The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS
30030005363149
Thirty-Fifth Annual Report
of the
Secretary of Commerce
A
1947
U NITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1947
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U . S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D . C,
Price 50 cents
*
C
Organization of the Department \
Secretary o f Commerce________________ W. A verell H arriman .
Under Secretary of Commerce___________ W illiam C. F oster.
Assistant Secretary for Foreign and Domes
tic Commerce_______________________ D avid K. E. B ruce.
Assistant Secretary for Aeronautics---------- J ohn R. A lison .
Solicitor_____________________________ A drian S. F isher .
Executive Assistant to the Secretary---------- B ernard L. G ladieux .
Director [Acting], Office of Program Plan
ning _____ ;_______________________ V. L ewis B assie .
Director [Acting], Office of Publications---- D onald R. B urgess.
Director, Office of Budget and Management- F rancis R . C awley .
Director, Office of Administrative Services— G erald R y a n .
Director, Division o f Personnel--------------- O liver C. S hort.
Director, Office o f Technical Services--------- J o h n C. G reen .
Director, Bureau of the Census___________ J a m e s C. C apt .
Administrator of Civil Aeronautics---------- T heodore P. W right .
Director, Coast and Geodetic Survey---------- L eo O tis C olbert.
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce:
Director [Acting], Office of Business
Economics_______________________ M. J oseph M e e h a n .
Director, Office of Domestic Commerce— H . B . M cC oy .
Director, Office of International Trade— T homas C. B laisdell.
Director, Office of Small Business------- J ames L. K e l l y .
Director, Office of Field Service----------C a r l t o n H a y w a r d .
Director, Office of Materials Distribution H. B. M c C oy .
Commissioner o f Patents------------------------ L aurence C. K ings land.
Director, National Bureau of Standards----- E dward U. C ondon .
Chief, Weather Bureau_________________ F. W. R eichelderfer.
Inland Waterways Corporation:
President_________________________ A. C. I ngersoll, J r .
Chairman of the Board-------------------- S outh T rimble , J r.
ii
CONTENTS
R
epo r t of t h e
S ecretary
Page
v
Preface_____________________________________________
High Lights of the Year------ .---------------------------------------- vm
Business Advisory Council_________________________
vm
Bureau of the Census.T------- .---------------------------------ix
Civil Aeronautics Administration-----------------------------xi
Coast and Geodetic Survey-------------------------------------xv
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce---------------- xvn
Foreign-Trade Zones Board________________________
xix
Inland Waterways Corporation-------------------------------xxi
Patent Office___ _________________________________ xxii
National Bureau of Standards---------------------------------- xxiii
Office of Technical Services------------------------------------ xxxii
R
e po r t by
B ureaus
Office of the Secretary:
Office of the Solicitor.------ ----------------------------------------3
Office of Program Planning----------------------------------------5
Office of Publications.----- -----------------------------------------6
Office of Budget and Management-------------------------------7
Office of Personnel Administration------------------------------- 10
Office of Administrative Services:
Division of Printing Services.----------------------------— 18
Division of Operating Facilities------------------------------ 18
Special Services Staff____________________________ 19
Office of Technical Services______________________________ 21
Bureau of the Census---------33
Civil Aeronautics Administration--------------------------------------- 59
U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey--------------------------------------- 101
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce:
141
Office of Business Economics----------------------Office of Domestic Commerce_________________________ 143
Office of International Trade_________________________ 148
Office of Small Business______________________________ 159
Office of Field Service------- ------------------------165
Office of Materials Distribution____________________ —— 166
Patent Office__________________________________________ 167
National Bureau of Standards.---- ------------------------------------- 181
Weather Bureau------------------235
in
35th Annual Report
o f the
Secretary of Commerce
D epartment or C ommerce
O ffice of th e S ecretary
W ashington , D ecember 12,1947.
To the Congress of the United States (through the President) :
Submitted herewith is the Annual Report of the Department of
Commerce for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1947.
PREFACE
Throughout the fiscal year 1947, the national economy functioned
at nearly top level of employment. High domestic demand, based
on record peacetime incomes and the accumulation of wartime sav
ings, was reinforced by unprecedented exports of urgently needed
goods to most parts of the world. Production, however, could not
be brought to a correspondingly high level because output in some
industries was retarded by reconversion difficulties carrying over
from the end of the war.
Efforts to speed up the transition to a normal peacetime basis
of operations brought the end of most of the wartime controls over
the domestic economy. Price controls were removed in the first
half of the fiscal year. There was an immediate upsurge of prices
with resultant adjustment of demands to the limited supplies of
goods available for meeting them. Despite the general prevalence
of fears that a business recession was in prospect, there was ample
evidence, before the end of the fiscal year, that economic trends were
stronger than had been realized and that the primary danger to the
economy lay in further inflation rather than in any immediate
prospect of a recession.
The extent of the destruction caused by the war and the serious
ness of the dislocations resulting from it has made the process of
world recovery both difficult and costly. War-devastated countries
needed immediate relief and longer term aid in reconstruction. Food
v
VI
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
and fuel were foremost among those needs, and a realistic view indi
cates that shortages of these basic prerequisities to industrial recovery
will continue for some time. Many countries with disrupted physical
resources and limited financial means had and are having balance
of payment difficulties. World shortages, distorted price relation
ships, and self-seeking economic and political objectives of various
nations directly affected international dealings.
In this situation, most countries could not attempt to put their
foreign trade back on a normal basis and necessarily maintained
various kinds of controls and restrictions over the free now of goods.
American foreign traders were faced with complications never before
experienced, in their efforts to expand world trade.
These circumstances led to the expansion of the over-all inter
national activities of the Department of Commerce. I t became
apparent that our domestic economy is a part of the international
economic structure and cannot be divorced from it.
The Office of International Trade prepared many statistical studies
which served as the basis for our later reciprocal trade negotiations at
Geneva. Delegates from the Department participated in the con
ference of the International Trade Organization at which a draft
charter for the organization was prepared. Every effort was made
to promote and expand world trade and to encourage increased Amer
ican imports with a view to easing the dollar shortages abroad.
Foreign Trade Zone No. 1 operated by the Foreign Trade Zones
Board since 1937 at New York experienced increased activity this year
and Foreign Trade Zone No. 2 was established at New Orleans, La.
The new zone will be particularly important to our Latin American
trade.
The Office of Business Economics continued to publish information
and figures on international balance of payments and on the gross
national product. A significant step was taken when the Office
revised the gross national product figures on a new statistical basis
and carried the revision back to 1929 so that proper comparisons can
be made.
In addition to the constant flow of international economic informa
tion the Office of Business Economics together with the Office of
Domestic Commerce made available regularly facts and figures on
domestic economic developments. Changes in the domestic situation
led to changes in policy in the Office of International Trade in ad
ministering the export control regulations. These changes were de
signed to protect the country from an undue drain of certain com
modities that were in short supply and were required for our final
reconversion efforts.
As reconversion progressed and as the pent-up demand for many
consumer goods which resulted from the war was eased, there was a
temporary general shift from a sellers’ toward a buyers’ market. The
sharp increase in prices made adjustments in many businesses neces
sary, sometimes involving a sharp curtailment of sales volume or a
drastic rescheduling of production lines.
At the same time there was a great expansion in the number of busi
ness firms, including many veterans starting in business for the first
time. Opportunities for these firms existed as a result of the generally
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
VII
high incomes and strong demands for most goods and services. Yet,
there were inevitable business casualties in this period of rapid changes
and readjustments.
These changes, never before experienced on so large a scale, resulted
in an increased demand from businessmen for information to help
them meet the new conditions. The Office of Small Business accord
ingly increased its preparation and publication of management and
production aids. Their distribution was increased through coopera
tion with private business organizations and trade associations.
Assisting in the expansion of our domestic economy, the Office ol
Technical Services made available to the public technical information
obtained from former enemy countries and from declassified Govern
ment wartime research. The National Bureau of Standards continued
to guard the national measurement standards and to conduct research
in a number of fields of pure science, thus making a contribution to
American industrial and technical knowledge. Reorganization of the
Patent Office resulted in greater efficiency m handling the increased
number of applications for patents and appeals.
The Bureau of the Census during the fiscal year gathered and pub
lished basic statistical information in accord with its historic function.
The figures compiled by the Bureau are basic source material for study
ing the international and domestic problems which confront the Na
tion. They are used in the making of policy decisions by both the
Government and the business community. Preparations were started
for the 1950 Decennial Census and assistance was given to LatinAmerican countries in preparation for the 1950 Census of the Americas.
Continuation of the steady growth in all branches of aviation greatly
increased the work of the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Ex
panded training programs were carried out and work continued on
research projects to increase and assure the high level of safety in all
flying. The Weather Bureau, in addition to supplying meteorological
data required by air lines and private nonscheduled flights, continued
to supply the public with the daily and long-range weather and climate
information so important to transportation, agriculture, and other
fields of business. The Coast and Geodetic Survey throughout the
fiscal year mapped and charted the coasts and coastal waters to pro
vide information for the safe passage of ships and planes. Magnetic
studies were carried out in the polar regions in cooperation with other
agencies of the Government and earthquake and tide studies were
made.
, . _
The Inland Waterways Corporation operated the Governmentowned inland waterways system to provide transportation until such
a time as the system can be transferred to private operation. During
the fiscal year 1947 the Corporation was strengthened to_effect greater
efficiency in meeting the increased demands made upon it.
Toward the end of the year, the Office of Materials Distribution was
established to carry out most of the functions previously vested in
the Director of the Office of Temporary Controls and transferred by
Presidential order to the Secretary of Commerce. Other functions
having to do with the liquidation of the Civilian Production Admin
istration were transferred to the Division of Liquidation in the Office
of the Secretary.
vin
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The Secretary and his immediate staff received excellent counsel
and cooperation from the Business Advisory Council at its regular
meetings and from time to time from members who were called upon
for special assistance. Distribution of the information and services
of the Department of Commerce to the business community was
greatly facilitated by the work of the expanded Office of Field Service
which operated 77 field offices well distributed throughout the country.
HIGH LIGHTS OF THE YEAR
(Summaries by Bureaus)
B u s in e s s A dvisory C o u n c il
During the current fiscal year the Business Advisory Council held
seven meetings lasting 2 days each. Ten subcommittees, dealing with
special subjects, met on numerous occasions. Labor laws, stabiliza
tion of employment, taxation, international trade, economic analysis,
and departmental budgetary problems were among the subjects receiv
ing the attention of special committees. In addition, the Secretary of
Commerce called on many council members for individual advice and
assistance on various matters of national importance.
On June 30,1947, the council was composed of the following officers
and active members:
* J o h n L. C ollyek , Chairman, Akron,
Ohio.
*M a rion b . F olsom , Vice Chairman,
Rochester, N. Y.
* F red erick V. G e ie r , Vice Chairman,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
* J a m e s S. K n o w lso n , Vice Chairman,
Chicago, 111.
*R obert T. S t e v e n s , Vice Chairman,
New York, N. Y.
J a m e s B. B l a c k , San Francisco, Calif.
* E dward E. B r o w n , Chicago, 111.
P r e n t is s M. B ro w n , Detroit, Mich.
J. T. C e c il , Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
C h a r l e s S. C h e s t o n , Philadelphia, Pa.
*D onald K. D avid , Boston, Mass.
R . R. D e u p r e e , Cincinnati, Ohio.
F red R ogers F a ir c h il d , New Haven,
Conn.
H e n r y F ord, II, Dearborn, Mich.
J acob F ra n c e , Baltimore, Md.
H e n r y F. G rady , New Delhi, India.
F. H. H aggerson , New Y ork, N. Y.
J o h n M. PIa nco ck , New York, N. Y.
W . H . H a r r iso n , New York, N. Y.
*P a u l G. H o f f m a n , South Bend, Ind.
L o u E. H olland , Kansas City, Mo.
J o h n H o lm es , Chicago, 111.
*A m ory H o u g h to n , C orning, N. Y.
*A. W. H u g h e s , New York, N. Y.
*G. M. PIu m p h r e y , Cleveland, O hio.
A u s t in S. I g leh ea rt , New Y ork, N. Y.
E ric A. J o h n s t o n , Washington, D. C.
A lfred W. J o n e s , Sea Island, Ga.
^Member of the executive committee.
Ernest K a nzler , Detroit, Mich.
H e n r y P. K en d a ll , Boston, Mass.
E m ory S cott L a nd , Washington, D. C.
F red L a za r u s , J r ., Cincinnati, Ohio.
*W il l ia m E . L e v is , Toledo, Ohio.
G eo . H. L ove , Pittsburgh, Pa.
R o sw ell M a g il l , New York, N. Y.
*D e a n e W. M alott , Lawrence, Kans.
M. L ee M a r s h a l l , New York, N. Y.
T h o m a s B. M c C abe , Chester, Pa.
E arl M. M c G o w in , Chapman, Ala.
B. M okeell , Pittsburgh, Pa.
W. J. M u rray , Jr., New York, N. Y.
E r n e s t E. N o rris , Washington, D. C.
A. Q, P e t e r s e n , New Orleans, La.
J o h n L. P ra tt , Fredericksburg, Va.
