
“It is not proposed to house even the majority of these workers with Federal funds,” the President said. “Almost two-thirds of them will be taken care of by privately financed construction en-a large part of the balance will be served by privately financed construction encouraged and insured by the Government. The Congress will recall that to serve workers in-migrating during the fiscal year 1943, it recently increased the authorization of one branch of the National Housing Agency to insure private investment in war-housing construction by $400,000,000. Likewise, it is contemplated that recommendations for additional authorizations for private financing will be forthcoming, to serve a large portion of the workers who will in-migrate during the fiscal year 1944. This further expansion of private financing will maintain and confirm in the warhousing program the principles which point toward maximizing our utilization of existing resources, and particularly the resources of small enterprise, during the war. We are allocarting to private
initiative as large a segment of the warhousing program as it possibly can produce under war conditions and war risks.
“But in order to meet that portion of the needs of 1,100,000 workers migrating to war centers during the fiscal year 1944, which cannot be met in any other way, some publicly financed war-housing construction is essential. The main vehicle for this purpose has been the Act of October 14, 1940, as amended, known as the Lanham Act. The funds under this Act/and under other acts to provide war housing, are practically all committed to serve needs arising during the fiscal year 1943. I am therefore suggesting to the Congress at this time the enactment of legislation providing an increase of $400,000,000 in the authorization contained in the Lanham Act, as amended. A substantial portion of these funds will be returned to the Government in the form of rents during the emergency and realizations thereafter. In making this recommendation, I am sure that the Congress and the National Housing Agency will continue to look upon all phases of the war-housing problem as part of a total and unified picture.”
The President’s proposals would increase the amount of money available under the Lanham Act from $1,200,000 to $1,600,000.
GOVERNMENT LEASES. LAND FOR HOUSING
More than 6,000 acres of land, with an estimated valuation of approximately $7,500,000, have been leased under the Federal Public Housing Authority policy of leasing instead of buying sites whenever possible for temporary war housing projects, it was announced last week by FPHA Commissioner Herbert Emmerich. The Government will pay an annual rental of slightly more than $280,000 for these 6,000 acres, Commissioner Emmerich said, or an average of less than 4 percent of the land valuation.
The highest land values in this group of housing sites is in Region Ten which includes the States of California, Nevada, and Arizona, where a total of 954 acres have appraisals totaling $2,398,842. Lease rentals on the 954 acres total $84,906 per year, or about 3.5 percent of the land valuation.
In Region Four, which includes the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, leased sites total 2,004 acres. The appraised land valuation of the sites is $927,985, and the annual rentals total $27,392, or about 3 percent of the land valuation.
336
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
May 19, 1943
MISCELLANEOUS DATA
PROGRAM—COMMITMENTS BY AGENCY
Cumulative from June 1940
March 441943 » June 80,1941
Commit- Commit-
Program* mente* Program* mente '
(Billions of dollars )
War Department___________________ ___$126.7 « $108.6 $18.2 $11.1
Navy Department___________________ ____ 66.2 54.2 12.3 11.2
Lend-Lease_________________________ ____ 18. 4 • 14.0 7.0 2.5
RFC and subsidiaries_____;__________ ____ 15.9 15.9 2.6 2.6
Other United States war agencies_____ 18. 9 •13.7 2.0 1.6
Total_________________________ ____ 246.1 206.3 37.1 29.0
¹ Includes funds made available by Congressional eash appropriations, contract and tonnage authorisations, and by commitments by Government corporations.
² Include all transactions which legally reserve funds for expenditure.
• Estimated. p Preliminary.
WAR EXPENDITURES—MONTHLY AND DAILY
April 1943 March 1943 April 1942
(Millions of dollars')
Expenditures1______________ ____________ $7,290 $7,113 $3, 461 $833
Number of days_____________ _____________ 26 27 26 26
Daily rate___________________ ____________ 280.4 263.4 138.1 32.0
¹ Includes checks cleared by the Treasury and payable from war appropriations, and net outlays of Government corporations.
INCOME PAYMENTS
Total' income payments¹ Nonagricultural income.
Agricultural income²_____
Annual Rate in Billions of Dollars
Mar. 1943 Feb. 1943 Mar. 1942 Mar. 1941
$137. 7 »$135.0 $107.0 $84.3
119.7 » 118. 2 96.3 77.2
18.0 » 16. 8 10.7 7.1
¹ Total income payments include salaries, wages, dividends, interest, entreprenurial income, net rents, royalties, and relief and insurance payments. The rate is adjusted for seasonal variation. The annual rate for total income payments for January 1943 has been revised to $132.1 billion.
² Includes net income of farm operators, wages of farm labor, and interest and net rents on agricultural property.
» Revised. Source : Department of Commerce.
LABOR FORCE—EMPLOYED—UNEMPLOYED
April 1943 March 1943 April 1942 April 1941 (Millions of persons)
Labor.force1__________________________________ . 52.1 52.0 53.7 53.5
Male______________________________________ . 36.5 36.4 39.8 40.9
Female_____________________________________ . 15.6 15.6 13.9 12.6
Employed_____________________________________ 51.2 51.0 50.7 46.8
Male. ----_________________________;______ 36.0 35.8 37.8 36.2
Female____________________________________ . 15.2 15.2 12.9 10.6
Unemployed___________________________________ 0.9 1.0 3.0 6.7
Male!______________________________________ 0.5 0.6 2.0 4.7
Female ____________________________________ 0.4 0.4 1.0 2.0
* Excludes institutional population and estimated number of persons in the Armed Forces. Source : Census Bureau.
War Facts are assembled by Program and Production Branch, Division of Information, WPB.
♦See table at left for annual rate in dollars
Publications may have mats or proofs of “WßT Facts" statistical charts
INDICES OF PROGRAM PROGRESS
Mar. 1943 Mar. 1942 November 1941=100 Munitions production_____r 530 202
War construction. ______ p 203 141
Total war output_________»384 , 173
WAR CONSTRUCTION
June 1940-Mar. 31, 1943 (Millions of
Government-financed: dollars)
Commitments for non-indus-
trial construction—_________—_ $16,686 Commitments for industrial con-
struction________________________ 14,368
COST OF LIVING
Cost of Goods Used by Farm Families
Percentage of increase Mar. ’42 to Mar. ’43 Combined index_______________________ 11.8
Selected components:
Food___________________________ 15.1
Clothing________________________... 13. 5
House furnishings_________________12.4
Building materials______________— 3.8
Operating expense.—_______________ 3.5
WHOLESALE PRICES
Percentage of increase . Mar.’42 to Mar.’43
All commodities_____________________ 5.9
Farm products__.____________________19. 5
Foods.__a_______—_________—— 11.8
p Preliminary. T Revised.
* For additional inforihation on Index Numbers if Program Progress and War Construction, see VICTORY BULLETIN of.May 12. 1943, p. 512-; for Cost of Living and Wholesale Prices, see issue >f May 5, 1943, p. 488.
May 19, 1943
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
537
War Transportä'tä i
New Freight Rate Reduction to Save 350 Million Dollars Annually
In Most Cases Savings Will Reduce Prices Automatically Through Existing Rules
More than 350 million dollars a year will be saved by American consumers, including thè Government, and by producers, processors, and distributors as a result of the reduction in freight rates which went into eifect May 15, the Office of Price Administration estimated last week.
Reduction was ordered by the Interstate Commerce Commission April 6, after a petition from OPA contending further collèction of ihcreases granted early in 1942 was unnecessary and inflationary in effect.
