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39™ A N N U A L

REPORT
of the Secretary
of Commerce

U N IT E D S T A T E S
G O V E R N M E N T P R I N T I N G O F F IC E
W A S H IN G T O N : 1 9 5 1

Letter of Transmittal
D epa rtm en t of C om m erce,
O f f ic e o f t h e S e c r e t a r y ,

Washington, December 20, 1951..
S ir s : Submitted herewith to the Congress is the Annual
Report of the Secretary of Commerce for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1951. The opening section presents a general
description and interpretation of business and economic de­
velopments of the period. This is followed by summary
reports of principal activities in the Department’s several
bureaus and agencies during the year.
Respectfully,

Secretary of Commerce.
T h e V ic e P r e s id e n t .
T h e S p e a k e r o f t h e H o u s e o f R e p r e s e n t a t iv e s .

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office,
W ashington 25, D. C.

ii

-

Price 30 cents (paper cover)

CONTENTS
PA G E

Officials of the Departm ent...................................................................
The National Economy in Fiscal 1951................................................

iv
1

Summary of the Year’s Activity
Office of the Secretary: Advisory and Staff Offices:
Business Advisory Council...........................................................
Office of the Solicitor...................................................................
Office of Program Planning........................................................
Office of Publications...................................................................
Office of Budget and M anagement............................................
Office of Personnel Administration............................................
Office of Administrative Services...............................................
Advisor on Negro Affairs.............................................................
Bureau of the Census...........................
Civil Aeronautics Administration . .......................................................
Coast and Geodetic Survey. . ...........•. ................................................
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce......................................
Office of Business Economics......................................................
Office of Industry and Commerce.............................................
Office of International T rade.....................................................
Office of Field Service.................................................................
Industry Evaluation Board...................................................................
Inland Waterways Corporation............................................................
Maritime Administration and Federal Maritime Board...................
National Production Authority............................................................
Patent Office...........................................................................................
Bureau of Public Roads.........................................................................
National Bureau of Standards..............................................................
Office of Technical Services..................................................................
Office of the Under Secretary for Transportation............................
Weather Bureau.....................................................................................

iii

11
12
14r
15
17
21
30
33
33
40
47
51
51
54
57
64
65
66
67
72
79
85
86
95
96
98

OFFICIALS OF THE DEPARTMENT
As of June 30, 1951, Except as Otherwise Indicated

Secretary of Commerce___________________ C h a r l e s S a w y e r .
Under Secretary________________________ I7acancy.
Under Secretary for Transportation------------- D e l o s W. R e n t z e l .1
Assistant Secretary for International Affairs----R. C. M i l l e r (Acting).2
Assistant Secretary for Domestic Affairs-------- T h o m a s W. S. D a v is .
Assistant Secretary for Administration---------- C l a r e n c e H. O s t h a g e n .
S o l i c i t o r _______________________________ C. D ic k e r m a n W i l l ia m s .
STAFF OFFICES

Director,
Director,
Director,
Director,
Director,
Director,

Office of Program Planning-------- W il l ia m H. S h a w .
Office of Publications------------------- D o n a l d R. B u r g e s s .
Office of Budget and M anagement.- F r a n c is R. C a w l e y .
Office of Personnel Administration._ O l iv e r C . S h o r t .
Office of Administrative Services----- G er a ld R y a n .
Office of Security Control------------- N e w m a n S m i t h .
BUREAUS AND AGENCIES OF THE DEPARTMENT

Director, Bureau of the Census------------------- R o y V. P e e l .
Administrator of Civil Aeronautics-------------- C. F. H o r n e .
Director, Coast and Geodetic Survey------------- R. F. A. S t u d d s .
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce:
Director, Office of Business Economics----M. J o s e p h M e e h a n .
Director, Office of Industry and Com- H. B. M c C o y .
merce.
Director, Office o f International Trade L o r in g K. M a c y .3
Director, Office of Field Service----------- C a r l t o n H a y w a r d .
Chairman, Industry Evaluation Board---------- K u r t E. R o s in g e r .
Inland Waterways Corporation:
President__________________________ A. C. I n g e r s o l l , J r.4
Chairman of the Board----------------------- S o u t h T r im b l e , J r.
Chairman, Federal Maritime Board, and E d w a rd L. C o c h r a n e .
Maritime Administrator.
Administrator, National Production Authority. M a n l y F l e i s c h m a n n .
Commissioner of Patents --------------------------------- J o h n A. M a r z a l l .
Commissioner of Public Roads------------------- T h o m a s H. M ac D o n a l d .
Director, National Bureau of Standards-------- E d w a rd U. C o n d o n .5
Director, Office of Technical Services----------- J o h n C. G r e e n .
Chief, Weather Bureau----------------------------- F- W . R e ic h e l d e r f e r .
1 Resigned Nov. 20, 1951.
2 John T. Schneider nom inated as Assistant Secretary on O ct. 19, 1951.
3 Acting D irector until O ct. 30, 1951; appointed D irector on th a t day.
4 Resigned Septem ber 25, 1951. W illiam G. O liphant is Acting President.
5 Resigned September 30, 1951. D r. A. V. Astin is Acting D irector.
IV

3 9 T H A N N U A L R EPO R T OF T H E SECRETARY
OF COMMERCE

The National Economy
in Fiscal 1951
T H E fiscal year 1951 was characterized by sustained economic expansion
based primarily on defense preparations. As the year began, only a few
days after the start of hostilities in Korea, it became clear to all that our
military strength had to be rebuilt quickly to meet the threat of Communist
aggression. During the year the United States more than doubled its
Armed Forces and provided the matériel to prosecute the Korean campaign.
It initiated a greatly enlarged program to produce armaments and made a
substantial beginning on an even more formidable program to provide
the industrial base required in the event a full-scale war is thrust upon
the country.
In the fiscal year, $33 billion worth of orders for military equipment
and construction were placed. On the strength of these orders preparations
were made for mass production of many defense items. These preparations
involved substantial additions to mining and manufacturing capacity,
including the reactivation of more than 300 plants built by the Government
during World War II and subsequently retained as industrial reserve.
The total military program, including funds unobligated at the time of
Korea, new authorizations during the year, and those under active con­
sideration, was approaching $100 billion by the close of the fiscal year.
Along with defense preparations the American economy was able also
in fiscal 1951 to provide a higher volume of consumption, to support an
extraordinary rate of private capital formation, and to continue, at a
reduced rate as needs lessened with economic improvement abroad, aid
to Europe and other areas.
These accomplishments were possible because of a rise of more than
one-tenth from the preceding fiscal year in total production, as measured
by the gross national product in constant dollars. This expansion resulted
from an increase in the labor force (including the Armed Forces), from
a reduction of 1,500,000 in the average number unemployed, from

1

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A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

moderately lengthened working hours, from expansion and fuller utilization
of facilities, and from continuing technical progress.
In addition to increased total production, the advance in civilian living
standards reflected the fact that the armament programs in their initial
stages absorbed only a moderately increasing proportion of national re­
sources until late in the fiscal year. By the fourth quarter military pur­
chases absorbed more than half of the quarterly increase in total production.
In the coming year they are scheduled to increase more than total output
can be expected to expand.
Federal defense purchases are scheduled to rise to one-fifth of the gross
national product by the end of fiscal 1952—as compared to one-tenth at
the end of fiscal 1951 and less than one-twentieth before Korea. With
much of the slack which permits rapid expansion of production eliminated
from the economy, by the end of the fiscal year the time was approaching
when defense goals could be achieved only with some curtailment in output
for civilian use. Actions already taken are reducing nondefense output
in a wide variety of metal-using industries and construction.
Trend in Economic Indicators Dominated by Defense Program
The defense program was imposed on an economy already operating
at a peacetime peak. In the final quarter of fiscal 1950, national pro­
duction had advanced to a new record postwar level.
The outbreak of hostilities on June 25, 1950, occurred at a time when
recovery from the mild 1949 business recession was still proceeding, with
the outlook then for further expansion. Private demand of both business
enterprises and individual consumers was strong and rising, production was
advancing, and prices were moving upward. Unemployment, at about
3,300,000 or roughly 5 percent of the labor force, had been reduced but
still afforded a source of additional workers.
The magnitude of economic expansion during the year is summarized
by the fact that gross national product in fiscal 1951 amounted to $308
billion, as compared with $263 billion in fiscal 1950. About three-fifths
of this 17 percent advance represented increased output of finished goods
and services while the remainder reflected higher prices. By the last
quarter of fiscal 1951 the gross national product had reached an annual
rate of $326 billion.
During the fiscal year the following major developments took place in
the disposition of the gross national product:
(1)
National defense expenditures (including atomic energy as well as
foreign military assistance outlays and adjusted for comparison with
national production) advanced at an accelerating pace from an annual
rate of $12.5 billion in the last quarter of fiscal 1950 to $33 billion in
the last quarter of fiscal 1951. At first, increases were largely for expendi­
tures on the Armed Forces, on capacity expansion, and on the procurement

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

3

of civilian-type goods, but by the end of the period expanded deliveries of
military hard goods were becoming increasingly important. For the year
as a whole deliveries of finished military goods totaled about $9 billion,
but by July 1, 1951, the rate at which war matériel was being completed
had increased to three times the pre-Korean figure.
(2) Nondefense purchases of goods and services by the Federal Govern­
ment dropped from an $8.5 billion to a $5.5 billion annual rate during the
same period. This reduction was due chiefly to smaller outlays for farm
price support programs and foreign economic aid. However, State and
local government purchases advanced from a $19 billion rate to over $21
billion.
(3) Business acquisitions of producers’ durable equipment and private
nonresidential construction activity advanced throughout the fiscal year.
In its last quarter they were at an annual rate of $38 billion as compared
with $30 billion a year earlier. This change resulted from price increases,
the needs of the defense program, and the continuing strong demand for
facilities of a nondefense character. Nondefense demand could be only
partially met, however, as a result of materials supply limitations. The
magnitude of the expansion in industrial facilities still in process may be
seen in the fact that by the end of the fiscal year the machine tool industry
had an order backlog for more than 20 months’ production—higher than at
any time during World War II.
(4) Residential construction reached a peak annual rate of nearly $14
billion in the first quarter of the fiscal year and thereafter turned downward.
By the end of the year the value of such construction had fallen to an annual
rate under $11 billion, as against over $12 billion a year earlier, despite
substantially higher construction costs. The downturn is largely attributable
to the much less favorable credit terms available to prospective buyers of
new housing as a result of Regulation X and the tightening of the private
mortgage market.
In combination, these four basic types of expenditure, together with the
small item of net foreign investment, advanced at an annual rate of $4
billion in the first quarter of the fiscal year and $8 billion in each quarter
thereafter. Their direct effect, together with the indirect influence they
exerted upon consumer demand by swelling personal income, and upon
business demand by encouraging inventory accumulation of nearly $9
billion during the year despite a draft on inventories in the first quarter,
was to exert a more or less steady upward pressure upon production and
prices throughout the fiscal year. Other forces intervened, however, to
introduce an irregular character to the timing of price movements and, to
a much smaller extent, of production changes. The most important of
these forces were anticipatory private buying and Federal Government
actions to check inflation.

4

A N N U A L REPO RT OF T H E

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Need for Facilities Expansion
The defense program required greatly increased capacity to produce basic
materials as well as the building and equipment of new factories to turn
out end-products. Plans to expand our output of basic minerals and metals
were rapidly formulated and work begun, aided by the special provisions
for rapid tax amortization of defense facilities authorized by the Revenue
Act of 1950. Steel capacity increased more than 5 percent during the year
with a much larger expansion scheduled for fiscal 1952. The total steel
expansion program now under way will involve an expenditure of nearly $2
billion. Facilities for producing more steel will require more coke, scrap,
and iron ore. Intensive efforts are being made to insure these supplies.
Primary aluminum production increased nearly 12 percent from June
1950 to June 1951 with capacity expansions now in progress to nearly double
the pre-Korean output. This program will require more than 1.5 million
kilowatts of additional electric power generating capacity.
Supplies of copper and of ferro-alloys will be more difficult to increase;
hence military needs must be met by tighter restrictions on less essential
products. In these materials we depend heavily on imports and on the
use of depleted or low-grade reserves in this country.
The extent to which our defense program has concentrated on enlarging
capacity to produce basic materials may be seen in the statistics compiled
from certificates of necessity covering accelerated tax amortization. From
the start of this program in October 1950 through July 16, 1951, certificates
covering new facilities to cost nearly $8.4 billion had been approved. Nearly
two-thirds of this total, or $5.4 billion, was for facilities to produce more
basic materials such as steel, aluminum, chemicals, and petroleum. Ex­
panded transportation and other public utility facilities to cost about $1.9
billion along with new capacity to manufacture finished products to cost $1.1
billion had been approved for special tax treatment.
Anticipatory Buying Influences Price Movements
The fiscal year opened with a brief outburst of heavy consumer buying of
nondurable goods of wide variety, and a more sustained drive—motivated
by fear both of shortages and of further price advances—to acquire many
types of durable and semidurable goods. Seeing their stocks of many items
reduced by the buying wave, and themselves foreseeing higher prices and
possible shortages, businessmen at almost all levels of production joined
in a buying outburst to replenish or build up inventories and to place orders
for future delivery. Buying pressure, particularly at the consumer level,
abated somewhat in the fall months but was resumed again when the inter­
vention of the Chinese in Korea darkened the outlook for peace.
The first quarter buying wave drew down business inventories which in
the previous quarter had been increasing at an annual rate of $5 billion;
thereafter inventories again expanded in each of the three remaining quar­

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

5

ters at substantial annual rates of $11.8 billion, $9.3 billion, and $14.4 bil­
lion, respectively. These inventory gains reflected not only restocking at
wholesale and retail levels, but also expansion of manufacturing work in
process and larger holdings of raw materials to support increased production.
As a result of heavy demand, one of the sharpest price advances ever
experienced by this country took place during the period. From June to
February the wholesale price index advanced 17 percent, with prices of
some sensitive materials more than doubling. The consumers’ price index
moved up 8 percent. These inflationary price movements necessitated the
imposition of direct price and wage controls in January 1951.
In March came a marked reduction in consumer spending to a level
which changed but little for the remainder of the fiscal year. Much of the
decline occurred in durable goods, but nondurable purchases were also
affected to a lesser degree.
A number of influences contributed to this lowering of consumer demand.
The fact that few shortages had actually appeared did much to alleviate
earlier fears, and the urgent buying had satiated part of the market. Gen­
eral price controls provided some assurance against further sharp price
increases. The military outlook in Korea again improved. Thus the spec­
ulative motive underlying the buying wave was largely removed.
The spurt in expenditure following Korea had drawn on demand which
would otherwise have been exercised later in the year. Many individuals
had completed their programs for acquiring durable goods, had exhausted
their readily available liquid assets, or had incurred as much indebtedness
as was prudent. Consumer holdings of some nondurable commodities were
also abnormally high. Regulation W, instituted to curtail further expan­
sion of installment credit, was also a factor, as was the falling rate of hous­
ing completions which dampened the demand for furniture and other com­
modities required to furnish new living quarters.
The reduction in consumer buying was beyond the expectations of busi­
nessmen. Their stocks of many goods—chiefly durables and textile
products—backed up and trade firms reduced their orders from producers
in an effort to bring inventories into line with the current rate of sales.
Production in the lines most affected was curtailed—in some cases very
sharply—but these reductions, which were from exceptionally high levels,
were offset in the total production picture by the advancing military pro­
gram and by the continued expansion in expenditure on producers’ durable
goods—factories, power plants, railroad rolling stock, etc.
The more striking effect of the abatement in consumer buying was upon
prices. The wholesale price index ceased to advance after February and
reductions—some quite substantial—appeared in many individual quota­
tions. The consumers’ price index did not turn downward, but its rise
from February to June was limited to 1 percent. Thus, the fiscal year,

6

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

which had begun with prices moving upward at a rate which menaced
economic stability, ended with prices on a plateau.
Two incidental effects of the slackening of consumer buying should be
mentioned. First, with disposable personal income continuing to advance,
the rate of personal savings in the last quarter of fiscal 1951 was unusually
high for the postwar period. In this quarter it amounted to 9 percent of
disposable personal income. Hence the condition which would at some
future date readily permit another sharp rise in consumer spending, in excess
of any advance in income, was present. Second, the business inventories
accumulated during this period added to the supplies available to meet con­
sumer requirements should defense needs force production of consumer
goods below the level of demand.
Higher Costs and Incomes
Attention has been focused on demand elements in the discussion of pro­
duction and prices because they were most influential in determining the
immediate course of events. However, costs—particularly wage and inter­
est rates, and costs of imported raw materials—also advanced during the
year, so that, despite higher productivity, by the end of the fiscal year the
economy was operating with a substantially increased cost structure which
would limit the possibility of price reductions in the future.
Moreover, although average hourly earnings in manufacturing as a whole
had risen a little more than consumers’ prices, many groups both within and
outside manufacturing had not secured an equivalent increase. Pressure
to equal or exceed the rise in living costs was still pulling up wage rates and
promised to continue to do so. As the year ended, upward pressure upon
prices from the cost side promised to be of continuing importance in efforts
to prevent inflationary trends.
The higher unit rates of return to labor and capital resources, together
with increases in the amounts of these resources available and their fuller
utilization, advanced the national income from $220 billion for fiscal 1950
to $263 billion for fiscal 1951. Compensation of employees, corporate
profits, proprietors’ income, rental income, and interest all showed sizable
increases over the year. Disposable personal income—the income remain­
ing to consumers after payment of direct taxes—moved up 12 percent to
$214 billion.
Financial Developments
The defense program had other financial repercussions that greatly mag­
nified the threat of inflation. Although national security expenditures of
the Federal Government during the year increased fairly slowly, due pri­
marily to the long time required to produce complicated military endproducts, total Federal Government expenditures during the year (budget
basis) nevertheless rose by about $4.5 billion in spite of the curtailment of

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

7

many nondefense programs. Receipts, however, increased even more rap­
idly—due largely to the impact of progressive tax rates upon rising levels of
individual and corporate income. Whereas in the fiscal year 1950 the Fed­
eral Government had operated with a deficit of more than $3 billion, in 1951
it closed the year with a surplus of more than $3.5 billion. By the year end,
however, the Treasury was operating with a substantial deficit and faced the
prospect that this deficit would continue to grow in fiscal year 1952.
In the months just before Korea it was possible for Congress to consider
making limited reductions in excise taxes but after the outbreak of hostilities
the 1950 tax bill, which had already passed the House, was rapidly trans­
formed into legislation raising income and profits taxes to new peacetime
highs. At the close of calendar 1950 the excess profits tax was reimposed
retroactively to July 1, 1950; as the fiscal year closed Congress was consider­
ing a new revenue measure to produce the highest revenue yield in our
history.
Bank loans during the year increased more than $12 billion despite the
voluntary restraint exercised by the banks themselves on credit creation.
Mortgage debt on one to four family homes rose $7.7 billion during the year
while outstanding consumer credit increased more than $1.5 billion. Loans
by Federal Government credit agencies also increased by more than $1
billion. Although much of the increase in business loans was required to
finance defense production, there was a considerable increase in credit for
less essential purposes during the year also.
Foreign Commerce Expands
The foreign commerce of the United States expanded even more sharply
than domestic trade in fiscal 1951.
Merchandise imports increased to meet not only rising security require­
ments, including those for Government stockpiles, but also increased civilian
demand. As a result of both price rises and increased volume, the value of
merchandise purchases abroad rose from $7.5 billion in fiscal year 1950 to
$11.5 billion in fiscal year 1951. In addition to increased dollar receipts
from merchandise sales to the United States, foreign countries were able
to raise the amount of dollars at their disposal by $300 million through
performance of various services, largely to the Armed Forces in the Far
East and to United States tourists in Europe. Foreign countries also ob­
tained $1.1 billion more than during the preceding year from United States
investments abroad.
The greatly improved dollar receipts of foreign countries permitted eco­
nomic aid, including loans, to be reduced from over $4.5 billion in fiscal year
1950 to just over $3 billion in fiscal year 1951. Military aid, however, in­
creased from a small amount in fiscal 1950 to $1.2 billion.
With more dollars available, it was also possible for many foreign coun­
tries to relax their import restrictions. The pent-up demand for United

8

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

States goods and services thus released was greatly augmented by the desire
of people in foreign countries to purchase in anticipation of future scarci­
ties—:the same motives which stimulated the demand in the United States
for domestic and imported goods. An equally important spur to United
States exports was the rising requirement abroad for foodstuffs and fuels.
The former resulted from insufficient harvests in Canada, eastern Europe,
and India, the latter from the increased economic activity in western Eu­
rope. As a result of these factors, total exports of goods and services rose
from $14 billion in fiscal 1950 to over $17 billion in fiscal 1951. By the last
quarter of the year the annual rate of total exports had reached $21 billion.
Because the rise in their purchases from the United States lagged in com­
parison to the rise in dollar receipts, foreign countries during the fiscal year
1951 were able to accumulate approximately $3.5 billion in gold and dollar
assets, in addition to approximately $500 million which they obtained from
new gold production. These accumulations reached a peak early in fiscal
1951 and had almost ceased by its last quarter. Similar accumulations dur­
ing the preceding fiscal year amounted to only $1.5 billion.
The rise in the international transactions during the year reflects mainly
the preparations for, and the anticipations of, the increase in armaments
production throughout the world rather than the actual production of
armaments. As armaments absorb a rising part of the production in the
North Atlantic countries, their nonmilitary international transactions, due
to scarcities of goods available for exchange, may be expected to decline
again.
Commerce Department Programs Geared to Defense
The defense effort required prompt realinement of Government programs,
including that of the Department of Commerce. As soon as it was apparent
that the President would request control powers and would delegate some
of them to Commerce, a staff unit was organized using the talents and
experience of Commerce personnel who had worked in World War II
agencies. Consequently when the Defense Production Act was passed in
September and the Department was called on to assume major responsi­
bility for controls over materials required for the defense program, it was
possible to begin operations immediately. The National Production
Authority, created to handle the Department’s new defense responsibilities,
moved quickly to limit business inventories, to conserve basic materials for
defense needs, and to expedite delivery on Government orders.
Operating first with a simple priority system plus a growing network of
material orders applicable to particular industries, production controls kept
pace with the expanding military program. By the end of the year it be­
came necessary to supersede this priority system with a controlled materials
plan, providing for the distribution of steel, copper, and aluminum. This
plan became effective for producers of all products except consumer durable

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

9

goods in the first quarter of fiscal 1952 and fully effective in the second
quarter.
Because our defense planning called for enlarging with all possible speed
our facilities to produce basic materials, construction controls as well as
material controls were needed. In October 1950, the National Production
Authority prohibited building for recreational, amusement, or entertainment
purposes, and in January 1951 required that authorization be obtained be­
fore new private commercial construction might be started. In May the
requirement that authorization must be obtained to start construction was
extended to projects requiring more than 25 tons of structural steel, certain
multi-unit residential structures, and single family dwellings costing over
$35,000 (later modified to 2,500 square feet). On July 1, use of copper
and aluminum for decorative purposes in construction was prohibited, while
on October 1, 1951, the controlled materials plan was extended to
construction.
Since its inception the National Production Authority has given special
attention to using the resources of small business to the fullest possible extent.
Its Office of Small Business, built from a small existing staff of Bureau of
Foreign and Domestic Commerce personnel, has helped small firms to
participate in Government contracts, to obtain materials and equipment,
and has provided technical and managerial assistance.
The emergency revived and strengthened the need for export controls;
Congress expressed confidence in the administration of these controls by
voting unanimously to continue their authorization through the fiscal year
1953. Exports to North Korea were promptly embargoed while shipments
to China, either direct or through feeder areas, were halted. All shipments
to countries in the Soviet bloc have been put under direct license control.
Those agencies of the Department concerned with transportation assumed
increased responsibilities flowing from defense preparations. The Mari­
time Administration moved to meet increased shipping requirements by
withdrawing more than 500 vessels from the reserve fleet and by staffing
the National Shipping Authority, created by Executive order of February
23, 1951, to charter or operate reserve fleet vessels and to mobilize United
States merchant and allied shipping if hostilities spread.
An Office of Transportation was also created to provide staff assistance
to the Secretary and Under Secretary for Transportation on problems per­
taining to national transportation policy. The Civil Aeronautics Admin­
istration accelerated its programs to expand and improve airway facilities,
to increase the safety of both military and civil aviation, and to provide
technical assistance in the promotion of air commerce in the United States
and abroad. The Bureau of Public Roads supervised construction of
access roads to military reservations, defense industries, and sources of raw
materials.

10

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

The scientific facilities of the Department were, throughout the year,
heavily engaged in defense projects of a technical, developmental, or basic
research character. For example, the National Bureau of Standards
stepped up its work on devising and testing new electronic equipment, in­
cluding ordnance components. It is also contributing important advances
in nuclear physics, in metallurgy, and in materials testing that will influence
the design and performance of weapons and other military supplies. The
Coast and Geodetic Survey expanded its production of nautical and aero­
nautical charts to meet training and operational needs of the military forces
as well as continuing commercial demand. The Weather Bureau improved
its aviation forecasting and reporting services to meet new military needs
and continued its research in atmospheric pollution and diffusion for the
Atomic Energy Commission.
The basic information compiled and other services to business performed
by offices of the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce have assisted in planning the defense program, gaging its impact
on the economy, and judging its progress. The Census Bureau is providing
invaluable facilities and experience to the defense agencies for efficient com­
pilation of necessary data for control actions. Personnel from the Office of
Industry and Commerce provided the nucleus with which the National
Production Authority was able to exercise its control functions without
delay. Use of existing Commerce Department field offices to handle NPA
business promoted quicker public understanding of necessary control orders
and provided prompter and more efficient services to business affected by
controls.
Later sections of this report describe, more completely and in detail, the
participation of the several agencies within the Department of Commerce
in the defense program as well as the normal peacetime programs that are
being continued.

Summary of the Year’s Activity
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Business Advisory Council
T h e Business Advisory Council was formed in 1933 for the purpose
of giving the Secretary of Commerce a group of confidential advisors,
drawn mainly from the business community, who might reflect the point
of view of progressive management on the administrative problems within
the Department’s jurisdiction as well as on general problems of public policy.
In carrying out this purpose the Council met with the Secretary on six
different occasions during the year and individual members were also called
in for consultation. In addition, the Council maintained standing com­
mittees which met at regular intervals on a number of subjects, including
manpower mobilization, economic policy, and problems of Latin-American
trade.
In conformity with the policy of membership rotation, 10 old members
were graduated and 10 new members were added to Council in 1951. The
active membership on June 30, 1951, was composed of the following:
*R obert T. Stevens, C hairm an, New *John L. Collyer, Akron, Ohio.
York, N. Y.
C. R. Cox, New York, N. Y.
*John D. Biggers, Vice C hairm an, Toledo,
Paul L. Davies, San Jose, Calif.
Ohio.
R. R. D eupree, Cincinnati, Ohio.
* George H . Love, Vice C hairm an, Pitts­ Fred Rogers Fairchild, New H aven,
burgh, Pa.
Conn.
*Philip D. Reed, Vice C hairm an, New
Benjam in F. Fairless, New York, N. Y.
York, N. Y.
M arion B. Folsom, Rochester, N. Y.
*John C. V irden, Vice C hairm an, Cleve­
H enry Ford, II, D earborn, Mich.
land, Ohio.
John M. Franklin, New York, N. Y.
S. C. Allyn, Dayton, Ohio.
Frederick V. Geier, Cincinnati, Ohio.
W. L. Batt, London, England.
Fred H. Haggerson, New York, N. Y.
*S. D. Bechtel, San Francisco, Calif.
Joseph B. H all, C incinnati, Ohio.
H arold Boeschenstein, Toledo, Ohio.
Paul G. Hoffm an, Pasadena, Calif.
H ow ard Bruce, Baltimore, Md.
Eugene H olm an, New York, N. Y.
*Paul C. Cabot, Boston, Mass.
*John Holmes, Chicago, 111.
■*Charles S. Cheston, Philadelphia, Pa.
Charles R. Hook, M iddletown, Ohio.
Lucius D. Clay, New York, N. Y.
Preston Hotchkis, Los Angeles, Calif.
^M em ber of Executive Committee.
11

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A. W. Hughes, New York, N. Y.
*G. M. H um phrey, Cleveland, Ohio.
Austin S. Igleheart, New York, N. Y.
* Jam es S. Knowlson, Chicago, 111.
Emory Scott L and, W ashington, D. C.
E. H . Lane, Altavista, Va.
Fred Lazarus, Jr., C incinnati, Ohio.
J. Spencer Love, W ashington, D. C.
George C. M arshall, W ashington, D. C.
John L. McCaffrey, Chicago, 111.
E arl M . McGowin, C hapm an, Ala.
Jam es H. M cGraw, Jr., New York, N. Y.
John P. McWilliams, Cleveland, Ohio.
George H . M ead, D ayton, Ohio.
Thom as A. M organ, New York, N. Y.
George L. M orrison, New York, N. Y.
T . S. Petersen, San Francisco, Calif.*

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

Gwilym A. Price, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Edgar M. Queeny, St. Louis, Mo.
Winfield W. Riefler, W ashington, D. C.
E. A. Roberts, Mobile, Ala.
R euben B. Robertson, Jr., Hamilton,.
Ohio.
C. R. Smith, New York, N. Y.
John W. Snyder, W ashington, D. C.
*A. E. Staley, D ecatur, 111.
G ardiner Symonds, H ouston, Tex.
Ju an T . T rippe, New York, N. Y.
J. C arlton W ard, Jr., Farm ington, Conn..
Thom as J. W atson, Jr., New York, N. Y.
*Langbourne M. Williams, Jr., New York,.
N. Y.
*Charles E. Wilson, D etroit, Mich.
James W. Young, Santa Fe, N. Mex.