*11. W. P r e n t is , Jr., Lancaster, Pa.
W in f ie l d W. R ie f l e r , Princeton, N. J.
W a lter M. R in g e r , Minneapolis, Minn.
W. S. S. R odgers, New York, N. Y.
J o h n W. S n yd er , Washington, D. C.
*A. E. S ta le y , Jr., Decatur, 111.
E. R. S t e t t in iu s , Jr., Rapidan, Va.
R. D ouglas S tu a rt , Chicago, 111.
W a lter C. T eagle , New York, N. Y.
J o h n C. V ir d e n , Cleveland, Ohio.
S id n e y J . W ein b er g , New York, N. Y.
L a ngbourne M. W il l ia m s , Jr., New
York, N. Y.
R oger W il l ia m s , Newport News, Va.
C. E . W il s o n , New York, N. Y.
C h a r l e s E . W il s o n , Detroit, Mich.
J a m e s W. Y oun g , Pena Blanca, N. Mex.
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
B ureau
oe t h e
IX
C ensus
During the past fiscal year the Bureau of the Census was faced with
insistent demands, particularly from business and industry, for up-todate major censuses and for more adequate current statistical informa
tion. The increased need for statistics is a reflection of two facts:
First, World War I I worked vast changes in every phase of our na
tional life and, second, there has been an increasingly widespread use
of statistical information in the solution of marketing, administrative,
and planning problems.
To meet the needs for timely information, legislation was introduced
in the Eightieth Congress, similar to that introduced in the preceding
Congress, which provided for Censuses of Manufactures, Business, and
Mineral Industries to be taken concurrently covering the year 1947,
and quinquennially thereafter. I t also extended the authority for the
collection of current statistics and provided for mandatory reporting
of current data under prescribed conditions. In response to demands
expressed at the congressional hearings, a Census of Transportation
was added to the proposed program. The proposals received the
strong support of business organizations, were approved by committees
of both Houses, and passed the Senate. Final action on this legisla
tion was still pending when the first session of the Eightieth Congress
adjourned.
The economy moves in the Eightieth Congress resulted in an appro
priation for census purposes of $11,240,000 for fiscal 1948 as compared
with the request in the President’s budget for the Bureau of the Census
of $19,205,000. In consequence, significant reductions in almost all
aspects of current statistical work were made during fiscal 1947 in
anticipation of the prescribed level of operations in fiscal 1948.
The past year saw completion of work on the 1945 Census of Agri
culture, the only one of the major censuses taken since before the war.
The Agricult ure Census results have been of special value in meeting
food-production problems during the postwar period. A feature of
the 1945 census was the use of scientific sampling methods to supple
ment the information obtained in the complete enumeration. Thereby
more information was obtained on the Nation’s farms and their people
than at previous censuses.
The planning program for the 1947 Census of Manufactures has been
substantially completed. The basic general inquiries for the Manu
factures Census, as well as drafts of approximately 200 separate prod
uct schedules for industries, have been cleared, or are being cleared,
with various Government agencies and representative manufacturing
and trade groups. The records available from the Social Security
system are being used to aid in insuring complete coverage in this
census, which will be taken primarily by mail.
Active work of planning the Seventeenth Decennial Census, to be
taken in 1950, was begun during 1947. A great deal of experience has
been gained in current work of the Bureau during the past few years
which will contribute to the Seventeenth Census work. Certain
phases of the geographic work were begun in fiscal 1947 since all of
the geographic work must be completed before the census enumeration
begins. Experiments are being conducted with a new type of enumera
X
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
tion schedule which is designed to permit automatic punching of
tabulating cards without the use of conventional manual key punch
equipment.
The current statistics program of the Bureau was continued along
many lines during the year and various special surveys were made.
In the field of agriculture, periodic reports were published on cotton
ginnings and production, and a special report on cotton ginning ma
chinery was issued. The Monthly Trade Reports service covering
retail, wholesale, and service trades, which was expanded during the
preceding year, completed its first full year of operation on its present
basis. In respect to current industry statistics, 92 regular commodity
surveys were conducted. These surveys provided monthly, quarterly,
and annual Facts for Industry reports on the output and stocks of
many important manufactured commodities. A basic realinement of
the business and industry statistics programs was made necessary
toward the end of the year by the considerable reduction in the budget
for fiscal 1948.
The scope of foreign trade data supplied to business and Govern
ment was reduced considerably during the past year because of the
limitation in funds. At the same time the postwar increase in foreign
trade added to the work load. Progress was made in the preparation
and publication of reports that had been compiled during the war
period but had been withheld from publication for security reasons.
The Current Population Survey continued to provide monthly esti
mates on the labor force, employed and unemployed, as well as data on
migration, housing, and other subjects. Special surveys also were
undertaken, with an expanded survey in April which provided in
formation on population, families, consumer income, and housing for
each of 37 metropolitan areas as well as for the Nation as a whole.
The Decennial Census of Religious Bodies, begun in September 1946,
was suspended at the close of the fiscal year since the appropriations
for 1948 made no provision for completing the census. Most 1947
work regarding State and local government finances involved prepara
tion of reports dealing with tax collection, debt, and other subjects for
States, counties, and large cities. In addition, quarterly reports on
governmental employment were compiled.
As in the past, the facilities of the Bureau were utilized during fiscal
1947 by other agencies of government in connection with special
statistical work done on a reimbursable basis. Through this service
such agencies make use of the Bureau’s specialized skills and facilities,
and at the same time avoid building up large temporary units else
where. Among the services thus rendered were the conducting of 55
special population censuses requested by the communities surveyed;
surveys of veterans’ housing in 102 separate localities at the request of
the National Housing Agency; machine-tabulation services for various
agencies; etc.
The Bureau provided assistance to other nations in this hemisphere
in preparing for the 1950 Census of the Americas, primarily through
a training and consultants program that was instituted during the
year. This is part of its contribution to the United States pro
gram of the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific and Cultural
Cooperation with other American Republics.
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XI
The Bureau had a total of 4,441 employees on June 30,1947, exclud
ing those serving without compensation, as compared with 5,861 a year
ago. The number of full-time departmental employees was 1,975 in
1947 and 4,129 in 1946. This decline of more than 50 percent was
caused in part by the completion of the Census of Agriculture, and in
part by reduction in force required by decreased appropriations.
Funds available to the Bureau during the past fiscal year totaled
over $14,240,000. This included the unobligated portion ($1,350,000)
of funds available for the 1945 Census of Agriculture, $769,000 allotted
or transferred from other Federal sources, in addition to $718,000
available from previous years and $189,000 from non-Federal sources.
An amount of $901,000, was transferred to the Public Health Service
pursuant to Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1946 from our regular appronation and $33,000 was returned to the Treasury in accordance with
ublic Law 20, Eightieth Congress, from funds available from other
Federal agencies.
?
C iv il A e r o n a u t ic s A d m in is t r a t io n
Continuation of the steady growth in all branches of aviation during
the fiscal year of 1947—partially reflected in a 76-percent increase in
the number of student pilots’ certificates issued, a 110-percent increase
in the number of civil aircraft produced, and a 45-percent increase in
the number of revenue passengers carried—kept the Civil Aeronautics
Administration keyed to the top pitch of productivity.
Aviation expansion involved a certain settling down of the industry
after the first flush of peacetime pick-up and the unusual number of
learners in the flying business which resulted from the GI training
program.
In addition to the constantly mounting work load of regular duties,
administrative personnel of the CAA found it necessary to devote a
large portion of their time to research and special studies in order
to meet the requests of the congressional and special committees in
vestigating the causes and the possible prevention of air accidents;
to conferences on international aviation activity; and to technological
developments.
The investigations resulting from the accidents produced most of the
extra routine work of the Administration. Extended hearings on air
safety were held by both the Senate and the House Committees on
Interstate and Foreign Commerce. While these investigations placed
a burden on CAA officials already weighted with expanding routine
activities, they were welcomed as opportunities for improving the
safety record of civil aviation, and as effective means of calling official
and public attention to the importance of our commercial flying
enterprises.
The Administrator prefaced his reports to the congressional com
mittees with the important statistical fact that air travel was safer
in 1946 than in any year since 1939, and that combined domestic and
foreign air travel was safer than ever before. In 1946, for each
100,000,000 domestic passenger-miles flown, there were 1.24 passenger
fatalities. And 1946 showed an all-time safety record in foreign
and domestic combined of 1.60 passenger fatalities per 100,000,000
passenger-miles.
X II
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Against this background, a great volume of detailed information
was provided the committees for their study, and much of this referred
directly to the needs of the airways for new, more, and better flying
aids. Thus a wealth of facts and figures was made available to the
appropriations committees of Congress for their consideration in
determining the Federal underwriting of our 44,008 miles of airways.
Approximately 40 reports covering investigations of the accidents
occurring in 1946 were submitted, and these were buttressed by sta
tistics gathered during the 20 years of operation of the CAA and its
predecessor agencies. The knowledge of the whole safety problem
amassed by veteran employees of the CAA also was made available
during these hearings, and the preparation of this material multiplied
the work load of a staff already burdened with day-to-day increases
in regular duties.
Few years have been featured by so many coordination and liaison
activities in the aviation field. Industry and Government have come
far closer together in the approach to common problems. Government
agencies concerned with various aspects of aviation have made liberal
use of the joint committee technique in adjusting differences and arriv
ing at policy interpretations. This, again, has taken a great deal of
time on the part of the Administrator and practically all of his aides.
It is, however, considered as a most worth-while investment, and bene
fits to aviation as a whole already have begun to flow from these
endeavors.
One outstanding point was made before authoritative committees
which may be expected to affect favorably our development of airway
aids in an orderly and progressive manner. The CAA had the oppor
tunity to set forth, with good effect, the need for immediate application
to the airways of an acceptable and standardized instrument landing
aid. Examples of the economic importance of this aid became avail
able during the year when Braniff Airways began to use the CAA’s
Instrument Landiing System in regular operation at 10 of its terminals.
Within the first 10 days of this operation, the air line completed five
trips which otherwise would have had to be canceled because ceiling
and visibility were below established minimums. By the end of the
year, six other air lines had applied for lowered minimums through use
of the ILS, promising much wider use during the approaching winter
with resultant increase in safety.
The steady growth of aviation was featured by an increase of nearly
50 percent in the passenger-miles flown. This was largely a result of
the heightened public interest in air travel following the sensational
accomplishment of air transport aviation during the war, and, while
public acceptance rose and fell in volume as a result of accidents, the
over-all figures for the year were impressive.
Private flying continued its growth, with 32,287 units manufactured
as against 15,343 the previous year. Many of these were training
planes, needed by busy field operators engaged in giving training to
ex-GI’s. At the end of the year, some 81,000 ex-service men and
women were receiving training. Student pilot numbers also rose to a
new high, and the CAA estimates that permits were issued at the rate
of about 200,000 a year.
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XIII
This commercial and private flying activity is always reflected
directly in the work load of the CAA on the airways. Aircraft opera
tions handled by the CAA traffic tower controllers rose from 9,591,598
in 1945 to 15,277,572 in 1946.
The designee program, which provides for the designation of quali
fied volunteer personnel in the industry to perform required functions
of safety regulation work under the supervision of CAA personnel,
was greatly expanded during the year. I t has proved its value not
only m expediting certification of pilots and inspection of aircraft but
also as a method for coping with the increase in aviation activity which,
without the use of the “designee” plan, would have necessitated a large
number of additions to the inspection staff of the Office of Safety Regu
lation. The use of designees, therefore, has resulted in a saving to
the Federal Government of several million dollars. On June 30,1946,
there were 4,297 designated representatives of all kinds, and on June
30,1947, there were 7,997.
Entry of the United States into the active affairs of the Inter
national Civil Aviation Organization required a great deal of atten
tion during fiscal 1947, and substantial progress has been made
toward international agreement on the essential operations and
standards. CAA representatives were valued and respected authori
ties in these meetings.
The Experimental Station at Indianapolis was host to 250 dele
gates to the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization,
representing 60 nations, during October 1946 for 3 weeks. _ They
witnessed demonstrations of radio navigation and communication
systems proposed for international standardization by the United
States. As a result of these detailed demonstrations, the delegates,
who later convened at Montreal to decide on systems which they
would recommend to their Governments for international standard
ization, accepted the systems and techniques proposed by the United
States in their entirety.
To keep pace with the rapid world-wide expansion of air services,
the CAA established a foreign service section, and expanded its aircarrier inspection service as required by new lines serving this coun
try, both those flying our flag and those of other countries.
The Nation’s airport program got down to cases during the year,
and 25 projects had been certified for Federal money by the end of
the year. Adjustment of this program, because the amount of
money appropriated by Congress was less than had been anticipated,
entailed further detailed planning and postponed actual construction
work. Late in the fiscal year the appropriations for 1947 and 1948
were combined, and this required further study and changes. Cities,
towns, and States were working throughout the year with field
representatives of the CAA, and applications for a total of $290,000,000 of Federal funds were received as against $77,500,000 appro
priated for allocations.