In most cases the savings will be reflected automatically in reduced prices through the operation of existing maximum price regulations—as in cases where sellers are permitted a fixed margin over the cost of articles to them. Added to current actions to roll back the cost of living, these new savings should contribute substantially to the Presidentially ordered hold-the-line program, Price Administrator Prentiss M. Brown declared.
Savings to Consumers
In from 15 to 20 instances where reductions will not be automatic, amendments are being issued to insure that the freight savings are passed on to consumers, Mr. Brown said. These are mostly in the fields of food, fuel, machinery, and industrial materials.
In certain cases the saving in freight is being left at the producer or processor level to ease squeezes between the cost of raw materials and ceilings imposed at those levels so that the line may be held at the consumer level. These involve mostly industrial producers, although in a few instances food processors are involved, too.
In a number of instances, notably in the food field, study is being carried on beyond the May 15 date, especially with an eye to further rollbacks in prices that might be based on the reduced freights.
OPA filed its petition December 5. ICC suspended the increase in freight rates and charges until January 1, 1944, with provision for reexamination before
the later date. The Commission also canceled an increase in commutation fares. The increases had been requested by the railroads to offset wage increases granted late in 1941 and to meet other costs so as to insure continued operation. OPA maintained, on the basis of a thorough analysis of railroad operation, that the increases were no longer needed for that purpose.
R. R. Performance Praised
Despite acute manpower problems and inadequacies of equipment and rolling stock, the railroads have turned in a performance record this past year surpassing anything heretofore, accomplished, according to Otto S. Beyer of the Office of Defense Transportation.
Mr. Beyer pointed out that 1942 passenger traffic exceeded the previous all-time record of 1920 by 14.6 percent, while the freight record was 42.6 percent higher than the 1929 peak.
“This phenomenal performance was achieved with fewer employees and less equipment than was available to the railroads in 1920 and in 1929,” Mr. Beyer said. “The records have resulted from the greatly increased business of wartime, from substantial improvements in operating methods and technique, from the cooperation of management and labor with the Office of Defense Transportation and from the efforts of railroad employees.”
Manpower Problems Serious
The serious manpower situation faced by the railroads was also emphasized by Col. George Baker of the Selective Service System who warned that they as well as all other industries must be prepared to release to Selective Service practically all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 38.
In an effort to cope with this situation, the Manpower Committee for the railroad industry, in session with officials of the Office of Defense Transportation, has recommended preparation of a personnel inventory by all class 1 railroads. '
Limit Coal Cargoes Moving Over Lakes
New Rules Seek To Insure
Space for Ore Shipments
New controls over the transportation of coal on Lake routes have been established to make available more cargo space Tor the movement of war-essential iron ore on the Great Lakes, Director Joseph B. Eastman of the Office of Defense Transportation announced last week.
In an order effective on May 17, Mr. Eastman subjected to ODT permit requirements both the transportation of coal by rail to Lake ports and the movement of coal on the Lakes. Through such controls, ODT will limit the Lake coal traffic according to requirements for vessels needed to carry iron ore from upper Lake docks to lower Lake ports.
Recently estimated requirements indicated Lake carriers will move approximately 50 million tons of coal this year, as against some 49 million tons last year. The carriers loaded 4,196,000 tons of coal through April 30, as compared to 5,984,-000 tons loaded by that date in 1942.
Will Build Fleet
A fleet of 168 all-steel petroleum barges, able to carry 1,600,000 barrels, will be constructed immediately for operation on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, the Office of Defense Transportation said in announcing major revisions in the big barge construction and conversion program.
It is expected that many of the steel boats will be ready for service by October, when 21 river towboats which will haul them are scheduled for delivery. Construction is under direction of the U. S. Army Engineers and the Inland Waterway Corporation.
Steel Barges Efficient
The decision to build the steel barges, instead of wooden ones as planned in a program devised last December, was affected by several factors, ODT said. The steel barges will be able to move whatever petroleum products are offered, and will operate much more efficiently than the wooden ones. Wooden barges cannot be operated efficiently on the Ohio because of difficulty in putting them through the locks. Service of more powerful tugboats is also required for wooden barges.
Op.
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Ci
NEW WPB REGULATIONS
[Issued to May 15. Compiled especially for Victory Bulletin by Orders and Regulations Bureau of the War Production Board] [Inquiries concerning these listings should be addressed to E. Hamilton Campbell, Chief, Publications Section, 3204 Building E, Washington, D, C. Telephone: REpublic 7,600, Extension 3946]
Related Issued--- Federal Administrator
Order No. Modification Title Abstract of priorities action P D forms Effective Expires Register Division Tel. ext.
citation
Amended... Broadens definition of “truck trailers” to include “reassembled truck trailers”, --------------- Automotive......... J. E. Graham
L-l-g------ Revocation . Motor trucks, etc______... and “producer”. 5-10-43 8 F. R. 6034, Automotive____;.... 76784.
L-2-i_______ Schedule V Passenger automobiles____ Revokes the order; covered by Pri. Reg. No. 13____...._____..._______________ 5-13-43 8 F. R, 6321. Plumbing and Heat- A. A. Lea very,
L-42........ amended. Plumbing fixture fittings Prohibits use of copper, zinc, plating, coating and galvanizing except as speci- 5-6-43, 8 F. R, 5881. ing. 72085.
L-42„.„--- Schedule and trim. fied; prohibits use of metal for certain purposes; establishes general exceptions; 7-5-43 8 F. R. 5882. Plumbing and Heat-
V-a revo- Plumbing and heating.... supersedes Schedule V-a. ' 5-6-43 ing.
cation. Revokes the schedule, effective 7-5-43..............______________
L-142---„„ Amended... Metal doors, metal door Prohibits production except to fill designated types of orders, for fire protection 500 5-13-43 8 F. R. 6209. Building Materials. . S. L. Wingman,
L-178_______ Amended... frames, and shutters. purposes on AA-5 rated [orders, subject to specified conditions. 5-14-43 8F. R______ Consumer’s Durable 5794.
L-183-a.--- Amended... Film..,,________________,. Permits allocation of film jn emergencies; affords same privilege to class A news- 5-10-43 8 F. R. 6037. Goods. H. C. Hopper,
Electronic equipment..... reel producers as is shared by CJass A and B distributors. Radio and Radar.... 3639.
Broadens scope of order to cover additional types of equipment; adds reschedule j. S., Timmons,
ing provision. 71303.
Eliminates “portable conveyors" from restrictions and removes scheduling General Industrial O. R. Heller,
L-198....... Amended... Conveying machinery, etc. restrictions; requires AA-5 rating. 5-10-43 8 F. R. 6038.. ’ Equipment. 72336.
L-211_______ Schedule 3 Barbed wire, etc_______... Amends restrictions on barbed wire; revises List 1 to permit manufacture of 5-10-43 8 F. R. 6040, Steel________________ N.J, Froelich,
L-233....... Amended. Photographic .film and additional types wire fence. 1A, 3A, 5-13-43 8 F. R. 6210. Consumer’s Dur- 73940.
L-239_______ Amended... film base. Cancels preference ratings for film except AA-5 or higher assigned on PD-1A, 870. 5- 8-43 8 F. R. 6032, able Goods. H. O. Hopper,
L-247_______ Amended... Folding and set-up boxes.. 3A, 25A, or 870 where film is specifically mentioned on form. 5- 7-43, 8 F. R. 5984. Containers..;_______ 3639.