* M em ber of Executive Committee.

Office of the Solicitor
The Office of the Solicitor, the chief legal officer of the Department, pro­
vides legal services to the Secretary and other departmental officials. The
Office exercises general supervision over the work of the Bureau and Office
legal staffs, where the major part of the Department’s legal work is
done, provides necessary legal assistance for the Department’s loyalty pro­
gram, and handles legal problems for those units which do not have legal
staffs.
One of the major responsibilities of the Office of the Solicitor is the direc­
tion and coordination of the Department’s legislative program, including
also the Department’s reports on legislation proposed by other sources.
This function is carried out in close collaboration with policy-making offi­
cials in the Department and the affected bureaus and offices.
During the fiscal year 1951, requests for comments on 387 bills were
received from the committees of the Congress, and the views of the Depart­
ment with respect to 198 bills were prepared and submitted to the Con­
gress; proposed comments with respect to 247 bills were submitted to the
Bureau of the Budget for consideration prior to transmission to the Con­
gress. During the same period, other executive agencies, including the
Bureau of the Budget, requested the views of the Department with respect
to 267 legislative proposals, and replies were submitted on 213 such pro­
posals. Twenty-two legislative proposals were drafted by the Department
and submitted to the Bureau of the Budget for clearance, and 11 bills
drafted in the Department were submitted to the Congress for enactment.
In all, 664 requests concerning legislative proposals affecting the Depart­
ment were referred to the Office during the year, and 24 items of special
interest to the Department were enacted into Public Laws. The Office

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13

played a major role in the drafting of the Defense Production Act of 1950
and of the 1951 amendments thereto.
All contracts approved by the Secretary were reviewed by the Office.
The number of contracts, leases, licenses, bonds, agreements, and similar
contractual matters prepared or reviewed during fiscal 1951 was 472. The
Office also prepared or reviewed all requests for opinions from the Attorney
General or Comptroller General, and other matters submitted to those offi­
cials, including reports on litigations. During the fiscal year, 237 matters
being referred to these officials were handled. The number of legal opin­
ions and other legal memoranda and correspondence during the year
amounted to 378.
The Solicitor is chief law officer of the Inland Waterways Corporation.
In this capacity the Office works on contracts, damage and accident claims,
rate cases before the Interstate Commerce Commission, problems of Corpo­
ration policy, and miscellaneous matters.
The Solicitor serves as Chairman of the Loan Guarantee Advisory Board
which passes on applications for V-Loan Guarantees under section 301 of
the Defense Production Act of 1950, and the Office of the Solicitor serves
as the coordinating agency for the processing of such applications, also for
the securing of Certificates of Eligibility requested by other agencies entering
into V-Loan guarantees.
The Office of the Solicitor consults with the Office of Budget and Man­
agement and various other bureaus with reference to issuance of depart­
mental orders and reviews such orders for legal effect.
The Solicitor’s Office was also active in the litigation between the Secre­
tary of Commerce and the R. Stanley Dollar interests over ownership of a
block of stock in American President Lines, Ltd., which carried with it con­
trol of that company. The activity related particularly to that phase of
the litigation in which the Secretary of Commerce, the Solicitor General,
the Deputy Attorney General, and several attorneys were charged with con­
tempt of court. The American President Lines, Ltd., formerly the Dollar
Steamship Lines, is the principal American flag carrier between the west
coast and the Orient. The Solicitor appeared on behalf of the Secretary
in the Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia and submitted a brief
in addition to a brief submitted by the Department of Justice. The Solici­
tor also attended and participated in hearings before the Chief Justice of the
United States with respect to applications for stays of orders and proceed­
ings of the Court of Appeals.
The Solicitor also assisted the Secretary in the preparation of a letter to
Mr. R. Stanley Dollar proposing that the parties jointly sell the stock and
continue the litigation over the proceeds. The purpose of this proposal
was to avoid injury to the morale of the employees of the steamship line
caused by the uncertainty over control, and assure operation by competent
private management.
973610— 51----2

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“Dollar Line” matters were continued active at the close of the fiscal
year.
In Ex parte 175, Increased Freight Rates, the Interstate Commerce Com­
mission entertained the railroads’ petition for a 15-percent increase in rates
and charges on interstate freight traffic. The Department of Commerce
intervened and the Solicitor, together with Mr. C. E. Childe, appeared on
its behalf and supervised the legal aspects of its participation. The Solici­
tor’s Office attended the actual hearings and reported upon pertinent de­
velopments to the Office of the Undersecretary of Commerce for Trans­
portation. The Solicitor’s Office conferred with counsel of other interven­
ing Government agencies to insure orderly participation of all those agencies
and, insofar as possible, to coordinate such participation. Together with
those other counsel, the Solicitor cross-examined various witnesses of the
petitioning railroads. The Department itself submitted in evidence a veri­
fied statement of Under Secretary Fleming, dated February 19, 1951, and a
verified statement of Dr. Paul M. Zeis, dated May 11, 1951. Each of these
statements was checked for legal form and effect by the Solicitor’s Office.
The Solicitor’s Office and Mr. Childe drafted an analysis of the evidence
presented at the hearings relative to estimated traffic levels and operating
revenues for 1951, for submission to the Commission. At the conclusion
of the hearings, the Solicitor drafted and submitted a written memorandum
on behalf of the Department and presented an oral argument before the
entire Interstate Commerce Commission.
Office of Program Planning
The Office of Program Planning is a staff unit serving the Secretary,
the Under Secretaries, and the Assistant Secretaries on matters relating to
the programs and policies of the Department. Generally, the program
and policy problems are the sort that require joint study or action by two
or more of the operating bureaus and offices of the Department or
coordination of several Department programs or policies with those of other
Government agencies. New and emerging problems which cannot readily
be assigned to any of the line organizations comprise another important
field of activity for the Office.
The small staff of specialists in the Office of Program Planning main­
tains constant and close liaison with the top officials of the Department,
including the heads of the constituent bureaus and agencies; advises and
assists in the formulation of policies and programs during their planning
stages in order to avoid duplication of effort, insure adequate coverage
and achieve integrated departmental action; evaluates existing programs
in the light of their contribution to current needs and policies of the Depart­
ment; and reviews questionnaires and economic and statistical reports
requiring clearance by the Bureau of the Budget. In addition, the Office
is responsible for program and policy liaison work with other Federal

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SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

15

departments and establishments. This involves membership representing
the Secretary and the Department on top level interdepartmental boards or
committees, as well as less formal contacts.
Illustrative of the activities of the Office of Program Planning in 1951
are the following:
(a) Assistance in the development of plans and program for establish­
ing the National Production Authority;
(b) Assistance in the development of plans and program for the
Department’s Office of Transportation;
(c) Assistance to the Secretary in the performance of his responsibilities
as a member of the Defense Mobilization Board, and of the
Loan Policy Board of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation;
(d) Participation in Air Coordinating Committee activities especially
as regards mobilization planning, including membership on the
Resources and Economic Divisions of ACC;
(e) Coordination for the Secretary of testimony and evidence developed
by Federal agencies in support of the St. Lawrence Seaway and
Power Project;
(/) Review and analysis of the problem involved in determining appro­
priate security restrictions on the release of statistical data col­
lected by the Department;
(g) Responsibility for departmental liaison with the National Security
Resources Board and membership on the Interdepartmental Staff
Group of the Board.
Office of Publications
The function of the Office of Publications is that of making the results
of the Department’s work usable by and known to the people for whose
benefit it is done, in most instances businessmen. The Office coordinates
information and publications activities of the Department to those ends.
During a great part of the 1951 fiscal year, the Office lent news-release
and other facilities to the National Production Authority and assisted in
the inauguration of various information programs and procedures of the
new agency. The Departmental Newsroom continues to serve as a central
distribution point for several hundred representatives of business organi­
zations and the trade press requiring NPA orders, regulations, and releases.
Sales of Department of Commerce publications as reported by the
Superintendent of Documents again exceeded $1 million in the 1951 fiscal
year. That figure represented one-fourth of the Superintendent of Docu­
ments’ entire sales and again surpassed sales of any other Federal agency.
Excluded from the record is $1,329,000 of sales direct from the Depart­
ment; these consist of copies of patents and trade-marks by the Patent
Office and of maps and charts by the Coast and Geodetic Survey.

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SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Given responsibility for conserving paper in the publications program,
the Office tightened its project and copy clearance procedures and required
detailed justification for purchases of publications for official use in excess
of 1,000 copies. Conversion of periodicals, reports, and individual publi­
cations from free to paid continued throughout the year. With few
exceptions free material is now confined to news releases and administrative
material; even for these a charge is made for quantity orders.
During the year the Office reviewed 130 projects with estimated printing
costs of $597,000, nearly $100,000 more than in the previous year. Only
$194,000 in projects was approved outright. Nearly $125,000 in projects
was disapproved and $278,000 was approved with conditions. The values
of disapproved and conditionally approved projects were, respectively, five
and six times those of the previous year.
The Office of Publications maintained contact with representatives of the
general and business press through its Departmental Newsroom and dis­
tributed to them regular reports and releases of the Department. The
Newsroom provided news coverage for the Office of the Secretary and as­
sisted the bureaus and offices in preparing releases bearing on virtually all
aspects of the foreign and domestic commerce of the United States. Help
was given by the Office to operating units in the preparation, editing, design,
and distribution of several major publications.
Through the Office of Publications, the Department received much help
from businessmen in disseminating economic facts and information concern­
ing its services to business. The Office took part in the preparation of a
number of promotional folders for the Department’s publications and serv­
ices. It directed the design and installation of the Department’s exhibit
at the first International Trade Fair in the United States at Chicago and
cooperated with the bureaus in placing exhibits and making information
available at other public affairs.
The Office also furnished information on the Department and its services
in reply to requests from several thousand members of the business com­
munity and the general public. On its initiative, the Business Service Check
List was expanded to include listings of releases of nonmilitary defense
agencies outside the Department. The Office developed and distributed
informational material to acquaint industry and the general public with
the Department’s program for Voluntary Protection of Technical Informa­
tion.
Several important advances were made in publications and information
management during the 1951 fiscal year. With close cooperation of the
Office, a subcommittee of the Advertising Advisory Committee to the Sec­
retary brought close to conclusion a detailed survey of the publications and
services of the Department as they relate to business generally and the ad­
vertising industry particularly. Preliminary recommendations to improve
the utility of publications have been put into effect with the cooperation

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

17

of the bureaus and offices. Staff services to the Advertising Advisory Com­
mittee were provided in the Office of Publications. A number of business
concerns were interviewed in the field by members of the Office regarding
the adequacy and essentiality of Department of Commerce publications.
Two departmental Administrative Orders issued late in the 1951 fiscal
year have furthered the information and publications program. One en­
courages writing for official publication and establishes policies and clear­
ance procedures for officials and employees of the Department writing for
private publication. The other establishes procedures for the review and
release of all types of informational material.
As a result of continuing cooperation between the Office of Publications
and the bureaus and offices, the volume of undelivered release and publica­
tions mail returned to the Department, exclusive of NPA’s, has declined by
87 percent since 1947 despite the fact that several large bureaus have been
assigned to the Department since that year with a corresponding increase
in the cost of mailing lists. This is evidence of the Department’s efforts
to keep its lists up to date and to handle its distribution as economically as
possible.
Office of Budget and Management
The Office of Budget and Management reviews and approves all budget
estimates of the Department. It controls the funds of the Department and
assures that expenditures for the execution of departmental programs fol­
low basic legislative authority. As a management office it reviews organ­
izational structure and develops organizational plans to meet current and
evolving needs of the Department. It makes continuing studies of the re­
lationship between functions performed and organizational structure. It
audits and investigates administrative and operating practices, procedures,
and methods of the Department. In addition to these staff functions the
Office performs a complete accounting and auditing service for the Office
of the Secretary, the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, and the
Office of Technical Services, and renders central fiscal advisory service to
all bureaus and offices of the Department.
BUDGET ACTIVITIES

The Office of Budget and Management was requested by the constituent
bureaus and offices of the Department to consider regular annual budget
estimates totaling $1,081,338,491. After review by the Office, the Secretary
of Commerce approved a total of $1,010,338,000 for transmittal to the
Bureau of the Budget. In addition to the annual budget estimates for fiscal
year 1952, 13 separate supplemental budgets totaling $117,847,125 were
reviewed, consolidated, and transmitted to the Budget Bureau.
The Office participated in justification of these estimates before the
Bureau of the Budget and the Congress; once appropriations were made the

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Office prepared and controlled apportionments and in some cases allotments,
and prepared and transmitted the budgetary and fiscal reports required by
the Bureau of the Budget, the Treasury, and the General Accounting Office.
During the year, $3,245,000 was placed in reserve out of the funds ap­
propriated to the Department for fiscal year 1951. Of the amount placed
in reserve $2,778,100 was later used to finance new activities assigned to the
Department under the Defense Production Act of 1950.
MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

The Defense Production Act of 1950 (enacted in September) with the
subsequent delegations and redelegations made thereunder by the President
and the Defense Production Administrator assigned important national de­
fense programs to the Secretary of Commerce. The Office of Budget and
Management assisted the Secretary and other officials of the Department in
providing for the effective and immediate implementation of the new pro­
grams by advising on delegations of functions and authority, on creation of
new agencies or offices and their organizational structure, and on the redis­
tribution of existing functions related to the new defense activities. Neces­
sary directives and regulations to effect the new programs were promulgated.
Foremost in importance and of immediate concern to the Nation was the
implementation of the priorities and allocations functions delegated to the
Secretary of Commerce. In view of the magnitude of the operations re­
quired to discharge these functions the Secretary created a new agency,
the National Production Authority, to administer priorities and allocation
functions. The Office of Budget and Management provided management
specialists on loan to assist the Administrator of NPA and his key officials
in the design and installation of the administrative organization, procedures
and methods necessary to place the NPA on a firm operating basis. The
Accounting Division of this same office served as the fiscal office of NPA
during its infancy and assisted in the establishment of an accounting office
within NPA. This was accomplished in the main through transfer of per­
sonnel and records from the Accounting Division.
Upon advice from the National Security Council the Secretary estab­
lished the Industry Evaluation Board within the Office of the Secretary to
make studies and take action to establish the security of the economic and
industrial resources of the Nation. Here, too, staff assistance was provided
by the Office of Budget and Management on matters pertaining to organiza­
tion and administrative practices.
Other important functions delegated to the Secretary of Commerce to
promote the national defense included authority to act as claimant for cer­
tain programs and materials, to recommend issuance of certificates of essen­
tiality and necessity for loans and for tax amortization of emergency facilities,

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19

and to provide war-risk insurance for air-and water-borne transportation.
Assistance was provided to the Secretary and top officials of the Department
by advising on and providing for the redelegation of these functions.
The review of the Department’s fiscal activities begun in fiscal year 1950
under the Joint Accounting Improvements Program of the General Account­
ing Office, the Treasury Department, and the Bureau of the Budget was
continued. The Office of Budget and Management assisted in the in­
stallation of a new accounting system at the National Bureau of Standards.
Similarly a system of accounts current was designed and installed in the
Accounting Division for the recording of all financial transactions relating
to the working capital fund of the Office of the Secretary. Another ac­
counting system was developed for use by the Accounting Division for
transactions involving appropriated, working, and trust funds. During
the year a study of the accounting operations in the Civil Aeronautics Ad­
ministration was begun. This project will be completed during the
next year.
Communist aggression caused a need to plan for the continuity of
essential defense activities of the Government in the event an enemy attack
on Washington should occur. In this connection three projects were under­
taken : ( 1) Developing of plans for decentralization and dispersal of De­
partment activities, (2) securing protection of vital indispensable records,
and (3) providing for the emergency relocation of essential activities in the
event of a war emergency in Washington. The first and last of these
projects were undertaken in cooperation with the Bureau of the Budget,
and the other project in conjunction with the National Archives.
In addition to its work in connection with defense activities and the Joint
Accounting Improvements Program, the Office of Budget and Management
continued its usual management activities during fiscal year 1951. Among
the management studies and investigations begun or completed during the
year were the following :
1. Conducted a survey on the action taken with respect to the recom­
mendations of the House Appropriations Committee investigative
staff regarding the National Bureau of Standards.
2. On the basis of studies and surveys and in cooperation with Inland
Waterways Corporation effected greater efficiency in several
operations of that agency mostly along financial and budgetary
lines.
3. Assisted in the coordination of activities of the Civil Aeronautics
Administration and the Weather Bureau of common interest to
both agencies and in the classification of responsibilities at field
installations of these two bureaus with regard to these activities.
4. Conducted a study of the organization of the Office of International
Trade and assisted in effecting changes therein.

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5. Participated in developing plans for the reorganization of the Office
of the Secretary.
6. Participated in a study of the Federal Field Service conducted by the
George Fry and Associates of Chicago, III, under contract with
the Bureau of the Budget.
7. Initiated an investigation of Comptroller General exceptions to pay­
ments made during World War II by a predecessor agency of the
Maritime Administration. This investigation resulted in estab­
lishing a more expeditious review and processing of the
outstanding exceptions.
8. Conducted a study of delegations of authority to field establishments
to determine the adequacy of such delegations to enable responsible
field officials to carry on their operations as efficiently and
effectively as possible.
9. Conducted a Department-wide survey to determine the adequacy
of fees and charges made to private persons and business and
special public groups for services and publications furnished.
10. Assisted in providing for the decentralization of some activities in the
Weather Bureau and the National Bureau of Standards.
MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

Fiscal year 1951 was the second full year of operation of the President’s
Management Improvement Program. The Office of Budget and Manage­
ment continued to take the leading role in the development and promotion
of the Department’s programs.
The necessity of gearing the Department to its emergency functions and
the preoccupation of staff resources of the Department with defense matters
were two factors working against full implementation of the management
program. Nevertheless a year-end review indicated satisfactory accom­
plishments in this program, even though short of original objectives. Re­
newed emphasis will be given to this program in the forthcoming year.
ACCOUNTING DIVISION

Workload statistics for the fiscal year are indicative of activity in this
division. These statistics show the division issued 52,682 salary checks;
processed 10,933 payroll change slips; issued 8,857 bonds; processed
9,710 vouchers; prepared 4,196 schedules of receipts and disburse­
ments; and processed 3,500 transportation receipts and 890 travel orders.
These fiscal activities require the maintenance of 950 general ledger ac­
counts, 955 allotment accounts, and 143 business type ledger accounts.
The business type ledger accounts are required in connection with the finan­
cial transactions of the Department working capital fund. All work of the
division was maintained on a current basis, including the necessary recon­
ciliations of the tax, bond, and retirement accounts.

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21

Office of Personnel Administration
During the fiscal year 1951, the Office of Personnel Administration con­
tinued its program of decentralizing personnel operations, subject to pre­
vailing policies and regulations, wherever it has been clearly demonstrated
that these operations can be performed more efficiently and economically at
the operating level.
The Office of Personnel Administration performs the following staff func­
tions for the Secretary on personnel matters:
1. Staff planning, including formulation, issuance, and interpretation of
policies, regulations, and standards to govern the administration of
personnel activities;
2. Staff review, including inspections for compliance with Department
policies, regulations, and standards, and to determine effectiveness
of personnel programs at all levels;
3. Staff assistance, including the furnishing of advice and recommenda­
tions on specific operating problems.
In its capacity as central personnel office of the Department, the Office
of Personnel Administration also continued to discharge the following func­
tions : (1) Performance of certain general personnel activities for the De­
partment at large; (2) provision of a central point of contact for Members
of Congress, other Government agencies, and the public on personnel mat­
ters affecting the Department; and (3) provision of personnel operating
services (through the Personnel Operations Division) on a consolidated
basis to designated small offices in the interest of more economical operation.
MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS

The program instituted by this Office for review and appraisal of person­
nel activities, through surveys and site audits of actions taken by personnel
officers of the Department, was continued during the year. These reviews
have provided a means for a better understanding of individual personnel
problems inherent in the functions of particular offices, thereby enabling
recommendations as to remedial procedures. It has also made possible im­
provements in processing and record-keeping which have been reflected in
efficiency of operations. Since additional authority was delegated to process
personnel actions, the scope of the audit was increased to check compliance
with pertinent Department policies and regulations.
Installation of the “Basic Personnel Records and Files System” in operat­
ing personnel offices was advanced through advice and assistance given by
this Office on problems arising in connection with conversion to the standard
system.
To enable personnel offices to assume greater responsibility for the con­
duct of personnel matters, regulations contained in the Department’s Man­
ual of Orders have been amended to reflect up-to-date determinations of

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policy, law and regulation. Current maintenance of these regulations re­
quired revision of 12 Department and Administrative Orders and the issu­
ance of a new order on Point Four Personnel Procedures.
As a supplement to these regulations, periodic issuance of informational
bulletins to personnel offices was continued for the purpose of providing
current information on new legislation, regulations, and personnel policy
decisions. The Personnel Operations Guide, which revised the previously
issued Personnel Action Processing Guide, was extended to include instruc­
tions for preparing personnel forms and recurring personnel employment
reports as well as installation and maintenance of the Basic Personnel Rec­
ords and Files System. The incorporation of these instructions into a
single manual has provided an excellent reference source for many phases
of personnel operation.
During the year, centralized control of intra-agency transfers was estab­
lished to prevent one primary unit from raiding another in recruitment of
personnel, and to assure full utilization of the qualifications of employees.
This program has had a stabilizing effect on movement of employees be­
tween constituent units of the Department, and has contributed greatly to
better utilization of employees’ skills generally.
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

The National Production Authority was established during 1951 to carry
out certain functions in the Defense Production Act of 1950 delegated to
the Secretary of Commerce by Executive Order No. 10161, dated September
9, 1950. Establishment of a new primary unit in the Department required
prompt staffing and appraisal of current policies to determine modifications
necessary for the emergency situation. The rapidly expanding NPA organ­
ization also needed advice and assistance on the many personnel problems
inherent in a newly established unit; this required close cooperation with
the operating personnel branch.
The Department continued to participate with other Federal agencies in
improving examining standards for Junior Management and Social Science
Assistants in the Federal Government and in furthering of a recruitment
program for such candidates in the Department. Forty-three outstanding
college graduates were recruited during the year for the various organiza­
tion units. Initiation of and improvement in existing promotion plans in
the several primary organization units required assistance and review by
this Office.
Wage administration matters continued to grow in importance during
1951, and required that close attention be given to policies and standards
for application to the several bureaus having wage-board employees.
Work was begun on an operating manual for position classifiers, which

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SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

23

■will cover all aspects of an operating classification program. Close
■cooperation was maintained with the Civil Service Commission in the
preparation of new position standards and the revision of existing ones.
A new simplified performance rating plan was developed and established
in the Department. Informational materials were prepared for use by
personnel offices in informing supervisors and employees of the new plan.
EMPLOYEE PROGRAMS

Interest in employee suggestion programs was stimulated by furnishing
primary units with materials concerning incentive programs in other
agencies and in private industries, and by keeping them advised of the
■continuing interest of Department officials in suggestion programs.
A digest of meritorious suggestions that have been adopted was prepared
and issued to all bureaus. During 1951, 255 employee suggestions were
adopted at a cost of $6,285; they resulted in savings of $97,142.
In addition to continuing the training programs previously inaugurated,
such as indoctrination of new employees, efficiency rating training, super­
visor and administrative management training, and technical training in
aircraft, flight training, meteorology, weather observation, and trade-mark
examining, the following new training activities were undertaken : ( 1) The
publication, Employee Training in the Department of Commerce, was
revised; and (2) arrangements were made for unit training representatives
to meet with representatives of a local educational institution for the pur­
pose of providing “after hours” courses for employees.
The Department also continued to cooperate with the Civil Service
Commission in the Junior Management Intern Program and the Admin­
istrative Intern Program. Nominations of candidates by primary units
were reviewed and guidance given to those selected for training.
Ninety employees, representing all primary units of the Department,
received recognition for their outstanding or unusual service at the Annual
Honor Awards ceremony held in February 1951.
STATISTICS

The official tabulation of organization and employee strength of the
Department from its establishment in 1903 through fiscal year 1951 is shown
in table 1. On July 1, 1951, there were 54,860 paid employees in the
Department including 6,103 part-time employees (5,928 seamen of the
Maritime Administration and 9,821 employees who work without com­
pensation are not included in this figure). Table 2 shows the geographic
distribution of employees by State within the continental United States, in
Territories and possessions, and foreign countries; and it also shows the
number and percentage of veterans included in each geographic total.

Table 1.—Employment and Organization Changes in the Department of Commerce From February 1903 to July 1, 1951 1
Department of Commerce and L abor2
Bureau

1810,125

See footnotes on p. 28.

1905

1906

125
62
12
100
5,282
1,393
314
63
212
290
75
1,211
71

155
67
17
101
5,320
1,491
316
55
213
312
71
1,209
87

145
70
26
97
5,581
1,320
311
53
226
305
73
1,198
95

9,210

9,414

9,500

1907

1« 10,553

1908

1909

1910

1911

141
104
34
192
5,617
1,374
351
57
252
327
76
1,436
118

137
120
37
125
5,482
1,354
348
58
261
341
76
1,453
139

137
119
40
111
5,489
1,526
346
57
262
361
75
1,562
173

161
127
42
97
5,455
1,500
353
58
263
378
77
1,638
264

10,079

9,931

10,258

10,413

1912
158
129
93
5,116
1,335
344
262
397
82
1,658
280
95
15

9,964

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce_____________________
Children’s Bureau 3_____ __________________________ _________
U. S. Patent Office____________________ _________ ___________
Bureau of M ines10_______________ ______ _________________ .
Civil Aeronautics Administration * __________________ _________
Radio Division 11_____________________ ____________________

1904

A N N U A L REPO RT OF T H E

1903

T able 1.— Employment and Organization Changes in the Department oj Commerce From February 1903 to J u ly 1, 1951— Continued
Department of Commerce 3 4
1913

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

162

171

172

178

183

183

183

183

127

121

125

118

133

5,624
1,376
347

5,620
1,377
728

5,792
1,279
743

5,698
1,260
770

5,713
1,247
790

5,823
f,397
540

5,818
1,348
942

5,820
7,413
816

5,761
3,200
863

5,909
1,664
978

5,787
1,548
947

5,734
1,768
882

5,758
2,687
992

5,628
2,723
985

5,803
2,460
945

262
398
95

265
397
101

270
419
169

302
434
161

321
452
167

347
420
233

408
428
204

467
431
217

404
424
221

366
462
230

362
461
220

365
567
215

358
617
240

355
622
239

359
671
159

312

338

384

423

518

1,061

996

900

865

968

911

801

768

763

850

305

312

595

940

1,207

1,145

1,228

1,351

1,228
971

1,187
980

1,141
949
62
81

14,889

14,828

14,964

108

8,788

120

9,205

171

9,389

198

9,417

233

9,613

220

10,219

10,632

16,544

333

12,254

11,355

11,303

11,660

SE C R E T A R Y O F C O M M E R C E

126
133

A N N U A L REPO RT OF T H E

139
127

Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com-

See footnotes on p. 28.

1914

Oi

Table 1.— Employment and Organization Changes in the Department of Commerce From February 1003 to J u ly 1, 1951— Continued

Kj

Department of Commerce—Continued
Bureau

Total...... ................. ........................... ..