The CAA’s crosswind landing-gear development progressed favor
ably, and by the end of the year the last of the $150,000 development
fund had been apportioned among six contractors for castered land
ing gear on seven different airplanes. This development has been
XIV
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
received enthusiastically by the industry and promises much in the
saving of money in construction of landing areas.
In the private plane development field, the CAA proposed that the
industry form a joint committee to establish a priority list of proj
ects for improvement of the personal plane so as to increase its
usefulness and attractiveness to the average citizen. This proposal
was not received favorably by the industry and has been dropped.
Other development work proceeded at the CAA’s Experimental
Station at Indianapolis, where many projects were handicapped by
shortage of personnel and insufficient appropriations. Among these
were the tests to discover or develop a crash-proof tank for use in
airplanes, a project of considerable importance to the industry but
on which the CAA has had to move very slowly. Tests of fire dis
covery, prevention, and extinguishing proceeded uninterruptedly
throughout the year, along with continued development of improved
electronic aids.
Equipment of the airways increased during the year with the
greater availability of manufactured items. Mileage on the Federal
airways system increased from 43,381 in 1946 to 44,008 in 1947 and
conversion to very high frequency facilities proceeded satisfactorily.
Starting the year with 25 of the new VHF ranges, the Airways office
finished the year with 72 installed.
A total of 2,317 enforcement cases were handled by the Office of
the General Counsel during the year, which represents an increase
in violation cases of approximately 30 percent over the previous
high.
Three States were added to the list of those which have published
State-wide programs of aviation education for their public schools,
vocational schools, and institutions of higher learning. This brings
to 23 the number of States whose Aviation Education Programs are
available in published form. Thirteen other States and the Territory
of Alaska have manuscripts in preparation and also have programs
of education in effect. Field training-film centers loaned 5,793 train
ing films for 10,752 showings to an estimated audience of 309,810, and
the film center at Washington distributed a total of 582 training films
during the year for 1,044 showings to an audience of 34,430.
The Administration’s fleet of 231 aircraft, located in continental
United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and 7 foreign countries, operated over
37,000 flight-hours (about twice the number of hours flown in any
previous year) in patrolling and checking Federal airways, inspection
trips, and so on.
. Activity at the Washington National Airport increased steadily dur
ing the year. Although the military air traffic decreased by 22,083,
the total aircraft movements increased by 7,930 to a total of 175,242.
A comprehensive survey of the noise levels arising from the opera
tion of various types of aircraft was completed and the results pub
lished in report form. A new type of approach lights, known as slope
line lights, was developed and is undergoing flight tests at the
Indianapolis Airport.
Research was completed on the role of the visual acuity in learning
to fly a plane safely which revealed that people with very poor visual
acuity can learn to fly safely and skillfully.
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XV
Statistics on aviation matters were in heavy demand throughout the
year, and the CAA worked especially at obtaining accurate figures on
pilots, planes, and their usage and performance as an essential aid to
the industry. The increased interest in private flying also brought
widespread demand for informational material which was met with
a series of simply phrased and vividly presented pamphlets as well
as necessary safety posters.
C oast and G eodetic S urvey
The Coast and Geodetic Survey is charged with the duty of con
tributing to the advancement of commerce by providing charts and
navigational information for the safe passage of ships and planes.
Eighty percent of its funds are expended to carry out this responsi
bility. The remainder goes for furnishing basic engineering and
scientific data essential to other Federal services and to industry, and
for the investigation of earthquakes. The emphasis of the Bureau s
activities during the year was on carrying its surveys and investiga
tions into areas of commercial importance and into regions of partially
undeveloped natural resources where operations are either being car
ried on or are contemplated.
.
Nineteen vessels and several shore-based units were engaged on
hydrographic, topographic, wire-drag, and coastal control surveys in
continental United States and Alaska. Photogrammetric surveys of
airports and other areas were completed. These surveys furnish the
fundamental data for the construction and revision of the nautical
and aeronautical charts published by the Bureau.
Geodetic control surveys which furnish basic horizontal and vertical
control information for engineering and other purposes were carried
on in a number of States and in southwestern Alaska. Many of the
surveys are in areas of the major river valleys. A. number of uiban
control surveys were made on a cooperative basis at the request of
State and local agencies. This evidenced a growing appreciation of
the economic value of such surveys in providing a permanent base for
the tie-in and coordination of local surveys in places of high land
values.
Primary and secondary tide stations were operated at 91 places m
the United States and possessions and in foreign areas. Annual tide
and current tables were published giving predictions for world ports.
A program for obtaining systematic tide observations in the western
Pacific has been worked out in cooperation with the Corps of Engi
neers. This program will provide original data for the prediction
of tides in this area and furnish information on tidal action through
out the entire Pacific.
.
Continuous photographic records of the changes m the earth s mag
netic elements were obtained at five observatories operated by the
Bureau. Special magnetic projects were undertaken in the Arctic and
Antarctic in cooperation with the Navy Department. The new observ
atory at Fairbanks, Alaska, to be completed late in 1947, will furnish
valuable information for the northern and western Alaska areas.
Fifty-two strong-motion seismographs, maintained in the western
part of the United States and seven outside the country, yielded mfor-
XVI
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
mation on six moderately strong earthquakes. The Bureau cooperated
with the Bureau of Reclamation in maintaining the seismologic proj
ects at Lake Mead and at Shasta and Grand Coulee Dams. The pur
pose of these is to investigate possible seismic activity due to the
impounding of great masses of water within limited areas. The
strong-motion program for recording earth tremors in the Western
States was given impetus by the formation of an advisory committee
of California engineers to study technical problems in engineering
seismology.
More than a million and a quarter nautical charts, and nearly 13
million aeronautical charts, of which 5 million were airport approach
and landing charts, were issued during the year. This represented a
considerable increase in the sale to the public of both types of charts.
Good progress was made on the series of Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Charts begun toward the end of the previous year. Five of the thirtythree charts to be constructed were published and a number of others
were in various stages of completion. The volume of traffic in the
completed portion of this waterway has reached a total many times
that in the Atlantic waterway. A new series of aeronautical charts
was introduced during the year—the Radio Facility Charts. Fortytwo charts, each measuring 8 by IOV2 inches, cover the entire United
States, and provide complete radio information for making cross
country flights. These charts are finding wide use by commercial,
private, and military airmen.
The Bureau continued its participation in the Cooperation with
the American Republics program of the State Department. A total
of 27 training grants were awarded to qualified personnel from 9
countries. Bureau experts in the fields of tides, geomagnetism,
seismology, geodesy, hydrography, and map and chart production
visited a number of the countries to consult and advise on surveying
and mapping problems. The program has produced important bene
fits both to the United States and to the other American Republics.
Friendly relations have been maintained with military, naval, and
civil departments and opportunity has been afforded for the inter
change of surveying and mapping developments.
The Bureau participated in the Philippine Rehabilitation Program,
authorized by the Seventy-ninth Congress. This program provides
for the continuation of the survey work interrupted by the war and for
the training of 20 Filipinos each year until June 30, 1950.
Various wartime developments in instruments and processes were
further improved and adapted to Survey use during the year. Note
worthy among these was the electronic equipment for determining a
ship’s position in hydrographic surveying. Shoran was successfully
used for moderate distances offshore both in the western Aleutians and
on the Atlantic coast. The Coast and Geodetic Survey electronic
position indicator, previously developed and tested, was redesigned
and rebuilt. With this equipment it will be possible to carry hydrographic surveys for about 200 miles beyond the limits of Shoran,
thereby adding to the accuracy and efficiency of oceanographic in
vestigations and surveys in the regions of the Continental Shelf and
beyond.
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XVII
The program of improving the Bureau's technical services was car
ried forward during the year. A closer liaison has been established
with the public and with governmental and private agencies through a
wider dissemination of the Bureau’s products and through representa
tion on various scientific and technical boards, panels, and commis
sions. The assistance which the Coast and Geodetic Survey can render
in the development of our commerce and in national planning is
being increasingly recognized.
B ureau or F oreign and D omestic C ommerce
The functions of the Bureau were carried out during the fiscal year
by the following five major offices: (1) Office of Business Economics,
(2) Office of Domestic Commerce, (3) Office of International Trade,
(4) Office of Small Business, and (5) Office of Field Service. To these
was added, near the close of the year, the newly established Office of
Materials Distribution following transfer to the Secretary of Com
merce of most of the functions previously vested in the Director of the
Office of Temporary Controls.
Office of Business Economics.—A notable accomplishment of the
Office of Business Economics during the year was the completion of
its comprehensive revision of the official national income and gross
national product statistics for the United States. Published as a
National Income Supplement to the Survey of Current Business, the
new material, representing advances in both concepts and methods
developed over the past 5 years, was generally recognized as a major
contribution to economic literature. This Office has increasingly been
called upon for such statistical indicators, and for timely analyses of
business developments, as a consequence of the heightened need for eco
nomic guideposts in the postwar era. In the international field this
has necessitated more frequent issuance of balance-of-payments data
developed by the Office of Business Economics, and more detailed ac
counting of the United States Government’s foreign expenditures by
OBE’s Clearing Office for Foreign Transactions.
Office of Domestic Commerce.—Completing the first year of opera
tion as a separate unit of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce, the Office of Domestic Commerce made notable progress in ex
panding and strengthening its services to industry and business.
Rapidly changing conditions brought about by the gradual change
over from a sellers’ to a buyers’ market resulted in increased requests
from industry for assistance in meeting problems relating to produc
tion, construction, distribution, marketing, and transportation.
Business was provided with a continual flow of basic information
to be used as a guide in making important day-to-day decisions on
manufacturing, processing, and distribution and in considering trade
maintenance and expansion programs. Most of the economic and
statistical studies, articles, and reports were prepared at the request
of and in cooperation with business itself. Numerous special surveys
and studies of specific industries were provided. During the year the
office handled thousands of inquiries from businessmen and groups
of businessmen who were concerned with problems arising from dis766188— 47-------2
XVIII
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
locations brought about when they transferred from a war to a postwar
operation.
The program of business-Government cooperation was emphasized
throughout the year by close working relationships with national busi
ness advisory committees, such as the American Trade Association
Executives, the National Distribution Council, and the Retail Trade
Advisory Committee.
Considerable progress was made in the field of area development as
a result of a national conference attended by representatives of 25
regional, State, and local planning and development agencies. As
sponsor of this conference, the Office of Domestic Commerce launched
a program to supply these agencies with pertinent information from
all available governmental sources.
Office of International Trade.—OIT is responsible for discharging
that part of the legislative mandate of the Department of Commerce
to foster and promote commerce of the United States which relates to
foreign commerce. Its activities fall into three major categories:
Informational and advisory services, business representation and trade
policy functions, and services required in connection with specific
trade promotion programs.
During the year it became increasingly apparent that the establish
ment of permanent peacetime international economic relationships
would not be attained for some time to come. Transitional postwar
problems therefore continued to demand a large portion of OIT’s
energies. However, a substantial share of the time of OIT’s personnel
was devoted to such long-range programs as furthering negotiations
relative to the establishment of the International Trade Organization
and the conclusion of reciprocal trade agreements.
A problem which assumed outstanding importance in the considera
tion of international trade and economic relationships during the year
was the growing trade deficit between virtually all countries in the
world and the United States. As the year drew to a close it became
clear that, with the large scale drawing down of foreign reserves in the
United States and the practical exhaustion of existing United States
governmental credits to foreign nationals, American export trade
would in the absence of further credits decline markedly in the near
future.
Confronted by these circumstances, OIT sought to assist United
States exporters and importers to establish or to renew trade contacts
and to utilize the trade channels most likely to contribute to the estab
lishment of sound continued international commercial relations.
Special efforts were directed toward stimulation of economically sound
imports. To accomplish these objectives, advisory services offered the
foreign trade community were strengthened by bringing up to date
commodity and area data relating to international markets and sources
of supply throughout the world. Informational services relating to
personal trade contacts abroad were also brought up to date through
the cooperation of the United States Foreign Service.
In addition, the interests of American international traders were
protected through continued scrutiny of foreign export and import
regulations and, where feasible, through official intervention to secure
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XIX
modification of such regulations as might work unnecessary hardship
on American business.
,
Constant efforts were made throughout the year to relax to tne extent
possible official control of United States exports. By the year s end
the list of commodities subject to such control was reduced to less than
half of its maximum postwar extent. Even before this time, however,
it had become apparent that the national interest required a re
strengthening of export control. Modifications in administration
directed toward the more eflicient channeling of commodity exports
for the attainment of national objectives were accordingly introduced.
Office of Small Business—During the year there was an increased
demand from small independent enterprises for assistance in the fields
of manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, and the service trades.
With the curtailment of the field staff, it became necesssary for OSB
to develop new methods for disseminating departmental economic and
management information to small businessmen. Consequently, em
phasis has successfully been placed on obtaining full cooperation from
trade associations, chambers of commerce, and similar private business
organizations. Many of these groups are reproducing the Depart
ment’s small business aids at their own expense and forwarding them
in large quantities to their members.