L-274.______ Amended___ Knit underwear, sweat Deletes “frozen food box” specifications,,,__________________________________ 5-15-43 8 F. R. 6107. Textile, Clothing, E, P, Ruf, 4602.
shirts, and T shirts, Changes title; restricts cutting of fabric except in conformity to specifications; 5-11-43 and Leather. J. F. Nields,
Men’s, women’s, children’s, exempts specified agencies. Textile, Clothing, 2808
infants’ hosiery. » Adds Schedule E. women’s full fashioned all-over cotton hosiery........______ and Leather. J. Shiremen, 2808.
L-278___ Steel pipe fittings; simpli- Limits manufacture to specified types- sizes, and specifications; prohibits 5- 8-43, >.....---- 8 F. R. 6028. Shipbuilding________
L-287_______ fication. manufacture of specified fittings. 7- 1-43 8 F.R. 5720.. General Industrial
L-299.,.____ Portable conveyors........ Restricts acceptance and delivery to approved orders; restricts manufacture 5-3-43, 8 F.R. 5885.. Equipment.
L-297._______ Western lumber.___ and delivery to specifications of Schedule A attached. 5-10-43 8 F. R.„.___ Lumber and Lum-
M-21-h.___ Japanese tissue............ Restrict? sale, shipment and delivery of restricted lumber as defined to specified 5-6-43, 8 F. R. 6032. ber Products.
Tool steel................. agencies or as specifically authorized; establishes certification and applica- 872 5-13-43 Pulp and Paper...^.
tion procedure; permits allocation. 5-13-43 Steel......_____.....
Requires filing of stock report by 5-20-43 of holders of more than 4 reams on 5-10-43
5-13-43; restricts respondents’ use, sale, processing, or delivery to 50 percent
of inventory on 5-13-43,
Amended___ Increases to 35 percent amount of Glass B high-speed tool steel to be purchased J. P. Larkin, 3591.
and melted; revises limits of melting of high-speed Class A and B,
M-63-a____ Amended... Imports of strategic ma- Bevises Schedule A__________________________________________________....______ 5-14-43 8 F. R...... Stockpiling and E. Browning, Jr^
terials. Transportation. 71601.
Goose and duck feathers-- Restricts processing, use, purchase and sales to specific military orders, or as 405 5-15-43, 8F. R...... Textile, Clothing, T. W. Foster,
M-102„.„ Amended... Cotton textiles for use for specifically authorized. 5-17-43 and Leather. 73075.
M-107..... Amended... Revises listing of constructions,_______.....___________________________________ 5-14-43 Textile, Clothing, J. M. Withrow,
bags. and Leather. 71609.
M-I26______ Amendment Iron and steel conserva- Eliminates conflict with L-142 (shutter-type ventilators) and L-284 (luggage),.. ---..... 5-13-43 8 F. R. 6209. Steel................. G. Leslie,
1. tion. 2630.
M-134______ Schedule I Industrial cloth or tape.... Revises listing of constructions,;_________________...__________________________ 5-14-43 Textile, Clothing, J. M. Withrow,
amended. and Leather. 71609.
M-134______ Schedule II Surgical dressings...___.... Revises listing of constructions___________ 5-14-43 8 F. R_______ Textile, Clothing, J. M. Withrow,
M-134...___ amended. Laminated phenolic prod- Revises listing of constructions................................................ 5-14-43 and Leather. 71609.
Schedule III ucts. Textile, Clothing, J. M. Withrow,
amended. and Leather. 71609.
M-175______ Amended; Ethyl cellulose____________ Establishes allocation control, subject to designated exceptions; establishes use 600,601 5-5-43, 8 F. R. 5836. Chemicals_____....... G. H. Peters
erratum certification procedure. 5-10-43 74670.
M-196______ Revocation- Soluble nitrocellulose...... Revokes the order...,.,..___________________________ 5-14-43 .......... 8 F. R_______ Chemicals.__________
M-199______ Amended Silver,............________ Amends restrictions on sale, delivery, purchase, receipt and manufacture on 5-10-43 8 F. R. 6034. Miscellaneous Min- W, S. Murphy,
M-199______ Interpreta- Silver_________________.... . / foreign and domestic, subject to specified exceptions. 5-10-42 8 F.R. 6036.. erals. 4878.
tion 1 Clarifies meaning of “put into process”; supersedes Int. No, 1 of 9-1-42-..
M-218______ Schedule I Dairy supplies,;_______... Revises listing of constructions,............................................... 5-14-43 8 F. R....., Textile, Clothing, J. M. Withrow,
amended. and Leather. 71609.
M-218______ Schedule II Crop cultivation fabrics... Revises listing of constructions_____,______..................................... 5-14-43 8 F. R...... Textile, Clothing, J. M. Withrdw,
amended. and Leather. 71609.
M-320______ Zein_____ Establishes allocation control, subject to specified exceptions; establishes 602 5-15-43 8 F. R....--- Chemicals_______....
P-131______ Amended... Officer’s uniforms,...... .. certification procedure; effective 6-1-43. 5-15-43 Textile, Clothing, M. J. Baum.
Assign? AA-3 and A-l-i ratings to orders for materials, subject to governing and Leather. 3860.
conditions; prohibits use of seconds or reject material; restricts sales.
May 19, 1943
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
339
War Agriculture ... >
Stabilization of Vegetable Markets Aim of War Food Administration *
Food Front at Home Gets Additional Attention As Army Plants Victory Gardens in Camps
With the 1943 crop of fresh vegetables beginning to move in seasonal abundance, the War Food Administration last week announced steps designed to help growers maintain favorable marketing conditions for their produce and provide for the most effective utilization of available supplies. At the same time the Department of Agriculture announced that the Army and Navy are lending a hand on the food front at home by planting hundreds of acres in victory gardens at training camps, hospitals, and other military establishments throughout the country, the War Food Administration said last week.
As a further step in the direction of making the most of the Nation’s feed resources, the WFA advised poultrymen not to make further expansions in commercial broiler production. This action was taken to supplement a previous statement of the War Food Administration which advised hog producers not to increase breeding for 1943 fall farrow-ings by more than 15 percent above the 1942 level.
Vegetable Supplies
In announcing the proposed steps for the stabilization of vegetable markets, WFA officials said that while fresh vegetables generally have been in short supply during the spring months, they should be in increasingly plentiful quantities as the summer season advances.
Consumer demand for fresh vegetables is heavy and should result in an outlet for a large production. It is possible, however, that producers will need assistance in moving some of the commodities during midseason harvest peaks, so that valuable foods will not be wasted.
When a fresh vegetable’ is in heavy supply, WFA will cooperate with grower, trade, and consumer groups in focusing attention on that particular product. Retailers will be asked to feature it in their stores and consumers will be urged to make full use of it while supplies are plentiful. This, it was pointed out, will help relieve the demand on products in shorter supply.
Carrots and snap beans are in large supply at the present time, and assistance has been given in moving these products from producing areas. Peas and tomatoes soon will be coming to market in greater quantities. In addition to these, it may be necessary to assist in the marketing of spinach, sweet corn, cabbage, and onions, and possibly some other crops, in order to prevent food waste.
Army Victory Gardens
At some Army camps, prisoners of war are being assigned to work in the gardens although much of the labor will be performed by men volunteering from the enlisted ranks. The large-scale garden projects, usually ranging from 30 to 60 acres, have been authorized by the War and Navy Departments. Seed is available from stock piles maintained by the Department of Agriculture. In addition to yielding many thousand tons of vegetables and permitting a greater variety of fresh vegetable rations for the men, the production of heavy truck crops at points of consumption also will relieve transportation facilities.
The Army has established a policy of not buying any farm machinery since it does not want to place extra demands upon critical materials needed by the Nation’s farmers. Work requiring farm machinery will be done by hiring and borrowing equipment from neighboring farmers. Many farmers already have volunteered to help inaugurate the gardens. It was pointed out that nearly every military base has tractors available which can be used for garden work and that in some cases, soldiers might use their “jeeps” for plowing.