See footnotes on p. 28.

1930

1931

1932

1933

1934

1935

1936

144
6,205
2,518
991

142
6,710
2,007
986

144
7,211
11,599
1,044

205
7,879
6,927
1,259

201
7,814
4,043
1,280

163
7,252
1,813
1,882

139
5,166
2,107
1,073

141
5,071
3,914
3,439

358
700
166
900
1,258
1,191
1,111
133
100

367
966
174
965
1,426
1,274
1,049
207
120

366
780
173
1,055
1,738
1,377
1,061
263
156

427
903
201
1,066
1,575
1,410
978
272
173

420
1,193
192
1,035
1,538
1,425
882
272
189
28

571
922

579
682

643
936

979
1,429
1,389

694
814
1,313

270
19

15,467

16,455

26,955

23,358

20,608

17,571

1937

1938

1939

179
5,094
2,501
1,234

150
5,065
1,869
1,112

159
4,132
2,196
985

1,728
1,347

679

897

1,011

958

839

752

1,200

709
1,052
1,302

816
1,159
1,348

842
1,153
1,356

926
856
1,372

946
897
1,383

2,050

2,685

2,133

2,326

9
62

9
63

66
3,447

2,950

16,284

10,388

14,688

19,964

16,048

15,522

179

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

Office of the Secretary........................ ............
Bureau of Lighthouses 7_______ ______ ___
Bureau of the Census.... ................... ..........
Coast and Geodetic Survey............................
Bureau of Marine Inspection and Naviga­
tion 8_.............. ................ .............
Steamboat Inspection Service 8_____ _____
Bureau of Fisheries 9.........................................
Bureau of Navigation 8..................... ...............
Bureau of Standards._____________ _____
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce..
U. S. Patent Office............................................
Bureau of Mines 10.................... .......................
Civil Aeronautics Administration * .................
Radio Division 11________________ ____
Federal Employment Stabilization Board l2__
U. S. Shipping Board Bureau M____ ______
Inland Waterways Corporation......................
Weather Bureau___________ ____ _______
Office of Surplus Property 15___________
Bureau of Public Roads..................... ............
Maritime Administration and federal
Maritime Board___ ______ ________
Government Patents Board__________
National Production Authority___________

1929

A N N U A L REPO RT OF T H E

1928

T able 1.— Employment and Organization Changes in the Department o f Commerce From February 1903 to J u ly 1, 1951— Continued
Department of Commerce—Continued
Bureau

Bureau of Lighthouses 7_________________
Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation 8_________________ ____ _______
Steamboat Inspection Service 8___________
Bureau of Fisheries 9__________________ _
Bureau of Navigation 8_______ ____ _____
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic ComBureau of Mines 10..................... .......................

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

1946

1947

1948

1949

1951

286

366

355

365

390

703

958

728

698

662

880

8,671
1,521

6,936
2,097

4,925
2,781

4,600
2,415

136,489
1,924

5,861
2,160

4,411
2,285

4,315
2,628

•3 2,733
2,645

•3 2,849
2,455

•3 2,698
2,469

924

1,013

988

1,190

1,720

2,267

2,326

2,311

2,262

2,522

2,809

3,288

3,112

3,949

863
1,341

853
1,326

946
1,399

853
1,228

824
1,273

809
1,267

2,185
1,460

2,137
1,826

1,905
2,005

1,948
2,010

1,634
1,960

2,923
1,905

6,019

8,056

10,120

11,492

10,847

12,953

14,884

17,056

18,452

18,045

18,390

3,137
5,653

2,544
6,142

2,602
6,612

2,667
6,876

2,021
6,754
4,435

1,852
7,499

1,573
7,907

1,551
7,938

783
7,911

840
7,893

875
7,999

3,212
Bureau of Public Roads________________ _
Maritime Administration and Federal
Government Patents Board______ _______
National Production Authority___________
21,560

29,669

30,206

31,743

32,838

37,247

1^36,935

»38,503

40,935

40,468

4,018

3,833

6,409

»4,475
16
4,448

49,877

2054,860

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

216
13 12,687
1,329

Radio Division 11...... ............................ ............
Federal Employment Stabilization Board ,2__
U. S. Shipping Board Bureau ’<______ ____

See footnotes on p. 28.

1950

A N N U A L REPO RT OF T H E

1940

N
vi?

8 Consolidated with and name changed to Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection
ho
June 30, 1932, and on May 27, 1936. Transferred to Treasury Department Mar. 1, 1942 by
Co
E. O. 9083.
9 Transferred to Interior Department July 1, 1939, by Reorganization Plan II.
10 Transferred to Interior Department Apr. 23, 1934 by E. O. 6511 of Feb. 22, 1934.
11 Transferred to Federal Radio Commission July 20, 1932, by E. O. 5892.
13
Abolished and functions transferred to National Resources Planning Board by Reorgan­
ization Plan No. I, July 1, 1939.
13 In addition to the number of employees shown, the Bureau of the Census employed the
following numbers of temporary census employees to take special major censuses. The
regular force also was increased during other years to take censuses of unemployment, manu­
factures and business, agriculture and irrigation, government, etc.; employment figure for
these censuses is included in the employment figures in the above table. Postdecennial years,
except 1951, also include employees appointed for the work of the decennial census:
1940......................
1945......................
1949 ...................
1950 --------------

100,000 (approximation).
31,226.
6,424.
12,450(plus approximately 134,000enumerators
which terminated prior to July 1, 1950).
1951 ................... 4,173.

for briefperiods

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

14 Transferred to U. S. Maritime Commission Oct. 26, 1936, by act of June 29,1936 (49
Stat. 1985).
15 Transferred to Reconstruction Finance Corporation Nov. 5, 1945, by E. O. 9643.
10 Only total figure available.
17 During the 1946 fiscal year a large portion of the Foreign Economic Administration was
transferred to the Department of Commerce. In addition, part of the Smaller War Plants
Corporation was transferred to the Department; the Office of Civilian Defense was transferred
to the Department and was promptly 'liquidated; and the Office of Production, Research, and
Development was transferred from CPA to the Department.
18 During 1947, segments of the Office of Price Administration, Office of War Mobilization,
and Civilian Production Administration were transferred to the Department and have been
gradually liquidated.
19 This figure does not include 5,928 seamen.
30 This figure does not include 9,821 employees who worked without compensation for the
Department, nor are such persons included in other figures on the table. It does include
6,103 pait-time workers who actually worked a total of only 1,376 man-months during June

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

1 On or about July 1 of each year.
3 Created by act of Feb. 14, 1903 (32 Stat. 826).
8 Labor functions removed and placed in new Department of Labor by act of Mar. 4. 1913
(37 Stat. 736).
4 Current bureaus and offices:
Office of the Secretary_____ 1903 to present.
Bureau of the Census............ 1903 to present.
Coast and Geodetic Survey.. 1903 to present.
Bureau of Standards.............. 1903 to present.
Bureau of Foreign and Do- 1912 to present—act of Aug. 23, 1912.
mestic Commerce.
Patent Office-------------------- 1925 to present—transferred to Commerce Department
from Interior Department by E. O. of Apr. 1, 1925.
Inland Waterways Corpora- 1939 to present—transferred to Commerce Department
tion.
from War Department, July 1, 1939.
Weather Bureau--------------- 1940 to present—transferred to Commerce Department
under President’s Reorganization Plan No. IV,
June 30, 1940.
Civil Aeronautics Adminis- 1940 to present—transferred to Commerce Department
tration.
under President’s Reorganization Plan No. IV,
June 30, 1940.
(Aeronautics Branch, 1927 to 1934—name then changed to Bureau of Air Commerce,
July 1, 1934 to 1938—transferred to Civil Aeronautics Administration Aug. 22, 1938.)
Bureau of Public Roads------ 1949 to prisent—trarsferred to Commerce Department
under President’s Reorganization Plan No. 7, Aug.
20, 1949.
Maritime
Administration 1950 to present—transferred to Commerce Department
and Federal Maritime
under President’s Reorganization Plan No. 21,
Board.
May 24, 1950.
Government Patents B oard.. 1950 to present—Executive Order 10096 of Jan. 23, 1950
(attached to Department of Commerce for house­
keeping purposes only).
National Production Author- 1950 to present—Defense Production Act of 1950
ity.
(P. L. 774; 64 Stat. 798).
5 Transferred to Federal Trade Commission, Mar. 16, 1915, by act of Sept. 26, 1914 (38
_ Stat. 718).
6 Consolidated with Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce upon its establishment by
act of Aug. 23, 1912 (37 Stat. 407).
7 Transferred to Treasury Department by Reorganization Plan II, July 1, 1939 (originally
established as Lighthouse Service).

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

T a b le 2 .— Geographic

29

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

Distribution of Department of Commerce Employees as of
December 31, 1950
L o c a tio n

Alabama___________________________
Arizona____________________________
Arkansas__________________________
California__________________________
Colorado___________________________
Connecticut________________________
Delaware---------------------------------------District of Columbia------------------------Florida____________________________
Georgia____________________________
Idaho_____________________________
Illinois____________________________
Indiana____________________ ______
Iow a______________________________
K ansas____________________________
Kentucky__________________________
Louisiana__________________________
M aine_____________________________
M aryland___________________ ______
Massachusetts______________________
Michigan__________________________
M innesota-------------------------------------Mississippi_________________________
Missouri___________________________
M ontana__________________________
N ebraska__________________________
Nevada____________________________
New Hampshire------------------------------New Jersey________________________
New Mexico_______________________
New Y ork_________________________
N orth Carolina____________________
North Dakota______________________
Ohio______________________________
Oklahoma__________________________
Oregon___ ________________________
Pennsylvania_______________________
Rhode Island_______________________
South Carolina_____________________
South Dakota______________________
Tennessee__________________________
T exas_____________________________
U tah______________________________
V erm on t__________________________
Virginia___________________________
Washington________________________
West Virginia______________________
Wisconsin__________________________
Wyoming----------------------------------------

T o ta l n u m b e r
o f e m p lo y e e s

884
203
234
2,704
609
112
33
15,165
826
1,025
245
1,028
457
278
541
234
834
136
5,297
398
423
325
277
1,935
420
326
138
171
270
361
2,620
605
150
731
765
789
3,895
57
218
138
426
2,401
359
61
1,936
1,362
194
231
234

N u m b e r w ith
v e te r a n
p re fe r e n c e

414
110
117
1,394
302
65
17
5,365
459
500
121
520
212
112
211
114
402
78
1,257
218
247
173
105
734
237
146
76
33
160
187
1,337
340
64
405
355
390
1,230
28
100
71
249
1,246
173
29
1,017
693
98
97
127

P ercent
v e te r a n s

46.8
54.1
50.0
51.5
49.5
58.0
51.5
35.3
55.5
48.7
49.6
50.5
46.3
40.2
39.0
48.7
48.2
57.3
23.7
54.7
58.3
53.2
37.9
37.9
56.4
44.7
55.0
19.2
59.2
51.8
51.0
56.1
42.6
55.4
46.4
49.4
31.5
49.1
45.8
51.4
58.4
51.8
48.1
47.5
52.5
50.8
50.5
41.9
54.2

53,061

22,135

41.7

Alaska____________________________
Panama Canal Zone________________
Canton Island_____________________
Guam____________________________
Hawaii___________________________
Midway _________________________
Puerto Rico_______________________
Swan Island, W. I _________________
Virgin Islands_____________________
Wake Island______________________

1,867
123
74
73
646
34
129
6
21
158

933
87
48
34
358
25
94
4
12
78

49.9
70.7
64.8
46.5
55.4
73.5
72.8
66.6
57.1
49.3

Total (Territories and possessions).

3,131

1,673

53.4

2
3
3 _
11 _________
35
15
1
1
2
139
2 _
3
1
1 .
11
5
2
1
2
5
12
6
7
11
4
16

66.6

Total, United States___________

Argentina_________________________
Bolivia____________________________
British W est Indies-------------------------Canada___________________________
Columbia__________________________
Costa Rico________________________
Ecuador___________________________
E gypt-------- ----------------------------------El Salvador________________________
England___________________________
E thiopia.._________________________
France____________________________
Greece____________________________
Greenland_________________________
Guatemala_________________________

9 7 3 6 1 0 -5 1 -

3

__________
42.8
100.0
1.4
33.3
45.4
50.0
40.0
50.0
63.6
25.0

30

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

T a b le 2 .— Geographic

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

Distribution of Department of Commerce Employees as of
December 31, 1950— C o n tin u e d
L o c a tio n

16
6
4
2
5
10
5
195
3
43
2

..

P ercent
v e te r a n s

1
15
3
2
1

loo, a
93.7
50.0
50.0
50.0

3
2
29
1
15
2

30.0
40.0
14.8
33.3
34.8
100.0

Grand to tal__________________

56,739

120

21.9'

23,928

42.1

i

Total (foreign countries)-----------

£

i

Honduras__________________________
Iceland-----------------------------------------Ireland____________________________
Japan _____________________________
Mexico------------------------------------------Nicaragua_________________________
Panam a___________________________
Peru---------------------------------------------Philippine Islands----------------------------Thailand.------------- ------------------------Turkey-----------------------------------------Venezuela__________________________

N u m b e r w ith .
v e te r a n
p r e fe r e n c e

T o ta l n u m b e r
o f e m p lo y e e s

Office of Administrative Services
This Office provides certain departmental services such as procurement
and printing, space allocation, and records maintenance. It also furnishes
administrative service to the Office of the Secretary and to other constituent
agencies of the Department not having individual service units and guides
the application of administrative policies and procedures throughout the
Department.
DIVISION OF PRINTING SERVICES

The Division of Printing Services is charged with reviewing and coordi­
nating the printing, visual services, duplicating, distribution, and forms
standardization programs for the Department. During the year it also
performed similar services for other agencies not a part of the Department.
Among the several special printing programs which were continued was
the Seventeenth Decennial Census. This program, consisting mostly of
typing and printing of final statistics, will continue during fiscal years 1952
and 1953. New printing programs inaugurated were those for the Defense
Production Authority and the National Production Authority. The Divi­
sion was able to provide all necessary services to these defense agencies, in­
cluding printing, duplicating, distribution, forms design, and other related
activities.
The Division is composed of the following sections: The Printing, Graph­
ics, and Photographic Section, which handles all relations with the Govern­
ment Printing Office; the Duplicating Section, which includes multilith,.
photostat, and mailing service; the Distribution Section, which distributes,
either internally or by mail or mail-messenger service, copies of all material
issued by the Department; and the Forms Standardization Section, which is
charged with the review, standardization, and design of all forms.
The Division works closely with the Office of Publications to carry out
general policy as laid down by that office with regard to format of publica­
tions, posters, exhibits, photographs, and all other visual media.

A N N U A L REPORT OF T H E

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

31

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE LIBRARY

The Department Library provided 156,771 reference and loan services,
an increase of 31,725 over the previous year, to bureaus and offices of the
Department, including the National Production Authority, as well as to
other Government agencies, libraries, businessmen, and the general public.
A record number of 86,198 publications were loaned and 39,251 reference
questions answered, an increase of 13,911 over the previous year. More
than 28,000 patrons came in person to the Library and more than 23,000
telephone requests were received. Publications processed totaled 404,039
and 491,704 records were made in the acquisition, cataloging, classification,
maintenance, and servicing of the collection, and in the preparation of
bibliographies and other lists. The cataloged collection numbered 345,580
volumes; 3,304 periodicals were received currently.
The Library published 59 lists during the year, including the Library
Reference List and the Business Service Check List. The Business Service
Check List was expanded in March, following the recommendation of the
Advertising Advisory Committee to the Secretary, to include all defense
agency publications, other than those published by the Department of
Defense, in addition to the Department of Commerce publications. Work
on the first section of a Department of Commerce List of Publications was
completed and final revision of the second section, the subject guide, is in
process.
In December 1950 the Economic Stabilization Agency Library was
established to provide both legal and economic library services, being
operated, by contractural agreement, as a branch of the Department
Library. On June 30 the ESA Library collection, including Office of Price
Administration publications and volumes from the OPA collection which
were transferred from the Department Library on indefinite loan, and new
publications purchased by ESA, numbered approximately 10,000 volumes.
During the 7 months from December through the end of the fiscal year,
15,787 publications were loaned and 11,161 reference requests were
answered.
PROCUREMENT DIVISION

As in previous years, the volume of each type of work performed by the
Procurement Division continued to increase. Contributory factors in 1951
were (1) the general expansion of all offices of the Department and (2) the
addition of the National Production Authority.
The value of purchase documents issued increased from $1,087,000 to
approximately $2,500,000. The number of contracts examined for the
several bureaus of the Department increased from 227 to 348, while their
value increased from $7,000,000 to $13,000,000. The value of supplies
and forms issued increased from $210,000 to $296,000. Approximately

32

A N N U A L REPO RT OF T H E

SEC R E TA R Y OF COMMERCE

8 million forms were issued. Shipments by the Receiving and Shipping
Section increased from 6.000 to over 12,000.
In the property management field, the Property Section acted on over
600 “reports of excess property” received from the bureau and offices of
the Department. The value of these reports increased from $2,500,000
to $4,000,000. The approximate cost value of all property declared excess
by the Department to the General Services Administration was $3,000,000.
The conservation program, which is concerned with the full utilization of
excess property in lieu of new purchases, effected an estimated $300,000 in
direct savings to the Department. The Typewriter Repair Section cleaned,
overhauled, or repaired 3,865 typewriters. The square footage of space
occupied by the Department increased from 3,439,572 to 3,878,285 and
the number of buildings increased from 30 to 32.
SPECIAL SERVICES STAFF

During the 1951 fiscal year, the major function of the Special Services
Staff was the maintenance of the Information Office for the public, the
bureaus of the Department, and other groups housed in Commerce space
though not necessarily integral parts of the Department. Included were
such organizations as the Air Navigation Board, the Business Advisory
Council, the Civil Aeronautics Board, the Government Patents Board, the
Inland Waterways Corporation, and interdepartmental groups on which
the Department holds membership like the Advisory Committee on Export
Policy, the Interdepartmental Committee on Critical Occupation and
Essential Activities, the Inter-Agency Critical Areas Committee, and others
presently important due to the defense effort.
The Information Office received an average of 250 visitors a day, and
either supplied answers to, or referred to appropriate sources in the Depart­
ment or elsewhere, some 865 daily inquiries by telephone. Subjects of
questions frequently were unrelated to this Department s agenda, or, for
that matter, to the program of any Federal agency.
The increase in volume of requests for information was largely attribut­
able to the setting up of the National Production Authority as one of the
Department’s Bureaus. The new, and for the most part wholly unfamiliar
subjects of inquiries touching upon this organization and its functions,
consumed a great deal of time and required especial resourcefulness and
tact on the part of the information personnel. Late in the fiscal year the
Defense Production Administration was added to the group serviced.
Essential directories and organizational charts were maintained, a sizable
task in view of the frequent shifting of functions and staffs, and the everincreasing personnel of the new groups. The 12,000 or more personnel
records, which constitute the Department’s sole central locator system, also
were maintained, and weekly reports were prepared on volume and
character of work.

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There was an increase in number of inquiries from congressional mem­
bers and committees, as well as from other Federal offices, foreign missions
resident in Washington, and visitors from abroad. Telephone inquiries
and visitors seeking assistance regarding new and proposed defense organi­
zations, even though not connected with the Department of Commerce,
were numerous.
Advisor on Negro Affairs
This office advises Department officials concerning Negro reaction to
policies and programs of the Department, provides assistance to Negro
businessmen, and acts as consultant on personnel problems.
In fiscal 1951 the Sixth Conference on the Negro in Business was held
for 300 representatives of Negro organizations. The Adviser also par­
ticipated in a number of small business clinics and institutes throughout
the country. Special help, including preparation of reports, was given to
Negro-owned lending institutions.

BUREAU OF THE CENSUS
Defense mobilization has placed many new demands for statistical data
on the Bureau. These data are needed for planning specific programs, for
administering these programs, and for evaluating the results of the effort
expended. New tabulations of existing data, expansion of series already
being collected, development of new information, and modifications of cur­
rent tabulations have been major elements in the Bureau’s activities during
the year.
At the same time the processing of the 1950 Censuses of Population,
Housing, and Agriculture has continued. By the end of the year the flow
of reports based upon these censuses was well under way.
Modifications required by security considerations were made in the publi­
cation program of the Bureau; some series previously published regularly
are now available only on a restricted basis, or are published only after
sufficient time has elapsed to deprive the information of possible value to
enemies.
DEFENSE PROGRAM

In meeting the needs of defense programs, the Bureau of the Census serves
in three important ways : ( 1) In furnishing the basic data needed for
studies of the social and economic structure and activity of the Nation as
part of its regular reporting program; (2) in preparing special tabulations
from existing records in its files; and (3) in making its skills and facilities
available on a service basis to meet data needs of the defense effort and to
handle large-scale overflow and temporary statistical tasks for other agencies
of Government.

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R e g u l a r r e p o r t s . The large amount of information issued by the Bu­
reau on population, housing, industry, business, foreign trade, agriculture,
and governments found immediate widespread application in planning
industrial allocations, manpower utilization, civilian defense, and many
other aspects of mobilization. Reports were already available covering
manufacturing in 1947 in detail. Reports resulting from the 1948 Census of
Business were issued during the year.
To meet special needs, adjustments in the content and priority of reports
covering the 1950 Censuses of Population, Housing, and Agriculture were
introduced. For example, the Standard Metropolitan Area tabulations
were scheduled ahead of other tabulations to meet specific requests from
agencies engaged in handling manpower and civilian defense problems.
S p e c ia l t a b u l a t io n s . Numerous special tabulations to serve defense
purposes have been made from returns of the recent Censuses of Manufac­
tures, Business, Population, Housing, and Agriculture. The records on file
in these censuses make it possible to fill many special needs for data without
additional collection of information in the field.
S p e c ia l s e r v ic e s i n c o l l e c t in g a n d c o m p il in g d a ta .—The Bureau has
been asked to act as statistical agent for the National Production Authority
and for other agencies engaged in defense activity. In some instances, the
needs for information have been met by expanding or adapting the Bureau’s
regular surveys, with the extra expense being met by the agency for which
the information was obtained. On industry surveys, this involved such items
as an additional column or columns to permit separation of rated from un­
rated orders, questions on manufacturers’ inventories, on orders past due,
and on other facts needed for mobilization planning. On the current
population survey, this involved obtaining, through supplementary ques­
tions on the regular monthly form, information needed to study the labor
reserve, such as estimates of the number of persons working part-time but
available for full-time work, relationships of such characteristics as marital
status, migration, and school enrollment to labor force participation, the
extent of dual job holding among employed persons, and similar items.
An example of one of the important new surveys which the Bureau is con­
ducting for the defense agencies is the quarterly Plant Operations Report
in the metalworking area. In this survey, which covers approximately 8,000
of the largest metal fabricating plants, data are obtained relating to the
level of employment; dollar value of shipments of products; unfilled orders;
consumption of steel, aluminum, and copper by shape and form; and fore­
casts of future operations. This information is assembled in detailed tabu­
lations by premobilization industry and present major activity, by product
specialization, and other categories specified by the defense agencies.
Another example of a special study conducted by the Bureau was a Sur­
vey of Occupational Mobility taken at the request of the Air Force in Jan­
uary 1951, in cooperation with the Social Science Research Council. This

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35

study was undertaken in order to determine how a cross section of the
population moves up or down the occupational ladder during a period of
war and postwar activity. Six cities—Chicago, Los Angeles, New Haven,
Philadelphia, St. Paul, and San Francisco—were included in the survey.
The results are to be analyzed by staffs of university research centers in
those cities, under the direction of the Social Science Research Council.
Because of its experience in a wide range of statistical problems, the staff
of the Bureau was called upon for assistance and advice in many ways.
Some key staff members were taken directly into defense agencies. Much
time of staff members was occupied by requests for such assistance as design­
ing and selecting samples or making available the map resources of the
Bureau to defense activities. Within the limits of applicable census laws,
the mailing lists available from the Censuses of Manufactures and Business
were used to reach producers and distributors in critical areas quickly. The
68 permanent field offices of the Bureau were used to advantage to get field
surveys into operation and to obtain special information. A defense tabula­
tion unit was established within the Machine Tabulation Division to assist in
meeting the tabulation needs of defense agencies.
MAJOR CENSUS PROGRAMS

On November 2, 1950, the Secretary of Commerce reported to the Presi­
dent the final State populations as determined by the Seventeenth Decennial
Census. This report was almost 1 month earlier than the date required
by law. The official report indicating the changes in the representation of
the various States in the House was officially transmitted to the Congress on
January 9, 1951.
The processing of returns continued throughout the year. Because of
the large volume of work, a special office was established in Philadelphia,
where approximately 70 percent of the editing, coding, and preparation of
punched cards was done for the Censuses of Population and Housing. In
Washington, D. C., work was carried on at three locations within the city, as
well as in Suitland. These operations were virtually completed by the end
of the year and the final stages of tabulation and publication were under way.
By June 30 the preparation of final reports on the number of inhabitants in
the small areas, townships, villages, etc., within each State was 40 percent
complete. Preliminary reports on the population of each county had been
issued. Through the use of sampling methods special advance tabulations
giving the characteristics of population and of dwelling units had been
published for the United States as a whole, for the 10 largest States, and
for 45 of the 57 largest metropolitan areas. The issuance of final reports
was well under way. Preliminary reports on agriculture data were avail­
able for 986 counties.
At no time is the importance of national censuses so apparent as during
the period between the completion of field work and availability of final

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results. The magnitude of a complete inventory of the Nation’s people,
homes, and farms merely reflects the large size of the country. Handling
and tabulating returns for 150,697,361 persons, 45,875,000 homes, and
5,379,000 farms is a large, technical, and time-consuming operation. At
peak, approximately 10,000 employees were engaged in processing these
reports which had been gathered by 132,000 enumerators during the pre­
vious fiscal year.
The Bureau is under constant pressure to make available certain detailed
figures for use in official actions throughout the Nation. While every effort
is made to comply with specific requests, the flow of basic materials must be
maintained to be of maximum service to all at the least possible cost to the
Government.
Some adjustments in priority of preparation and release of information
were made to meet specific needs of defense agencies. In cases where an
agency was willing to meet the extra cost involved and where it was possible
to make personnel available for the special work without damage to the
Bureau’s total work program, the Bureau has cooperated in meeting these
special needs. An outstanding example of such an undertaking was the
special block tally made for New York State. The constitution of that
State requires that State Assembly and Senatorial Districts be based on
citizen populations. If the data were not available from the census, it
would have been necessary to take a special census of the State. However, it
was possible to arrange to have this information obtained from the 1950
Census of Population schedules, with the extra expense involved borne by
the State of New York.
By July 1, 1951, the publication of the 1948 Census of Business was virtu­
ally complete. There remained only the printing of 20 special subject bul­
letins and the assembling of printed material into 7 bound volumes. One
of the seven volumes comprising the final reports of this census had been
sent to the binder and the remaining six were scheduled for binding before
November 30, 1951. During the year ending June 30, 1951, 152 bulletins
containing final area statistics (United States, State, metropolitan area,
county, and city), and 12 bulletins containing final statistics for a variety of
special subjects (merchandise line of commodity sales, credit, sales size,
employee size, etc.) were prepared, printed, and published.
Early in the fiscal year the act of September 7, 1950, was passed requiring
that a Census of Governments be taken in 1952 and every 5 years there­
after. This law replaced that portion of the Permanent Census Act of 1902,
which authorized such an undertaking once a decade. Accordingly, some
preparatory work was started. However, subsequent congressional action
failed to provide funds for taking this census and preparatory work was dis­
continued.
The first steps have been taken in preparatory work for the 1953 censuses
which, according to law, will cover manufactures, mineral industries, and