The Office concentrated its business assistance efforts in the fields
of management and production aids, unfair trade practices, and finance
c U ld tclX G S
Office of Field Service.—The expansion of the Field Service which
was started during the last fiscal year was continued. During the year
26 new offices were established throughout the United States, and the
personnel increased from 401 to 766 people. As the result of economi
cal operations, less than 80 percent of the amount appropriated was
utilized to maintain the field organization.
The volume of inquiries handled by the field offices reached an alltime high. Emphasis was placed on providing the type of service which
was of greatest value to private business enterprise in adjusting to
a peacetime economy, with close working relationships being main
tained with individual businessmen, chambers of commerce, trade asso
ciations, financial institutions, and research groups, in the fields of
foreign trade and domestic commerce.
F oreign -T rade Z ones B oard
One of the most important interdepartmental functions of the De
partment of Commerce is its participation in the activities of the For
eign-Trade Zones Board, which is concerned with the encouragement
of our import and reexport trade. The legislation which authorized
the establishment of foreign-trade zones in our ports of entry by quali
fied public or private corporations, also created a board, composed of
the Secretary of Commerce, as chairman, the Secretary of the Treas
ury and the Secretary of War, to administer its provisions. In these
zones foreign merchandise may be landed without application of cus
toms laws and, where necessary, may be manipulated or reconditioned
before reexportation or being brought into the United States. F oreign
XX
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
merchandise, however, when brought into customs territory must com
ply with all customs requirements including the payment of duty.
The program for extending the operations and usefulness of foreigntrade zones in the development of our vital import and reexport trade
received considerable impetus during the year. In addition to Foreign
Trade Zone No. 1 at New York, which has been in operation since 1937,
Foreign Trade Zone No. 2 began operations on May 1, 1947, at New
Orleans, La., and during this brief period has handled the import con
signments of a number of shippers. The New York zone, which during
the war years operated at temporary locations on North River, Man
hattan, after the zone facilities were taken over as an Army base, has
now been returned to Staten Island where it occupies two of the origi
nal five zone piers. This area has proved entirely inadequate for grow
ing zone business. As a result the New York zone has been forced to
refuse considerable zone traffic in recent months because the War De
partment has found it necessary to retain a substantial part of the origi
nal zone facilities.
Another step of great significance in advancing the foreign-trade
zone as an instrument for developing international trade was the unani
mous approval by the board on June 13, 1947, of an order which will
result in widening the range of operations permitted in a foreign-trade
zone. Operators of the New York foreign-trade zone had requested the
board to review a series of preliminary rulings by the Commissioner of
Customs. The Commissioner had held that the operations involved
in these rulings amounted to manufacturing and were prohibited by
the Celler Act. In reversing the Commissioner of Customs, the board
held that the operations covered by the rulings fell short of manufac
turing and could be allowed under the provision of the act permitting
merchandise to be “assembled, mixed and otherwise manipulated” in
foreign-trade zones. The operations declared permissible included the
assembling of watch movements into cases; the attaching of wrist bands
to wrist watches; the screwing of bulbs into flashlights; blending of
olive oil with vegetable oil; the mixing of sugar, flour, and other in
gredients to make a prepared baking mix.
With the establishment of a zone to serve the Gulf area at New
Orleans, renewed interest is now directed to securing a foreign-trade
zone for the Pacific coast. Officials of the board of State harbor
commissioners for the port of San Francisco have renewed their appli
cation to establish a foreign-trade zone on a portion of pier 45 in San
Francisco and it is probable that action will be taken on this application
at an early date.
Several other west-coast communities have expressed definite interest
in the foreign-trade-zone program. During the fiscal year the Los
Angeles Harbor Commission and the Los Angeles City Council jointly
sponsored an economic and engineering survey to determine the advisa
bility of establishing a foreign-trade zone in the port of Los Angeles.
I t is expected that this study will be completed at an early date. In a
similar program, the Governor’s Advisory Commission of the State
of Washington, and the Seattle Port Commission together sponsored a
study and report on the possible benefits to commerce and shipping
which might result in the event a foreign-trade zone is established in
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XXI
the Puget Sound area. This report has been released and will be
widely distributed throughout the Northwest.
Because of the importance of foreign-trade zones to the international
trade program, the administrative activities of the executive secretary
of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board were transferred from the Office of
the Secretary to the Office of International Trade. The Associate
Director of the Office of International Trade was delegated as alternate
for the Secretary of Commerce in lieu of the solicitor on the Committee
of Alternates.
I nland W aterways C orporation
The Inland Waterways Corporation was created for the purpose of
carrying on the operations of the Government-owned inland water
ways system until such time as the system can be transferred to private
operations 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.
__ , _
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1947, the Corporation was
reorganized under new management and a program of rehabilitation
was begun. Traffic improved somewhat over the previous year, but did
not gain at the expected rate; continued shortages throughout the coun
try continued to act as a deterrent to barge shipment; the growing car
shortage hampered rather than encouraged the use of water transpor
tation. The year ended at the crest of the most serious flood m 103
years which almost entirely stopped barge transportation in the middle
of the Mississippi Valley.
The Corporation’s activities were separated into two operations:
The common carrier operations of the barge line, and the terminal
operations reorganized as an all-round public terminal service. A be
ginning was made on a program of transferring terminal operation to
private hands.
„ , _
As the first step in the rehabilitation of the Corporation’s obsolete
and worn-out fleet, a new and more efficient transportation unit was
designed and tested and the construction of one demonstration unit
contracted for shortly _after the end of the fiscal year. This unit
promises increased efficiency up to 50 percent.
The Corporation’s capital account was analyzed during the year and
with the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission certain ad
justments were made in the appraised valuation of equipment acquired
in 1924. The depreciation account was analyzed and adjusted to re
flect the results which would have occurred had the accounts been kept
on the basis of service life of equipment commonly accepted by the
river industry. These readjustments are reflected in the consolidated
balance sheet following.
The Corporation has sufficient funds to carry out its budget program
for the fiscal year 1948. I t has no bonded debt or other obligations,
except of a current nature. A substantial part of its investment in
Government securities, accumulated from sales of equipment and from
X X II
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
operations, is held for the replacement of facilities or the purchase of
new equipment. All expenses are paid from revenues.
Consolidated balance sheet, June 30, 19411
ASSETS
Current a ssets:
C ash___________________________________ $1, 342, 377. 89
Temporary cash investments (U. S. Govern
ment securities)______________________
2,288, 060. 67
Accounts receivable_____________________
711,140. 61
Materials and supplies___________________
381, 526. 98
---------------------Investment securities and advances: Long-term loans receivableProperty and equipment:
Transportation property and
equipment_____________ $11,901,902. 37
Noncarrier property______
99,171. 92
---------------------- $12,001, 074. 29
Depreciation and amortization reserves—
cred it________________________________
4, 044, 245. 27
■
------ ------------- -Deferred debits and prepaid expenses_______________________
Total assets__________________________________________
$4,723,106.15
238,649.36
7, 956, 829. 02
252,292.46
13,170, 876.99
INABILITIES
Current liabilities: Accounts payable________________________
Reserves :
Insurance reserves______________________
$98,192. 47
Other reserves__________________________
224, 499.11
Deferred credits : Other deferred credits____________________
Capital stock and surplus :
Capital stock______________ ______________ 12, 000, 000.00
Premiums and assessments on capital stock7, 900,106. 84
Surplus (or deficit2) :
Invested in property______
$461, 651. 76
Unappropriated___________ 2 8, 555, 842. 82
---------------------- 2 8, 094,191. 06
$1, 010,121. 74
322, 691. 58
32,147. 89
11, 805, 915.78
Total liabilities______________________________________ 13,170,876. 99
1 Includes accounts of Inland Waterways Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary,
the Warrior Eiver Terminal Co.
! Deficit.
P atent O ffice
Reorganization of the Patent Office was advanced within the past
year. As reorganized, the Patent Office comprises the Office of the
Commissioner of Patents and three major operating components—
Patent Examining Operation, the Trade-Mark Examining Operation,
and the Executive Office. Each of the three is assigned a major func
tion of the Patent Office and is under the direction of a single admin
istrator who is responsible to the Commissioner.
An employment gain of 366 persons during the year, all of which
accrued to the examining operations, brought the personnel of the
Patent Office to 1,826 employees. Personnel increases were made in the
Trade-Mark Examining Operation to provide sufficient help to admin
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
X X III
ister the new Trade-Mark Act. A program of training new profes
sional employees was instituted as a means to expedite the induction of
new examiners into productive work and to produce greater accuracy,
greater uniformity of practice, and reduction of time spent in super
visory review. Placement and wage administration programs were
developed and effected to insure the selection and retention of wellqualified personnel.
On June 30, 1947, 216,098 patent applications were pending m the
Office, of which 148,221 awaited action by examiners, 4,534 by the
Board of Appeals and Board of Interference Examiners, and 63,343 by
applicants. This inventory was 43,646 cases greater than a year ago,
with the examiners’ backlog up by 32,353 applications. The backlog of
trade-mark applications more than doubled, with 13,143 pending ex
amination and 12,752 awaiting response. Enlargement of the examin
ing staff should, within the coming year, effect a substantial increase
in the output of the Office and a corresponding reduction in backlog.
Approximately 7,000 additional patents were placed on the Register
of Patents available for License or Sale, to bring the total of such reg
istrations to more than 18,000 patents. Several compilations describ
ing these patents were prepared and made available to the public to
broaden the benefits of the register. In addition, two supplements to
Dedicated Patents announced the listing of 133 more patents dedicated
to the public.
The sale of 3,250,237 printed copies of patents and trade-marks,
1,290,388 fewer than last year, yielded an increase of $327,113.20 in
receipts as the result of the price increase which became effective July
5,1946. Approximately 1%_ million copies of patents were furnished
to foreign governments under exchange agreements.
The Trade-Mark Act of 1946 became operative July 5, 1947. In
preparing the Trade-Mark Examining Operation to undertake its ad
ministration, new rules of practice were drawn, additional personnel
provided, organization changes instituted, and new forms, methods,
and procedures provided.
.
Numerous substantive changes were effected in the classification of
patents to improve its utility and reliability in the searching and ex
amining of patents. New methods were introduced to facilitate pre
paring the alphabetical index to classification and the Manual of Clas
sification and maintaining them on a current basis.
Public Law 220, providing for the extension of certain provisions
of the Boykin Act, and Public Law 380, which effects the patent pro
visions of the peace treaties with Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Ru
mania, were the only enactments of the Eightieth Congress affecting
patents or other matters relating to the Patent Office.
Net receipts were $4,815,260.47, an increase over the preceding year
of $312,977.30, and obligations incurred under all Patent Office ap
propriations amounted to $7,262,472.27.
N ational B ureau of S tandards
The range of activities of the National Bureau of Standards is ex
tensive and diversified, making difficult any concise and connected
XXIV
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
summary. In brief, the range of its work coincides with the range
of the physical sciences themselves—physics, mathematics, chemistry,
and engineering. The Bureau is the principal Federal agency for
research in these fields. It acts as custodian of the Nation’s standards
of measurement, carries on research leading to improved measurement
methods, determines physical constants and properties of materials,
develops and prescribes specifications for Federal supplies, and gen
erally serves the Government and industry as adviser in scientific and
technical matters and in testing, research, and development in the
physical sciences.
The work of the Bureau during the past fiscal year involved five
types of activities: Research and development; test, calibration, and
standard samples; commodity standards and codes and specifications;
advisory services; and cooperative activities. In most cases, each of
the divisions and sections of the Bureau was engaged to some extent
in all of these roles, for the structure of the Bureau tends to follow
the classical categories of the physical sciences. The work in physics,
mathematics, chemistry, and engineering was performed by 12 divi
sions, specializing in electronics, applied mathematics, radio propa
gation, mechanics and sound, electricity, optics, heat and power, me
trology, chemistry, organic and fibrous materials, mineral products,
and metallurgy. Three other divisions—Simplified Practice, Trade
Standards, and Codes and Specifications—were concerned with com
modity standards, codes and specifications. In addition, four divi
sions—Budget and Management, Personnel, Plant, and Shops—were
concerned with the internal administrative, maintenance, and service
aspects necessary for the Bureau’s efficient operation.
R E SE A R C H A N D D E V E L O PM E N T
A considerable portion of the research and development work of
the Bureau was conducted for the Navy Department, the War Depart
ment, and the Atomic Energy Commission. These projects are
almost all classified and stem, in general, from antecedent programs
carried on during the war. The guided-missile program is repre
sentative of this type of work. The famous missile BAT, which
consists of a glider with a self-contained radar target-seeking intelli
gence and associated servo-mechanisms, so that the missle auto
matically seeks and follows the target to the point of collision, was
developed by the Bureau. Current work is centered on an advanced
guided-missile program known as the Kingfisher project.
The proximity or YT fuze, acknowledged as the weapon develop
ment second in importance only to the atomic bomb, was another
wartime achievement of the Bureau. For the last 2 years, the
Bureau has served as the sole research and development agency for
the Army Ordnance Department on fuzes for nonrotating projectiles,
and activity continues on advanced and special types of fuzes for the
Army and Navy.