Restriction Requested
The request that livestock and poultrymen not increase broiler production was made in light of Department of Agriculture feed surveys which indicate the necessity of beginning now to adjust livestock and poultry production to feed supplies.
Officials of the Department said that in view of the current and prospective bal
ance between feed and feed needs, it appears appropriate to avoid further expansion in commercial broiler production at this time. They also point out that the heaviest concentration of broiler production occurs in areas that have always been deficient in locally produced feed and will be even more reliant on feed imports to sustain expanded production.
Binders for Harvest
During the week the WFA also announced that farmers can expect to have reasonable supplies of hay rope, binder twine and other cordage for harvesting their 1943 crops.
A large part of all such supplies, however, is now being made from substitute materials and will require more careful handling than in the past. While it is believed that supplies will be adequate, farmers are cautioned to buy only in quantities they actually need for the harvesting season. They are also urged to conserve supplies they now have on hand to lighten the demand for new materials.
WFA officials in charge of production supply programs indicated that approximately 200 million pounds of binder twine will be available this year. This includes 100 million pounds of inventory and carry-over stocks from 1942 production and about 100 million pounds to be manufactured under a special indemnity payment program announced recently by the Department of Agriculture.
CCC STOCKS DOUBLE THOSE OF YEAR AGO
Commodity Credit Corporation loan and owned stocks totaled $2,495,000,000 as of March 31, 1943, as compared with $1,245,000,000 on the same date a year earlier. The increase was principally in foodstuffs purchased and ear-marked for lend-lease. Other increases included owned stocks of wheat, tobacco, soybeans, cotton linters, vegetable oils, naval stores, imported fats and oils, sugar, and tea.
Of the total the Corporation owned commodities having a book value of $1,714,000,000 this March 31, as compared with $623,000,000 a year earlier. Principal items in this category are commodities for lend-lease, wheat, cotton, tobacco, soybeans, sugar, and foreign fats and oils.. Nearly half of the total for this year consisted of commodities principally for lend-lease—$830,000,000, as compared with $51,000,000 in March 1942.
Commodity loans outstanding on March 31 totaled $781,000,000, as compared with $622,000,000 a year earlier.
540
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
May 19, 1943
Appointments, Resignations
HOYT SUCCEEDS COWLES IN OWI DOMESTIC POST
Palmer Hoyt, publisher of the Portland Oregonian, will succeed ' Gardner Cowles, Jr., about June 20 as domestic director of the Office of War Information, Director Elmer Davis announced last week. “We hate to lose Gardner Cowles from OWI,” Mr. Davis said, but “he has served a year and feels he must resign to give attention to his several publications.”
Appointment of J. B. Hutson and Roy F. Hendrickson as members of the executive staff of the War Pood Administration was announced last week. As associate administrator, Mr. Hutson will supervise food-production activities. In addition to his new duties, he will continue as president of the Commodity Credit Corporation. Mr. Hendrickson, as deputy administrator, will supervise work in the field of marketing services, distribution programs, and food procurement—the general line of activities carried on by the Food Distribution Administration, which he continues to head as director.
M. Lee Marshall, chairman of the board of directors of the Continental Baking Company, was also appointed a WFA deputy administrator. He will be in charge of programs relating to supplies, machinery, equipment, materials, and facilities used in producing and processing food. For the past seven months, Mr. Marshall has served as food consultant to WPB Chairman Nelson.
Samuel Botsford has been named information officer of the Office of Defense Transportation. He succeeds Bryant Putney, who has joined the United States Navy as a commissioned officer. Phelps D. Sample will move up to Mr. Botsford’s post as chief of the ODT News Section.
Appointment of Harold B. Fell, of Ardmore, Okla., as chairman of the Petroleum Industry Production Committee for the Midwestern States (District 2) was announced by Deputy Petroleum Administrator Davis.
Donald J. Sterling, consultant on newspaper and publishing industries to WPB Chairman Nelson, has resigned to return to his post as managing editor of thé Oregon Journal, Portland. Deputy director of the WPB Printing and Publishing Division, E. W. Palmer, also resigned to go on duty as a commissioned officer in the Adjutant General’s Office.
W. John Logan, director of the WPB Compliance Division, will succeed B. C.
SALVAGE DIVISION OFFERS BULLETIN
To determine whether a piece of material or equipment should be used in its present form or put into war production in the form of scrap, the Special Projects Salvage Branch of the Salvage Division, WPB, is publishing bimonthly the “Available Used Material and Equipment Bulletin.”
This publication, providing a ready guide for scrap determination, is distributed to approximately 3,000 Government procurement offices and contractors, including the services and other war agencies such as Lend-Lease, Board of Economic Warfare, etc., covering most of the market for war uses. If any material or equipment listed in this bulletin can be put to use by these agencies, they contact the owner for purchase, and the listing is terminated. If the material or equipment has not been sold within a stipulated period (usually 60 days) after listing, the regional office of the War Pró-duction Board takes every possible step to move the material as scrap.
One of the most puzzling problems in the national salvage program Jias been the determination of whether a piece of equipment can be put to immediate war use or whether it should be melted down as scrap. A great deal of equipment is borderline; that is, no one can, for certainty, decide if it can be put to use “as is.” The owner is usually anxious to have some guide as to the value of his property, and failure on the part of 3,000 war agency purchasers to ask for the equipment is a good indication that it cannot be used in the war effort.
Listing of materials in the “Available Used Materials and Equipment Bulletin” is possible only after investigation by the regional office of the WPB and routine reporting of the project has been made.
Heacock as director of the Distribution Bureau. The Bureau issues special and emergency priority ratings and provides for adherence to WPB policies regarding priorities and allocations.
The director of WPB Industry Advisory Committees announced the formation of the following committees during the past week: Regulators, Control Valves, and Liquid Level Controllers Industry; Napped Fabrics Industry; Differential-Type Flow Meter Industry; Marine Fittings Hardware Industry; Tackle Block Industry. A listing of the members of these committees will be found in press release WPB-3499, which may be obtained at the U. S. Information Center, 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, D. C.
Civil Service-Jobs A
WAR DEPARTMENT
ISSUES GUIDE
As an aid to operational efficiency and maximum Use of manpower, a new booklet has been published by the War Department explaining the Civil Service job classification system. The new booklet will serve as a guide in the employment of civilian war workers in the field establishments of the War Department. It was prepared under the direction of William H. Kushnick, Director of Civilian Personnel and Training. Copies may be obtained by writing to the Distribution Branch, Adjutant General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D. C.
Positions Announced
The Civil Service Commission last week listed positions for which persons are urgently needed. Information and application forms, as well as Civil/Serv-ice announcements, are available at first-or second-class post offices, or from the Commission’s offices. Persons using their * highest skills in war work should not apply for the following positions:
Nautical Scientist, $2,433, Civil Service Announcement 306.
Medical Guard Attendant, $1,970, Announcement 307.
Medical Technical Assistant, $2,433, Announcement 307.
Stenographers, $1,752 and $1,970 (see Commission’s local secretaries at first- or second-class post offices).
Typists, $1,560 and $1,752 (see Commission’s local secretaries at first- or second-class post offices).
Accountants, Auditors, $4,163 to $7,128, Announcement 296.
Engineering Draftsmen, $1,752 to $3,163, Announcement 283.
Graduate Nurses, $2,190, Announcement 269.
BENES TO SPEAK
The first radio address to the people of the United States by President Eduard Benes of Czechoslovakia will be heard on Saturday, May 22, from 3 to 3:30 p. m., Eastern War Time over CBS.