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37

other businesses, including the distributive trades, service establishments,
and transportation.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
F o r e ig n T rade S t a t is t ic s . The Bureau continued its regular program
of releasing current information on the foreign trade of the United States.
A new import classification schedule (schedule A) was issued in loose-leaf
form, replacing the classification of January 1, 1946. Plans were inau­
gurated for the preparation of the January 1, 1952, edition of schedule B,
Statistical Glassification of Domestic and Foreign Commodities Exported
from the United States. The work of preparing the schedule was coordi­
nated through the Bureau of the Budget with a large representation of in­
dustry as well as Government members.
Provisions for assuring the security of certain restricted information com­
piled by the Bureau were extended considerably during 1951 as a result
of the increased military aid programs of the United States. Extensive
work with the Defense and State Departments was also necessary to obtain
information on Mutual Defense Assistance program shipments for inclusion
in United States export statistics.
A n n u a l S u r v e y o f M a n u f a c t u r e s . Work proceeded on both the 1949
and 1950 Annual Surveys of Manufactures. The 1949 survey was com­
pleted through the table preparation stage by the end of the fiscal year.
Final figures, published in July and August, 1951, were available covering
manufacturing employment, payrolls, and man hours, value added by
manufacture, expenditures for new plant and equipment, value of shipments
of selected classes of products, and quantity and value of metals consumed
by metal fabricating plants. The 1950 annual survey was completed
through the machine tabulation stage of processing.
C u r r e n t B u s i n e s s S t a t is t ic s . The availability of 1948 Census of
Business data permitted a redesign of the reporting panel of large stores for
Current Retail Reports. The net result of the redesign was a decrease in
the number of panel members and the inclusion of all of those very large
establishments which have a disproportionately large effect on the trend
and level of retail trade. The coverage of small retail stores under the pro­
gram was extended significantly by enlarging the area sample so as to in­
clude about twice as many establishments. In the field of chain-store cov­
erage, extensions were made so that now substantially all firms in the United
States operating 26 or more units are included in the panel and in 68 sample
areas substantially all firms operating 11 to 25 establishments are covered.
G o v e r n m e n t s S t a t is t ic s . Current reporting in this field was main­
tained without material change, except for some further improvement in
timeliness. Altogether, 17 recurrent publications were issued. These pro­
vide annual data on finances of each of the 48 States and the 397 cities of
over 25,000; annual national totals of governmental revenue and debt;

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quarterly Nation-wide totals and annual State-by-State totals on public em­
ployment; and comparative figures on employment of State governments
and the larger city governments.
P o p u l a t io n S t a t is t ic s . The Bureau has continued its program of
preparing estimates of the total population and of basic demographic char­
acteristics for the United States and its major geographic parts. Various
reports have been released which brought up to date, or revised, the annual
series of estimates regularly issued. Estimates based on the final 1950
census count were released for the months following the census.
In addition to these published reports, a considerable number of unpub­
lished estimates and forecasts were prepared for, and made available to,
governmental agencies concerned with manpower and defense, and to vari­
ous private agencies.
At the request of the Bureau of Labor Standards of the Department of
Labor, special inquiries were made in connection with the Current Popula­
tion Survey in August and in October 1950 to determine the extent of em­
ployment among children between the ages of 10 and 13 years. In Septem­
ber, the Federal Security Agency sponsored a study to determine the extent
to which persons 14 to 64 years of age were unable to work or perform their
usual duties because of some temporary or permanent illness or disability.
Information on farm wage workers was obtained in December for the Bu­
reau of Agricultural Economics, in part to provide a basis for estimating the
number of such workers who would be covered under the amended socialsecurity legislation. Similarly, the Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors In­
surance sponsored a study in June 1951 to determine the extent to which
workers in various industries are covered by social security on their present
jobs, and the number and characteristics of domestic-service workers
brought under coverage by recent amendments.
ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICES
F o r e ig n A s s is t a n c e A c t iv it ie s . Under the Technical Cooperation
Program (Point IV) of the Department of State, the Bureau in cooperation
with other statistical agencies of the United States Government provides
assistance to foreign governments in the improvement of their census and
statistical services.
One phase of the program—training foreign technicians in the United
States—began in 1947. Since that time approximately 250 foreign tech­
nicians representing 41 foreign countries have received training at the
Bureau. Most of these trainees are taking an active part in directing the
statistical programs of their respective countries.
Another phase of the technical assistance program of the Bureau of the
Census relates to the special consultation service available upon request to
foreign governments. Census technicians, including statisticians, geogra­
phers, economists, and demographers, are detailed as consultants to census

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SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

39

and other statistical agencies of foreign countries. At the end of the year,
the Bureau of the Census had consultants in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Honduras,
and El Salvador.
In addition to the consultation and training activities already mentioned,
the Bureau of the Census also exchanges statistical publications and related
materials with more than 200 statistical agencies in 74 foreign countries.
Consultation service is also provided to casual foreign visitors. During
1951 the Bureau of the Census was host to 191 foreign visitors representing
49 foreign countries.
P e r s o n a l C e n s u s R e c o r d s . The number of applications received for
personal information from the census records increased somewhat during
the year. A total of 118,995 cases were handled, and 116,221 reports of
searches were sent out, including 11,303 reopened cases. A total of 181,864
pieces of mail was received in connection with this service.
M a c h in e T a b u l a t io n . During the past year the Machine Tabulation
organization reached the peak of its 10-year cycle. Almost 3,000 technicians
and operating personnel were hired and trained to operate about 2,000
units of high speed electromechanical equipment.
Measured in terms of card passes (a card pass is the passage of a punched
card once through a machine) the work load reached a level of 4 billion
units. About 92 percent of this work load was connected with regular
census operations, while the remaining 8 percent involved special projects.
The past year also saw experimental models that had been developed by
or in cooperation with the Bureau become line production machines. In­
cluded among these are multicolumn sorters, engineering changes in census
unit tabulators, special purpose copy-holders, and other devices.
On March 31 delivery was accepted of the Univac system, the high speed
electronic tabulating equipment especially designed for census use. Its
acquisition culminated a procurement program initiated in 1946. Use of
this equipment by the Bureau represents the first application, anywhere in
the world, of such electronic calculating equipment to problems of
organization and classification of large masses of statistical observations.
The equipment was put to work in the Census of Population. Many
aspects of its performance were extremely gratifying, but as was to be ex­
pected in a new and revolutionary application, certain elements of the
system demonstrated weaknesses, and a period of eliminating problems is
ahead. In addition, there is much to learn about making efficient use of
this new equipment. Experience and the use of electronic tabulating
equipment of this type will no doubt represent as great a forward stride in
census techniques as was the invention of the punch card method at Census
over half a century ago.
P e r s o n n e l . The challenge of the year was the acquisition of manpower
in a short labor market and the effective conservation and utilization of that
manpower.

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On June 30, 1951, the Bureau had 6,871 employees (including 793
part-time) of whom 4,173 (including 32 part-time) were employed on
Seventeenth Decennial Census activity. These figures contrast sharply
with the highest end-of-the-month employment figure for the year, reported
for August 1950, when there were 12,242 employees (including 2,969
part-time) of whom 9,549 (including 2,169 part-time) were employed on
Seventeenth Decennial Census activity.
The large fluctuations in employment are indicative of personnel prob­
lems encountered during the year. Building the Philadelphia Decennial
Tabulation Office staff from 490 employees at the beginning of the year to
over 3,400 at the peak of activity there in November 1950, and subsequently
reducing the staff to 29 employees as of the end of the fiscal year was in
itself a major accomplishment.
F in a n c e . The sum obligated by the Bureau during the past fiscal \ear
amounted to $37,000,000 of which 72 percent was for the operations of the
Seventeenth Decennial Census. Of the total, about $2,000,000 was obli­
gated from working funds or trust funds, involving work done by the
Bureau for other Federal agencies or others.

CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
Good progress was made during the fiscal year 1951 on all major pro­
grams of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, with special emphasis
being placed on those bearing on national defense.
FEDERAL AIRWAYS FACILITIES

Expanded operations by both civil and military users of air space, com­
bined with renewed national defense emphasis, increased demands for the
development, establishment, relocation, and operation of Federal airways
facilities everywhere. Efforts to satisfy these increased demands included
(1) providing technical assistance to civilian, governmental, and foreign
agencies concerned with aviation: (2) conducting training programs in
which United States and foreign technicians were instructed in the main­
tenance and operation of existing, improved, and new air navigation and
traffic control equipment and facilities; and (3) acceleration of projects
essential to the implementation of a common system of air traffic control
and navigation.
Security control positions were established at 10 air route traffic control
centers to assist the Air Defense Command in the identification of airciaft
entering and operating within critical areas. At the request of the Air
Force, action was begun during the year to control air navigation aids and
aeronautical communications when and if required in the interests of
national security.
Substantial progress was made in implementing the traffic control system.
Of the more than 400 VOR (very high frequency omnirange) facilities

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41

designed to cover the United States, 305 had been fully commissioned
and 11 others were operating on a test basis. Ninety-eight instrument
landing systems (ILS) were in operation. Thirteen left-hand single row
high intensity light systems were completed at high priority airports and
other types of approach light systems were installed throughout the United
States for test purposes.
Nine airport surveillance radar (ASR) systems and nine precision
approach radar (PAR) facilities were in operation at Boston, New York
International, New York LaGuardia, Newark, Washington National,
Atlanta, Chicago Midway, Cleveland, and Los Angeles airports. The two
types of radar, used together, constitute a “ground controlled approach”
system.
The prototype distance measuring equipment (DME) successfully passed
all type tests and 10 ground stations have been installed on the ChicagoNew York airway for operational testing. Contracts have been awarded
for an additional 445 units, with delivery expected in the next fiscal year.
Installation of this equipment will further benefit air navigation by pro­
viding continuous accurate information as to an aircraft’s distance from
an airport runway or from the omnirange.
Preflight assistance to pilots was provided in over 2 million instances
and over 1 million flight plans were handled. A total of 1,433 cases of
emergency assistance to aircraft in flight were handled successfully. These
involved approximately 2,500 lives and property in excess of $25,600,000.
Airport traffic control towers controlled over 16 million takeoffs and land­
ings and the towers and air route traffic control centers handled approxi­
mately 360,000 instrument approaches. Ground-control approaches
handled by 9 towers numbered 26,653 and these same locations used radar
to monitor 62,534 approaches.
Nonspectacular, but vital to the safety of civil and military aviation, was
the continuing task of maintaining the many thousands of complex
electronic installations along the 71,859 miles of controlled civil airways.
AIRPORTS
F e d e r a l A id A ir p o r t P r o g r a m . By the end of the fifth fiscal year of
the 12-year, $520,000,000 Federal aid airport program, plans, specifications
and legal documents, amounting to $162.2 million in construction and
representing 97 percent of the funds allocated for airport construction
during the fiscal years 1947 through 1951, were completed. Only those
projects which contributed to the national defense were programmed
during the year. During the fiscal year there were 574 grant agreements
entered into for a total of $39.7 million and 901 projects were under
construction, of which 491 were completed.
The Office of Airports continued its representation on the Working
Group of the Air Coordinating Committee’s Airport Use Panel which is
responsible generally for making advisory recommendations to the ACC

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SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

regarding policies involving coordination between the military and civil
agencies on airport matters. It and its predecessor, the Airport Use Com­
mittee, have conducted public hearings at 11 communities for the purpose
of resolving military and civil airport problems, especially those of joint
military and civil use.
The Office of Airports continued to maintain facility records on all air­
ports in the country for the use of military and civilian interests. Its
airport engineers furnished extensive services to the military in the many
problems of airport construction and it supplied the military with infor­
mation on the condition of facilities and the rights of the military to use
airports constructed under the several Federal airport programs.
W a s h in g t o n N a t io n a l A ir p o r t . The number of scheduled airline
passengers enplaning and deplaning at the CAA-operated airport reached
a record high of 2,083,982. This is an increase of 671,728 over the previous
fiscal year.
The south extension to the terminal building was placed in operation in
January of 1951. Consisting of approximately 73,000 square feet of space,
covering three floors, it adds greatly to the comfort and convenience of all
who use the airport.
W a s h i n g t o n S u p p l e m e n t a l A ir p o r t . The need for supplemental air­
port facilities to serve Washington was met by the passage of Public Law 762
of the Eighty-first Congress, approved September 7, 1950. This law
authorized construction of a new airport and an appropriation of $14,000,000 to cover the cost of initial development. An actual appropriation
of $1,000,000 was made for planning purposes and land acquisition.
During the fiscal year detailed site surveys were undertaken. A site com­
prising approximately 4,200 acres was selected south and west of Burke, Va.,
and condemnation proceedings were filed against the property on June
15, 1951.
SAFETY

Safety programs to insure compliance with prescribed safety standards
and to encourage safe practices made progress during the year. Improved
maintenance and training practices of the scheduled airlines were empha­
sized and special inspections were conducted to raise maintenance standards.
The program to improve inspection methods and regulations for irregular
air carrier operations resulted in better safety records for these operators;
there were no fatal accidents in this field during the fiscal year.
The preventive maintenance program continued. Studies of aircraft
malfunctionings, defects, and accidents were intensified and improved re­
porting systems devised to prevent unsafe operations. Alert bulletins were
adopted to provide information on hazardous conditions reported.
Distinct progress was made in the study of crash fire problems through fullscale crash fire tests under the auspices of the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics Fire Subcommittee on which CAA is represented.

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43

A simplified method of analysis of vibration in aircraft assemblies was
devised and released for use by the industry.
Regulations for certification and modification of aircraft used in indus­
trial aviation were adopted. They provide for greater freedom in develop­
ment, modification, and use of equipment.
The Office of Aviation Safety assumed major responsibility for type
certification and continuous determination of conformity and acceptability
of “off-the-shelf’ aeronautical products procured by the military. CAA
assumed procurement responsibility for 31 contracts.
Major type certification projects during the year included the Douglas
DG-6A and DC-6B models, and the first roadable type aircraft, the Fulton
Airphibian. Type certification of the CAA-sponsored agricultural type
aircraft, AG-1, neared completion.
Discussion was carried on with aircraft manufacturers concerning turbine
type engines which they are considering for use in civil transport aircraft.
One civil transport aircraft has been equipped with a turbine-propeller
powerplant and is flying on an experimental basis. Twenty-four new engine
models ranging in power from 90 to 3,500 horsepower were approved and
45 new propellers plus a number of associated accessories were type
certificated and approved.
The most outstanding accomplishment in relation to type certification
was that which provided for appropriate Washington office participation in
the type certification of aircraft, giving the industry direct access to the
Washington office and improving coordination.
The way was cleared for qualified manufacturers to accomplish type,
production, and airworthiness certification of small aircraft, and the neces­
sary procedure and regulations are expected to be issued early in fiscal 1952.
A project was started to demonstrate safe recovery from stalls by a method
which results in the least loss of altitude.
A procedure for the issuance of airman identification cards was put into
effect on April 15, 1951.
Aviation safety has led in collaborative studies on emergency evacuation
of aircraft.
Progress was made toward improving voice communication phraseology
in collaboration with the Air Force.
Studies made at the Aeronautical Center on the effects of windblast from
explosive decompression on crew and passengers have served aircraft manu­
facturers and operators both in the United States and in friendly foreign
countries.
A total of 2,695 reports of violations of the Civil Air Regulations was
received during the year and 2,788 enforcement cases, including carry-overs,
were handled. The General Counsel’s Office prepared the final draft and
assisted in obtaining acceptance by the National Association of State Avia­

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SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

tion Officials of a policy which, when implemented, should improve air
safety by providing a proper place for the States in the enforcement of air
safety rules.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

At the Technical Development and Evaluation Center at Indianapolis,
fire testing of XR60-1 and XB-45 engine installations was completed.
These tests provided design requirements for fire detecting and extinguish­
ing systems and established correct crew procedures in the event of fire in
flight.
A high-rate discharge fire-extinguishing system, representing simplification
and weight saving over previously used systems, together with a 60 percent
reduction of the agent required, was developed and is undergoing service
testing by the Department of the Navy.
A bladder cell type fuel tank which withstands simulated crash tests
without rupturing was developed.
A miniature omnirange, suitable for installation on an airport as a
terminal aid, was also developed and successfully tested at a number of
airports.
Substantial progress was made in developing instruments which give the
pilot pictorial information for use of new airway aids.
Flight assistance service demonstrations given during the year in most of
the CAA regions to acquaint private pilots with facilities and services avail­
able by the various Government agencies to aid in aerial navigation were
widely attended.
Work on the agricultural airplane, AG-1 (primarily financed by CAA),
which was completed and test flown in December of 1950, continued. The
airplane has been demonstrated over much of the United States and scores
of aerial applicator pilots have flown it for evaluation purposes. The second
phase of the program, the design, construction, and testing of the dispensing
equipment, will be completed without cost to CAA at Texas Agricultural
and Mechanical College.
All of the CAA regions have held one or more agricultural aviation con­
ferences for the purpose of educating agriculture aviation pilots, operators,
and farmers on the safe and efficient use of chemicals in agricultural
aviation.
Assistance was given to the Federal Civil Defense Administration in
formulating plans for the use of civil aircraft in civil defense. In coopera­
tion with FCDA and the National Association of State Aviation Officials, a
State Plan for Civil Aviation Mobilization and Civil Defense, was prepared
and distributed. A draft of civil aviation search and rescue plans for the
United States was prepared and distributed to all State aviation officials.
A prototype aircraft testing program, designed to help the United States
retain supremacy in the transport aircraft field, was begun during the year

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45

in accordance with congressional authorization. An advisory committee of
Government, industry, and labor representatives was created to assist the
CAA in carrying out this program. The committee has drawn up general
specifications for various types of advanced transport aircraft, and has
completed plans for the simulated airline operation of available jet (B—45)
aircraft.
At the request of State and local school authorities, CAA aviation educa­
tion advisors assisted with aviation education programs in the 48 States, the
District of Columbia, and the Territory of Alaska. Information for avia­
tion education programs was sent, on request, to England, Sweden, Mexico,.
Japan, New Zealand, Greece, Switzerland, India, South Africa, and
Australia.
INFORMATION SERVICES

The more than 12,000 letters received by the Inquiry Branch during the
year indicate the widespread interest of the public and the aviation industry
in the informational material prepared by the Office of Aviation
Information.
To assist the defense effort, the office undertook such activities as the
publicizing to pilots of procedures for flight in air defense identification
zones and of the importance of avoiding atomic energy prohibited areas.
It also assisted in disseminating throughout the aviation industry informa­
tion on methods of obtaining equipment under the DO (Defense Order)
and CMP (Controlled Materials) programs.
Introduction of new technical devices, particularly those which are part
of the common civil-military air navigation and traffic control system, re­
quired special supporting efforts by the Office of Aviation Information.
These included preparation of operating models of the omnirange, radar,
and the instrument landing system, first shown at the International Aero­
nautical Salon in Paris near the end of the fiscal year to promote a uniform
world-wide system based on United States methods.
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

In 1951 the CAA program of inspection and service to United States flag
carriers in their international operations was continued and strengthened.
Eleven United States scheduled flag carriers serve 152 foreign points on all
continents of the world and operate 232,195 miles of international routes
with 540 aircraft. In addition, there are 64 United States irregular carriers,
operating 171 aircraft.
The international region provided major round-the-clock assistance to air
carriers operating in the trans-Pacific airlift under contract to the military
services. This assistance was an important factor in the carriers’ record
of no accidents, fatal or nonfatal.
The 12-month period witnessed CAA approval of Pan American World
Airways’ radiotelephone air/ground operation on its North Atlantic and
973 6 1 0 — 51-------4

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Pacific routes, rounding out a long-term project for conversion from radio­
telegraph to radiotelephone communications. Pan American now operates
around the world using voice-—one of the most significant achievements in
the 1950-51 communications program.
Progress in international implementation of the United States-developed
common system of air navigation and traffic control was indicated by the
following: More than 30 instrument landing system installations are now
in operation in the European area; VHF omniranges (VOR) have been
commissioned at London and Wales; DME (distance measuring equip­
ment) is in operation at London and Paris, and 1 installation is being loaned
the Italian Government for Rome; the Far Eastern Air Force (Tokyo)
plans VOR’s for installation in that country; the Lorenz Co. (Berlin) has
contracts for 8 military VOR installations in Germany. Necessary liai­
son was conducted with the Department of State and ECA to insure coop­
eration and implementation by those groups.
A three-man mission traffic control survey in Japan was completed under
international region sponsorship, resulting in safer and more efficient use
of Japanese airspace by civil and military aircraft. Assistance was pro­
vided to the Office of the Supreme Commander, Allied Powers in Japan,
in preliminary drafting of policies and plans for the development of an
internal airline for Japan.
Technical aviation assistance under economic and military aid programs
was furnished to 11 foreign countries, increasing the technical proficiency
and financial health of air transportation in these countries and contributing
to Point 4 and ECA program objective of economic development.
Ninety-six civil aviation officials from 35 countries visited CAA offices for
technical discussions and demonstrations of United States equipment and
procedures and 88 high-level employees of other governments or civil avia­
tion enterprises came to CAA for training programs under ECA, Depart­
ment of Defense and Department of State sponsored programs.
CAA assisted in the simplification and standardization of aircraft entry
and clearance procedures and requirements. United States air carriers have
informally reported savings of millions of dollars in terms of reduced man­
power needs, simplified documentation, and greater use of aircraft as a result.
CAA assisted in working out a simplified procedure for flight plans of flights
between Canada and the United States.
AVIATION DEFENSE REQUIREMENTS

The Office of Aviation Defense Requirements, established on January 21,
1951, made real progress in obtaining recognition by the Defense Produc­
tion Administration and the National Production Authority of the essential
nature of civil aviation in general and of the material requirements of the
four major civil aviation programs—air carrier aircraft, noncarrier aircraft,
civil airports, and Federal Airways and supporting units. Program sched­

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ules were developed and DO (Defense Order) rating authorizations issued
to manufacturers to permit the production of 327 carrier type airplanes from
July 1951 through June 1953.
Arrangements were made with NPA and the Munitions Board to permit
purchasing agents of the air carriers to apply DO ratings to their purchase
orders for maintenance, repair, and operating materials.
A program designed to provide materials for production of noncarrier
aircraft was approved by the Air Coordinating Committee and DPA. Later
action established material requirements for the noncarrier production pro­
gram at 3,500 planes for 1952.
As a result of the rating programs authorized and close coordination with
NPA on requests for spot assistance, the materials requirements for all phases
of civil aviation were adequately covered during the last half of the fiscal
year, and groundwork laid for continued recognition of these requirements
after July 1, 1951, when the Controlled Materials Plan became effective.
During fiscal 1951, the CAA operated aircraft for official purposes a
total of 54,633 hours. Of this total, 28,735 hours were flown by the CAAowned fleet of aircraft and the remaining 25,898 hours in rented aircraft.
A study of the use of official CAA vehicles resulted in the reduction of
CAA’s passenger car fleet by 57.

COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
The Coast and Geodetic Survey is responsible for surveying and charting
the coastal waters of the United States, its Territories and possessions; for
making geodetic control surveys in the interior; and for performing certain
collateral activities for the promotion of commerce, for the development of
our natural resources, and for aid in the national defense.
Military operations in the Far East during the fiscal year brought new
demands for the Survey’s products from the armed services and for accelera­
tion of our mapping program in areas of strategic importance, particularly
Alaska. A special agreement was entered into between the Secretary of
Commerce and the Secretary of the Army whereby the Coast and Geodetic
Survey will conduct all basic geodetic surveys needed by the Department
of Defense.
HYDROGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY

Sixteen ships and two shore-based parties operated along the Atlantic,
Gulf, and Pacific coasts, and in Alaska, making surveys and collecting basic
data for new nautical charts and for modernizing existing ones. High
priority was given the work in Alaska. Surveys were extended in south­
eastern Alaska, along the south coast of the Alaska Peninsula, in the eastern
Aleutians, in the Bering Sea, and along the Arctic coast. The electronic
position indicator, developed in the Survey for locating a survey vessel’s
position in offshore hydrographic surveying, was used in Alaska for the

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first time. This device will have a significant effect on the accuracy of
surveys in the extensive Bering Sea area, where fog abounds for a good part
of the working season.
Aerial photographs, taken primarily with the Survey’s nine-lens camera,
furnished basic data for compiling topographic maps by photogrammetric
methods. Photographs were taken and photogrammetric field surveys were
made of coastal areas along the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Alaska coasts.
In furtherance of the airport obstruction plan program, photographs were
taken of 149 airports in the United States, and 5 airport parties completed
original or revision surveys of 75 airports. Nineteen new airport obstruc­
tion plans were published during the year, bringing the number available
to 382.
GEODESY, TIDES, AND MAGNETISM

The basic network of horizontal and vertical control was further ex­
tended during the year for use in mapping and engineering. Major activi­
ties were in western Alaska and in various priority areas in the United States
for the Department of Defense, the United States Geological Survey, and
other Federal agencies, and for various State and local entities.
The adjustment of special earthquake surveys in southern California was
completed during the year. These surveys are made periodically to deter­
mine any movement of triangulation stations which may indicate seismic
activity. Although no extreme horizontal displacement was disclosed, there
is evidence of a movement in a northwest direction relative to the earthquake
fault line. The gravimetric deflection project was completed. Indica­
tions are that the gravimetric method can now be applied in the establish­
ment of continental datums and the determination of a more accurate figure
of the earth.
The tidal program continued to furnish basic data for hydrographic
operations, for the predictions of tides and currents, and for numerous other
engineering and scientific uses. In furtherance of this program, 94 stand­
ard-type tide stations were kept in operation during the year and continuous
records of the rise and fall of the tide obtained. Short series were also
obtained from 83 portable-type stations. Additional tidal data were re­
ceived through cooperative arrangements with other countries, particularly
in Central and South America. Special tide and current studies were made
for 10 areas in the interest of national defense.
A comprehensive current survey of the Aleutian Islands passes was in
progress during the year, and much valuable information of importance to
navigation was obtained in this exposed area. Other important current
surveys were conducted in Tongass Narrows, Alaska, and in Charleston
Harbor, S. C.
The program of collecting data on temperature and density of sea water
at standard-type tide stations was continued; data were obtained from sta­
tions in Central and South America.

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The magnetic survey of the United States was carried forward to provide
additional information for navigation, for surveyors and engineers using
compasses, and for various scientific purposes. Observations were made
at 67 new stations and at 7 observatories. A new observatory was opened
during the year at Houston, Tex., in cooperation with the University of
Houston.
The year witnessed the first important work of magnetic field surveying
using an airborne magnetometer. Thousands of miles of continuous mag­
netic profiles were obtained on flight lines in the United States and adjacent
ocean areas. This high-altitude work will improve the magnetic data
shown on aeronautical charts and will provide important scientific and tech­
nical information.
SEISMOLOGY

The seismologic program of the Survey is broadly directed toward earth­
quake mapping and engineering seismology. In furtherance of the map­
ping program, seismographs were operated by the Survey at 7 stations and
cooperatively at 14 other stations. Comprehensive exchange of data was
carried out with many foreign and domestic sources— 16,328 messages
were received and the locations of 598 earthquakes determined. The Assam
earthquake of August 15, 1950, one of the greatest of modern times, was
pinpointed within 5 hours after its occurrence.
As part of its engineering seismology program, 53 strong-motion seismo­
graphs were operated in the western areas for recording ground motions
of destructive earthquakes. The major United States activity of the year
occurred in the Imperial Valley, Calif., on July 26 to 29.
The operational system for warning the Hawaiian Islands against de­
structive seismic sea waves in the Pacific Ocean was continued. There
are now 16 tide stations and 9 seismograph stations in the system. Several
submarine earthquakes were located during the year, but no destructive
sea waves resulted and public alerts were unnecessary.
NAUTICAL AND AERONAUTICAL CHARTS

Military action in Korea brought a greatly increased demand for nautical
and aeronautical charts from the Armed Forces. Over 28,500,000 charts
of all categories were distributed during the year, an increase of over
2,000,000 from the previous year and an all-time high.
A total of 917 nautical charts, at various scales, was on issue at the end
of the fiscal year. There were 2,400,000 copies distributed, requiring
over 11,000,000 hand corrections to bring the charts up to date for essential
information. Considerable progress was made in reconstructing and
modernizing nautical charts to make them more responsive to the needs
of present-day navigation. Three new charts of the Gulf Intracoastal
Waterway series were published, and five were in various stages of comple­

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tion. Of the scheduled 33 charts of the Waterway, 21 are now available
for distribution.
Twenty-six million aeronautical charts were printed during the year for
civil and military use. There were 1,028 different charts available at the
end of the year to meet the various needs of the aviator. These comprise
standard and auxiliary charts, instrument approach and landing charts,
and radio facility charts. A new supplemental series of radio facility charts
was begun during the year. These portray airways controlled by the VOR
(very high frequency omnidirectional range) system. In this series highfrequency data are accentuated and low-frequency data subdued. Another
series of charts (AL-VOR) initiated during the year is designed for making
final instrument approaches and landings at airfields equipped with VO R
landing aids. The series of seven route charts of the United States was.
completed. These are designed to meet the requirements of high-speed
air carriers operating at high altitudes.
TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS AND COOPERATION

The Survey’s program of research and development to improve its in­
struments, equipment, and operating techniques was advanced during the
year. Significant improvements were the design of a new standard tide
gage and a pressure gage, the construction of a new ship electronic position
indicator for use in Alaska, and the design and construction of an aluminum
power launch for inshore hydrographic surveys. In addition, the design
of a special lightweight shoran unit was begun for installation in a buoy or
for temporary installation on a beach. Several improvements, designed
to relieve production bottlenecks, were made in chart-reproduction processes.
An intensive program was also initiated to improve the legibility of airport
landing charts by omitting superfluous information. The completion of
a visual magnetograph will provide a valuable contribution to the study
of the earth’s geomagnetic field.
Cooperation was extended during the year to a number of national
agencies (Federal, State, and local), and to foreign governments and inter­
national organizations through new and existing arrangements. Under
provisions of the Point 4 program and other acts, 27 trainees, primarily
from Latin-American countries, and 14 visitors from 11 countries received
instruction in surveying and charting methods. In addition, technicians
from Canada and five European countries visited the Survey to observe its
lithographic techniques. A technical mission was sent to Liberia to deter­
mine existing conditions and priority of requirements for surveying and
mapping that country under the Point 4 program.
PERSONNEL CHANGES

The Department notes with regret the retirement from active service on
May 31, 1951, of Rear Adm. K. T. Adams, assistant director of the Coast
and Geodetic Survey. Admiral Adams has been a member of the Survey
since 1912 and has served as assistant director since 1949. On June 1, 1951,

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51

he was succeeded as assistant director by Rear Adm. Robert W. Knox.
Mr. Joseph M. Hart was appointed Chief of the Division of Personnel on
January 2, 1951, pursuant to the creation of this division during the previous
fiscal year.