Projects were also carried on for the Atomic Energy Commission,
and this work, too, has its roots in early work of the Bureau. The
atomic bomb project itself originated in the Bureau in 1939 when
the President turned to the Director of the Bureau for its initiation,
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XXV
for the work of the Bureau in the field of subatomic physics reaches
back to the early years of the century and has progressed continuously
ever since then.
_
. . .
In addition to these three major fields of classified activity, a
number of other special projects were undertaken during the year
for the Army and the Navy. At the same time, considerable progress
was made in shifting from the almost totally mobilized state of the
Bureau during the war to its normal research and development role.
This transition had begun in 1946 and was considerably advanced
during 1947. In.general, the 1947 activities of the Bureau were of
a peacetime nature except in major areas of defense import and in
areas where the developments had broad scientific and industrial
significance.
Considerable work was done during the year in the field of scien
tific standards and measurements. For example, standards of direct
capacitance of very small magnitude were developed, studies of the
ionosphere were undertaken, the higher radio frequencies were
investigated and methods and instruments of measurement at these
frequencies were developed, special mathematical tables were pre
pared, the design and development of electronic computing machines
and their components were in progress, work in high-voltage X-rays
and in subatomic radiations was under way, and a variety of investi
gations in natural and synthetic rubbers were conducted. These
illustrations, typical of the representative projects cited in the full
report of the Bureau on subsequent pages, indicate the nature of
the problems attacked by the Bureau. At the same time, they
indicate the necessity of work in these fields, for two factors are
involved in physical science and technology which demand continued
and increased investigations of this type.
First, as technology advances, its demands on greater accuracies
and finer tolerances, basic to mass production, require intensified
activity, and the Bureau must establish appropriate new standards;
standards that were adequate 20 years ago have, in general, been
long inadequate. Thus, the relatively large capacitance standards
satisfactory in the early years of the electrical industry are inade
quate for the needs of an electronics industry in a period of high
frequencies, and new standards of capacitance for smaller magni
tudes are also needed.
Second, new fields of science extend the range of activity, and the
Bureau must explore new zones. Thus, the radar work during the
.war has seen the extension of the radio-frequency spectrum a, hundred
fold, a phenomenom of enormous significance in radio, television, FM,
communications, and, in fact, the entire electronics industry. With
tbit; valuable extension have come a host of problems in standards,
properties, and techniques and instruments of measurement. With
out the solution of these problems, industrial and economic advances
in these new frontiers are doomed to inefficiency or great delay or, in
some fields, even outright failure. As a result of its work in the 1947
fiscal year, the Bureau can certify the accuracy of practically all radio
measuring instruments and components at frequencies up to 30 mega
cycles. Attenuators and voltmeters of conventional design and
XXVI
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
range can be standardized up to 100 megacycles, and frequency meters
or cavity resonators can be standardized up to 20,000 megacycles.
One of the significant projects in the relatively new field of applied
mathematics is that concerned with automatic computing machines.
A centralized and coordinated program of research and development
has been under way under the sponsorship of the Office of Naval Re
search, the Bureau of the Census, the Army, and the Army Air Forces.
The Office of Naval Research and the Bureau of the Census have con
tracted with the Bureau for the construction of two machines, which
will be capable of solving in a few hours complex mathematical prob
lems that cannot now be solved except by approximations and thou
sands of man-days of work. Additional significant capabilities of
such machines are those of handling, classifying, and analyzing data.
A major portion of the over-all designs for the two machines was
completed in the fiscal year, as well as research and development on
components and investigations of the mathematical problems involved.
Construction of the machines will be under way during the 1947-48
year.
The work of the Bureau in printed circuits, stemming from its
research and development on the proximity fuze, represents one of its
most valuable contributions to the Nation. The significance of the
development of printed circuits has been attested by an outstanding
group of industrial engineers who voted it the most important tech
nical contribution, destined to achieve great economies in production,
in the entire Nation. This technique substitutes printed wiring and
resistors for the conventional wires and independent resistors common
in electronic products. The development means, first, large econ
omies in production because circuits can be stenciled, printed, or
stamped—a saving of both time and materials—and, second, minia
turization, a feature important both for the savings in materials that
it affords and for opening up new uses for electronic equipment where
size and strength are important.
T E S T IN G , C A L IB R A T IO N , A N D ST A N D A R D S A M P L E S
The Bureau’s testing and calibration activities stem from its custody
of the Nation’s basic physical standards. In many cases, master
standards used in industry must be checked periodically against these
national standards. The Bureau is also responsible for testing many
of the materials purchased by the Bureau of Federal Supply, the
Treasury, and other Federal agencies. In the course of this test,
calibration, and standard samples work, new methods of measure
ment and new instruments are devised and new technical data on the
properties of materials are obtained.
Close to 150,000 tests and calibrations, having a total fee value of
more than $900,000, were made for other Government agencies and
the public. The fee value of these services to Government agencies
for which no charges were made was approximately $741,000. Fees
of slightly over $163,000 were, collected and deposited in the Treasury
for testing and calibration services to the public, including the fur
nishing of more than 20,000 standard samples having a fee value of
$65,000. The total fee value of these services, while indicative of the
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XXVII
financial outlay by the Bureau, does not represent the larger real value
of the services from a technical point of view.
The range of activity embraced the testing of some 2,500 light bulbs
(a sampling of nearly 3 million purchased by the Government this
year), the sample-testing of 3 million barrels of cement purchased by
the Government, the testing of 22,872 clinical thermometers, railway
track-scale testing and calibrating, measurement and calibration of
all the radium sold in this country, and literally thousands of othertests or calibrations on thousands of items, devices, or instruments.
C O M M O D IT Y ST A N D A R D S A N D CODES A N D S P E C IF IC A T IO N S
As in past years, the divisions of Simplified Practice and Trade
Standards acted as secretariats for industry and trade groups desiring
quantitative or qualitative voluntary standards. A total of 15 such
standards were issued during the year, covering a wide range of com
modities ; 21 standards were revised and reissued; and 6 were reviewed.
Plans were completed during the year for the consolidation of these
two units into a single Commodity Standards division, which would
also coordinate the Bureau’s work in Federal Specifications. These
specifications are essential because they not only afford to the Federal
Government a sound basis for economy in purchasing but also afford
to every manufacturer a fair opportunity for selling to the Government.
The scope of activities in the codes and specifications field included
the issuance of a supplement to the National Directory of Commodity
Specifications; a revision of the Directory of Commercial and College
Laboratories; a revision of the book Safety in the Household, a pub
lication in combined form of the hitherto sectional National Electrical
Safety Code; and a revision of the publication Building Code Require
ments for New Dwelling Construction, which was undertaken coopera
tively with the National Housing Agency.
Work affecting industry and the general public included codes tor
electrical wiring and equipment, elevators, lightning protection, and
protection problems involving various types of machinery. In the
building and plumbing code field, technical studies were carried on
and administrative guidance was furnished a large number of com
mittees engaged in developing basic standards. Attention was also
given to questions of good building practice, such as coordination of
sizes and building materials so that they will fit together without,
unnecessary labor and waste.
ADVISORY SERVICES
With its outstanding staff of physicists, mathematicians, chemists,
and engineers and with its facilities for, and experience in, unusually
diversified fields of research, the Bureau serves other Government
agencies in a consulting and advisory capacity in scientific and tech
nical matters. During 1947, services of an advisory nature were
rendered to almost every agency of the Federal Government as well
as representatives of State and local governments, to industrial groups,
and to universities.
Static electricity hazards in operating rooms, thermal insulation of
a reflective type, problems of fires in storage warehouses, the measure
XXVIII
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
ment of ultraviolet radiation, molds for artificial hands and for gloves,
programs involving X-ray equipment, the acoustics of buildings, the
hydraulics of spillway tunnels, aircraft accidents and failures, prob
lems in communications—these are typical of the problems on which
the Bureau was consulted by other Federal agencies.
COOPERATIVE A C T IV IT IE S
Occupying a key position in the scientific and technical life of
the Nation, the Bureau is also active in the work of technical com
mittees, societies, associations, and commissions. Hundreds of such
industrial, professional, and international groups are involved, and
their work is of incalculable value in incorporating new advances in
science into the technology of industry, in the standardization of ma
terials and products for the dual purposes of economy and quality, and
in the establishment of uniform scientific standards throughout the
world .
The American Society for Testing Materials is an outstanding ex
ample of the extent of the Bureau’s participation and cooperation in
technical committees and conferences. Of the 63 technical committees
of this society, the Bureau is represented in 52, with a total Bureau
membership of over 100. The American Standards Association is
another to which the Bureau has contributed extensively. I t has
membership on more than 115 ASA committees and is the managing
agency for 17 ASA projects. Drs. E. U. Condon and E. C. Crittenden,
Director and Associate Director of the Bureau, respectively, are
members of the ASA Board of Directors; the latter is also chairman
of the ASA Standards Council.
The Bureau provides an important consulting and advisory service
to the Army and Navy through chairmanship and representation on
the technical committees of the Joint Research and Development
Board, the Joint Aeronautical Board, Joint Battery Advisory Com
mittee, the Army Signal Association,' Joint Chiefs of Staff Guided
Missiles Committee, and the Army Air Forces Scientific Advisory
Board. International technical society representations by Bureau
members include the International Union of Chemistry, International
Telecommunication Conferences, International Committee for Radio
logical Units, International Committee for Radiation Protection,
International Commission on Illumination, and International Com
mission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis.
W ORK I K PROGRESS
Many of the projects of the Bureau are of a long-range nature, and
it is true of research in general that arbitrary time limits cannot be
established. From one point of view research resembles exploration
in that the difficulties to be encountered cannot always be foreseen;
on the other hand, valuable discoveries not originally expected may
be made. An example of the latter is the Bureau’s work in printed
circuits, which was a byproduct of its development of the radio prox
imity fuze.
Typical long-range projects are those concerned with basic scientific
standards. Here, continual research and development are necessary
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
X X IX
year after year in an eifort to provide added precision which the tech
nology of the Nation needs as it advances and to provide new stand
ards in new fields as those fields open up. Another type of project
which extends over a considerable period of time is that in which time
itself is important. For example, the problem of corrosion in under
ground pipes demands years of experimental work in which specimens
are actually subjected to conditions encountered in practice. Such
studies have been going on since 1910 and will continue as new ma
terials become available. The stakes are high—it has been estimated
that underground corrosion of pipes accounts for an annual loss of
$100,000,000. Definite progress was made on this problem during
the year.
Several major programs, each encompassing a large number of
specific projects, were in progress during the year. The Federal
Government has a large interest in the vigorous prosecution of these
programs not only because of its role as the largest single purchaser
of equipment and commodities in the world but also because preemi
nence in science is a national concern both for economic and defense
reasons. The programs include atomic physics, building technology,
radio propagation, applied mathematics, and rubber chemistry.
Plans were completed during the year for the establishment of three
new divisions to handle the work in atomic physics, applied mathe
matics, and building technology. The new devisions largely represent
a rearrangement and consolidation of existing sections within the
Bureau.
As a result of 1946-47 planning, work in applied mathematics will
be conducted by the National Applied Mathematics Laboratories,
division 11 of the Bureau. This division will centralize work in
mathematics and computing machines within the Government; its
establishment was the result of a cooperative action taken by the Of
fice of Naval Research, the War Department, and other Federal agen
cies. The Office of Naval Research, in particular, was instrumental
in forwarding the program, having recognized the need for a cen
tralized national computational facility equipped with high-speed
automatic machinery, capable of providing a computing service for
other Government agencies, and staffed to undertake further develop
ment of computing machinery.
The division consists of four units: Numerical analysis, compu
tation laboratory, statistical engineering, and machine development.
The computation laboratory and machine development units are largely
supported by the Office of Naval Research. The computation labora
tory, which now includes the long-established Mathematical Tables
Project of the Bureau, solved a variety of mathematical problems
which arose in the work of other agencies, and also computed mathe
matical tables needed in a variety of scientific and technical fields by
the Navy, the Army, and other Federal agencies. The machine de
velopment group achieved considerable progress in the design of high
speed automatic computers ; the designs will be finished during the
calendar year 1947 and construction will follow in 1948. Both the
Office of Naval Research and the Bureau of the Census have con
tracted for such machines, each costing in the neighborhood of $300,000. The Bureau has also been active in the development of com-
XXX
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
ponents and in research on the mathematical aspects of the problems
involved. Both the Army and the Air Forces, too, are cooperating
actively in the machine program.
The role of mathematics in the present period is an exceedingly im
portant one, and it would be dangerous to the national welfare if this
field wrere neglected. The complexity of problems facing workers in
aerodynamics, atomic energy, ballistics, and guided missiles, for ex
ample, demands expanded activity in applied mathematics and in com
puting-machine development.
Research and study in the field of atomic physics at the Bureau of
Standards extends back to 1913 with the establishment of a radium
laboratory. At that time the primary standards of radium, prepared
by Madame Curie, entered the custody of the Bureau, and commercial
preparations of radium were measured in terms of this standard. As
much as $3,000,000 worth of commercial radium passes through the
radioactivity section annually. Secondary standards are also pre
pared for the public, and instruments for radioactive measurements are
both developed and calibrated. Studies were also undertaken early
in the 1920’s on gamma radiation from a variety of radioactive
materials.