President Benes will talk on “The Future of Small European Nations” from a luncheon given by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations at the Palmer House. He has held a professorship at the University of Chicago since February 1939, after German pressure forced him into exile from his native land, as well as having been President of the wartime Czechoslovakian Government.
May 19, 1943
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
541
BOMBERS ACTIVE
OVER EUROPE
(Continued from page 523.)
But strategic bombing had not started or ended with the African theater. For months* the USAAF has been contributing to the steady Allied hammering of Hitler’s European factories, ports and shipping, complementing the RAF’s thundering night raids with our own daylight “precision bombing.”
Last week, our bombers delivered against Europe the heaviest American aerial blows of the entire war, raining destruction on Meaulte and St. Omer in northern France, on Kiel in Germany and Antwerp in Belgium, on Velsen in north Holland, and finally against the big German naval base at Emden.
Photographs taken of the Meaulte-Botez aircraft factory after the Flying Fortress raid showed widespread destruction, and crewmen of the Fortresses that attacked the St. Omer airbase said the attack on this base was one of the finest examples of high-altitude precision bombing yet achieved by the Americans in this theater. Friday’s raids against the U-boat yards at Kiel and the General Motors plant at Antwerp constituted, in number of bombers employed, the largest single day’s offensive by the Eighth Air Force. '
In Saturday’s raid on Emden, the Fortresses were not escorted by fighters but used their own guns against strong enemy fighter opposition. Pilots said the visibility was good and the bombers sowed incendiary bombs through the city “just like sowing grain on a wheat field.” The joint USAAF and Air Ministry communique called this the “largest forces of USAAF heavy bombers dispatched over Germany.”
Fight for Attu Raging
The fight for possession of Attu Island is still going on. Secretary of the Navy Knox late last week told a press conference that the American offensive is “going very satisfactorily.” Disclosing that this new North Pacific offensive was a joint Army-Navy operation. Secretary Knox said the Navy supplied the ships and the Army supplied the attacking forces. Marines were not used.
Attu, which is 172 nautical miles west of the strongly held Jap base at Kiska, Is the westernmost of the Aleutian Islands. By establishing themselves on Attu, the American forces would be able to cut off the supply lines to Kiska, perhaps as a prelude to a later attack on Kiska itself.
Official: War Releases . . .
This is a complete list of press releases issued by the Office of War Information from Sunday, May 9, through Saturday, May 15, Copies of these releases may be obtained at the U. S. Information Center, 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, D. C.
Office of War Information
FATS SALVAGE INCREASED for war-important glycerine. OWI-1744.
SOME PLANTS WORK SUNDAY for bottleneck-breaking, repair and maintenance. OWI-1803.
TUNISIA CAPTURE CREATES PROBLEM of administration of Italian population. OWI—1808.
WALLACE ADDRESS at “I Am an American Day” rally. OWI-1813.
RATION DATES. OWI-1789.
BLACK MARKET PICTOGRAPH. OWI-1710.
“I AM AMERICAN DAY” celebrated Sunday, May 16. OWI-1711.
ENGLAND’S FOOD SURVEYED. OWI-1742.
MAIL THEFT PRECAUTIONS URGED by Secret Service. OWI-1738.
DAVIS RECALLS NAZI BOOK-BURNING on tenth anniversary. OWI—1797.
BISHOPS’ PETITION calling on Reich to end persecution of religion made public. OWI-1799.
HOYT TO JOIN OWI, will succeed Gardner Cowles, Jr. OWI-1838.
VANDEBURG LEAVING OWI post as Deputy Director. OWI-1850.
LIBERTY BELL RINGS at celebration of “I Am an American Day.” OWI-1835. I
OWI GIVES significant facts on bituminous coal dispute. OWI-1831.
RELOCATION WORK REVIEWED by Director Meyer. OWI-1832.
JUSTICE MURPHY GREETS QUEZON on anniversary of his arrival In United States. OWI-1825.
Solid Fuels Administration
EAST COAL SHIPMENTS DROP sharply in week ended May 1. OWI-1801.
HOME COAL STORAGE URGED in effort to prevent fuel crisis next winter. OWI-1816.
. U. S. ENDS CONTROL AT SOME MINES, Solid Fuels Administrator Ickes announces. OWI-1843.
BITUMINOUS OUTPUT on Saturday, sixth day of miner’s week, in some instance's exceeded output on Friday. OWI-1818.
“COMPANY STORE" officials to discuss prices and action which might minimize cost of living of miners. OWI-1821.
MINE MANAGERS’ appointments confirmed. OWI-1823.
Alien Property Custodian
ALIEN PROPERTY PATENTS PUBLISHED. OWI-1809.
Inter-American Defense Board
WALLACE SPEAKS in off-the-record address. OWI-1806.
Office of Defense Transportation
ODT ISSUES CONSERVATION GUIDE. ODT—232.
RAILROAD PERSONNEL INVENTORY RECOMMENDED. ODT-297.
. TRAVEL LIMITATION URGED for Government employees, speakers. ODT-238.
COOPERATION of bulk suppliers and purchasers of petroleum products urged. ODT-235.
’ BOTSFORD GETS POST as ODT Information Officer. ODT-243.
RAILROAD PROBLEM of shortage of steel and other critical materials. ODT-246.
LAKE COAL TRAFFIC LIMITED for movement of war-essential iron ore. ODT-247.
PUERTO RICO RAILWAY CONTROLLED as result of labor dispute. ODT-248;
FURNITURE MART CANCELLATION ASKED. ODT-249.
FREIGHT PERMIT SYSTEM ADOPTED. ODT-250.
ODT URGES COAL PURCHASES now as safeguard against future shortages. ODT-241.
168 OIL BARGES SCHEDULED for operation on Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. ODT-242.
War Manpower Commission
WOMEN’S WAR JOBS LISTED by Women’s Advisory Committee. PM-4371.
LEAVES APPROVED to permit Industrial workers living on small farms to plant and harvest crops. PM-4381.
OCCUPATIONAL BULLETINS AMENDED. PM-4384.
WMC ANNOUNCES REGION IV PLAN for employment stabilization. PM-4385.
Office of Civilian Defense
CIVILIAN DEFENSE SERVICE BARS AUTHORIZED. OCD-24.
OKLAHOMA CIVILIAN DEFENSE workers rescued hundreds of persons from flood waters. OCD-27.
DOCTORS to assist Army temporarily to handle sudden influx of war casualties. OCD-22.
RAID PROTECTION FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN. OCD-21.
DEFENSE COUNCILS PRAISED for work in Victory Garden program. OCD-26.
PRESIDENT COMMENDS OCD on second anniversary of organization. OCD-28.
Department of Labor
WORK “SAFETY GUIDE” ISSUED. OWI-1819.
Federal Works Agency
CHECK SHQWS tendency to exceed 35-mile speed limit. OWI-1820.
National Housing Agency
WASHINGTON HOUSING PROGRESSES. OWI-1784.
FPHA LEASES 6,000 ACRES for temporary war housing. OWI-1805.
Petroleum Administration
OIL DISCOVERY FACILITATED by Preference Rating Order P-98-b. OWI-1836.
OIL REFINING ON QUOTA BASIS in Middle West. OWI-1846.
FELL TO HEAD PETROLEUM Production Committee for the Midwestern States. OWI-1842.
FARM “GAS” SUPPLY ASSURED. OWI-1833.
EAST COAST PETROLEUM SUPPLY falls to new seasonal low. OWI-1826.
COLLOIDAL FUEL USE POSSIBLE in Industrial boiler plants. OWI—1829.