BUREAU OF FOREIGN A N D DOMESTIC COMMERCE
The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce was created to foster,
promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce of the United
States. It is currently composed of the Office of Business Economics, Office
of Industry and Commerce, Office of International Trade, and Office of
Field Service.
The Bureau discharges its functions both through direct service to the
business community and through its specialized contribution to Government
policies and programs affecting the economy and American business.
These functions are carried out on the basis of (1) a fund of statistical and
other information, relating to business and to the economy generally, which
is evaluated, interpreted, and analyzed for widest possible use; (2) continu­
ing surveys of trends through which the changing needs of business are
anticipated and on the basis of which the Bureau’s programs are modified;
and (3) an intimate knowledge of industry and trade both at home and
abroad.
Office of Business Economics
Expansion and acceleration of the regular flow of OBE material on
economic trends, the gross national product, national income, and the
balance of international payments have been necessary to provide the ad­
visory services requested in the past year of stepped-up defense mobilization.
The national income data provide the basic economic measures required
for calculating the impact of military and related programs upon our pro­
ductive resources, as well as the inflationary pressures being engendered
in the economy as it meets the needs for expansion and diversion of a major
part of output to defense. Military considerations have swelled the pre­
viously high volume of requests to OBE for basic economic information;
for information on the nature and effect of new Government programs, and
on the effects upon business and the consumer of materials shortages, of
increased taxation, and credit limitations; for special presentations of data
on international transactions; and for summary facts on the extent, nature,
and destination of Federal aid to foreign governments.
The Office of Business Economics, through careful use of its resources and
the development or revision of data and analyses, has met virtually all of
the demands registered by business and Government agencies. At the
same time it has collected, compiled, and released regularly the statistical
materials for which it is responsible, while also conducting a number of
special surveys in an effort to meet new problems requiring quantitative
evaluation for their solution.

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Completion of the 1951 National Income Supplement to the Survey of
Current Business during the past fiscal year enabled OBE to present in one
volume the results of 20 years’ pioneering research in the development of the
national accounts. For the first time, a complete description of the sources
and methods used in the establishment of these fundamental statistical
measures has been condensed for succinct presentation within the covers
of a single volume. The resulting publication also contains all the detailed
national accounts themselves—in 48 tables—and a review of economic
developments since 1929.
This latest OBE contribution to economic knowledge represents a signifi­
cant step toward one of our objectives—to provide a unified statistical
picture of the national economy. In less apparent ways, however, the
Office has during the past year served Congress and Government agencies—
especially the defense agencies like the Office of Defense Mobilization, Eco­
nomic Stabilization Agency, National Production Authority, and the De­
fense Production Administration—by providing special economic materials
and analyses stemming from its basis functions, and by offering guidance
in the development and administration of programs for economic controls.
At the request of the United States Air Force, which outlined its needs
and provided funds for a continuing investigation being coordinated through
the Bureau of the Budget, the Office of Business Economics has undertaken
to study the adequacy of industrial capacity in selected fields of prime
importance in defense programs.
CURRENT BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Heightened activity in war-supporting industries, and vastly increased
Government spending, have caused a continuing rise in the rate of national
economic activity to be evidenced in the economic indicators regularly pre­
sented and analyzed in OBE’s Survey of Current Business. This regular
monthly magazine continues, therefore, to be used extensively in the United
States and abroad as a comprehensive reference for up-to-date information
and fundamental analyses relating to all phases of American business activ­
ity. Indicative of the wide range of economic materials currently issued
by the Office of Business Economics are the titles of some of the articles
published in the Survey of Current Business thus far in 1951 :
Business Investment and Sales Expectations in 1951.
Trend of Inventories in the Mobilization Period.
Recent Trends in Retail Trade.
Current Financial Position of Corporations.
Estimates of Gross National Product in Constant Dollars, 1929-1949.
Private United States Direct Investments Abroad.
International Travel in 1950.
Foreien Aid bv the United States Government in Calendar Year
1950.

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53

During June the Office of Business Economics brought to a conclusion its
very extensive survey of the earnings of physicians, another in the series
which previously had covered the incomes of lawyers and dentists. Car­
ried on with the assistance of the American Medical Association, this survey
was the most extensive one of its kind, with an almost unprecedented
response rate from members of the profession. Demand for the published
results was so large that thousands of reprints were needed to meet the
needs of local medical societies. The American Medical Association itself
ordered 15,000 copies.
Continuing the series of statistical supplements which have been issued
biennially since 1932, OBE also carried to completion Business Statistics,
the 1951 statistical supplement to the Survey of Current Business. Here
the 2,600 business indicators appearing in each monthly issue of the maga­
zine are rounded up in a review covering more than 300 pages, to provide
a comprehensive record for back years and put more recent data in perspec­
tive. The latest volume in this long series shows monthly data from January
1947 through December 1950, with annual averages back to 1935.
A feature of Business Statistics is its explanatory material and descriptions,
to furnish the reader with information essential to proper use of the data.
For example, definitions of the statistical units employed, methods by which
the data are collected, and some idea of the adequacy of statistical samples
used, are furnished for each business indicator.
In the field of regional business indexes—where OBE annually makes
an important contribution through its data on personal income by States
and regions—a thoroughgoing examination of differences in regional eco­
nomic progress as between the regions was prepared for publication under
the title, “Regional Trends in the United States Economy.” In this re­
view of each region’s business trends from 1929 to 1950, the place of the
area in the national ranking is shown explicitly, along with the factors
contributing to its economic progress and the changes which have gov­
erned their development.
FOREIGN TRANSACTIONS

Security regulations necessitated limiting some of the OBE published data
on specific Government transactions abroad, but most of the statistics were
continued currently in the quarterly reports which extend back over the
past decade. Expansion of international programs since the end of World
War II has vastly increased the size and complexity of these accounts. Cur­
rently, for example, the Military Defense Assistance Program is coming to
the fore, although a heavy volume of transactions continues under the
European Recovery Program. For the determination of the extent of ap­
propriations desirable for these and many other programs abroad, the re­
sources of OBE are relied upon heavily by congressional committees.

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At the same time the economic pulse of foreign countries is regularly
observable in the balance of international payments reports issued quarterly
by OBE.
Under the Point 4 program, a census of American holdings of private
direct investments abroad was undertaken. A current record of present
American investments is necessary as groundwork for any program for the
encouragement of further private investment in underdeveloped countries.
Data on American expenditures and receipts abroad have been regularly
compiled and presented in the balance of payments reports; the collection,
compilation, and analysis of the investment census results constitute a
formidable additional job.
The Office of Business Economics, under provisions of the Act of Inter­
national Development (Pub. Law 535, 81st Cong.) gives training to se­
lected foreign government and central bank personnel in the preparation
of national income and balance of payments estimates. The program is pri­
marily to assist the participating countries in the preparation of these na­
tional economic measures for policy guidance.
The system of national economic accounts taught to trainees is designed
to provide a clear, integrated, comprehensive statistical picture of the work­
ings of a national economy. As a result of the training, participants on re­
turn to their countries adapt or make use of the knowledge so gained to
promote a more uniform and accurate exchange of information among na­
tions. In addition, the program tends to foster a closer relationship be­
tween the United States and the participating foreign countries.
During the fiscal year 1951, 38 trainees from 25 different countries received
instruction.
Office of Industry and Commerce
In September 1950 the National Production Authority was authorized in
the Department of Commerce. The industry divisions of the Office of
Industry and Commerce were transferred for an indefinite period to the
National Production Authority and became the nucleus of industrial opera­
tions in the NPA. These operations include the actual allocation of critical
materials in short supply. The Marketing Division and the Small Business
Division of the Office of Industry and Commerce were also transferred to the
NPA and became the Office of Civilian Requirements and the Office of
Small Business, respectively, in the NPA. These transfers provided the
NPA with personnel trained and experienced in industrial and trade mat­
ters, which greatly accelerated the development and execution of these con­
trol operations.
The three remaining divisions of the Office of Industry and Commerce
are contributing to the national defense program, and are also continuing
their normal functions.

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AREA DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

Local areas and states were confronted with many problems of economic
■development in fiscal 1951; these were occasioned by the national concern
with defense mobilization. Hundreds of communities organized to expand
their economic base and to utilize their resources for defense production.
Often their effort took the form of sending a local delegation to Washington
with the mistaken impression that they could bring back a defense plant.
In Washington, these groups usually met with understandable frustration,
and returned home to the communities disillusioned.
Early in the defense effort the Area Development Division recognized
the need to help guide the energies of these civic groups into worth-while
programs of community economic development which would at the same
time serve defense needs. In cooperation with state development and re­
sources commissions, the Division provided consultation and technical
guidance along these lines. For example, the publication, Community
Industrial Development in the Defense Period, set forth in simple language
what influence the Federal Government has on industrial location, what
positive steps a community can take to help existing industry grow through
defense production and to get new industry established in accordance with
the resources of an area.
The state development and resources agencies for which the Division acts
as the Federal liaison also sought assistance in readapting their programs to
defense exigencies. A week-long meeting was conducted by the Division
at which representatives of Federal defense programs explored ways and
means by which the State and Federal programs could be geared into each
other for efficiency and mutual benefit. The results of this conference were
reported in a publication called The States and National Defense. In
follow-up of this conference, the Division arranged a number of meetings
for the Defense Mobilization Committee, representing the various state de­
velopment and resources commissions, with congressional committees and
executive agencies. These meetings were to further cooperation at the
state level on programs to aid defense production, small business, and
economic development generally.
The Federal Government has large construction programs in the river
and water field. These programs have the ultimate purpose of developing
river basin areas, yet there are no studies of the industrial and business
opportunities for investment which are made available by these resource
developments. The Division in a modest way has been attempting to over­
come this deficiency, particularly in connection with the Arkansas-WhiteRed inter-agency comprehensive study which it is hoped will point the way
for similar work in other basins.
The Division’s activities also included services to industry in plant loca­
tion, participation in the work underlying the report of the President’s

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Water Resources Policy Commission, and preparation of guides and ma­
terials helpful to groups concerned with the economic development of the
domestic areas of the United States.
COMMODITY STANDARDS DIVISION

The Commodity Standards Division was transferred from the National
Bureau of Standards to the Office of Industry and Commerce at the begin­
ning of the fiscal year. It continued without interruption its principal
function of cooperation with industry in the voluntary establishment of
Simplified Practice Recommendations and Commercial Standards at the
specific request of the industries concerned.
During the year, 19 Commercial Standards and 14 Simplified Practice
Recommendations were established, and the manuscripts prepared for
printing. Twenty-five Commercial Standards and 12 Simplified Practice
Recommendations were issued as printed pamphlets. In addition, 46
Commercial Standards and 26 Simplified Practice Recommendations were
under devetopment. Because of urgent military needs for a standard for
gage blanks, a 120-page Commercial Standard on that subject was
developed by the Division and printed by the Department of Defense.
In cooperation with the National Bureau of Standards and the Bureau
of Human Nutrition and Home Economics of the United States Department
of Agriculture, an extensive and detailed study of apparel sizing was con­
ducted at the request of the apparel industry. The study consisted of a
statistical analysis of body measurements made by the Department of
Agriculture, and correlation of these data with industry practice.
Members of the Division served as chairmen or members on a number
of technical committees of the Federal Specifications Board and the De­
partment of Defense, and on various committees of technical societies and
trade associations outside of Government.
The Division provides a central source of information on Commodity
Standards for Federal, State, and municipal governments, as well as pri­
vate industry. The facilities of the Division were used extensively by the
Economic Cooperation Administration, and also by the Office of Interna­
tional Trade and by conservation specialists of the National Production
Authority. Foreign industries, prompted by the EC A, requested and ob­
tained frequent information and advice. Foreign visitors were given infor­
mation and instruction on the subject of standards. Copies of numerous
Commercial Standards and Simplified Practice Recommendations were
supplied to the Department of Defense for use in procurement and testing of
supplies.
TRADE ASSOCIATION DIVISION

The Trade Association Division centered its activities on services per­
taining to the National Defense Program. It has long been the center of
information in the Federal Government on all types of nonprofit organiza­

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57

tions in the business picture. These are located in several thousand cities
throughout the 48 States. They are the spark plugs of effective
Government-business cooperation.
The newly created defense agencies and their field offices were constantly
furnished with data on the over 15,000 trade associations, professional
societies, chambers of commerce, and related groups in the United States.
The Division assisted in the formation of many coordinating committees
with the American Trade Association Executives, the Chamber of Com­
merce of the United States, the National Association of Manufacturers,
and similar federations.
Among the reports prepared were those on potential defense-aid services
of associations; summaries of defense agency reports of special interest to
associations; a 1951 supplement to the 700-page directory issued in 1950;
and a survey of 5,000 community cooperation organizations.
Office of International Trade
The changing international situation necessitated many modifications
in the work of the Office of International Trade, which was reshaped to
make a maximum contribution to the National Defense Program.
Activities not contributing to that program were curtailed. The growth
in foreign demand at a time when materials shortages were increasing in
the United States led to the tightening of export controls and greatly in­
creased the workload involved in administering the export control program.
The security aspects of that program required the detailing of a large
number of staff members to the continuous analysis of the trade of all coun­
tries of the free world with members of the Soviet bloc.
Also emphasized in the work of O IT were those activities necessary to
assist businessmen responsible for the movement of United States exports
and for foreign procurement of materials and equipment needed in this
country. A much larger volume of information was required to contribute
to effective functioning in the defense effort of such Government agencies
as the Office of Defense Mobilization, the Department of State, and the
Central Intelligence Agency.
EXPORT CONTROLS

The Korean conflict and the increased tempo of economic activity
required by the mobilization of the national economy were directly reflected
in an intensification of the export control program, for reasons of both
security and short supply. Certain basic commodities which had been in
free supply in the early months of 1950 tightened under the pressure of
increased world-wide demand. To assure the most effective utilization
of available resources, it became necessary for the United States to control
both export and domestic use of many commodities. In recognition of
the importance of export controls to the United States economy, Congress

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extended through June 1953 the Export Control Act of 1949. This action
reaffirmed the policy of the United States “to use export controls to the
extent necessary (a) to protect the domestic economy from the excessive
drain of scarce materials and to reduce the inflationary impact of abnormal
foreign demand; (b) to further the foreign policy of the United States
and to aid in fulfilling its international responsibilities; and (c) to exercise
the necessary vigilance over exports from the standpoint of their significance
to the national security.”
For the guidance of all persons concerned with export regulations and
interpretations, the Office of International Trade issued the annual Com­
prehensive Export Schedule, supplemented by weekly Current Export
Bulletins.
S e c u r it y C o n t r o l s . On June 28, 1950, a complete embargo was im­
posed on exports of all goods from the United States to North Korea. Two
days later, as a further measure to deny strategic materials to the general
area of military activity, all licensing of Positive List commodities to China
was halted and on July 20 all outstanding validated licenses to China were
revoked. On August 17, the blanket privilege to export small quantities
of Positive List items—within prescribed value limits—was revoked to all
countries in the Soviet orbit, European and Asiatic (designated as subgroup
A ). This privilege was later revoked to Hong Kong and Macao.
With the entry of the Chinese Communists into the Korean struggle, OIT
not only cut off further shipments to China of the nonsecurity items left
uncontrolled after the July 20 action, but suspended all outstanding licenses
to Hong Kong and Macao—traditional Chinese feeder areas. Hundreds
of cargoes which had already left the United States were ordered to be off­
loaded at way points in the Pacific. All in-transit shipments of foreign goods
through the United States to subgroup A, Hong Kong, and Macao were
made subject to validated license; finally all shipments of any commodity,
whether or not on the Positive List, to the entire Soviet bloc were put under
direct license control.
In addition to blanket regulations affecting all exports to particular areas,
security controls were tightened by requiring a more detailed verification of
the use to which certain strategic individual shipments were to be put. Ap­
plicants for licenses to ship such commodities to all non-Western Hemisphere
destinations were required to submit with their license applications a state­
ment, signed by the ultimate consignee, setting forth complete information
on the final destination and end use of the goods proposed for export. Other
regulations provided increased responsibilities on the part of carriers, for­
warders, and other parties to export transactions to safeguard cargoes
against transshipment or diversion to end uses other than those for which
the goods were licensed.

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S h o r t - s u p p l y C o n t r o l s . Throughout the year, as dictated by the
expanding needs of the mobilization effort, the list of commodities controlled
for supply reasons continued to expand. The Positive List of Controlled
Commodities grew from 1,106 commodity listings (within a total of 667
Bureau of the Census schedule B export classifications) on June 30, 1950, to1,467 listings (916 schedule B classifications) on June 30, 1951. The
volume of license applications rose from about 5,000 to more than 14,000
per week.
As supply shortages intensified, it became necessary to establish export
ceilings for large numbers of short-supply items and to coordinate the export
control activities with the controls exercised by the agencies established
under the Defense Production Act. Thus O IT collected, analyzed, and
evaluated foreign requirements for such items, and acted as claimant for the
needs of all friendly foreign governments outside the ECA program before
the Defense Production Administration, National Production Authority, and
other allocating authorities. Export requirements and claimancy functions,
imposed increasing work loads.
S u p p l y A s s is t a n c e . T o assure actual shipment of minimum economic:
and mobilization requirements of friendly foreign governments, export
quotas were geared to the developing internal allocation and priority system
of the United States.
Special attention was given, as justified, to obtaining priority assistance to
assure the export of commodities in short supply essential to the defense
program of the countries of the free world and the maintenance of their
basic economies, to the increase in production abroad of strategic metals
and minerals, to the maintenance of American-made equipment in opera­
tion in foreign countries, and to other vital purposes. Special assistance
requests had to be supported by full information and were subjected to
searching analysis.

EAST-WEST TRADE ACTIVITIES

Closely related to the security export control function have been the activi­
ties of the Office of International Trade in the East-West trade field. O IT
rendered technical and policy assistance to the agencies of the Government
who have discussed with other governments the scope of their security
controls. More specifically, O IT actively participated in the work of the
Special Committee on East-West Trade of the National Security Council
which considered actions to be taken by this Government to implement sec­
tion 1304, Public Law 843, and later, section 1302, Public Law 45. The
Office of International Trade supplied the National Security Council with
analyses of the trade, with the Soviet bloc, of those countries receiving eco­
nomic and financial assistance from the United States. These analyses
formed factual bases for the decisions of the National Security Council.

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SPECIAL PROGRAMS, SERVICES, CONFERENCES

The Office participated extensively in the third round of multilateral tariff
negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in Torquay,
England. This participation included drafting basic studies, taking part
in interdepartmental committee meetings prior to the conference, and sup­
plying information to the United States delegation at the conference. O IT
personnel assisted in conducting the actual tariff negotiations with 22 coun­
tries; agreements were successfully concluded with 17 of these. The Office
cooperated in redrafting provisions of several Treaties of Friendship, Com­
merce and Navigation, reflecting as far as possible the views of American
business.
O IT provided United States businessmen with information and advice
on opportunities for, and conditions of, making private investment in under­
developed countries as part of the Point 4 program. Detailed investment
guides covering Colombia, India, Liberia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey,
the Union of South Africa, and Venezuela were undertaken and partially
completed, pending field investigations. Under the Point 4 program, O IT
was authorized by the Technical Cooperation Administration to carry out
10 technical assistance projects in various industrial fields. A number of
other technical assistance requests from underdeveloped countries are under
consideration. Aiethods of providing technical assistance to small industry
in underdeveloped countries were planned and recommended for use. Also,
through cooperation with United States railroads, provisions were made for
training, in the United States, persons from abroad as junior and senior rail­
road executives. O IT coordinates the Point 4 programs for the Depart­
ment of the 10 bureaus which participate in this work.
O IT understook the management of ECA-sponsored foreign technical
assistance teams who were here to study American techniques of marketing
with particular reference to the common defense program. Also in coopera­
tion with the ECA Technical Assistance Program, O IT marketing specialists
attended five foreign fairs to advise foreign producers on techniques for
expanding their sales to the United States of materials needed especially
for the defense program.
O IT advised American producers and other business interests seeking
to locate abroad goods critically needed by our defense economy. Special­
ized marketing counsel was made available to foreign sources of supply
so as to facilitate their contact with American business. Continued study
was undertaken of foreign availabilities and of domestic needs; this study
is to further the efficient utilization of foreign goods to meet United States
requirements. The Department of Defense and business concerns holding
military contracts were informed of specific availabilities, in several thousand
instances, of essential raw materials and finished products abroad required
directly or indirectly in the mobilization program. In addition, specific
industrial facilities abroad capable of providing essentials to the Armed

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61

Services were identified, and opportunities for the licensing of United States
processes for production abroad were brought to the attention of appropriate
business interests.
In connection with the export control program, information on individual
foreign concerns was furnished to security intelligence agencies in the
Government, to defense agencies, and to those concerned with foreign
requirements and procurement. Counseling service on channels of trade
for defense, on foreign requirements, and on procurement superseded O IT ’s
regular trade-list functions. Its trade-adjustment activity centered on
giving counsel to the Foreign Service and to the principals involved in the
mediation of such disputes between firms engaged in foreign trade as would
impede emergency requirements and procurement programs or be preju­
dicial to defense preparations.
O IT continued to operate the British Token Import Program, in which
several hundred American firms who made prewar shipments to the United
Kingdom are eligible to participate. Under the program, some 200 specified
commodities may be imported into the United Kingdom up to a fixed
percentage by value of the exporter’s prewar shipments. In cooperation
with the Department of State, negotiations were conducted with representa­
tives of the United Kingdom and Canada for increased dollar purchasing
by the British West Indies.
The Office fulfilled its duties in administration of the China Trade Act.
The few American companies still active on the mainland were operating
under compulsion of the Chinese communists or were in process of winding
up company affairs. Operations of the companies in Hong Kong were
necessarily curtailed because of United States export controls. O IT com­
pleted the relevant legal and financial work pertaining to 85 annual reports
and other documents affecting China Trade Act companies.
O IT was represented on the Interdepartmental Working Group con­
cerned with war-damage legislation, and, at the request of the Department
of Defense, analyzed insurance laws and underwriting facilities in foreign
countries where defense construction is being undertaken. In cooperation
with the Office of Business Economics, a study entitled “U. S. International
Re-insurance Transactions of 1949,” was completed as part of a design to
appraise the position of insurance in the United States balance of inter­
national payments.
During the year, O IT staff members consulted with United States foreign
trade zone operators, business interests utilizing the zones, and other Gov­
ernment agencies; these consultations related to revision of regulations gov­
erning operations within the zones to facilitate their use for manufacturing
and exhibiting purposes. O IT ’s programs in the field of foreign trade zones
were strengthened through closer integration of this work with other tradedevelopment activities. The Office conducted a technical assistance mis­
sion of European representatives of industry and government on a tour to
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all United States zones to study ways in which these zones could be more
widely used in developing European trade with the United States.
O IT furnished technical guidance and advice to the First United States
International Trade Fair, held in Chicago in August 1950, and placed
increased emphasis on promoting foreign participation in United States
trade shows, such as the International Food Exposition in Chicago, June
1951.
While O IT continued to promote travel to Europe, added emphasis was
given to programs involving Caribbean areas and the Far East which were
carried on in cooperation with the Caribbean Interim Tourism Committee
and the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East. Further action
on stimulating travel in Latin America has taken the form of following up
the results of the Commerce-Pan American Union Mission to South Amer­
ica (February 5-April 23). O IT prepared plans for the formation of an
Inter-American Travel Commission.
Throughout the year, O IT continued its participation in various inter­
national conferences. United Nations conferences at which the Office was
represented included the 11th Session of the Economic and Social Council,
held in Geneva in July-August 1950; the seventh session of the Economic
Commission for Asia and the Far East, held in Lahore in February 1951;
and the fifth session of the Transport and Communications Commission,
held in New York in March. Preparatory to these conferences, O IT
assisted in formulating the United States position on the various economic
problems under consideration.
O IT representatives played an important role in developing the mutual
obligations of the United States and other American Republics arising from
the defense program. The more important conferences at which these
topics were considered were the fourth meeting of Consultation of Min­
isters of Foreign Affairs of American States, held in Washington, March
26-April 7, and the fourth meeting of the Economic Commission for Latin
America (ECLA) of the United Nations, in Mexico City, May 27-June 17.
The Office continued to advise in the formulation of United States finan­
cial policy, particularly with respect to those policies affecting international
trade. O IT was represented on the United States delegation to the meet­
ings of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development in September 1950.
Staff members of OIT, along with other representatives of the Depart­
ment, participated in the first Joint Import Trade Promotion Conference,
held in Paris in November 1950 under the auspices of ECA. The object
of this conference was to discuss trade-promotion techniques useful to the
Marshall Plan countries in strengthening their balance-of-payments
position.
O IT personnel, representing the Department of Commerce, participated
as members of the United States delegations to such conferences as those

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63

of the International Wheat Council, in London and Geneva; the Interna­
tional Cotton Council, in Pakistan; and the International Materials Con­
ference, in Washington. O IT also participated in the United States Eco­
nomic Survey Mission to the Philippines, which made recommendations to
the President of the United States on measures designed to enable the Phil­
ippines to become self-supporting.
Staff members attended a number of regional conferences of United
States diplomatic and consular officers, and visited various United States
embassies for the purpose of familiarizing our foreign posts with the new
services to business which must be performed incident to our export control
and supply assistance programs and to consult with them on United States
trade problems in the areas visited. Throughout the year, members of
O IT ’s staff were requested to address numerous United States business
groups, including the National Foreign Trade Council, Far East-America
Council, Export Managers Club, Textile Bag Manufacturers Association,
and chambers of commerce.
INFORMATIONAL SERVICE

In its International Reference Service and Business Information Service
publications, and in miscellaneous releases, the Office of International
Trade provided the public with information on foreign import and export
duties, taxes, and import and exchange controls; economic conditions and
the market situation abroad; how to prepare shipments to, and regulations
pertaining to the establishment of businesses in, certain countries; and
procedures for sending gift packages abroad. A special report on United
States foreign trade, 1936—
49, monthly reports analyzing our export and
import trade, and quarterly and semiannual country export-import studies
were issued; owing to the major role of the sterling area in international
commerce, a new series of monthly sterling-dollar trade reviews was pub­
lished. O IT continued to issue Foreign Commerce Weekly, the Depart­
ment’s principal medium for disseminating current foreign-trade data ; and
published the second postwar edition of the Foreign Commerce Yearbook,
giving basic economic statistics of foreign countries. A large volume of
inquiries, especially on trade development, was handled both through corre­
spondence and personal service; articles were prepared for domestic and
foreign journals; and broadcasts were made on Voice of America programs.
FOREIGN SERVICE LIAISON

The requirements of the Department of Commerce for reports from the
Foreign Service of the United States were reoriented during the year to
meet the changed conditions of a period of mobilization. Reporting sched­
ules of all primary units calling upon the Foreign Service were modified
with the objective of eliminating all reporting not essential to our programs
and of making way for those subjects which had increased in importance.
These included foreign requirements for United States goods, procurement

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of scarce materials for United States consumption, and the obtaining of
data essential to the enforcement of effective export control.
Semiannual reports were eliminated not only in the general economic
field but in the transportation and commodity fields, and detailed instruc­
tions were developed covering materials requirements reporting. Staffing
patterns for the economic and commercial sections of Foreign Service posts
were revised accordingly. Formal liaison was established with the intelli­
gence units of all defense agencies for the purpose of obtaining from them
all economic information which they might receive from their representa­
tives abroad.
The content of the O IT training courses for Foreign Service personnel
was reexamined and revised to meet the changed requirements for economic
information which the Commerce Department was placing upon the
Foreign Service.
Office of Field Service
With the establishment of the National Production Authority within the
Department of Commerce, the Field Service was given authority and respon­
sibility for representing the NPA throughout the United States. To carry
out this new assignment effectively the number of field offices was increased
from 42 to 105 with a fivefold expansion in personnel. The Field Service
kept pace with the growth of the NPA with the result that businessmen
affected by NPA policies, regulations, and orders were in a position to deal
with the agency on a local basis.
In addition to aiding business in obtaining first-hand information on
the NPA program, assistance was rendered in expediting materials required
by defense agencies and essential civilian industries. The offices were em­
powered to pass upon applications to commence construction of certain
types of projects, thus expediting administration of the Construction Control
Order. Field offices also participated actively in the compliance program
of NPA. Facilities were established for prompt handling of inquiries from
businessmen on all phases of NPA activities.
Notwithstanding these additional burdens placed upon the field offices,
the programs of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce and
Bureau of the Census were carried out. There was considerable demand
for census data and for the material published by the Office of Business
Economics. Particular attention was given to problems faced by smallbusiness men arising from dislocations caused by shortages in the metals
and chemicals field. A valuable service was rendered under the procure­
ment assistance program; the field offices with the assistance of more than
6,000 official outlets furnished information on requests for bids by the
various procurement agencies of the Government and on contracts awarded
by those agencies. This program proved to be particularly helpful to those
firms which faced difficulties in the production of their peacetime lines.
In the field of foreign trade there was sustained interest in finding foreign

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65

sources of supply for scarce materials and industrial products required by
the United States. With the cooperation of the Commercial Intelligence
Branch of the Office of International Trade, potential sources were furnished
in response to thousands of inquiries received from the field. With the
tightening up of export controls the field offices were called upon to work
closely with the exporting fraternity and there was a heavy demand
throughout the year for export control information. The increased dollar
earning capacity of foreign countries brought many inquiries from abroad
for American products and the field offices assisted many foreign firms in
obtaining agency and purchase connections.