The new Atomic Physics Division will conduct fundamental nuclear
research, including studies necessary for the extension of measurement
and standardization in this field. The effective realization of the
possibilities of tracer techniques in chemistry, biochemistry, medicine,
industrial process, and other areas now depends on the formulation
of a great deal of basic information on radiation intensities, techniques
of radiation measurement, instrumentation and calibration, and safety
matters. Research has been started at the Bureau on the penetrating
power of the beta radiation from a number of radioactive isotopes.
A new method for tracing isotopes through organic systems, called
tracer micrography, has been developed which in preliminary testing
has increased recognizable detail from one-tenth of a millimeter to
three-hundredths of a millimeter with particular radioisotopes. A
mass spectrometer specifically designed for the separation of atomic
rather than molecular masses has been designed and is now under
construction.
The most urgent problem in X-rays and beta rays is to work out
necessary safety precautions to prevent the tragic burns and loss of
life to operator and patient which have marred the use of X-rays in
the past. This necessitates continuing studies under laboratory con
ditions simulating the many variable factors encountered in other
installations. It is economically impossible to perform these studies
with medical or commercial installations. This program of X-ray
dosage and safety is closely coordinated and integrated with the
National Institute of Health.
During the fiscal year, formulation of a coordinated program, in the
form of a Building Technology Division, makes possible for the first
time a unified approach to the problems of the construction industry.
The work will be so organized that groups will be engaged simul
taneously in investigations of properties of materials; structural
strength ; fire resistance ; acoustics and sound insulation ; heating, ven
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
XXXI
tilating, and air conditioning ; durability and the exclusion of mois
ture; building and electrical equipment; and miscellaneous projects.
The forces and conditions to which buildings are subjected in every
day use will be studied and individual materials and assemblies will be
investigated in order to determine their characteristics and the most
effective ways in which they may be combined in the finished structure.
Instead of establishing properties of materials and construction
methods independently as in the past, a complete and coordinated pro
gram of investigations on each material or assembly will be pursued
so that builders, designers, and owners can be provided with complete
information. Some of the work will involve gathering the mass of
already existing information and coordinating it in the most useful
manner. Unified scientific investigation in other fields of industry
has been responsible for productive results, and it is reasonable to
assume that the effect of this approach, when applied generally
throughout the 10-billion-dollar construction industry, can effect
similar results.
Radio propagation represents another field of great importance, both
to the Government and to industry. All uses of radio, particularly
long-distance ones, require a radio propagation service quite similar
to the weather service. Operation of the necessary observatories, con
duct of research, and issuing of predictions are done by this Bureau.
The Nation will spend billions of dollars in the next few years for
radio equipment. Primary standards of measurement and an ade
quate understanding of propagation phenomena will save far more
than their cost and, if war comes again, may be the difference between
obliteration and survival as a nation, for communication represents
not only a vast commercial and technologic industry but also the back
bone of defense.
The division engaged in this work was established in 1946 as a cen
tralizing group within the Nation for radio propagation studies. The
Army, Navy, Federal Communications Commission, other Federal
agencies, and industry jointly sponsored the establishment of this divi
sion in the interest of the work and for the sake of economy and effi
ciency, for each of these groups needs the information provided by the
radio propagation group. Important problems in this field still re
main unsolved, and the extension of the frequencies available for ex
ploitation has increased a hundredfold since the war, raising new prob
lems of research, measurement, instruments of measurement, stand
ards, and calibration services.
Another significant field demanding intensified activity is that of
high polymers. Synthetic plastics, rubbers, and textiles have been
developed recently as a result of research in the new field of high
polymer science. Whole new industries have been based on these new
materials, requiring new standards for commerce and trade and for
accurate determination of the properties of the new materials. The
Bureau has already conducted research in high polymers with sig
nificant results. A broad program has been planned to deal with
strength properties; thermal, therodynamic, and electrical behavior;
and various other properties. Measurement of these properties would
provide accurate data needed by producers and users.
X XX II
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Particularly pressing is the problem of national research in rubber
chemistry. During the war, as a result of the unavailability of natural
rubber, a large synthetic rubber industry was created by the Govern
ment. With natural rubber now again available, this industry will be
called upon only for limited production, first, in order to supply the
synthetic product preferable in certain applications and, second and
more important, in order to insure plant potentialities in the event of
any future emergency. The problem of planning the future activity
of these plants may have tended to obscure the probably more impor
tant long-range problem—research. There are two aspects to such
research. On the one hand, much remains to be done in measurements
and instrumentation associated with the present synthetic rubbers, in
determining their properties, and in basic research aimed at further
development of desirable characteristics ; on the other hand, basic re
search, from the high-polymer science approach, is indispensable if
new types of synthetic rubbers are to be developed. The Bureau has
done extensive work in these fields for many years, and its rubber re
search embraces natural as well as synthetic types. Important contri
butions wrere made during the war to the synthetic program of the
Nation, and many projects are continuing. As in the fields of mathe
matics and radio propagation, cooperative establishment of the Bu
reau’s group as the centralizing and coordinating agency in research in
this field is a primary desideratum in the national interest.
Other fields of broad significance and interest to both the Govern
ment and the national economy include electronics, thermodynamics,
hydraulics, and metallurgy. In each of these fields, valuable contribu
tions were made by the Bureau during the year. Yet in each of these
fields more intensified and larger programs are needed. Each of these
fields is related to a number of vital problems of the Nation, of which
the most obvious is defense.
Unless these major programs are supported and pursued vigorously,
there is a danger that the Nation will be lacking in scientific and tech
nical knowledge and equipment at a critical period. At the same
time, each of the fields demands investigation in the interest of expand
ing and improving our economy, increasing its efficiency, and opening
up new opportunities. Science and technology are the pioneer fron
tiers before and for the Nation, affording untold opportunities for
the future development of our economy. In this scheme of things,
the Government has in the National Bureau of Standards the plant,
facilities, and staff needed for an economic, efficient, and prompt attack
on the problems touched upon here.
O ffice of T echnical S ervices
Businessmen seeking technical information have often in the past
felt the need for the same type of comprehensive service that the
Department of Commerce has long been furnishing in statistical and
economic fields. The Office of Technical Services, created in July 1946
as the successor to a group of transition agencies, has sought to meet
this quite evident need.
Substantial progress toward the goal of bringing the Department’s
technical services up to a par with its other business-aid functions was
made during the fiscal year. The flow of technology from captured
REPORT OP TH E SECRETARY OP COMMERCE
X X X III
German information and declassified wartime research had made the
OTS technical collection, by the end of the year, one of the Nation’s
most important sources of scientific and engineering information.
Photoduplicate copy orders for OTS material alone exceeded the
previous total volume of all other work handled by the three govern
ment facilities employed for this task. Thbusands of personal, tele
phoned, and written inquiries reached the office every month, seeking
details about OTS reports, submitting technical problems for informa
tional assistance, or bringing inventive suggestions to the attention of
the Office’s Inventions and Engineering Division.
Several functions given a trial run during the 1946 fiscal year had
to be dropped. A promising program of industrial research com
mitted about one million dollars for investigations of specific value
to business. These were being conducted by outside firms and uni
versities, and through the National Bureau of Standards. But Con
gress failed to appropriate additional funds for this activity in the
new fiscal year.
A semipopular magazine, Federal Science Progress, designed to
present to the American businessman news of achievements in the
research branches of the Government, met with remarkable interest
and a rapid expansion in subscriptions within the space of a few
months. The possibility of competition with private media, however,
caused it to be dropped prior to the end of the fiscal year.
The National Inventors Council, organized in 1940 as a voluntary
group of America’s leading technical men to screen inventive sugges
tions with possible military or other Federal usefulness, continued in
existence. The Inventors Service, which formed, and continues to
form, the staff of the National Inventors Council, was broadened to
aid the inventor in his strictly commercial proposals. But these ad
visory services to the commercial inventor have been dropped, owing
to the confusion that occurred in some quarters between these func
tions and those of the Patent Office.
The coming fiscal year will see several important improvements in
OTS services to the business community. The German collection is
being analyzed by a volunteer group of America’s outstanding tech
nicians, and the best items of this vast accumulation will be called to
the attention of the nation’s firms. At the same time, all important
new OTS reports will be available in inexpensive and highly legible
form because of the “Trust Fund” authorized in the agency’s current
appropriation which permits the printing or duplicating of copies in
advance of demand. This will largely eliminate the cumbersome and
expensive individual photoduplicates which previously accounted for
the majority of report sales. It will tie in excellently with the
agency’s general effort to secure wider distribution and use of its tech
nical materials.
W
eather
B ureau
During the second postwar year the Weather Bureau paid special
attention to redirecting its programs to meet the growth in public de
mands for weather service at home, and to support the conversion of
international air operations from military to civilian management.
The need to sustain American production at a very high rate for re766188— 47----- 3
X XXIV
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
construction and relief in the postwar era heightened the importance
of all the weather and climatic factors that affect our complex national
economy. Those who learned, during the period of war emergency,
how to use specialized weather information in making the production
and exchange of goods more efficient and less costly increased their
demands upon the national weather service for such assistance.
The volume of direct public inquiries reaching the field offices of
the Weather Bureau in fiscal year 1947 was 17 percent higher than
that recorded in the previous year, which itself had shown an unprece
dented peak in this load. Staffs could not be expanded proportion
ately, so the situation was met, insofar as possible, by placing the
public service activities of the Bureau on the highest plane of effec
tiveness through improvements in organization and a review of pro
grams to eliminate less important demands on manpower.
The issuance of highly localized weather advices for the general
public and for major segments of production was reorganized and
specialized in six selected States, to constitute a pilot project for
testing such a development of existing programs. A relatively small
investment in this direction demonstrated the economy and greatly
increased effectiveness of this approach to improved public service.
In addition, the first steps were taken in a long-range plan to
modernize the river and flood service. A new type of stream fore
casting center, staffed by full-time, specially qualified hydrologists,
was set up for the Ohio Basin, and another for the lower Missouri.
The spring floods of 1947 were forecast and the public was forewarned
with greater accuracy and effectiveness than ever before.
Weather service for domestic aviation received practically no added
support in the year under discussion, and some difficult adjustments
had to be made in an effort to keep this service geared to changing
demands. Considerable dissatisfaction remains, and the service in
many places is entirely inadequate to meet the growth in air traffic.
However, some expansion in the supporting services provided by
the Weather Bureau attended the postwar development of civil air
commerce on international routes. The Bureau stepped in behind
the military at the most urgent points, and also took the first steps
to push weather observations into high Arctic areas of the Western
Hemisphere where no report had been available, even during the war.
W. A. H arriman ,
Secretary of Commerce.
Report
Bureaus
Office of the Secretary
OFFICE OF TH E SOLICITOR
The Solicitor is chief law officer of the Department and acts as
legal adviser to the Secretary of Commerce, the Under Secretary, the
Assistant Secretaries, and to the Chiefs of the various bureaus, offices,
and divisions of the Department.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1947, there were 447 legal
opinions rendered; there were reviewed 99 cases submitted to the
Attorney General and 32 cases submitted to the Comptroller General.
A total of 169 contracts, 16 leases, 4 bonds, 20 revocable licenses, 4
memorandums of understanding, and 8 cooperative agreements were
examined and approved.
All regulations issued by the Department during the year were
examined and approved. The Office of the Solicitor also reviewed
the Federal Register work for the Department. Many other questions
not requiring written opinions, involving statutes, contracts, regula
tions, and administrative law and procedure, were disposed of in
conference with officials of the Bureaus of the Department and repre
sentatives of other Departments.
In addition to the wide range of legal questions arising in the
Department of Commerce, the Office of the Solicitor handles all the
legislative matters of the Department, reviewing all bills submitted
by congressional committees and the Bureau of the Budget, making
reports on all such bills, preparing and assisting in the preparation
of drafts of proposed legislation, and in connection therewith holds
conferences with the heads and other representatives of the various
Bureaus of the Department.
During the fiscal year ended June 30,1947, the Office of the Solicitor
handled 340 legislative matters, classified as follows:
Legislative matters relating to the 79th Cong., which adjourned Aug.
2,1946_______________________________________________________ 48
80th Cong, (to 6-30—47), legislation handled---------------:--------------- — 292
Drafts of proposed bills____________________________________ 54
House bills_________________________________________________ 114
Senate bills_______________________________________________ 86
Miscellaneous legislative matters-------------------------------------------- 38
The major number of matters within the classification of drafts of
proposed bills were Departmental proposals for enabling legislation
to provide basic authority for the performance of certain functions
and activities.
The Solicitor’s Office had prepared reports on House and Senate
bills covering a wide field dealing with the relationship of Government
3
4
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
to our economic life. The general classifications of these bills are:
Aeronautics, administrative organization, antimonopoly, commercial
standards, census and statistics, science, patents, natural resources,
transportation, navigation and shipping, foreign trade, small business,
taxation, labor, and other matters relating to business and industry.