Federal Security Agency
NEW CHILD CARE PLANS. OWI-1834.
Department of Interior
GILA IRRIGATION EXPEDITED to provide dust control for Yuma Army Air Base and increase food supplies in Southwest. OWI—1804.
OLIVINE, common mineral regarded as possible source of magnesium, known to exist in U. S., reports Bureau of Mines. OWI-1798.
Department of Agriculture
APPLE SIRUP REPLACES GLYCERINE in tobacco industry. AG-396.
(Continued on page 542)
542
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
May 19, 1943
Official War Releases
(Continued from page 541)
LATIN-AMERICAN ENGINEERS study this country’s rural electrification program. A&-897.
FEED CONSERVATION URGED. AG-399.
MARSHALL APPOINTED Deputy Administrator of WFA. AG-400f
CORN MEETING AT CHICAGO to discuss purchases and deliveries of corn. AG-401.
MOBILIZING FOOD RESOURCES. (Secretary of Agriculture Wickard’s address.) AG-403.
533,696 WHEAT LOANS MADE through April 30. AG-404.
47,473 CORN LOANS MADE through April
30. AG-405. ____
CCC ADJUSTS FEED PRICES for manufacturers who ship from surplus producing to Eastern and Southeastern States. AG-413.
BROILER EXPANSION NOT ADVISED for poultrymen. AG-407.
FULL DAIRY PRODUCTION URGED. AG-408.
TWINE AND ROPE ADEQUATE for harvesting 1943 crops. AG-409.
IMPORTED FARMERS’ HEALTH CHECKED by U. S. Public Health Service and WFA. AG-410. ____
COTTON LINTERS TO BE OFFERED for sale by Commodity Credit Corporation-AG—411.
NEW CHEESE-DRYING METHOD for lend-lease or other uses announced. AG—421.
WFA NAMES TWO ADMINISTRATORS— J. B. Hutson and Roy F. Hendrickson. AG-414.
SUGARCANE MINIMUMS ANNOUNCED for 1942-43 Puerto Rican crop. AG-417.
NEW YORK MILK ORDER AMENDED. AG—418.
EASTERN FARMERS AIDED in purchase of gasoline, fuel oil for tractors. AG-419.
1,589,081 COTTON LOANS REPORTED. AG-420.
BAKERY GOODS PRODUCTION INCREASES, Baking Industry Committee reports. AG-423.
WFA TO ASSIST VEGETABLE MARKETING. AG-425.
War Production Board
HEAT EQUIPMENT RATION authority granted to OPA. WPB-3505. '
MATERIAL PREFERENCE ALLOTMENT PLANS. WPB-3506.
CONTROLLED MATERIALS. Persons converting materials to other forms are not governed by inventory provisions of CMP Regulation 2. WPB-3507.
LOGAN GETS POST as Director of Distribution Bureau. WPB-3508.
RADAR EQUIPMENT producers encouraged to watch for changes in supplies of materials. WPB—3509.
2,167 TRUCKS RELEASED under rationing program in week ended May 8. WPB-3510.
PHENOLIC RESIN APPROVED for laminating solid wood parts for marine use. WPB-3511.
U. S. HAS TOOLS and capital equipment to build production to defeat Axis. WPB-3512.
CHEMICAL REPORT ISSUED. WPB-3513.
$24,945,682 IN CONSTRUCTION STOPPED during week ended May 7. WPB-3516.
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT RULE EASED. WPB—3501.
MILITARY RADIO STANDARDIZED. WPB—3502.
CENTRAL VALLEY CONSTRUCTION WORK RESUMED. WPB-3466.
ASCORBIC ACID CONTROL SIMPLIFIED. WPB-3480.
MOTION PICTURE AUTHORITY SET for problems related to production and. purchase
of 35 mm. projectors, sound systems, accessories. WPB-3481.
SILVER CONSERVATION AMENDMENT ISSUED. WPB-3482.
IDLE INVENTORY activities are speeding Idle and excessive goods Into direct war uses. WPB-3470.
FUNCTIONS OUTLINED for office of Donald D. Davis, Vice Çhairman for Operations. WPB-3484.
ISTLE RESTRICTIONS RELAXED to encourage use as substitute for hemp, manila, and agave. WPB-3485.
SHIRT-PACKING RESTRICTIONS LIFTED. WPB-3486.
WIRE FENCE PRODUCTION INCREASE
PERMITTED. WPB-3487. ___ ______
INVENTORY DETAILS INTERPRETED. WPB-3488.
POWER EQUIPMENT TRANSPORTATION RESTRICTED to orders rated AA-5 or higher. WPB—3489.
TRUCK TRAILER RULE AMENDED to encourage reassembling and rebuilding. WPB-3490.
PAPER BOX RESTRICTIONS REMOVED for packaging frozen foods. WPB-3491.
COTTON HOSIERY brought under control. WPB—3492.
CORRECTION
In the April 28th issue of Victory Bulletin (Volume 4, Number 17), under the summary of Official War Releases, it was announced that sportsmen’s kneeboots had been released from rationing on April 21. This was incorrect. The summary should have indicated that only over-the-knee olive drab, clay and khaki colored rubber boots—the kind worn in hunting and fishing—were released from the restrictions applying to men’s rubber boots and work shoes.
COPPER RECOVERY PROGRAM has allocated 197,000,000 pounds of Idle and excessive copper. WPB—3493.
97% OF CASKET REQUIREMENTS SATISFIED by new standard sizes. WPB-3494.
WPB URGES full-time schedules of work over May 30-31 and July 4-5 weekends. WPB-3495.
MOVIE SET COST CEILING REMOVED. Producers may file applications for materials under new plan. WPB-3496.
FIRE FIGHTERS get priorities for maintenance, repair, and operating supplies. WPB-8497.
TUNGSTEN STEEL RULES LIBERALIZED to save use of molybdenum. WPB-3498.
INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEES formed during past week. WPB-3499.
SCHOOLS URGED TO CONSERVE PAPER. WPB-3500.
PRISON LABOR CONTRIBUTES to war work. WPB-3503.
TYPEWRITER SPOOL CONSERVATION URGED. WPB-3504.
STEEL INVENTORY RULE changed for manufacturers of passenger automobiles or parts. WPB-3518.
SALVAGE BULLETIN, “Available Used Material and Equipment Bulletin,” published. WPB-3519.
PRODUCTION SCHEDULES RIGID. WPB-3520.
APRIL WAR EXPENDITURES INCREASE 3% over March. WPB-3521.
WARTIME ROLE OF PLASTICS TOLD at meeting of Society of the Hasties Industry. WPB-3522.
SHOE PRICING UNAFFECTED by modified definition of “Price Range.” WPB—3523.
MACHINE TOOL RULE TIGHTENED by two new tests. WPB-3524.
MAXIMUM FABRIC OUTPUT URGED upon Woolen and Worsted Industry Advisory Committee. WPB-3529.
SEVEN AIRPORTS FREED from stop-construction order. WPB-3530.
CORRECTION of press release WPB-3497.
WPB-3497-a.
RADAR PROGRESS. Development of electronic equipment. WPB-3527.
DUCK, GOOSE FEATHERS can be used only for sleeping bags for armed forces. WPB-3539.
Q. AND A. ON BRASS MILLS ISSUED. WPB-3545.
PAPER REGULATION AMENDED. WPB-3546.
PALMER RESIGNS POST as Deputy Director of Printing and Publishing Division. WPB-3547.
LIMIT ON PD-1A APPLICATIONS RAISED from $100 to $500. WPB-3548.