INDUSTRY EVALUATION BOARD
The Industry Evaluation Board is an essential part of the interdepart­
mental industrial security program for Government and industry. The
Board was established in January 1951 pursuant to a Presidential Directive
based upon a recommendation of the National Security Council.
The program maintains that it is both unnecessary and impossible to
give special security guidance against all hazards, including espionage, sabo­
tage, and other subversive activity, to every industrial facility in the country;
but it is imperative for the Federal Government to assume special security
responsibility for the relatively few facilities crucial to the manufacture of
munitions and essential civilian products. However, before such facilities
can be given security assistance they must be identified. Therefore, the
Industry Evaluation Board is undertaking the selection of industrial facili­
ties, and their supporting economic resources, which are key to the defense
effort. The protection of these relatively few facilities is, in effect, a safe­
guard for our entire industrial complex, as these are the natural targets for
espionage, sabotage, and other subversion. Covert enemy action is not
directed broadside against industry, but finely pinpointed toward key
targets.
The Board screens industrial resources, identifies key defense facilities by
their contributions to the manufacture of munitions or essential civilian prod­
ucts, and reports such findings to the appropriate Federal agencies for
security guidance and supervision against such hazards to production as
enemy activity, accident, fire, sabotage, espionage, and other subversive
activity. It also serves the Secretary of Commerce and other officials and
agencies with industrial analyses and recommendations related to the security
of national defense economic resources.
The Board consists of representatives of the Departments of Commerce,
Defense, and Interior; the Atomic Energy Commission; the National Secur­
ity Resources Board (Observer) ; the Defense Production Administration
(ad hoc) ; and occasionally other agencies on an ad hoc basis. The De­
partment provides the Board with a staff of industrial and other specialists

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to ascertain facts and make recommendations upon which the Board will
act and without which it cannot function.
The Board’s staff, functioning under a Staff Director, who is responsible
to the Chairman, is divided into four groups: (1) Machinery and Equip­
ment, (2) Materials, (3) Nonmanufacturing Facilities, and (4) Special
Programs.
During the brief period in which the Industry Evaluation Board has been
in active operation, it has developed policies, procedures, and formulae for
evaluating products, services, and the facilities supplying these. It has
formulated methods of analysis and established liaison with those agencies
from which the requisite information is received. After these organiza­
tional steps had been taken, evaluation analyses were begun; these resulted
in the selection and rating of products determined to be of exceptional im­
portance to national defense, and the assignment of ratings to the facilities
producing these products. In addition to the evaluation analysis, the Board
has collaborated in programs of other agencies on matters involving indus­
trial security.

INLAND WATERWAYS CORPORATION
The Inland Waterways Corporation was created for the purpose of
carrying on the operations of the Government-owned inland waterways
system until such time as the system can be transferred to private operation
to the best advantage of the Government.
The Corporation operates as a common carrier in the same manner and
to the same extent as if its facilities were privately owned and operated.
In accordance with the bylaws of the Corporation its fiscal year ends on
June 30 and its detailed annual reports are prepared on that basis.
The accounts of the Corporation showed a small net profit for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1951. This is the first year since 1938 in which an
operating profit has been shown, and this result was achieved because of
unusually high revenue earned by the Corporation’s railroad section.
Waterline transportation segments continue to suffer substantial losses, in
spite of the pronounced increase in utilization of the Corporation’s floating
equipment.
In comparison with fiscal 1950, tonnage transported increased approxi­
mately 6 percent while ton-miles increased nearly 14 percent, indicating a
longer average haul. Revenue increased about 14.5 percent, while expenses
rose 5 percent.
The efficiency of the high income producing integrated tow unit was
materially increased by the use of 10 new barges of this type placed in
service during the year. These 10 barges doubled the number of this type
of barge in use, and contributed to the increased revenue. These efficient
barges, however, constitute only 9 percent in number of the Corporation’s
barges. The other 91 percent, many of which are from 25 to 30 years old,
are, in the main, inefficient and worn out.

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Until such times as the Corporation may obtain modem and efficient
floating equipment, it is reasonable to expect a continued substantial
annual loss from its waterline operations.

MARITIME ADMINISTRATION AN D FEDERAL
MARITIME BOARD
The Maritime Administration was created as a result of the President’s
Reorganization Plan No. 21, and placed within the Department of Com­
merce, effective May 24, 1950. At the same time, a three-man Federal
Maritime Board was appointed by the President; the Chairman of this
Board became, under terms of the Reorganization Plan, the Maritime Ad­
ministrator. A Deputy Maritime Administrator was appointed by the
Secretary of Commerce. The two new agencies supplanted the United
States Maritime Commission, abolished by Plan No. 21. The Board
assumed the regulatory and subsidy-determining functions of the old Com­
mission, and the Administration was given charge of administrative and
operating functions.
Under the Reorganization Plan, three Acting Members of the Board were
appointed for an interim period of 3 months. These Acting Members were
John T. Koehler, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Acting Chairman) ;
South Trimble, Jr., Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Inland Water­
ways Corporation, United States Department of Commerce; and Rear
Adm. Paul L. Mather, United States Navy (retired).
Permanent members named are: Vice Adm. E. L. Cochrane, United
States Navy (retired), Chairman and Maritime Administrator, appointed
for a 2-year period ending June 30, 1952; A. W. Gatov, for a 3-year term
ending June 30, 1953; and R. W. Williams, for a 4-year term ending
June 30, 1954.
Earl W. Clark was named Deputy Maritime Administrator.
Within the first 30 days of its existence, the new organization faced two
major tasks. First in order of time was the necessity for a thorough
reorganization of the former staff and activities of the Maritime Commis­
sion, with particular emphasis on liquidating a heavy backlog of unfinished
business and meeting a number of specific recommendations made to the
former Commission by Congress and the General Accounting Office. The
second task was to meet mobilization problems thrust upon the United
States by the Communist aggression in Korea.
In the meantime, continuing obligations imposed by the administration
of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, as amended, and by other maritime
laws, were assumed by the new organization and have been met throughout
the year on a regular and routine basis.
REORGANIZATION

The Maritime Administration attacked immediately the formidable
problem of reorganization by extensive changes and strengthening of ad­

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ministrative machinery, including selection of new personnel well qualified
by their experience in business and professional life, as well as in Govern­
ment service. Designed originally to meet the peacetime load of adminis­
tering the Nation’s maritime laws, this new organization during its first
year had to be modified to provide for full mobilization of the national
maritime resources if and when needed, in accordance with the declaration
of national emergency by the President on December 16, 1950. Staff com­
mittees were established to pursue the remedial recommendations made by
the Congress and the General Accounting Office. Substantial progress
was made and reported in each of the categories under such review.
The field organization was delegated wider responsibilities so that appro­
priate authority would exist in areas of action; this was of particular im­
portance in connection with mobilization, emergency shipping, and ship­
building operations.
SUBSIDIZED OPERATIONS

New streamlined procedures for determining operating-differential sub­
sidies were adopted. As a result, considerable progress was made in reach­
ing final differential rates in those categories on which subsidy payments
are made for the years 1947 and 1948. It was expected that by early fall
these rates would be substantially completed for these years. A new method
of calculating advance operating subsidy rates was commenced, and it is
expected that this new procedure will be used for calculating rates from
1949 forward.
The end of fiscal 1951 found nine steamship companies with executed
contracts for the resumption of subsidized operations which had been dis­
continued during the war years. Resumption amendments with three com­
panies were in process of determination. One new postwar contract was
signed.
On March 13, 1951, responsibility for determining essential foreign trade
routes on which subsidized operations are permitted was redelegated to
the Maritime Administration by the Secretary of Commerce. Active studies
of foreign competition on these routes, of existing contracts, of ship require­
ments and sailing schedules, as well as ship replacement requirements of
the subsidized operators were under way.
Following a study by the staff of the Maritime Administration, a pro­
posed amendment of the application of “capital necessarily employed,” of
basic importance in calculating final subsidy payments and recapture, was
submitted to the Board to be used in modification of the general order on
this subject.
SHIPBUILDING PROGRAM

The fiscal year saw partial completion of the passenger-ship construction
program commenced under the former Maritime Commission. Delivery

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69

of two ships—the S. S. Independence and the S. S. Constitution—was ac­
complished. The S. S. United States was floated and moved to the fittingout pier for completion. Delivery is expected in the spring of 1952.
Three vessels originally ordered for commercial use are being completed
for the Navy as troopships, under a request from the Secretary of Defense
on recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The S. S. Schuyler
Otis Bland, a new type cargo vessel, was delivered on July 26, 1951, and
has been chartered to the American President Lines for operation in Round
the World Service.
The international situation and the pressing need for a new type fast
cargo ship as a future replacement vessel for the merchant fleet dictated
an early start of construction on ships of the Mariner class. Congress
authorized $350,000,000 for this program in January, and by June 30, con­
tracts for 30 ships had been let to 6 shipyards on the east and Gulf coasts.
Contracts for an additional five ships were placed July 26 with a west-coast
shipyard.
New procedures were put into effect for assembling data to be used in
determining construction-differential subsidies, with concurrence of the
General Accounting Office. The recalculation of subsidy rates, as recom­
mended by the Congress and the GAO, for passenger ship construction and
betterment programs carried on by the former Commission progressed
materially, with final redetermination of the subsidy to be allowed the
two American Export Lines vessels scheduled for early fall. A special
independent three-man committee has been engaged in recommending
factors to be considered in the recalculation of subsidies and national de­
fense feature costs of these two vessels and the S. S. United States.
REDUCTION OF ACCOUNTING AND CLAIMS BACKLOGS

A very large backlog of accounting and auditing work, and the need for
reorganization of the Comptroller’s functions, faced the new Administra­
tion of July 1, 1950. With cooperation of the GAO, marked progress was
made in establishing appropriate controls and in finalizing procedures and
instructions for financial reports by subsidized operators and charterers.
A chart of a uniform system of accounts prescribed for maritime carriers
reporting to the ICC and MA has been completed.
Marked progress was made in reducing auditing and accounting backlogs
carried over from the former Maritime Commission. For example, at the
end of the first quarter of the year 33 delinquent accounts receivable had
been cleared, involving $179,000. In the 3 remaining quarters 2,628
delinquent accounts had been cleared, totaling in value $23,943,000. There
were 4,504 GAO exceptions recorded at the start of the year. Even with
the addition of 768 exceptions during the year, on June 30 the total was
down to 1,062.
On July 1, 1950, the inventory of wartime claims both in favor of and
against the United States recorded in the Division of Claims totaled 4,548

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in number and $44,094,000 in claimed value. During the year, 1,112 more
claims totaling $25,900,000 were filed. By the end of the fiscal year the
inventory had been reduced to 1,619 claims, with a claimed value of
$41,400,000.
The other major office engaged in liquidating wartime claims, the Divi­
sion of Insurance, reduced its recorded claims from $53,300,000 to
$15,100,000.
CONCLUSION OF SHIP SALES PROGRAM

Sale of warbuilt merchant vessels under the Merchant Ship Sales Act
of 1946 terminated on January 15, 1951. Total sales reached 1,956 ships,
843 for American-flag operation and 1,113 for foreign-flag operation. Dur­
ing the period January 1 to January 15, the Maritime Administration
approved the sale of 128 ships for United States flag operation.
Under terms of the Sales Act, as amended, chartering of warbuilt ships
was continued throughout the year, after determinations made by the
Federal Maritime Board that such charters are necessary in the public
interest, and that privately owned vessels are not available at reasonable
rates and under reasonable conditions. On June 30, 1951, 229 Govern­
ment-owned merchant vessels were under charter; 148 of them were Victory
cargo ships bareboat chartered to United States shipping companies who
are operating them under time charters for the Military Sea Transportation
Service for use in the Korean campaign.
Six C—4 type vessels were sold under authority of Public Law 856 (81st
Cong, j for conversion to use on the Great Lakes in the carriage of iron ore
and package freight.
MOBILIZATION AND EMERGENCY ACTIVITIES

The first impact of the defense emergency upon merchant marine re­
sources having been met by the privately owned fleet, augmented by Gov­
ernment ships broken out of reserve, it was essential that administrative
machinery be devised and an understanding by Government agencies and
the industry be reached concerning the methods to be used for the operation
of merchant ships in the event of all-out hostilities. Accordingly, after
consultation with maritime industry and labor leaders, the National Ship­
ping Authority was created on March 13, 1951, following an Executive
order of February 28, 1951. Mr. Charles H. McGuire, of the Maritime
Administration, was named Director, and the National Shipping Authority
was incorporated as a unit of the Maritime Administration.
From March 13 to June 30, 190 Liberty ships were broken out of the
National Defense Reserve Fleet which had been placed under the NSA.
These vessels were repaired and placed in the hands of shipping companies
assigned as general agents for their operation. These vessels have provided
tonnage at reasonable rates for the expanded ECA and military-aid pro­

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71

grams. By the end of the fiscal year, the NSA had lifted 1,263,996 tons of
export cargo.
From June 30, 1950, to July 1, 1951, a total of 510 vessels had been
withdrawn from the Reserve fleet. Included were those sold, transferred,
or placed in operation by charter or under general agency agreement. The
remainder were maintained and received preservation treatment at eight
fleet sites. One fleet site was closed during the year.
Operation of an active fleet, using the services of the shipping industry,
has enabled the National Shipping Authority to establish an effective basic
organization which can be expanded to handle the United States flag
merchant fleet if hostilities spread. A formal understanding as to the rela­
tionship between NSA and the Department of Defense was reached shortly
after the end of the fiscal year by the Secretary of Commerce and the
Secretary of Defense.
The NSA was directed to represent the United States in dealing with
shipping agencies of allied and associated governments on matters relating
to the use of shipping.
A member of the Maritime Administration’s staff is the United States
representative on the Planning Board for Ocean Shipping of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization. In two meetings during the year the Board
agreed upon a plan for mobilization of ocean-going shipping in a single
pool, and its allocation, on a world-wide basis, in time of war or wartime
emergency. The Board also agreed to the establishment in such circum­
stances of an international organization of a civilian character to be named
the Defense Shipping Authority. These plans were subsequently approved
by the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Maritime Administration, along with other Government agencies
and the tanker industry joined in a voluntary plan for pro-rata distribution,
among all participating tanker owners and charterers, of petroleum tanker
capacity to meet national defense requirements.
Responsibility for administering those phases relating to American
shipping as contained in the Department of Commerce’s Transportation
Orders T - l and T-2 was assigned the Maritime Administration on April 2,
1951. These orders ban the discharge of cargoes of strategic and critical
material destined for countries in the Soviet bloc, China, Hong Kong,
and Macao, and forbid all vessels or aircraft under United States registry
from entering any port or city under Chinese Communist rule. These
orders have effectively stopped such trade in United States flag vessels.
Steps were taken during the year, under the laws governing the transfer
of United States privately owned vessels to foreign owners, to tighten control
over possible transfers to Soviet bloc countries.
MARITIME TRAINING

The Maritime Administration’s program for training licensed officers and
unlicensed personnel continued throughout the year; 3,344 officers and

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seamen were trained and upgraded but no new seamen were trained to
enter unlicensed positions aboard ship. A total of 6,383 men were enrolled
in the United States Maritime Service Institute which conducts corre­
spondence courses for men at sea; an average of 1,193 cadet-midshipmen,
including 89 Filipinos and 11 Latin-American cadets, were in training
at the United States Merchant Marine Academy during the year.

NATIONAL PRODUCTION AUTHORITY
The basic authority under which the programs of the National Production
Authority are carried out stems from the provisions of the Defense Produc­
tion Act of 1950. Pursuant to this act, the President by Executive Order
10161 (dated September 9, 1950) delegated certain authority, under titles
I. II, and III of the act, to the Secretary of Commerce who in turn, by
Department of Commerce Order 123 (dated September 11, 1950), created
the National Production Authority to discharge most of his responsibilities
under Executive Order 10161. Because of their relation to the defense
program, the new agency was also charged with the Secretary’s responsi­
bilities under the Rubber Act of 1948, as amended. Subsequently, on
January 3, 1951, certain of the Authority’s programming functions were
transferred to the newly created Defense Production Administration by
Executive Order 10200.
Briefly, the National Production Authority (NPA) is responsible for (1)
administering priority and allocation controls over most materials and
facilities; (2) in cooperation with other defense agencies developing and
promoting measures for the expansion of productive capacity and of pro­
duction and supply of materials and facilities necessary for the national
defense and for the maintenance of a strong economy; and (3) assuring
that, after defense needs are met, the remaining supply of materials and
products is distributed equitably for nondefense uses.
The Authority began operations with a nucleus of personnel transferred
from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of
Commerce. Around this initial group an effective organization was devel­
oped with additional staff from other Government agencies and from private
industry. As of June 30, 1951, employment was as follows :
Classified employees:
Full time_________________________________ 4, 044
Part time------------------------------------------------45
WOC personnel_______________________________
166
WAE personnel--------------------------------------------------65
Total__________________________________ 4, 340
The 105 offices of the Department of Commerce Field Service act as the
regional representatives of the NPA.

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73

Major Programs

The Agency’s first formal action was the promulgation of NPA Regula­
tion 1 limiting inventories of materials in short supply to a practicable work­
ing minimum. This was followed by NPA Regulation 2, which established
a broad system of priorities to assure the right-of-way for defense orders
with a minimum disruption of production schedules and civilian supply.
As of June 30, 1951, three other regulations have been issued relating to
(1) an integrated United States-Canadian priorities program; (2) ma­
terials for maintenance, repair and operations; and (3) procedures for
appeals.
To supplement and implement the basic priorities regulations, NPA had
issued by June 30, 1951, 73 material (M) orders which specify rules for
placing, accepting, and scheduling defense orders, and which limit the
amount of critical materials to be used for nondefense production.
The material orders vary in emphasis with respect to such matters as
allocation, limitations on use and inventories, control of purchases, delivery,
acceptance and processing, and substitution requirements. They apply
to basic materials, products, and services such as:
Aluminum.
Antimony.
Bismuth.
Cadmium.
C opper and copper-base alloy
Ferro-alloys.
Iron and steel.
Lead.
Molybdenum.
Platinum .
Tin.
Zinc.
Chemicals.
Components and related products.
Construction.
Containers and packaging.
Electrical components and parts.
Electric utilities.
Farm equipm ent.

G raphite and carbon electrodes.
Insect wire screening.
Leather.
Textiles.
M achine tools.
M etalw orking machines.
Passenger cars.
Petroleum and gas.
Pig and hog bristles.
Power equipm ent.
Printing plates.
Pulp, p ap er and paperboard.
Rubber.
Softwood plywood.
Technical and scientific laboratories.
Tungsten.
M aintenance, repair and operating
supplies.

CONTROLLED MATERIALS PLAN

It was formally announced on April 13 that a controlled materials plan
would be placed in operation July 1, 1951, in order to meet increasing
requirements of the defense program for the basic metals—steel, copper,
and aluminum. Under CMP, producers advise the National Pro­
duction Authority and other designated Federal agencies of their estimated
requirements for the three basic materials that they need to manufacture
973610— 51— —6

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the specific items they intend to produce. After the estimated require­
ments are balanced against the known supply of CMP materials, allotments
are determined. Each applicant then receives an allotment of his basic
material or materials. When presented to the supplier, this CMP allot­
ment is designed to assure that the amounts of steel, copper, and aluminum
alloted will be made available. In this way the basic materials for the
defense and defense-supporting programs and the industrial expansion
program are to be provided on schedule. CMP will prevent an excessive
use of materials in specific programs and reserve for civilian production the
steel, copper, and aluminum not actually needed for defense. If a producer
secures an allocation of controlled materials he is entitled to rate his require­
ments for any other materials or components needed to complete his
authorized production schedule.
CONSTRUCTION CONTROLS

Procurement and production of essential construction materials, and
control of construction activities in support of the national defense is
provided for under section 302 of the Defense Production Act of 1950.
Industrial expansion projects are analyzed to determine the assistance
required to complete facilities in the shortest possible time consistent with
the objectives of other defense activities. Expedition of the national
defense programs has been obtained through the issuance of defense orders,
directives, and other forms of priority assistance. A further step was taken
in the development of a controlled materials plan to become effective on
July 1, 1951.
The Revenue Act of 1950 provided accelerated tax amortization for
certified industrial plants vital to the emergency program. As of June 30,
1951, NPA has received 7,057 applications for “Certificates of Necessity”
to allow the 5-year tax amortization, and had taken action on 3,036 of
the cases. A total of 1,848 applications were recommended for approval
to DPA, 889 were denied, and 299 transferred to other delegate agencies.
Under section 302 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, emergency
loans may be made for the procurement of materials for the national de­
fense and for the expansion of capacity when other financial assistance is
not available on reasonable terms. As of June 30, 1951, a total of 556
applications for loans, representing loan requests of over $1,446,000,000,
had been docketed by NPA. Of this total, 46 applications had been rec­
ommended by NPA to the Defense Production Administration for approval
of which 30, totaling $49,791,000, were approved; 2 were approved and
subsequently canceled; and 5 were disapproved, with 9 currently pending
in DPA. NPA had denied 240 loan applications totaling $797,555,000. A
total of 106 applications had been withdrawn and 7 transferred to other
delegate agencies.

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CONSERVATION AND SALVAGE

Both conservation and salvage of materials are fundamental objectives
of the NPA. A special program was inaugurated on April 5, 1951, to
increase the flow of iron and steel scrap to steel mills and foundries to
supply the 32,500,000 gross tons of purchased scrap required to maintain
the high rate of steel production during 1951. Industry and agriculture
cooperated in this effort to channel dormant scrap into defense uses through
initiation of scrap mobilization committees in cities, in industries, and in
agricultural organizations.
STOCKPILING

The NPA as an administrative body under the Department of Commerce
discharges the stockpiling responsibilities assigned to the Department under
the provisions of section 2 of the Strategic and Critical Stockpile Act
(60 Stat. 598). These responsibilities require cooperation with other des­
ignated Federal agencies in determining which materials are strategic and
critical, in determining the quality and quantities of such materials to be
stockpiled, and in controlling the distribution and use of such materials
so as to provide adequate supplies to meet current military and civilian
requirements and to permit the acquisition and retention of sufficient quan­
tities in the national stockpile. The actions by which NPA aids in reaching
stockpile objectives are in the nature of ( 1) restrictions on the distribution
and use of materials to assure their availability for the stockpile in quanti­
ties established by decision of the Vital Materials Coordinating Committee
of DPA; (2) issuance of control orders exempting certain materials from
purchase limitations when purchased by the General Services Administra­
tion and other Federal agencies for the stockpile; (3) prohibition of private
importations of rubber and tin which are subject to purchase only by the
General Services Administration and the Reconstruction Finance Corpo­
ration, respectively; and (4) in some cases, direct allocations made to the
stockpile. As of June 30, 1951, there were 22 primary stockpile materials
covered by NPA material (M) orders.
MACHINE TOOLS

On the recommendation of NPA the General Services Administration
executes appropriate contracts with producers of machine tools to imple­
ment the machine-tool pool order program, the purpose of which is to stimu­
late production of machine tools needed for defense production. Under
this program specific contracts called “pool orders,” which are initially a
financial responsibility of the Federal Government, are placed with in­
dividual machine tool builders. Provision is made permitting the firms to
divert machine tools from pool contracts to fill orders received from a defense
contractor. As the machines are siphoned off to fill other defense orders.