In addition to reports, this office had prepared, or aided in the prep
aration of testimony presented in the course of hearings before con
gressional committees on the following proposals: Flammable Fabrics
Act, Department Appropriation Act, Rubber Policy Act, First Decon
trol Act, Second Decontrol Act, National Science Foundation, Tech
nological Information and Services Act, extension and termination
of certain war controls, census of manufactures and other census
matters, fixing of Patent Office fees, amending antitrust laws, small
business credit, export credit insurance, sea-air controversy, “chosen
instrument” air line, amending Federal Airport Act, air safety.
Included in the classification of miscellaneous legislative matters
are important programs as follows: Study of emergency and wartime
legislation—termination of war controls, study of obsolete laws, gen
eral review and overhauling of the basic legislation of the Depart
ment, study of legal justification for items in Departmental budget,
laws affecting research and development activities of the Department.
The Office of the Solicitor is responsible for all questions of the legal
rights and responsibilities of the Inland Waterways Corporation in
volving its status as an agency of the United States in its relations
with Congress and with other Government Departments.
The Solicitor’s Office has taken an active role in settling the labor
policy of the Inland Waterways Corporation, has completed the pre
paratory work on the liquidation of the Warrior River Terminal Co.,
as required by the Government Corporation Control Act, and has been
working with committees of Congress in connection with legislation
liberalizing the terms on which the properties of the Inland Water
ways Corporation may be sold or leased.
The Solicitor’s Office was active in the preparation of Executive
Order No. 9809, transferring to the Secretary of Commerce certain
functions formerly exercised by the Civilian Production Administra
tion and the Office of Price Administration. The Solicitor was also
responsible for the legal aspects of the liquidation or the assimilation
within the Department, as the case may be, of the functions trans
ferred by this Executive order.
The Solicitor reviews all action on administrative protests filed
under the Emergency Price Control Act, and members of his staff sat
on boards of review in dealing with these protests.
The Solicitor has also assumed responsibility for presentation to
the Contract Settlement Board of cases arising under section 17 of the
Contract Settlement Act and for the handling of remaining claims for
property requisitioned by the War Production Board.
The Solicitor, as Chief Law Officer of the Department, is charged
with supervision of all legal work carried put in the various bureaus
of the Department. The Solicitor’s Office is responsible for the super
vision of the enforcement of the allocation and export controls imposed
by the Second Decontrol Act and supplies Hearing Commissioners
OFFICE OF TH E SECRETARY
5
for any enforcement proceedings under those acts. The Solicitor sits
as the representative of the Legal Subcommittee of the Air Coordi
nating Committee. He is chairman of the Employees Loyalty Board
and a member of his office serves as the secretary ,of the Board.
The Solicitor’s Office is also charged with advising the Secretary
on various legal problems in which the business community is inter
ested. The Solicitor’s office renders advisory service for the Presi
dent’s Air Policy Commission. The Solicitor also serves as the adviser
for the President’s Committee on Foreign Aid and acts as the Executive
Secretary to the Subcommittee on Administration and Procedures of
that group.
OFFICE OF PROGKAM PLANNING
The Office of Program Planning is a staff unit serving the Secretary
and Under Secretary on problems relating to the program and policy
of the Department. Matters referred to the Office are generally prob
lems which require joint study or action by twp or more of the operat
ing bureaus and offices of the Department or coordination of several
Department activities or policies with those of other Government
agencies. New and emerging problems which cannot readily be allo
cated to any ,of the line organizations comprise another important field
of activity for the Office.
The staff of the Office represents the Department in various inter
departmental committees and conferences. Advisory assistance is
provided on the program content of budget and legislative proposals
to the Office of Budget and Management and to the Office of the So
licitor, respectively. All departmental questionnaires and economic
and statistical reports requiring clearance by the Bureau of the Budget
are reviewed by the Office.
In the fiscal year 1947, some of the major problems in which the
Office participated were:
Preparatory work and other services to the Secretary in connection
with the Cabinet Committee on World Food Problems;
Liquidation of functions and disposal of the records of CPA,
OPA, and OWMR, transferred to the Department by Executive
order in May and June;
Substantive and organization problems relating to services for
small business;
Preparatory work for departmental participation in the Wash
ington conferences of several international statistical associa
tions in the summer of 1947;
Analysis of the economic consequences of major work stoppages;
Analysis of economic and financial problems raised by the Supreme
Court decision on portal-to-portal pay;
Analysis of proposals for the termination of economic controls
held over from the war period; and
Preliminary consideration of statistical and economic services
which might be required of the Department under the industrial
mobilization planning provisions of the armed services uni
fication bills.
6
REPORT OP TH E SECRETARY OP COMMERCE
OFFICE OF PUBLICATIONS
On June 30, 1947, the Office of Publications completed its second
year as part of the Office of the Secretary. The procedures and policies
that were developed during the first year were continued with only
minor changes.
One of the guiding principles of the office has been the belief that
as many as possible of the Department’s published services should be
sold rather than distributed without charge. This policy was carried
into effect so successfully that the year’s sales of Commerce publica
tions by the Superintendent of Documents totaled $1,253,148.07. This
is nearly double the total for the preceding year, and is an all-time
publications sales record for Federal agencies. Department of Com
merce publications accounted for more than 40 percent of the sales of
all Federal Government publications. The policy of charging for
publications is based on the belief that it prevents waste and serves
as a check on the value of the services, because material must be of
value in order to sell.
A practical illustration of the effect of this principle is the experience
of the office with the Business Service Check List. This publication,
which provides businessmen with a weekly listing of all the published
services of the Department, was placed on sale July 1, 1946. By the
end of the year it had gained more than 6,000 subscribers who paid
$1 each for the service.
Another guiding policy of the office concerns the setting up of stand
ards for judging the worth of business-service publications. The basic
standard is the demonstrated need of business for an existing or pro
posed publication. Many proposed publications have been rejected
because the demand for them by business could not be demonstrated
and some recurring publications have been abolished for the same rea
son. Naturally, difficulties arise in applying this criterion to some
of the Department’s publications. For this reason, the office took pre
liminary steps as the year ended to enlist the aid of an advisory com
mittee of business-paper publishers, so that the experience of these
men could be called on for help in evaluating the Department’s
publications.
In line with the general emphasis on selling publications rather than
distributing them free on request, a study was made of the Depart
ment’s mailing-list procedures. As a result, many individual mailing
lists were eliminated and the names of people making generalized
requests for Commerce publications were not added to existing lists.
Instead, each person making such a request was referred to the Busi
ness Service Check List as a better and more inclusive type of service.
The Office of Publications continued to furnish editorial service to
the offices of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce and to
provide informational material to the business and general press.
I t handled the largest volume of press and public inquiries that has
come to the Department in many years. The central copy control desk
reviewed and edited hundreds of manuscripts prepared by the offices
of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
OFFICE OF TH E SECRETARY
7
Some of the services that were rendered to these offices during the
preceding year were eliminated as a result of the reduction of the staff
of the Office of Publications from 49 to 31 during the 1947 fiscal year.
In addition, it was necessary to abandon certain studies of the Depart
ment’s publications program designed to make the publications more
effective and to improve the methods of distribution to the business
public.
Staff reductions all but forced the discontinuance of the Inquiry
and Reference Section. This section formerly prepared mimeographed
material for rapid and economical use in answering frequently re
peated inquiries received by mail. All answering of mail by this sec
tion was abandoned when the staff of 11 was reduced to 4, and was
thereafter handled by the several offices. The reduced staff continues
to maintain basic information, contained in more than 100 filing cases,
and to prepare informational material for the offices of the Bureau of
Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
Steps were taken during the year to establish a speakers’ bureau to
coordinate proposed speaking engagements of officials of the Depart
ment. This service will enable the Department to distribute its speak
ers uniformly throughout the country and to the various segments of
the business community.
During the year the Department has enjoyed the cordial coopera
tion of the Government Printing Office and the Superintendent of
Documents. Largely as a result of the efforts of these agencies, the
attractiveness of the Department’s publications has steadily improved
and effective distribution by the sales method has been greatly
increased.
OFFICE OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT
The Office of Budget and Management was formally established on
November 28,1945, in accordance with the congressional recommenda
tion contained in the House of Representatives Committee on Appro
priations report on the State, Justice, and Commerce appropriation
bill, fiscal year 1945.
In line with the congressional recommendation, the objectives of the
Office are: To advise and assist the Secretary and other officials in de
veloping broad management and budget policies necessary to achieve
the various objectives of the Department and in developing the or
ganization through which the Secretary can most effectively direct
and coordinate the activities of the Department; to develop budget
programs designed to assure the provision of funds necessary to dis
charge effectively the functions and responsibilities of the Department;
to develop and coordinate all administrative practices and procedures
of the Department; to develop systems to insure the most economical
use of manpower, equipment, travel and other facilities of the De
partment; and to establish accounting and auditing policies and
practices for the Department.
To accomplish these objectives the Office of Budget and Management
is organized as shown on following page.
8
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
1. Division of fiscal planning which is responsible for the perform
ance of those functions of the office relating to department-wide
budgetary administration and controls.
2. Division of accounting control which is responsible for the es
tablishment and maintenance of systems of accounting for funds and
auditing expenditures ; and for accounting for the funds appropriated
to the Office of the Secretary, Office of Technical Services, and the
several offices of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
3. Division of administrative coordination which is responsible for
the performance of those functions of the office relating to general
administrative practices throughout the Department.
4. Management review staff which is responsible for all of the func
tions of the Office of Budget and Management as they relate to specific
bureaus and offices of the Department.
During the fiscal year 1947, the Office of Budget and Management,
in its first full year of operation, gave the Department close staff
leadership in a program of management and operational self-analysis,
of improved budgetary estimating, and of control methods in account
ing and reporting modernization.
In carrying out its assigned functions the Office of Budget and Man
agement assisted and advised the various bureau directors and their
staffs regarding specific organization and operating problems, analyzed
workloads, personnel requirements, and operating practices, and as
sisted in making installations to increase operating efficiency ; assisted
the constituent units in the preparation of the annual budget estimates
for the fiscal year 1948, performed an objective review for the Secretary
of all budget estimates, with attendant revision, prior to their submis
sion to the Bureau of the Budget and the Congress, and collaborated
with primary unit officers in justifying these estimates before the
Bureau of the Budget and the appropriations committees.
The Office of Budget and Management during the year operated a
system of issuances for the top internal management documents of the
Department and maintained a system of controls to assure that all such
documents were handled centrally and coordinated with other docu
ments; set the organizational standards for the administrative activi
ties of the Department and was instrumental in having the pattern
adopted by the majority of the primary units ; and implemented those
sections of the Administrative Procedure Act pertaining to organiza
tional and functional matters and completed the initial phase of this
assignment by filing the required statements in the Federal Register.
During the year the Office accomplished much in reaching its objec
tive of establishing Department-wide administrative policies and prac
tices and assuring that they are followed in the Department. Much
of the clarification of objectives and simplification and unification of
procedures has been brought about through the operations of the Coun
cil on Administrative Coordination which was established to give the
bureaus and offices a voice in top management policy and practice
formulation.
_This office also distributed personnel ceilings and processed appor
tionments of funds for all offices and bureaus of the Department, and
allocated and alloted funds under the jurisdiction of the Office of the
Secretary and funds available to the Department as a whole. Also,
OFFICE OF T H E SECRETARY
9
at the close of fiscal year 1947 procedures were being established for
the standardization and coordination of personnel controls and re
ports and the use of funds. The aim of the procedures is to furnish
necessary information to the top management and administrative offi
cials of the Department to assure that funds and personnel will be
utilized in accordance with program determinations.
A partial list of specific activities of the several staff members illus
trating improvements and savings they have made are as follows :
1. Installed new procedures in connection with the processing of
mail and publication requests which resulted in an annual tangible
savings in excess of $100,000.
2. Coordinated the consolidation of the administrative and infor
mational activities formerly operated separately within the Bureau
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, the Smaller War Plants Corpo
ration, the Foreign Economic Administration, the Office of Technical
Services, and the Office of the Secretary. Through the elimination of
duplicating overhead and the close integration of operations, the in
crease in the cost of these administrative and informational services
during 1947 has been held down despite general program expansion
in the area. The estimates for this operation in fiscal year 1948 predi
cate a reduction of 18.2 man-years and $57,819 despite a further pro
gram expansion in the areas serviced.
3. Directed improvements in the costing and billing methods used in
connection with the Working Capital Fund that have and will con
tinue to increase the rapidity of billing and reimbursement so as to
increase the utility of its $100,000 capital by over 100 percent.
4. Participated in the reorganization of the Weather Bureau proj
ect for reporting climatological data with the result that the costs for
that project were greatly reduced.
5. Worked closely with the National Bureau of Standards on a
program that simplified the fiscal handling of transferred funds so as
to facilitate operations and at the same time effect considerable savings.
6. In cooperation with representatives of the General Accounting
Office conducted a detailed survey of the accounting systems of the
several primary organization units of the Department. To bring them
into conformity with General Regulations 100 it was found necessary
to install new accounting systems in the Bureau of Standards, the
Patent Office, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey and revise systems
of the other units. The establishment of uniform systems resulted in
more efficient and more economical accounting operations in the
Department.