ALUMINUM PATTERN RULES ALTERED. WPB-3549.
RAYON YARDAGE INCREASE SOUGHT through simplification and standardization. WPB-3551.
NEW PHONE INSTALLATIONS RE-
STRICTED. WPB-3552. ___
WALL PAPER PATTERNS LIMITED. WPB-3553.
FILM PRIORITIES LIMITED. WPB-3540.
STERLING LEAVES POST. WPB-3541.
CMP REG 5 REVISED. WPB-3542.
WAAC UNIFORM MAKERS assigned an A-l-i rating. WPB-3554.
SNOW PLOW STANDARDS DISCUSSED by Industry Advisory Committee. WPB-3555.
NEW PUBLICATIONS FACE PAPER CUT. WPB-3556.
PRODUCTION SCHEDULING ORDER CLARIFIED. WPB-3557.
ALCOHOL PROTEIN ALLOCATED. WPB-3559.
WASTE PAPER NEED STRESSED. WPB-8560.
GENERAL IMPORTS ORDERS AMENDED. WPB—3561.
NELSON URGES MORE PULPWOOD PRODUCTION. WPB-3562.
BEDDING SUPPLY REPORT. WPB-3426.
NITROCELLULOSE RULE EASED. WPB-8525.
“SECRET WEAPON” (RADAR) EXPLAINED. WPB-3528.
PLANT CONVERSIONS STILL IN PROS-
PECT. WPB-3531. ___
JAPANESE TISSUE LIMITED for Army. WPB—3532.
GRAY CLOTH RULE CLARIFIED. WPB-3533.
BED TICKING INCREASE DISCUSSED by Industry Committee. WPB-3534.
CAMOUFLAGE NET INCREASE DISCUSSED. WPB—3535.
THREE COTTON RULES AMENDED.
WPB-3536.
BAKING PAN INCREASE POSSIBLE.
WPB-3537. -
CADMIUM USES INCREASING savs Industry Advisory Committee. WPB-3538.
METAL DOOR RESTRICTIONS EASED SLIGHTLY. WPB-3514.
VENTILATORS RULE REVISED. WPB-3515.
TOWEL, BATH MAT production to be increased through simplification plan. WPB-3517.
Office of Price .Administration
GLASS CONTAINER CEILINGS SET to reduce pressure on rising food costs. OPA-2435.
TIRE RATION ORDER EXPLAINED for truck operators. OPA-2436.
PIPE, FITTINGS, TRANSPORTATION PROVISIONS CHANGED. OPA-2450.
SERVICEMEN on leave for three days or more qualify for ration of gasoline. ? OPA-2462.
May 19, 1943
★ VICTORY BULLETIN ★
543
COSMETIC MAXIMUMS SET. OPA-2463.
GLYCERINE REGULATION REVISED to fit conditions in industry. OPA-T-849.
COPPER, SULPHATE PRICES SET when sold for use as agricultural insecticide. OPA-T-850.
BINDER TWINE FREIGHT RULE MODIFIED. OPA-T-851.
PRICES SET for roasted chicory in packages of one pound or less. OPA-2465.
HAM PRICES CUT BACK from one to three cents per pound. OPA-2478.
NEW MEAT CEILINGS effective Monday, May 17, in 10 zones throughout U. S. OPA-2479.
YARN CEILINGS restrictions apply to Gov-erninent agencies and persons who pay “war procurement” ceilings, OPA-2484.
SCREENING CEILINGS ADJUSTED so that consumers’ prices will remain at March 1942 levels. OPA-T-827.
DRIED EGG SALES RULE RETROACTIVE to March 6, 1943. OPA-T-843.
WAR GOODS PRICE ADJUSTMENTS CLARIFIED. OP A-T-844.
MEAT PRICING ADJUSTMENT ENDS for sales to war agencifes. OPA-T-845.
PRICES CONTROLLED for wooden agricultural containers, “shook.” OPA-T-847.
Q. AND A. ON how to get sugar for home canning. OPA-2456.
POTATOES DIFFERENTIAL REMOVED for selected seed potatoes.' OPA-2458.
PRICE ADJUSTMENT REPORTS no longer need be sworn to or affirmed. OPA-2459.
ALARM CLOCK PRICES SET. OPA-2469.
DIRECTORY of commodities and services published. OPA-2482.
CODFISH CEILINGS SET. OPA-2441.
OFFICERS’ UNIFORM PURCHASES get benefit of wartime economies. OPA-2444.
PRICE TAGS ON FOODSTUFFS PLANNED. OP A—2474.
MAPLE SYRUP PRICE CHANGES. OPA-T-830.
REEF DISCOUNT WAIVER EXTENDED for Government war procurement agencies. OPA—T-866.
COMMUNITY CEILINGS fact sheet. OPA-T-867.
GASOLINE RATIONING STRENGTHENED to assure fair and efficient enforcement. OPA-2483.
HAND TOOL SALES to United States and Allied Governments controlled. OPA-2486.
FARM BUTTER point values adjustable to avoid waste. OPA-2487.
COAL ADJUSTMENT RULE BROADENED for transportation costs. OPA-T-834.
COARSE PAPER MAXIMUMS SET. OPA-T-835.
WASTE PAPER processing charges controlled. OPA-T-836.
feed PRICE RULE to provide for imports of dry rendered tankage. OPA-T-837.
ASPHALT MARK-UPS SET on dollars-and-cents basis. OPA-T-840.
CANNING SUGAR for housewives. OPA-2454.
GROCERY MARK-UPS REVISED to facilitate community-wide dollars-and-cents ceilings. OPA-2460.
COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATOR PRICES REDUCED. OPA-2464.
CONVERSION of oil burning furnace to coal will not be requested in connection with next season’s domestic fuel oil rations. OPA-2468.
OPA SURVEY IN COAL AREAS reveals substantial violations of price regulations. OPA-2472.
PICNIC HAM PRICE INCREASED in Middle Atlantic and Northeastern States. OPA-2475.
POTATO PRICES SET for vegetable auctions. OPA-2476.
OPA LAUDS INJUNCTION issued against Mars Inc. OPA-2477.
CONTAINER DEALERS MEET. OPA-T-863.
SOAP UNDER SPECIFIC PRICES. OPA-2455.
MACHINE PARTS subject to machinery price regulation. OPA-2470. -
CRUDE OIL PRICE RELIEF GRANTED.
OPA-2491.
RAIL FREIGHT RATES TO BE CUT $350,-000,000. OPA-2493.
CIGARETTE CEILINGS PLANNED. OPA-2494.
SPECIFIC KOSHER MEAT PRICES SET. OPA—2495.
COOKING STOVES to be rationed. OPA-2500.
DELIVERY RULE ON BOILERS MODI-
FIED. OPA-T-859.
TOY PRICING MODIFIED. OPA-T-861.
CEILINGS hold ᵣ for summer seasonal lines—clothing, beachwear, rattan furniture, awnings and sun glasses. OPA-T-880.
PACKAGED DRUG INDUSTRY placed under separate price regulation. OPA-2467.
HOME CANNED FOODS DEFINED as distinguished from commercially canned products. OPA-2489.
PRICE EXEMPTIONS SPECIFIC as listed May 1. OPA-2490.
RATION BOOK 3 “TIME-TABLE.” OPA-2501.
NO “GAS” FOR SPORT FISHING in Eastern waters. OPA-2503.
RAYON HOSIERY RULE effective May 15. OPA-2504.
RATION STAMPS HANDLED WELL by food retailers. OPA-T-839.
CERTAIN BEEHIVE COKE PRICED. OPA-T—848.