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the Government is gradually relieved of the financial responsibility. The
program is a purchase and resale operation, except that the resale is accom­
plished in most cases by the producer rather than by the procurement
agency.
As of June 30, 1951, funds certified to General Services Administration
for the pool order program totaled $140,000,000 which would underwrite
contract commitments up to $155,000,000. Thirty-two contracts totaling
$127,600,000 had been tendered by General Services Administration, of
which 4 contracts totaling $10,100,000 had been rejected by contractors,
leaving a total net commitment of $117,500,000 in 28 contracts. Of this
net commitment as of June 30, 12 contracts totaling $37,900,000 had been
executed by contractors.
CIVILIAN REQUIREMENTS

In order to insure maintenance of a strong economy, and maximum pro­
ductivity in support of the defense effort, an Office of Civilian Requirements
was established in February 1951.
This Office serves as claimant for products, materials, and services for
State, county, and municipal governments; private and religious institutions;
wholesale, retail, and service trades; and common-use consumer goods nec­
essary to meet essential civilian requirements. It is responsible for assuring
equitable distribution of such products, materials, and services. The Office
also coordinates and integrates efforts and activities taken by other claimant
and nonclaimant agencies in behalf of the civilian population.
FOREIGN REQUIREMENTS

To provide cooperation in the international distribution of materials, the
Authority participates in the development and administration of programs
involving allocation of scarce materials, construction and expansion of
foreign facilities, export controls, and similar matters.
A special relationship has been established with the Canadian Govern­
ment by which reciprocal and parallel action is undertaken which affords
maximum effectiveness in carrying out the defense-production programs
of both countries.
SMALL BUSINESS

The NPA’s programs affect the entire national economy and all major
segments of the economy are, therefore, represented in the formulation and
direction of these programs. The Office of Small Business of NPA, repre­
senting the interests of the small businessman, reviews orders and regula­
tions in the making to determine their possible impact on smaller firms and
makes recommendations in behalf of small businessmen; issues guides for
the participation of small business in the emergency program; and assists
in the formation of regional “small business” pools for effective contract
negotiations. It also provides spot assistance to small business and conducts

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77

an active program in Washington and in the field for the distribution of
prime and subcontracts in the defense program.
LABOR

Many of the Authority’s control actions vitally affect or are affected by
manpower utilization, unemployment, and dislocations of labor. Through
cooperation with the Department of Labor and direct liaison with the
national trade unions, measures are designed to help insure optimum utiliza­
tion of the labor force.
Through its liaison with the labor unions the Authority is in a position to
receive and transmit informally information of conditions which might lead
to work stoppages. Through these means it is sometimes able to prevent loss
of man-hours.
Conversion from civilian to defense production in many industries has
resulted in unemployment in some areas. Such unemployment if continued
for any length of time could dissipate the skilled work force in an area and
create labor unrest. The Authority attempts to prevent such occurrences
through giving spot assistance for additional materials and endeavoring to
secure defense contracts for companies which are having difficulty in
retaining their workers.
COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT

During the first 10 months of its operations the National Production
Authority has placed primary emphasis upon securing voluntary compliance
with its orders and regulations. Whenever possible, misunderstandings on
the part of industry members of NPA’s requirements were corrected through
the furnishing of information and explanations by compliance personnel.
It will continue to be NPA’s policy to seek voluntary compliance but in­
creasing emphasis will be placed upon an enforcement program to insure
attainment of defense mobilization goals, and to protect the great majority
of businessmen who comply voluntarily with NPA’s controls. In addition
to routine compliance and enforcement investigations, which are conducted
by field offices of the Department of Commerce, three industry-wide surveys
have been made of the users of aluminum and of copper, and the users of
maintenance, repair, and operating supplies (MRO) under NPA’s Regula­
tion 4. The surveys indicate that there has been substantial compliance
with NPA’s orders and regulations, that most violations were corrected
voluntarily when brought to industry members’ attention and that steps
were taken by them to avoid repetition of violations in the future. In a
number of cases, however, punitive action was being considered by the Office
of General Counsel. Such action might include criminal prosecution, civil
proceedings, or the application of administrative sanctions.
APPEALS

NPA orders and regulations contain provisions for adjustment or excep­
tion under which relief may be granted to prevent an unreasonable hardship

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to a company or where enforcement of the order would not be in the public
interest or in the interest of the national defense. Applications for such
adjustments or exceptions are granted or denied on the decision of the
NPA official administering the particular order or regulation.
Any person who has filed an application for adjustment or exception
requesting relief from the provisions of an order or regulation issued by
NPA, and any person who has applied to NPA for an allocation authoriza­
tion pursuant to an order or regulation issued by NPA and who has there­
after filed an application for adjustment or exception requesting relief from
the action taken on his application for an allocation authorization, may
appeal to the NPA Appeals Board from the decision of the official admin­
istering the particular order or regulation.
The NPA Appeals Board is established as an impartial body and acts as
the final agency authority in considering appeals permitted under the
regulation. Hearings by the Board are public unless otherwise ordered by
the Board. Upon request from either the Appeals Board or from the firm
submitting an appeal, the Office of Small Business appears in behalf of
the firm at hearings.
From the date of establishment of the Appeals Board on April 25, 1951,
through June 30, 1951, the Board has received and docketed a total of 112
appeals. During this period the Board has disposed of 58 appeals. Of the
total number of appeals disposed of, relief was granted in a total of 9
appeals, relief was denied in a total of 22 appeals, and the remaining 27
docketed cases were either dismissed as improper appeals or withdrawn
by the appellants. As of June 30, 1951, a total of 54 appeals were pending
before the Board. A total of 53 hearings have been held since the estab­
lishment of the Board.
COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES

An operation like NPA requires a wide variety of statistical and economic
data, some of which is already available in other Government or private
agencies. Every effort has been made to use such data and to use the
facilities of other agencies in collecting, tabulating, and analyzing such
data as may not be available already. For example, it is the policy of
NPA to use to the greatest possible extent the facilities of the Bureau of the
Census, where appropriate, on a reimbursable basis. This included in­
dustry mailing lists, technical and clerical assistance, mechanical tabulating
equipment, census reports and data, and the joint sponsorship of data
requests. Rather than create new and additional data requests the NPA
has adopted certain forms already in use by the Bureau of Mines, and in
some instances has made such forms mandatory by NPA M-order. In
these cases the forms are issued, received, and tabulated by the Bureau of
Mines, NPA receiving from that Bureau such data as may be useful.
Likewise, other Federal agencies are joint enterprisers in the materials
program and all are closely integrated. Materials channeled by NPA for

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79

the building of freight cars is a major element in the vital program of the
Defense Transport Administration. The increase in electric power, an
objective of the Defense Electric Power Administration, is vital to the
production of aluminum, one of the most critical materials.
Industry Advisory Committees
Industry advisory committees are utilized by the National Production
Authority for drawing upon advice and judgment of American business
executives in connection with the vast defense production program. The
National Production Authority, as of June 30, 1951, had 397 industry
advisory committees functioning in an advisory capacity to its industry
divisions.
The Administrator has delegated to an Office of Industry Advisory
Committees, reporting directly to him, the responsibility for coordinating
all activities relating to industry advisory committees within the National
Production Authority. The Office assures that the Authority receives the
benefits of a true cross-section of industry views and advice in the establish­
ment, use, and management of these committees, and that the requirements
of the Defense Production Act are fully enforced by providing “fair repre­
sentation for independent small, for medium, and for large business enter­
prises, for different geographical areas, for trade association members and
nonmembers, and for different segments of the industry.”

PATENT OFFICE
PATENT EXAMINING OPERATION
C o n d it io n o f W o r k . The fiscal year 1951 brought continued gains in
output and decreases in backlog. On June 30, 1951 the patent application
inventory (excluding designs) was 201,382, a decrease of 8 percent during
the year and 14 percent below the peak reached in fiscal year 1948. Slightly
over half the pending applications at the end of this year were awaiting
action by examiners while 43 percent were awaiting response by applicants.
The remainder were on appeal, in interference, and in pre-examining
processes. Patent applications pending in the designs divisions on June
30, 1951, numbered 6,633.
While the 63,237 new applications for patents received (excluding de­
signs) were lower than in any fiscal year since 1945, patents granted in this
category, 45,646, represented the greatest fiscal year volume in over 15 years.
Although increased turnover caused a reduction in the average number
of examiners employed, total disposals, 81,861 patent and 8,811 design
applications, were slightly higher than the previous year.
New design applications received, 4,871, and patents granted, 4,604, were
both lower this year than last. However, the backlog of design applications
awaiting examiner action was reduced to 2,142 at the end of the year, a

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decrease of 3,361. The oldest application at the end of the year had been
awaiting examiner action for less than 5 months, a decrease during the year
of almost 12 months. Although the number of design examiners did not
change greatly during the year, workload improvement was effected partly
through assistance, for about 3 months, by the Commissioner’s Examiners
Division, and partly through a reorganization wherein two divisions were
created, thus affording a more workable span of control and better internal
alignment.
Emphasis continued to be placed on reducing the patent examining load
and on disposing of older cases. A reduction of about 7 months was effected
in the age of the oldest patent application, other than designs, awaiting
examiner action. At the beginning of the year, about half of the 70 exam­
ining divisions had applications pending over 12 months while at the end
of the year all divisions had been brought within 11 months.
Effort to increase the effectiveness of the patent examining operation in­
cluded the filling, by appointment within the Office, of the position of Ex­
ecutive Primary Examiner, vacant since early 1948; formal designation of a
Chairman of the Board of Appeals with responsibility for all administrative
matters of the Board; continued assistance to the Board of Appeals through
temporary Examiners-in-Chief appointed under the provisions of Public Law
452, Eighty-first Congress; unification in direction and coordination of the
work of the Board of Interference Examiners and the Office of the Examiner
of Trade-Mark Interferences in a single Examiner of Interferences directly
responsible to the Commissioner of Patents.
P a t e n t C l a s s if ic a t io n . Substantial progress was made in patent clas­
sification during the year notwithstanding a serious loss of trained personnel.
Notable among the projects completed was the establishment of a new
electrical class (313) composed of 324 subclasses having 7,517 original and
53,382 cross-referenced United States patents. Continued emphasis was
placed upon those aspects of classification work of immediate benefit in
reducing waiting time on patent applications. This effort was concentrated
primarily on the breakdown of oversize subclasses. There were 538 new
subclasses established in 32 existing classes having 13,280 original and 26,753
cross-referenced United States patents. There were 2,386 original and 655
cross-referenced United States patents transferred to existing subclasses to
clarify lines. An additional 3,896 cross-referenced United States patents,
over 300 published abstracts of abandoned applications, and 1,864 pub­
lished technical articles, required for search purposes in existing subclasses,
were mounted and placed. In this connection, one class (176) having 47
subclasses, and 196 subclasses from 19 existing classes were abolished.
Patents issued during the year were reviewed for accuracy and complete­
ness of classification and cross-referencing, and 7,180 cross-references were
mounted and placed.

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81

A project started in 1948 for issuing complete definitions of all revised
classes reached a current status during the year with the publication of the
last of the classification bulletins containing these definitions. Copies of
each of these bulletins were made available for Office use and are offered for
sale to the public. A consolidated index to these bulletins was prepared
and made available to the public.
TRADE-MARK OPERATION

Examining production in the trade-mark operation reached an all-time
high during fiscal year 1951 with a total of 17,869 registrations issued. This
represents an increase of approximately 9 percent over last year, when the
number registered was a record. This accelerated rate of production
reduced the number of cases awaiting examiner action from 24,623 at the
end of fiscal year 1950 to 19,404 at the close of fiscal year 1951. The num­
ber of new applications filed declined approximately 19 percent below the
preceding year’s total; there was also an expected decline in the number of
applications for republication. By the end of the year, all examining divi­
sions were acting on both new and amended applications within 8 months
from the date of filing or amendment.
The publication of 16,380 marks for opposition established a new record.
This was accompanied by an increase in the number of oppositions filed.
However, there was a slight decrease in the number of interferences insti­
tuted and a marked drop in the number of inter parte cancellations filed.
Formulation of Office policy with respect to registrations under the act of
1946 was substantially aided by a number of decisions dealing with questions
of registrability and interpretation of this act, handed down by the Court of
Customs and Patent Appeals during the year.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND GENERAL PROGRESS

A streamlining of the order handling and fiscal operations was put into
effect, with a view to reducing the cost and increasing the effectiveness of
various operations.
Under the authorization of Public Law 710, Eighty-first Congress, the
Office was relieved of the necessity for printing the declaration in trade­
mark registrations issued under the Trade-Mark Act of 1946. In order to
economize further, printing of court briefs in appeal cases was shifted from
the Government Printing Office to a private contractor; changes in typog­
raphy were made in the Trade-Mark section of the Official Gazette; and
production of the Official Gazette by an offset printing process was substi­
tuted for the letterpress method which had been continuously employed
since January 1872.
The method of preparing Classification Manual copy for photographic
reproduction was changed from a punch-card system to electric propor­
tional spacing typewriters. Copy prepared by the latter method saves

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production time, produces better and more legible copy, and offers greater
photographic reduction.
Reading conditions in the Public Search Room were improved through
the installation of fluorescent-type fixtures and lamps on the desks. Also
the lighting was improved overhead throughout the patent copy stacks of
the Search Room.
Issuance of foreign filing licenses on filing receipts was discontinued and
the procedure was inaugurated whereby licenses would be obtainable only
upon petition to the Commissioner of Patents.
The Committee on Enrollment registered 318 additional attorneys and
agents to practice before the United States Patent Office.
Abstracts of abandoned applications, published in the Official Gazette
pursuant to Commissioner’s Notice of January 25, 1949, totaled 314 com­
pared with 490 during the previous year when the first of such items was
published.
At the end of the year over 58,000 patents had been registered on the
Register of Patents Available for Licensing or Sale maintained by the
Office as a public service.
A documents protection program was inaugurated toward the end of
the year, for the purpose of securing vital Patent Office records at a location
outside Washington, D. C.
Under arrangements made by the State Department with the German
Patent Office at Munich, the United States Government returned several
cases of printed reference material and documents confiscated from the
German Patent Office in Berlin by military forces in 1945. These materials,
comprising largely printed copies of United States patents, will contribute
to reestablishing the records of the Deutsche Patentant.
The first revision to the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, pub­
lished in the previous year, comprised 74 replacement pages. The Novem­
ber 1948 edition of the Patent Laws was reprinted with an addition
comprising a supplement of legislation enacted between the pamphlet edi­
tion date and September 1950. A Manual of Typing Instructions—
Patent Examining Operation was published in usable draft form providing
specific instructions for the guidance of typists. Other publications in­
cluded 76 classification bulletins and 140 replacement pages for the Manual
of Glassification; General Information Concerning Patents, Guide for Patent
Draftsmen, Patent Laws, and Rules of Practice in Patent Cases were
reprinted.
The Office sold and furnished 7,619,044 printed copies of patents and
trade-marks, an increase of 414,372 over the previous year. Of the total
number of copies, 1,109,786 went to libraries and 1,639,490 to foreign
countries under exchange agreements.

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LEGISLATION

An act approved June 30, 1950, in effect 1 year, permitted application
by veterans to the Commissioner of Patents for extension of the terms of
their patents. Under the act, 151 formal and 10 informal applications
were received, although not all were disposed of during this year.
The Patent Office has continued to cooperate with the House Committee
on the Judiciary in its efforts to revise and codify the Patent Laws, title 35,
United States Code. Public hearings were held by a subcommittee in
June 1951.
PERSONNEL AND BUDGET

The international situation, together with budget matters, were mainly
responsible for a rather wide fluctuation in total Patent Office employment.
The year started with an employment strength of 1,960. This number
decreased by 66 in less than 3 months and then rose to 1,929 employees by
the end of November. Thereafter a gradual decline due in part to un­
certainties with respect to congressional action on the 1952 budget, resulted
in a low of 1,860 employees in June 1951.
Cost of operations during the year was $11,248,339, of which 77 percent
was for personal services, 20 percent for printing and reproduction, and
about 3 percent for all other expenses. The increase of $225,303 over
the previous year is due primarily to increased printing expense related
to greater volume of patent issues.
Income for the year, representing gross collections less refunds, was
$5,320,225. This is equivalent to about 47 percent of operating costs but
is $110,514 less than the previous year’s income. A decline in the number
of patent and trade-mark applications filed accounted for a loss of revenue
in filing fees; this more than offset the increase in revenue from final fees
received for a greater volume of issued patents.

BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS
FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT

With highway usage at an all time peak and highway inadequacies more
evident than ever before, highway improvement was continued at about the
same rate as in 1950. Improvements completed in the Federal program
totaled 20,030 miles, compared to 21,030 the previous year.
In accordance with the President’s request of July 21, 1950, that all con­
struction programs be reexamined in the light of critical defense needs,
all new Federal-aid highway projects were carefully screened and only those
essential to the national defense were approved.
Highway organizations at all levels of Government put forth maximum
efforts to provide better travel conditions, but needs continued to accumu­
late faster than they could be met. Motor-vehicle registrations increased
10 percent in the 1950 calendar year and were expected to increase an

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additional 6 percent in 1951, bringing the total to more than 52 million
automobiles, trucks, and busses. Increased defense activity caused a strik­
ing increase in freight tonnage moved over the Nation’s highways. Tonmiles of freight increased from 107 billion in 1949 to 142 billion in 1950
(calendar year). Highway bid prices rose 15.6 percent during the fiscal
year.
Federal-aid funds authorized during the fiscal year to assist States in
highway improvement amounted to $450 million with $202/2 million as­
signed to the Federal-aid primary system, $135 million to the secondary
system, and $112% million to the urban system. These funds will remain
available until July 1, 1953.
During the year the States completed Federal-aid improvements as
follows: 4,850 miles of rural primary highways and 849 bridges; 13,875
miles of secondary or farm-to-market roads and 1,556 bridges; and 554
miles of highways and 294 bridges in urban areas. The Bureau’s longrange program for the elimination of hazards at railway-highway grade
crossings was continued during the year with 125 grade crossings eliminated,
48 inadequate structures rebuilt, and 357 crossings protected by automatic
flashing light signals or other safety devices.
At the end of the fiscal year plans had been approved for or work was
underway on improvements to 21,523 miles of highways in the FederalState cooperative program. These improvements had a total estimated
cost of $1.54 billion of which $774 million was Federal funds.
Slightly more than 1,000 miles of the improvements completed on the
Federal-aid primary system, costing $166.5 million, was on portions of the
National System of Interstate Highways. This system is made up of the
most important primary and urban highways. There is no separate allo­
cation of Federal funds for improvements on this system, but, since it is
a part of the Federal-aid system, it is being improved with funds for that
system. During the year a substantial beginning was made on expressway
projects in a number of large cities.
CONSTRUCTION BY THE BUREAU

As the principal road-building agency of the Federal Government, the
Bureau is called upon to plan and supervise highway construction for other
governmental agencies. In cooperation with the Forest Service of the
Department of Agriculture, the Bureau prepared plans for and supervised
construction of 567 miles of forest highways and 76 miles of forest develop­
ment roads. In cooperation with the National Park Service of the Depart­
ment of the Interior, the Bureau supervised construction of 116 miles of
parkways and roads in national parks. Considerable highway construction
was under way in Alaska under supervision of the Bureau, in cooperation
with the Alaska Road Commission. This work was being done as rapidly
as possible becaue of its defense significance.
In addition to these activities the Bureau supervised construction of roads

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for the Atomic Energy Commission, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the
National Housing Agency, and other agencies.
Congress in 1950 authorized construction of access roads to military
reservations, defense industries, and sources of raw materials, and provided
$10 million for the purpose. At the end of the year 24 projects had been
certified as necessary by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the
Interior and were either under construction or being planned. Eighty-four
projects were being considered for improvement.
The Bureau supervised Federal assistance to States hit by floods or other
disasters during the year. The assistance to Hawaii in the repair of roads
and bridges damaged by the armed services during the war and by the
tidal waves of April 1946 was continued.
FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

The repair and rehabilitation of Philippine roads and bridges, begun
in 1946, was continued throughout the year with the completion of 117
projects. This program has involved assistance in reorganizing the Philip­
pine Bureau of Public Works, training of Philippine engineers (both in the
United States and in the Philippines), procurement of modern construction
equipment, and completion of long-range highway planning studies.
The program of technical assistance to Turkey, initiated in 1947, was
continued throughout the year. Training in equipment operation and
repair, engineering design and construction methods, and administrative
and supervisory techniques was given 386 Turks during the year, bringing
In 1,736 the total trained by the Bureau since 1947. Highway equipment
and tools delivered to Turkey by the end of the fiscal year amounted to
15,400 tons valued at $12.5 million. The Turkish Directorate of Highways
has been reorganized along the lines of a modern, efficient State highway
department. Basic information needed for long-range planning is being
collected and analyzed. In little more than 4 years, the highway transpor­
tation system of Turkey has been radically changed. The effect on the
economy of the country is already pronounced.
Technical advice and assistance was extended by the Bureau to the
Governments of Ethiopia, Liberia, Iran, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, and
Colombia. Ecuador and El Salvador were aided in specific construction
projects. Also during the year the Bureau aided over 200 engineers and
officials from foreign countries in studies of highway practice in the United
States.
In 1950 Congress appropriated $4 million for continuing construction
of the Inter-American Highway in cooperation with the Central American
Republics. New agreements were negotiated with El Salvador, Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, and Panama. Work proceeding under previous appropriations
was continued in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
SAFETY

The fourth national meeting of the President’s Highway Safety Con­
ference was held in Washington in June. Personnel of the Bureau were

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active in organizing the conference and in promoting safety on our streets
and highways.
RESEARCH

Research in the fields of highway transport, finance, administration,
design, and construction methods and materials was continued. The
investigation that attracted widest attention was the study of the effect
of heavy loads on concrete pavements known as the Maryland Road Test at
La Plata, Md. The test, directed by the Highway Research Board, National
Academy of Sciences, with participation of the Bureau, 11 Eastern States
and the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense, truck manufac­
turers, and petroleum companies, involved the continuous operation of
trucks with various loads over a 1.1-mile stretch of concrete pavement.
The test indicates the advisability of the axle-load limit of 18,000 pounds
prescribed by law in a substantial majority of the States for the prevention
of excessive damage to a large part of the Nation’s highway system of
which the test road is representative.

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
The National Bureau of Standards is the principal agency of the Federal
Government for basic and applied research and development in physics,
mathematics, chemistry, and engineering. It also has custody of the national
standards of physical measurement, and carries on necessary research lead­
ing to improvement in such standards and in measurement methods. In
addition to its general responsibility for basic research, NBS undertakes
specific research and development programs, develops improved methods
for testing materials and equipment, determines physical constants and
properties of materials, tests and calibrates standard measuring apparatus
and reference standards, develops specifications for Federal purchasing, and
serves the Government and the scientific institutions of the Nation in an
advisory capacity on matters relating to the physical sciences.
The scope of the work carried on during the year may be classified under
two general headings: (1) Research and development and (2) service
activities, which include the work on codes and specifications; testing, cali­
bration, and standard samples; and cooperative and consulting services.
During the year there was a marked shift in emphasis toward development
projects for the Department of Defense. The technical program was carried
on in 15 divisions: Electricity, optics and metrology, heat and power,
atomic and radiation physics, chemistry, mechanics, organic and fibrous
materials, metallurgy, mineral products, building technology, applied mathe­
matics, electronics, ordnance development, radio propagation, and missile
development.
Research and Development
The research and development activities of NBS are primarily of two
kinds. There are, first, the investigations that result from the Bureau’s

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responsibility for fundamental measurements in the physical sciences, for
the development and maintenance of primary standards in science and
engineering, and for the testing and calibration of standard measuring
apparatus and reference standards. A second phase of research and de­
velopment consists of large-scale specific projects undertaken either under
direct congressional authorization (e. g., artificial radioactivity, building
technology, and high polymers) or for other Government agencies (e. g.,
ordnance electronics, jet engines, electronic computing machines, and
aeronautics).
ELECTRICITY

Work in electricity was primarily concerned with improvement of
standards and methods of electrical measurement, the development of elec­
trical standards for industry, and studies of the properties of materials.
Defense projects requested by the Armed Forces included systematic studies
of the magnetic properties of a variety of iron and steel alloys and measure­
ment of the dielectric properties of new insulating materials. A new
technique was developed which increases the “writing speed” of a highvoltage oscillograph to three-fourths the velocity of light. In connection
with an investigation of high-rate primary and secondary batteries for the
Bureau of Aeronautics, Department of the Navy, a new type of battery was
produced which delivers large currents for about 10 times as long as the
ordinary lead-acid storage battery although its weight is only about 40
percent as great.
OPTICS AND METROLOGY

Activities in optics and metrology involved the fields of colorimetry,
photometry, refractometry, illumination, optical instruments, technology
of glass working, interferometry, photographic technology, and thermal
expansivity. While work was primarily directed toward the development
and maintenance of standards, specific programs were also carried on for
other Government agencies. For example, at the request of the Weather
Bureau, a new and less expensive system for measurement of visibility at
airport weather stations was developed. A new resolving power chart was
developed for photographic lenses; this chart enables the user to obtain in a
single photograph a complete record of the resolution characteristics of a
lens over a wide range of contrast. An investigation was made of the
thermal expansion of aluminum and some aluminum alloys for various
temperature ranges between —50° and +400° C.
HEAT AND POWER

Heat-capacity measurements were made on synthetic rubbers and other
high polymers in order to derive their thermodynamic properties. Extensive
investigations were carried out on the flow and deformation properties of
various rubbers and rubber solutions; these measurements should help in

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explaining the superior qualities of the “cold” rubbers. To provide infor­
mation for the more efficient utilization of heat from sources of atomic
energy, the heat capacities of sodium, potassium, and three sodiumpotassium alloys were determined at temperatures up to 1,173° K. The
heat capacity of gaseous carbon dioxide—of vital importance in calcula­
tions of power obtainable by combustion—was measured from
50 to
+ 100° C. and at pressures from 0.5 to 1.5 atmospheres. Increased under­
standing of the mechanism by which “knock” is produced in automotive
engines resulted from compression-ignition studies initiated the previous
year. In connection with turbojet combustor design, an investigation was
made of the rates of interchange of temperature and velocity between coaxial
streams of hot and cold gas under a wide variety of operating conditions.
Studies of flame temperatures were carried out by spectroscopic methods m
both the ultraviolet and infrared regions of the spectrum.
In cooperation with the Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., a study
of the skin temperature differences between corresponding points on the
limbs of patients having peripheral vascular disorders was made. Work
was begun on the development of an instrument for use by anesthesiologists
to measure continuously, to indicate visually, and to record systolic and
diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, arrhythmia, and respiration rate and
volume during surgery.
ATOMIC AND RADIATION PHYSICS

A broad program of fundamental research and standardization was
carried on in atomic and radiation physics, with particular emphasis on
those phases of direct or indirect importance to national defense. During
the year, experiments which provided the best values ever obtained for
the magnetic moment of the proton, both in absolute units and nuclear
magnetons, were completed. At the request of the Office of Naval
Research, a program of radiation scattering experiments was begun to ob­
tain data for the design of shields for nuclear reactors or “piles.” Studies
were made with the new 50-million volt betatron to determine optimum
wall thicknesses for protective barriers against high-energy X-rays. A new
type of photographic film dosimeter for detection and measurement of
atomic radiation was developed. A special radiation source, together with
associated portable equipment, was developed to provide the military
services with 3, means for calibration of radiation measuring instruments
under field conditions. As a result of work extending over the past 4
years, development of a standardized line of X-ray equipment for military
field use was substantially completed, providing facilities far more suited
to the purpose than those available during World War II.
CHEMISTRY

A wide range of fundamental and applied research was conducted in
physical, analytical, organic, and inorganic chemistry. A program was

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89

initiated to develop practicable methods of preparing sugars and other
carbohydrates with radioactive carbon atoms located in specific positions
within the molecule. Under the sponsorship of the Office of the Surgeon
General, Department of the Army, an investigation of dextran as a blood
plasma extender was begun. A fundamental study of acidity and basicity
in inert solvents resulted in the development of new indicators which show
the presence of acids and bases in organic media, such as lubricating oils
and dry-cleaning solvents, by sharp changes in color. A new method was
formulated for predicting the extent to which different fuel gases depart
from exact interchangeability.
A new analytical procedure developed for the study of the Los Angeles
(Calif.) smog was successful in isolating and identifying the irritating
gaseous pollutants in the smog and in suggesting the measures necessary
for their elimination. Investigations were continued in an effort to develop
methods for depositing unusual metals such as molybdenum, tungsten,
titanium, and zirconium. A new spectrophotometric method was worked
out for the determination of bismuth; this method will make possible more
rapid and accurate acceptance-testing of solders, type metals, and other
lead-tin alloys. A chromatographic method for analysis of corn sirups was
also developed, and a procedure was devised for determination of the
impurities in iron at concentrations of a few tenths of a part per million.
MECHANICS

The mechanics of solids, liquids, and gases were the broad topics of
research in this field. The work varied from long-range investigations of
basic mechanical phenomena to short-range studies of the mechanical action
of practical apparatus. An instrument was designed and constructed for
accurate measurement of vibrations having very small amplitudes; this
device has proved useful in the calibration of gages for measurement of
vibrations in machinery, buildings, and the soil. Work on the determi­
nation of the physical properties of materials by sonic methods was extended
with the initiation of two new major investigations: one to design an
instrument for measurement of the viscosity of gases, the other to develop
an instrument to indicate continuously the velocity of sound in a liquid.
A simple method was worked out for determining the correct sound pres­
sures which must be produced in the ear canal by the audiometers used
to measure hearing loss. Construction of an acoustic interferometer, for
measurement of velocity and absorption in gases at low pressures, was
largely completed. Methods were under development for making evapo­
rated films suitable for resistors, pressure transducers, and other instru­
mental applications. Equipment for the measurement of air turbulence
at supersonic speeds was completed under a development program spon­
sored by the NACA and carried on in cooperation with the Johns Hopkins
University.
973610— 51------ 7

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ORGANIC AND FIBROUS MATERIALS

Applied research on polymeric materials—rubber, plastics, textiles,
leather, and paper—was given added impetus by the international situa­
tion, first, because these materials have important military applications for
national defense and, second, because the supply of most of them has been
adversely affected by dislocations in international trade. Thus, the needs
of the military agencies led to the efforts to make papers and plastics having
properties outside the range of those previously thought possible. Other
research was undertaken to extend the uses of organic materials to replace
metals and other substances that are in even shorter supply. Also, the re­
opening of the Government synthetic rubber plants greatly increased the
demand for standard rubber samples and called for investigations leading
to better methods of quality control.
In cooperation with the Naval Research Laboratory, a paper composed
entirely of glass fibers, with no additive, was developed; although produced
primarily for use in gas masks, the new paper should also have extensive use
in electronic equipment because of its excellent electrical insulating prop­
erties. New information on the road wear and power loss of tires was
revealed in a study carried out in cooperation with the Office of Rubber
Reserve. Information was obtained on the sampling of shoe upper leather
which will eliminate laborious and wasteful testing of individual hides.
As the result of several years of research conducted by NBS for the Library
of Congress, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were
permanently preserved in glass enclosures filled with helium. At the re­
quest of the Surgeon General’s Office, Department of the Army, NBS par­
ticipated in a Nation-wide research effort to assess various materials for pos­
sible stockpiling as blood plasma substitutes for use in the event of a major
catastrophe. A new silicone resin pigment was developed for marking
clinical thermometers; unlike marking compounds previously used, the
new pigment withstands constant immersion in germicides and cleaning
solutions. A simple, rapid method for the quantitative determination of
rubber hydrocarbon in crude natural rubber was developed, and an im­
proved apparatus for precise determination of moisture in rubber was
designed and constructed.
METALLURGY

Fundamental and applied research in physical metallurgy was greatly
stimulated during 1951 by the need for new and improved metals and
alloys in connection with the defense effort. In the course of the work,
new information was obtained on the effect of prior stressing of aluminum
alloys on fatigue strength. An evaluation of the use of aluminum and its
alloys as roofing and sheathing in housing construction was completed.
Investigations of the creep of metals at low temperatures were continued.
In an extended study of ship plate, it was established that carbon, phos­

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91

phorus, manganese, and silicon contents, as well as grain size, are significant
factors in determining whether or not a particular plate will be susceptible
to the propagation of cracks. A study of the corrosion of aluminum and
magnesium sheeting for aircraft use in a marine atmosphere was continued.
An extensive investigation of the formation of nodular graphite in cast iron
was completed.
MINERAL PRODUCTS

Research in thé general field of nonmetallic mineral products was con­
cerned with pottery and porcelain, the high-temperature oxides, glass, re­
fractories, ceramic coatings, building stone, concreting materials, inorganic
adhesives, lime, and gypsum. Advances continued in the application of
ceramics to high-temperature uses in jet and rocket propulsion and as
specialized electronic components. Large alkali halide crystals with im­
proved transmission of infrared light were grown. Studies were initiated
to improve the resistance of concrete in air-field runways to blasts from jet
engines. Flame photometer methods for the analysis of alkalies in cements
were explored and improved. Refined measurement of such properties of
molten glass as viscosity and surface tension provided a clearer picture of
the underlying structure of glass.
BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

NBS continued to conduct laboratory research on technical problems
relating to building construction and maintenance and to assist Government
and industry in applying scientific principles and information to building
design and standardization. Investigative programs were carried on in the
fields of structural engineering; fire protection; heating and air condition­
ing; wall, floor, and roofing materials; and safety engineering. To deter­
mine internal strain in hardened concrete, a waterproof strain gage was
developed for embedment in concrete during fabrication of test specimens
or structural members. A study of the fire hazard involved in the ignition
of bedding from glowing cigarettes, undertaken at the request of the
Veterans’ Administration, was completed. An evaluation of heating meth­
ods for small homes was continued in the NBS test bungalow, with investi­
gation of commercial models of forced-air furnaces and distribution systems.
An analysis of the water-vapor permeability of 53 coating materials was
undertaken for the Department of the Navy, and a study of the water-vapor
permeability of interior paints used as water-vapor barriers was made for
the Housing and Home Finance Agency. A survey was made of the ma­
terials employed by the asphalt roofing industry to stabilize the asphalt used
in coating prepared roofings.
APPUED MATHEMATICS

As in the previous year, activities were concentrated largely in two pro­
grams: numerical analysis and statistical engineering. In numerical an-

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alysis, considerable emphasis was placed on the study of matrix inversion
and methods of integrating partial differential equations, two topics im­
portant in the solution of many problems in aerodynamics and other
branches of physics. The program in statistical engineering was concerned
with the application of modern statistical inference to complex engineering
experiments and sampling problems and with the analysis of data arising in
physical experiments. In large part, this work took the form of cooperation
with other agencies on the statistical phases of scientific experimentation
and engineering tests.
The NBS Computation Laboratory continued to perform computational
services for Federal agencies and for their contractors and to prepare tables
of mathematical functions important in various branches of science. The
computation activities were highlighted by the completion of the first year
of operation of SEAC (National Bureau of Standards Eastern Automatic
Computer). The machine was operated on a 24-hour-per-day, 7-day-perweek schedule, and a wide variety of important problems was solved for
the various agencies of the Department of Defense, for the Atomic Energy
Commission, and for the other technical divisions of NBS. The largest
share of SEAC time was devoted to computing requirements for mobiliza­
tion plans of the United States Air Force as part of project SCOOP (Scien­
tific Computation of Optimum Programs).
ELECTRONICS

New and highly specialized types of electronic circuits and components
were developed to meet the particular requirements of industry and national
defense. Much of the work was classified and was carried on for the Depart­
ment of Defense; a large part of the remainder consisted of projects in basic
and applied electronics conducted primarily for other Government agencies.
A major disadvantage of the printed circuit method, that of incorporating
satisfactory resistors in the circuits, was largely overcome by the develop­
ment of a high-temperature adhesive-tape resistor. To aid in determining
the effects of shock and vibration on electron tubes, a miniature piezoelectric
accelerometer was developed. A large-scale electrostatic information stor­
age system, or “memory,” was designed and incorporated into SEAC (Na­
tional Bureau of Standards Eastern Automatic Computer). A compact
and rugged yet inexpensive portable radiation detector was developed for
the Bureau of Ships, Department of the Navy. Development and construc­
tion of a low-cost multichannel telemeter system for use in tests of para­
chutes was completed for the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics.
ORDNANCE DEVELOPMENT

The work of this division was concerned almost exclusively with the
development of electronic, electromechanical, and mechanical devices for
the Department of Defense; details are necessarily classified. However,
some development work was carried on for other Government agencies.

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93

For example, a new casting resin was developed for the potting of electronic
circuits, and a method for the rapid checking and adjusting of resistance
values in printed radio circuits was worked out. Other devices completed
during the year were a notched-disk magnetic memory for electronic com­
puters and a quick-action clutch which uses piezoelectric crystals.
RADIO PROPAGATION

Comprehensive programs of basic and applied research were carried
forward in an effort to learn more about the earth’s upper atmosphere and
its effects on the propagation of radio waves. Seventeen radio propagation
field stations, extending over North and South America and the Pacific
area, were operated by NBS either directly or in close association with other
agencies. Data thus obtained provided basic material for scientific research
and for the application of propagation data to radio communication prob­
lems. Continuous broadcasts of standard frequency and time were made
over the Bureau’s radio station WWV at Beltsville, Md., and over an
experimental station, WWVH, at Maui, T. H. Studies of ionospheric
winds were continued.
Extensive research was continued on the problem of allocation of the
radio-frequency channels to very-high-frequency communication and broad­
casting services. A study of the propagation factors affecting the use of
radio for air navigation and traffic control was continued. A new type of
atomic clock utilizing atomic-beam techniques was nearing completion; it
is expected that the new clock will have higher accuracy than any previous
standard of this kind.
Service Activities
CODES AND SPECIFICATIONS

The results of a large part of the research and testing have a direct bearing
on the development of technical requirements designed to assure safe
working and living conditions. NBS thus provides a central source of in­
formation to which Federal, State, and municipal authorities, as well as
industry and trade associations, can turn when dealing with problems of
safety or with building and plumbing codes. During the year, for example,
NBS rendered technical assistance in connection with the drafting of the
National Plumbing Code and the development of the New York State
Building Code. The National Archives, Treasury Department, Public
Buildings Administration, Department of the Interior, National Institutes
of Health, National Defense Establishment, and Veterans’ Administration
were given advice on problems concerned with fire-resistant construction,
fire extinguishers, storage of motion-picture films, protection of records,
performance of elevators, and safeguards in the transportation of hazardous
materials.

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TESTING, CALIBRATION, AND STANDARD SAMPLES

Over 300,000 tests and calibrations were performed for other Government
agencies and the public. In addition, about 25,000 standard samples were
issued by NBS. Typical services of this kind included the sample-testing
of over 3,000,000 clinical thermometers purchased by the Government, the
life testing of nearly 6,000 light bulbs (a sampling of nearly 7,000,000 pur­
chased by the Government this year), the calibration of approximately 4,500
gage blocks, over 800 measurements of radon in breath samples from radium
dial painters or in the workroom air, the distribution of about 1,300 samples
of radioactive materials, the calibration of more than 900 water-current
meters, the calibration of 35,000 capacity-measuring devices, and the
sample-testing of about 10,000,000 barrels of cement purchased by the
Government.
COOPERATIVE AND CONSULTING SERVICES

NBS is called upon to provide technical and advisory services to every
agency of the Federal Government and many State and municipal govern­
ments. An example of this service is the development and establishment
of Federal Specifications. These specifications result in purchase economies
by establishing criteria which govern quality and by providing opportunity
for all businesses to compete for Federal trade through the bid system.
Typical services included an evaluation of battery additives for the Federal
Trade Commission and the Post Office Department; assistance to the Re­
construction Finance Corporation in finding uses for short abaca fibers;
advice to the Office of the Quartermaster General on refrigeration and
air-conditioning problems; aid to the Army Medical Center in the planning
of an instrument system for measurement of cardiac output; participation
in the Atomic Energy Commission’s “Operation Greenhouse” ; assistance to
the Federal Civil Defense Administration on radiation instrumentation prob­
lems; and consultative assistance to the Architect of the White House and
the Committee on Alterations of the White House regarding sound insula­
tion, sandstone weathering problems, and damage to stone masonry from
roof leaks.
NBS also participated in the work of hundreds of technical committees,
societies, associations, and commissions organized to bring new advances of
science into the technology of industry, to standardize materials and prod­
ucts for greater economy and improved quality, and to establish uniform
scientific standards throughout the world. Bureau staff members now hold
1,687 positions on such national and international groups. An example is
the Bureau’s participation in the American Society for Testing Materials,
in which NBS is represented by 445 committee memberships. NBS also
holds about 250 memberships on committees of the American Standards
Association and is the managing agency for several ASA projects.

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OFFICE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES
The program of the Office of Technical Services consists of three principal
activities. ( 1) maintenance of a clearing house of technical reports from
United States and foreign sources ; (2) conduct of an inquiry service for the
individual handling of replies to technical questions from business firms; and
(3) staff assistance to the National Inventors Council, a group of eminent
scientists and inventors serving on a voluntary basis. The Council seeks
the aid of independent inventors in solving technical problems for Federal
and military agencies. In addition, several functions pertaining to foreign
rehabilitation in Marshall Plan countries under the sponsorship of the Eco­
nomic Cooperation Administration were assigned to the Office.
During the fiscal year 1951, major emphasis was again placed on technical
aids to small-business firms, in accordance with the President’s budgetary
recommendation concurred in by Congress. Special small-business services
included: the technical inquiry program; the monthly Technical Reports
Newsletter; the monthly Bibliography of Technical Reports; press releases
documenting noteworthy technical developments and articles; and the appli­
cation of trust-fund activities to the reproduction of relatively inexpensive
documents of wide interest to small business.
Public Law 776, “To make the results of technological research and de­
velopment more readily available to industry and business,” became effective
September 9, 1950.
TECHNICAL CLEARING HOUSE

In the 12 issues of the Bibliography of Technical Reports during the
fiscal year 1951, some 3,187 carefully selected technical articles were made
available to small-business firms. The year’s sales of Publication Board
reports totaled approximately $126,000, of which 43 percent was received
for printed reports and the balance for photostat and microfilm materials
handled directly by the Library of Congress. The Bibliography of Tech­
nical Reports is available to subscribers at a yearly rate of $5.
The Newsletter, a monthly bulletin highlighting selected material of spe­
cial interest to small business, maintained a paid monthly circulation of
approximately 3,800. In addition, the Newsletter is incorporated into the
Bibliography of Technical Reports.
Continuing valuable additions to the Publication Board’s collection were
assured by arrangements with various Federal, military, and related organ­
izations, including the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the
Atomic Energy Commission, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Naval
Research Laboratory, the Signal Corps, the Air Matériel Command, and
universities and foundations under contract with the Government.
During the year the resources of the Office were utilized, under contract
with the Economic Cooperation Administration, to help provide aid to
Marshall Plan countries. This program included :

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1. Maintenance of a special technical staff to handle inquiries from
countries participating in the European Recovery Program.
2. Establishment and development of a Film Section, charged with re­
sponsibility for screening, selecting, and procuring audio-visual aids ^for
subsequent translation into foreign languages for use abroad. In addition,
the information assembled by this section will be available for a future
domestic film program slanted toward small business, trade associations, and
trainee audiences.
3. Screening of technical books and periodicals and their procurement
and shipment to participating countries.
4. Digesting and abstracting articles appearing in current United States
scientific and technical publications for use abroad.
INQUIRY SERVICE

Technical advice was made available to both foreign and domestic
inquirers. During the year, approximately 737 foreign requests and 2,031
domestic requests for information and advice were handled. This work­
load is in addition to the 40,000 reference inquiries relating to the catalog
and document collection of the Publication Board which is also administered
by the Office of Technical Services.
NATIONAL INVENTORS COUNCIL

Activity of the National Inventors Council, which was on a stand-by
basis following World War II, increased considerably following entry of
the United States into the Korean conflict. Primary mission of the Council
is to stimulate thinking of the inventive public concerning technical prob­
lems confronting the armed services. During the year, the National In­
ventors Council received an average of 1,000 suggestions a month from
independent inventors. Of these, about 5 percent were deemed of suf­
ficient importance to w'arrant further tests, study, or development.

OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR
TRANSPORTATION
The Under Secretary for Transportation is the principal advisor to the
Secretary on all transportation matters within the Department. It is his
responsibility to work for consistent policy and programs among the several
agencies of the Department performing transportation functions. He also
handles those transportation mobilization activities delegated to the Secre­
tary of Commerce.
The Under Secretary for Transportation is assisted in discharging these
duties by the Office of Transportation and the Office of Civil Aviation
Mobilization.
Major activities of the Office of the Under Secretary for Transportation
during the fiscal year 1951 included a review of transportation history and
policy; an identification of the general problems facing the transportation

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industries; as well as mobilization activities with respect to (a) the ocean
shipping agreement between the Department of Defense and the Depart­
ment of Commerce, (b) plans for civil aviation in cooperation with the Civil
Aeronautics Administration, the Civil Aeronautics Board, and the Depart­
ment of Defense, and (c) cooperative efforts to establish transportation
goals with the Defense Production Administration and other transporta­
tion agencies.
Office of Transportation.
Principal activities of the Office of Transportation during the fiscal year
1951 included adoption of an objective program to develop and appraise
Government aids to transportation as well as benefits achieved from such
aids. The Office also began an examination of policy with respect to
charges for use of Government provided facilities. In addition the Office
undertook a continuing examination of transportation and its effect on
industry and commerce.
In cooperation with the Defense Production Administration a study of
goals for transportation planning was undertaken. This study had the
objective of translating proposed production goals into demands for trans­
portation service. A research project was conducted on the freight car
movements of, and the transportation factors involved in, the marketing of
newsprint. A substantial amount of time was spent on reviewing and
analyzing possible effects of Federal legislation concerning transportation
and on preparing studies bearing on the census of transportation authorized
by Congress.
Other activities of the Office consisted of studying the feasibility of a
proposed dredging project on a southwestern river and analyzing the effects
of barge-line competition with the pipelines from Texas petroleum fields to
markets. Crude oil and petroleum products movements by tankers were
likewise studied.
MOBILIZATION ACTIVITIES

In connection with transportation mobilization activities, the Office of
Transportation analyzed and tabulated requirements for materials sub­
mitted by the transportation agencies within the Department for the various
quarters of the fiscal year. Involved were the uses of steel, copper, and
aluminum for transportation equipment. The Office of Transportation
likewise represented the claimant agencies for transportation within the
Department, including the Maritime Administration, Bureau of Public
Roads, and the Civil Aeronautics Administration, on the various DPA
committees. Membership on the DPA Committees on Program Adjust­
ment and Transportation Requirements involved the study of material and
equipment requirements for all forms of transportation and presentation of
claims therefor and the necessary adjustments to meet quarterly programs.

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Office of Civil Aviation Mobilization
To implement plans and programs for the mobilization of the resources
and facilities of the civil air transportation industry to meet any future fullscale emergency, the Office of Civil Aviation was established under the
direction of the Under Secretary for Transportation, composed of the
General Aviation Division, the Airports and Airways Division, and the Air
Transport Division. Its main activities during the fiscal year of 1951 have
been centered upon reviewing the task group reports of the National
Security Resources Board Mobilization Survey and summarizing the major
conclusions and recommendations for a report to the Office of Defense
Mobilization. This report covered the five basic areas of importance in
mobilizing civil aviation—Air Transport; Training; Overhaul and Mainte­
nance; Industrial, Business and Agricultural Flying; Airports and Airways.
Related activities included conferences with the Department of Defense
and other interested Federal agencies and private industry organizations
regarding an air priorities system which, when required, would permit the
maximum use of all available aircraft by both military and civil users.
Plans were completed for the establishment of the Defense Air Transpor­
tation Administration, an organization to absorb the functions of the Office
of Civil Aviation Mobilization.

WEATHER BUREAU
In fiscal 1951 Weather Bureau services rendered in support of expanding
air commerce, agriculture, and industry, and to meet the demands for re­
search and development in meteorology for civil and military requirements
were at the highest level ever reached, although employment was below
the wartime peak.
WEATHER FORECASTING SERVICE

Fiscal year 1951 marked the conclusion of the fifth consecutive 5-year
period in which loss of life from hurricanes was substantially reduced.
The season brought 12 storms, 11 of which reached full hurricane force.
Four crossed the coast line of the United States, and caused property dam­
age of over $35,000,000 with loss of 19 lives.
Automatic telephone forecast service of the metropolitan type became
available in the ninth United States city when facilities in Philadelphia,
Pa., began operation on September 15, 1950. The popularity of this type
of distribution of local forecasts continues to increase markedly. The daily
averages of calls handled by such automatic systems during the calendar
year 1950 were:
B altim ore------------------------------- 15,559
Boston------------------------------------- 8, 915
Chicago----------------------------------- 4 6 ,9 8 3
C lev elan d ------------------------------- 18, 648
D e tro it----------------------------------- 51,042

M ilw aukee____________________ 26,486
New York_____________________ 64, 203
Philadelphia___________________ 11,151
W ashington____________________ 61, 158

On January 29, 1951, Chicago reported a daily total of 292,082 calls.

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Plans have been developed for consolidating specialized aviation fore­
casting activities to secure improved service without increased personnel
costs. Experimental consolidations at Boston and Washington have dem­
onstrated the practicability of the plan, which will ultimately be put into
operation at 26 centers now rendering limited flight advisory weather
service.
Weather Bureau international aviation forecast offices briefed 53,500
aircraft departing from the United States, and provided in-flight forecasts
for 67,700 aircraft departing from or destined for United States terminals.
In briefing aircraft for international operations, the captain is given a
weather map, a pictorial cross-section of the weather expected enroute,
route and terminal forecasts (including alternate terminals), forecasts of
direction and velocity of winds, data on icing levels and turbulence, and
the latest weather reports along the flight path. The forecasts extend from
the surface to 25,000 or 30,000 feet. Such briefings during 1951 repre­
sented an increase of 38 percent over service provided last year. About a
third of the flight forecasts and about a fourth of the briefings were pro­
vided for foreign aircraft; the remainder were for United States civil opera­
tors and military aircraft on overseas flights.
WEATHER OBSERVATIONS AND REPORTS

The Weather Bureau, in collaboration with the Air Force and Navy,
carried out a series of comparisons of their differing types of upper air
sounding instruments to determine the compatibility of measurements made
by the several services. This program was carried on at Oklahoma City
for a period of 3 weeks during June 1951. Because of the requirement to
forecast flight conditions at higher and higher levels to meet the needs of
new aircraft, the average height of balloon ascents has been increased during
the past year from 52,424 to 62,349 feet through the use of improved
methods and materials.
On June 1, 1951, a new hourly sequence weather code became effective,
with some changes in reports of sky conditions. This is designed to make
reports more useful for aviation. Along with these changes the format for
transmission and dissemination of the regional and terminal sections of
aviation weather forecasts has been considerably simplified to make the
terminal forecast section and the hourly sequence weather reports equally
easy for direct use by aviation personnel.
The Weather Bureau published:
(a) 52 issues of Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, 4 pages each.
(b) 13 issues of Climatological Data, National Summary, average 40
pages each.
(c) 585 issues of Section Climatological Data (13 for each of the 45
sections), averaging 20 pages each.

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(d) 3,096 1-page issues of monthly Station Meteorological Summaries
for 258 Weather Bureau stations, and 375 issues of Annual
Climatological Data, averaging 4 pages each.
(e) 1,512 issues of monthly Supplement to Station Meteorological Sum­
mary for 126 Weather Bureau stations.
Approximately 500 special tabulations of wind direction and speed were
prepared for aviation and engineering interests; there were also many
special tabulations to show frequency with which various meteorological
elements occur in combination. These studies were produced mostly for
military and other Government agencies, but users also included a number
for industrial organizations and universities, which financed the work
under “trust fund” accounts.
To aid in the study of water resources of the Nation, 163,140 weighing
raingage charts were evaluated and checked; hourly values were recorded
and tabulated. In recording the climate of the Nation more than
10,000,000 observations of surface and upper-air meteorological data were
placed on tabulating cards.
The Weather Bureau intensified its programs in the Pacific in support
of the military effort in Korea. New or amplified upper-air observations
were established at Wake and Midway Islands and at Hilo, T. H., during the
year. A main meteorological office, serving the large number of civil and
military flights over the Pacific, was established at Wake Island.
The Weather Bureau is assuming responsibility for land-line communi­
cations duties (formerly carried by personnel of the Civil Aeronautics
Administration) at a considerable number of places where the CAA is
integrating their control tower and communications groups. Since the
communications load at these points is primarily concerned with weather
report transmissions, which can be set up for automatic handling, there is
but a slight addition to the work load of the Weather Bureau station. A
considerable overall saving to the Government results from this cooperative
adjustment of programs between the two agencies.
HYDROLOGIC SERVICES

The savings to the national economy resulting from the Nation-wide
flood forecast and warning services rendered by the Weather Bureau again
closely approached the 10-year annual average of 30 million dollars. Six
river forecast centers and 84 river district offices were operated during the
year. Arrangements were substantially complete for establishing one addi­
tional river forecast center, for the Tennessee Valley, to operate in coopera­
tion with the Tennessee Valley Authority. A new river district office was
established at Reno, Nev. Water-supply forecasts were issued for 336
forecast points, an increase of 44 over the preceding year.
The component parts of new electronic flood routing analogue machines
were assembled and laboratory tested by hydrologic and instrument per­
sonnel preparatory to installation at river forecast centers.

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The Bureau began active participation on various subcommittees and
work groups of the Arkansas-White-Red River Basin Committee and the
New England-New York Inter-Agency Committee. Hydrometeorological
studies completed for other agencies included investigations for the Snake
River Basin above Hells Canyon dam site; the Payette River Basin above
Garden Valley dam site; determination of maximum possible winds over
Lake Okeechobee, Fla.; and a report on the Determination of Snow Loads
for Building Construction. Surveys of maximum station precipitation for
1, 2, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours were completed for Utah and Idaho.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Cooperative research programs were carried on in the following fields:
At Detroit and Cleveland atmospheric pollution studies were inaugurated;
a new project was started to develop information on causes of Hawaiian
rainfall; the Great Smoke Pall of September 1950 is being investigated; an
analysis of the effect of cycles in rainfall, pressure, and temperature over
the United States was continued. Further intensive field work for investi­
gating the causes and effects of tornadoes and squall lines in the Midwest
area continued with an expanded observational program, and there was a
start on the close analysis of records obtained in this effort. A research
study was completed which will permit more accurate forecasting of winter
precipitation in the Washington area.
Meteorological work in cooperation with the Atomic Energy Commission
at Idaho Falls, Oak Ridge, and Brookhaven, was extended through another
year, with some amplification in scope. These offices do considerable re­
search in atmospheric pollution and diffusion.
Basic research on the fundamental physical processes of condensation and
precipitation of water vapor went forward in large scale laboratory tests
and experiments. This work bears on the important and widely noticed
problems of artificial production of rainfall. As far as means permitted, the
Weather Bureau continued its effort to test results of large scale cloud
seeding and nucleation activities, where carried on under conditions suffi­
ciently definitive to permit sound evaluation. However, only a minor pro­
portion of the vast commercial efforts put into such enterprises in the
drought stricken West were conducted and reported in a manner to permit
reasonable scientific examination of results. Consequently the whole
question of practical value remains unsettled.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

The World Meteorological Organization was established as a specialized
agency of the United Nations, in March 1951, at Paris. This organization
is the successor to the less formal International Meteorological Organization,
which had been in existence since 1878. The member states of the WMO
honored the Weather Bureau by electing the Bureau Director as the first
president of the World Meteorological Organization.

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A beginning was made in the program to take over from the Navy the
weather observing activities in the Pacific Trust Territory.
Cooperation in training nationals of foreign governments in United States
methods of weather service was continued with representation from Turkey,
Ireland, Thailand, Burma, Iran, and several of the Latin-American coun­
tries. The Bureau extended meteorological assistance to Greece, Ireland,
Peru, and Venezuela, and maintained a meteorological attaché at London
for liaison between the Weather Bureau and various European, Middle
East, and North African interests.
The operation of high Arctic weather stations, in Canada and Greenland,
was continued by joint effort with the governments concerned. The haz­
ardous nature of this enterprise was sadly illustrated by loss, in July 1950,
of a Canadian airplane with all aboard, including the Chief of the Weather
Bureau Section for Arctic Operations. The plane crashed on Ellesmere
Island while on resupply mission to the northernmost station of the
Canadian group.
PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

To provide additional and improved methods for disseminating reports
and forecasts, the following facilities have been developed: Continuous
automatic broadcast equipment for the New York City area; a VHF radio
circuit between Burrwood and New Orleans, La., to facilitate the transmis­
sion of timely information for the hurricane forecast service; and inexpensive
continuous automatic equipment which can be connected to telephone
facilities to provide forecasts and other weather information to many more
people than can be serviced by ordinary telephone facilities.
In a program to modernize and standardize field offices, rehabilitation
was carried out at 75 main stations. A standard briefing display counter
was developed and 60 units ordered for installation at field offices. With
the adoption of this unit, the material needed for weather briefing will be
systematically and logically arranged and pilots will find the same material
similarly displayed in all Weather Bureau offices. Development of auto­
matic means for measuring and recording weather phenomena has been
emphasized in continuing efforts to reduce observer workload and thereby
free more time for public service duties ; and to obtain more representative
measurements by placing instruments at suitable exposures remote from
buildings and obstructions. Major redesign of radar storm-detection equip­
ment has been accomplished. An automatic calibrator for testing
radiosondes, which will result in both higher economy and increased
accuracy, is now in use.
Other instrumental equipment has been improved as indicated by the
following developments: New type bimetallic maximum and minimum
thermometers overcome deficiencies of mercury and spirit thermometers.
Electric motor-driven psychrometer aspirators make possible more uniform

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dry and wet bulb readings and considerably decrease thermometer break­
age. New calibrators for direct-reading wind equipment insure continued
accuracy of this type installation. Aerological balloons were improved to
carry observations to heights averaging more than 15 miles above sea level
in flight tests.
ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYMENT CHANGES

On June 30, 1951, the Bureau had 4,516 full-time employees, 3,380 parttime employees, and 8,450 cooperative observers who served entirely
without pay. The number of full-time employees was five less than in
1950, while the number of cooperative and part-time observers remained
nearly constant throughout the year. There were approximately 11,000
reporting stations of all kinds in operation as of June 30, 1951. Of this
number 387 were primary stations manned and maintained by full-time
employees.
Service to the city of Charleston, W. Va., and surrounding counties was
begun by establishment in September 1950 of a weather office with com­
plete general weather service responsibilities. During the year stations at
Canton, N. Y., and Urbanna, Va., were closed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Weather Bureau acknowledges a debt of gratitude to the numerous
cooperative observers and cooperating agencies, especially the CAA, the
Coast Guard, and the military departments, who provide many of the
weather observations used in developing daily weather forecasts and in
establishing the climatic records for the United States.

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