MINE FREIGHT PRACTICES REVISED to avoid possible interruptions in Eastern operations . OPA-T-853.
“TIE-UP” ICE CREAM SALES FORBIDDEN. OPA—2502.
CERTAIN FOOD MARKUPS REVOKED.
OPA-2510.
LOCK SALES RECLASSIFIED. OPA-T-852.
LOG PRICING ADJUSTABLE. OPA-T-854.
MAHOGANY PLYWOOD EXEMPTED from price control. OPA-T-855.
SOYBEAN OIL RULE MODIFIED for substandard oil. OPA-T-856.
FLUID CREAM PRICES CHANGED. OPA-T-857 and OPA-T-858.
CERTAIN WOODS PRICED (yellow poplar, water tupelo and sweet gum logs). OPA-T-860.
ACCOMMODATION SALES REGULATED to expedite sales made in connection with war program. OPA-T-884.
CANNING SUGAR RATION PROCEDURE
CHANGED,. OPA-2521.
SHELL EGG PRICE ORDER AMENDED.
OPA-2522.
FARM EQUIPMENT PRICES ADJUSTABLE. OPA-T-865.
CAFFEINE PRICE RULING CHANGED for six high-cost producers. OPA-T-868.
CORN MARK-UPS ANNOUNCED for dry milled products in less than carload lots. OPA—T-869.
CHICKEN FEATHERS PRICE SET. OPA-T-896.
HARNESS PRODUCERS may appeal for price adjustment. OPA-T-878.
SUGAR PRICING METHOD ALTERED. OPA-T-898.
ALLOWANCE ADDED TO BEEF IN TIERCE SALES. OPA-T-899.
CANNED TUNA PRICES ROLLED BACK. OPA-2481.
WHOLESALE CANDY PRICES AMENDED.
OPA-2485.
FARM MEAT-SLAUGHTER RULE EASED.
OPA-2492.
TWO SHOE COMMITTEES FORMING. OPA-2507.
MEAT PRICES HELD DOWN for largest retail meat distributors. OPA-2513.
POMACE, SLUDGE PRODUCERS TO MEET. OPA-2517.
EAST MAINTAINS VITAL TRAFFIC despite petroleum and rubber crisis. OPA-2518.
COAL PRICES SET in District No. 13. OPA-2519.
SALTED BUTTER PRICE DIFFERENTIAL SET. OPA-2480.
Selective Service...
Occupational Guides Amended by Bureau
Several New Activities
Listed As Essential
Amendment of three Selective Service occupational bulletins, issued to guide local boards when considering occupational classification of registrants, was announced last Week by the Selective Service Bureau of the War Manpower Commission.
The bulletins pertain to production of leather products, production of pulp, paper, and materials for packing and shipping products, and communication services, all of which heretofore have been designated as essential activities.
The bulletin on production of leather products, designated as Activity and Occupation Bulletin No. 19, which previously listed production of all shoes as essential, has been revised to include the production of shoes for military and rationed use. This amendment applies not only to the consideration of registrants engaged in the shoe industry in connection with Selective Service occupational deferment, but also extends coverage under WMC essential activities definitions as they affect transfers of-workers in the shoe industry. The latter hitherto had been limited to military and work shoes.
The bulletin on production of pulp, paper, and materials for packing and shipping products now lists as essential activities: production of pulp, made from pulpwood and other substances; certain types of paper stock and paperboard; various converted products from paper and paperboard; and other materials for shipping and preserving essential products.
In the bulletin on Communication Services, designated as Activity and Occupation Bulletin No. 29, motion picture film processing is named as an essential activity.
WORK ON HOLIDAYS SUGGESTED BY WPB
Full-time regular schedules of work in essential war industries over the May SO-31 and July 4-5 week ends were called for last week by War Production Board Chairman Nelson in a statement urging that wherever feasible the traditional civic observances of Memorial Day and Independence Day should be held on Sunday.
544
if VICTORY BULLETIN ★
May 19, 1943
Nazis Systematically Loot Banks
In Conquered Lands, OWI Reports
Monopoly Geared to Withstand Change
Even in German Political Set-Up
A report of Nazi banking methods, released by the Office of War Information this week, reveals that virtually the entire financial resources of Europe are now funneled into the Reichsbank, the central national bank of issue in Nazi Germany, and a half-dozen private banks in Berlin. There is hardly a bank left in Nazi-controlled Europe which Is not subsidiary to the German banking system.
The six German banks which exercise major control over private banking in Europe are: Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Commerzbank, Berliner Handels-gesellschaft, Reichskredit-Gesellschaft, and Bank der Deutschen Arbeit.
The banking maneuvers of the German financiers are a major part of the Nazi technique of plunder^ The Board of Economic Warfare recently estimated Nazi spoils from conquered countries to have reached $36,000,000,000 by the end of 1941.
These maneuvers follow established legal procedures but are carried out as ruthlessly as the terror itself. These legal methods include: Acquiring share holdings, creating companies of mixed German and native ownership, manipulating credit and clearing arrangements, cartelizations and “working agreements.”
Freeze Credits
Chiefly the Nazis have obtained control over the resources of Europe by reaching over and above all business to get a monopolistic grasp on the pursestrings of industry. With the banks of conquered nations in their hands, Nazi plutocrats hold power of life and death over Europe’s business. They direct the flow of money to Nazi-controlled or Quisling enterprises; or they freeze off capital and credit from business houses that refuse to “cooperate.” Furthermore, European banks normally control industrial enterprises through share ownership; thus, control of a bank means operating control of an industry.
The looting of the banks reaches down to every small depositor, every small shareholder. Nazi authorities have followed up each conquest of a nation by ordering all inhabitants to report their holdings in foreign currencies, securities, bills, checks and participation in foreign
companies, including banks. These are ordered transferred into the national bank of the country. This bank is invariably placed under the German Reichsbank.
The Nazi authorities have also demanded that all safety deposit boxes be opened for examination by a Nazi representative. Anything of value to the looters is drawn into the same financial current to Berlin.
Interlocking Directorates
The men who own this vast financial empire represent an alliance of Nazi party bosses, German industrialists, and a few Quisling collaborationists. Many are names almost totally unknown to the general public outside of Germany. Th^ same names appear repeatedly on the directorates of leading banks and Industrial concerns; in some cases these same men hold high office in the Nazi Party.,
Most of the bankers are the men who financed Hitler in the early days'of the Nazi Party. Hitler is now paying them off with the spoils of Europe.
The national banks of occupied countries are invariably put under the direct
control and supervision of the Reichsbank, the national bank of Germany. The usual method is to appoint a Reichsbank agent to “supervise” the subject bank of issue. All other banks in the occupied country then become free game for the private banks of Germany.
This report covers only one aspect of the elaborate machinery, by which Hitler’s “new order” is carving out a plutocratic empire of unparalleled dimensions In Europe. The full story would show the Nazi monopoly operating in all branches of European industry, trade, and finance.
Could Retain Hold
The Nazi banking system is expected to present one of the most difficult problems for disentanglement after the defeat of Hitler, for it is geared to withstand any change in political leadership in Germany. Even though Hitler were deposed, this same group of German bankers could retain its grip on the economy of Europe. In time this monopoly would reproduce the conditions which brought about Nazism before. Victory over Nazism cannot be complete until this hidden structure of power is destroyed along with the Nazi party itself.
The material in this report was assembled by OWI analysts from data obtained by the United Nations Information Office, from earlier reports of the Board of Economic Warfare, and from reports in the European press.
“According to plan, we were supposed to shake hands with Rommel at Afghanistan’s border at 3 o’clock this afternoon.”
—Mats available.
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1943