7. Supervised the liquidation of those offices and functions of the
Civilian Production Administration, the Office of Price Administra
tion, and the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion that had
been transferred to the Department of Commerce. These offices, which
on April 1,1947, had a total staff of 15,591 employees, by July 1,1947,
were contracted to 181 persons in a Division of Liquidation (engaged
in residual liquidating functions) and 103 persons in an Office of
Materials Distribution (engaged in such commodity controls as were
subsequently continued by the Congress).
In the liquidating process over $2,013,000 was recaptured and re
turned to the Treasury; 1,370,000 cubic feet of files were screened,
10
REPORT OP TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
48,000 cubic feet of archival value retained and the balance destroyed ;
a regional office and three Washington offices were closed and it is esti
mated that over $3,000,000 in furniture and equipment declared to the
War Assets Administration. This work is continuing in the current
fiscal year; it is expected that nothing will remain except residual
financial activities after mid-October 1947.
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION
The past year was devoted largely to the continued decentraliza
tion and streamlining of the Department’s personnel program, on a
controlled basis, for the purpose of increasing its effectiveness. In ad
dition, we were faced with the inevitable personnel problems entailed
in the transition from war to peacetime activities, which in turn
were emphasized by pressures to reduce the number of employees.
Reductions-in-force had to be conducted efficiently and justly, men
and women returning from the armed forces had to be reinstated as
employees of the Department in full compliance with the spirit and
the letter of the law, and many reorganizations had to be accom
plished expeditiously.
As a consequence of major budget cuts, substantial reductions-inforce were necessary during the latter part of the year. In addition,
the problem was complicated by the fact that responsibility for liqui
dating the employees of the abolished Civilian Production Adminis
tration, Office of Price Administration, and Office of War Mobiliza
tion and Reconversion also was assigned to the Department. Conse
quently, the major personnel problem during the year consisted of
surveys of the positions held by thousands of our war-service and
temporary employees and subsequent action to place employees with
civil service or veteran status who had been reached for reductionin-force in these positions through displacement of the incumbents.
The Department can take pride in the fact that up to the present,
with but a single exception, we have arranged for employment within
the Department not only for all employees with civil-service status
reached for reduction-in-force, but also for all war-service or tem
porary-indefinite veterans.
The year included continued stress of the fact that the proper
functions of the Office of Personnel Administration are primarily
of a “staff” rather than an “operating” nature. Furthermore, that
the staff mission of the Office is threefold, as follows:
(1) Staff planning, including the formulation, issuance, and inter
pretation of policies, regulations, and standards to govern the admin
istration of personnel activities throughout the Department ;
(2) Staff follow-up, including inspection at all echelons for com
pliance with Department policies, regulations, and standards, and
to determine the adequacy of the personnel program at all levels in
the Department ; and
(3) Staff assistance, including the rendering of assistance and ad
vice as necessary to primary organization units on operating prob
lems.
In addition, the line mission of the Office of Personnel Adminis
tration consists of: (1) Performance of certain general personnel
OFFICE OF T H E SECRETARY
11
■work for the Department at large; (2) provision of a central point
of contact for the public, Government agencies, members of Con
gress, and others on personnel matters affecting the Department ; and
(3) provision of personnel operating services (through the Person
nel Operations Division) on a consolidated basis to certain designated
small offices to achieve for them the economies of large-scale operations
and to eliminate duplicating overhead.
To facilitate the performance of our functions with the reduced
staff necessitated by substantial budget cuts, the organization of the
Office of Personnel Administration was substantially contracted dur
ing the year. The Training and Employee Relations Divisions were
abolished and the organization structure was consolidated to presently
include (1) the Office of the Director, including a Personnel Methods
Section; (2) Classification and Wage Division; (3) Employee Utiliza
tion Division; and (4) Personnel Operations Division. Under the
new organization, 44 persons now are doing work which required 86
persons 15 months ago.
During the year we continued our efforts to refine the methods of
handling the voluminous paper work of Federal personnel administra
tion in the Department, which had been largely decentralized to the
bureaus the previous year. These matters now are being handled with
dispatch in an orderly manner. The Department’s policy of decen
tralizing the functions of personnel administration to the maximum
practicable extent also required the issuance of adequate information
and instructions to the bureaus to assist them in the efficient and uni
form administration of their increased responsibilities, particularly
since a complex body of law and regulation establishes a carefully
defined framework within which the Department’s personnel offices
must function.
This framework constitutes the Department’s authority to act and,
conversely, provides the necessary controls to protect the public inter
est. Therefore, to provide accurate information for both employees
and officials on personnel matters and to assure uniformity throughout
the Department in the interpretation of laws, Executive orders, deci
sions of the Comptroller General, Civil Service Rules and Regulations,
and Department policies and procedures, a chapter of personnel regu
lations was included in the Department’s Manual of Orders. Since
previously only a scattering of miscellaneous instructions on personnel
administration had been issued in the Department, most of which were
antedated and inadequate, the issuance of a comprehensive handbook
of personnel policies and regulations in this form obviously was one
of the most urgent requirements of the Department’s personnel
program.
We now can report that all necessary regulations have been issued,
for universal application throughout the Department and superseding
all previous issuances on the subjects covered. These regulations cover
all phases of personnel administration and provide officers and em
ployees of the Department engaged in such activities with a compre
hensive, concise, and up-to-date reference manual summarizing the
laws, decisions, rules, policies, and procedures which affect their work.
12
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Some of the highlights include the issuance of Administrative
Orders establishing policies and procedures for Eelationships with
Employee Organizations; Voluntary and Gratuitous Services ; Detail
ing Personnel; Ketirement of Employees; Within-Grade Salary In
creases; Efficiency Eatings; Leave of Absence; Political Activities;
Employees’ Compensation for Disability and Death ; Separations and
Suspensions ; Employee Loyalty ; Position, Tenure and Other Status
Changes; Wage Administration for Ungraded Positions; Allowances,
Salary Differentials and Standard Conditions of Employment for
Employees Stationed Outside the Continental United States ; and an
Employee Suggestion Program.
For some months past, many of the multitudinous appointment,
promotion, and transfer requirements which characterize peacetime
civil service and administration gradually have been restored, with
numerous modifications, by the Civil Service Commission. As these
requirements have piled up, they have emphasized further the im
portance of our day-to-day task of auditing all departmental personnel
actions for compliance with law and regulations. This work is entirely
current and has been for some time. I t not only protects the Depart
ment with regard to Civil Service Commission requirements but also
for General Accounting Office audit purposes, and facilitates prompt
corrective action on our part to prevent cumulative errors in the bureau
personnel offices as a result of mistakes or misunderstandings about
regulatory requirements.
A program for streamlining the procedural and record-keeping
functions involved in the routine of processing personnel actions was
carried on throughout the year. Developments in this field include
the establishment of (1) a standard type of personnel folder for each
employee, (2) a uniform single-form type of “Personnel Action Eequest,” and (3) a standard “Notification of Personnel Action” form,
providing a uniform voucher for recording all types of personnel
actions. Action toward the improvement of other types of personnel
forms is in process.
We also gave assistance on numerous occasions to bureau personnel
offices in connection with organization, procedural, and work-flow
problems, the most significant of which is the complete reorganization
which we currently are superintending of the Personnel Office of the
Bureau of Standards. The general objective of this phase of our
program is to simplify and speed up the procedural aspects of person
nel administration in the Department by working directly with the
personnel offices of the bureaus and aiding on the spot in the actual
reorganization of their procedural and record-keeping activities.
During the fiscal year we also instituted a Weekly Information
Bulletin, which summarizes current regulatory changes, personnel
policy decisions, new statutory requirements, and so forth, for in
formation of the bureau personnel offices. This service is helpful in
keeping them up to date on new requirements and developments with
a minimum of time and research, and consequent improvement in the
speed and accuracy of their work. As another means of familiarizing
personnel of the Department with the personnel regulations, we also
prepared a small personnel handbook for distribution to all employees,
OFFICE OF TH E SECRETARY
13
summarizing the Department’s personnel policies and regulations,
which is being printed at this writing.
The Personnel Operations Division—established as a line operation
during the latter part of 1946 to provide personnel operating services
on a consolidated basis to certain small offices of the Department to
achieve for them the economies of large-scale operations and to elimi
nate duplicating overhead—continued to evidence its value. The ex
perience of the past year clearly showed that this operation is not
only economical but also very effective from a service standpoint.
A thorough reorganization and stabilization of the Department’s
methods of collecting and compiling personnel statistics was com
pleted during the year. The reliability of the Department’s personnel
statistics was much improved by this action. The following tabula
tions of employee strength are attached to this report:
Table 1, total employee strength.—This table shows the official tabu
lation of employee strength, 1938 through 1947. The growth during
this period was due primarily to the fact that new activities, such as
the Weather Bureau and Civil Aeronautics Administration, were trans
ferred into the Department. On July 1, 1947, there were 38,503 paid
employees in the Department, including 6,957 part-time workers (8,493
employees who work without compensation are not included in these
figures).
Table 2, veterans.—Table 2 shows that 37.3 percent of all employees
of the Department are veterans, including 50.4 percent of all male
employees.
Table 3, distribution by States.—This table shows the geographic
distribution of employees within the United States, by States.
Table J, distribution by salary groupings.—This table shows the
distribution of employees by salary groupings, including the fact that
approximately one-quarter of the Department’s employees are un
graded and hence are paid rates other than those prescribed by the
Classification Act.
Table 5. distribution by sex.—This table shows the distribution of
paid employees by sex. On July 1, 1947, 71.3 percent of the Depart
ment’s employees were male and 28.7 percent were female.
Data also were assembled concerning the number of employees who
entered the armed forces during World War II. Approximately onehalf of all former employees (6,308) who entered the armed forces
were found to have returned to duty. The remainder are not expected
to return in any appreciable numbers and presumably have found
employment elsewhere. The records also show that of those who re
turned approximately 65 percent were promoted since their return to
more responsible positions than they held prior to their entrance into
the armed service. This constitutes good evidence of the effectiveness
of the Department’s policy to restore former employees who entered
the armed forces, wherever practicable, to higher grade positions for
which they could qualify.
The most important training activity was the Inter-Departmental
Lecture Program in Electronics during the first half of the year.
Started as a training program for Commerce Department scientists,
to bring them up to date on secret wartime developments in the elec-
14
REPORT OP T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
tronics field and thus improve their efficiency, interest in the program
became so widespread that the lectures were opened to representatives
of all Federal agencies, and several hundred Federal scientists from
various Government agencies participated. Later, considerable as
sistance was given to the Civil Aeronautics Administration in devel
oping the position of the United States regarding international avia
tion training by the International Civil Aviation Organization, in
regard to the training of technical personnel of member nations.
Other programs, including those for training new patent examiners
for the Patent Office and weather observers for the Weather Bureau,
also continued to show good results. Unfortunately, very little train
ing work will be possible during the coming year, in view of the abol
ishment of the Training Division for budgetary reasons, despite many
thousands of dollars in services which the Department recently esti
mated, in a Congressional report, were gained through this program.
Considerable progress was made during the year in respect to salary
classification activities. More than one-quarter of the graded (i. e.,
subject to the Classification Act) positions in the Department were
classified or reclassified on an up-to-date basis. A uniform system of
wage administration for the 9,000 ungraded employees of the Depart
ment also was developed and placed in operation, thus stabilizing the
wage administration program for such positions along efficient and
progressive lines. Numerous organization surveys were made and
complete up-to-date organization and position charts were prepared
for the entire Department, from the lowest to the highest echelon.
During May 1947 a Civil Service Commission inspection team in
spected the personnel management activities of the Washington
personnel offices of the Department, providing a useful impartial ap
praisal of our program. Apart from a few minor items needing
corrective action, mainly of a clerical nature, the Commission’s findings
were very favorable. Among other things it stated:
In general the Department of Commerce has a sound, progressive personnel
program and appears to be making noteworthy improvement in its operations
* * *. The aims and application of classification were understood throughout
the Department * * * on the whole the Department is doing a good job
In keeping up to date the allocation of its positions * * *. Efficiency rating
committees * * * appeared to be well organized and the training program
at both the departmental and bureau levels was well worked out and effective
* * *. Reductions in force * * * have been accomplished in an orderly
manner with due consideration being given to the rights of employees on the
basis of military preference, status, length of service and efficiency ratings
* * *. The Department, as a whole, has a well-defined policy recognizing the
importance of selecting and promoting the best personnel available. Personnel
needs are planned in advance, and first consideration is give to qualified persons
within the Department * * *. Veterans’ preference * * * the inspectors
feel that the Department has done a fine job in this field.
The program for the coming year primarily will be a projection and
extension of our activities for the year just past, including the com
pletion of programs which have been started, the cleaning up of loose
ends, and the initiation of new phases of the existing programs. The
basic objective will continue to be a decentralization and simplification
of personnel administration procedures, on a controlled basis, with
15
OFFICE OF TH E SECRETARY
concurrent improvement of the more substantive phases of personnel
management throughout the Department.
T able 1.-—Official tabulation of employee strength, 1988 through 19I p 1
1938
Bureau
Office of the Secretary______
Bureau of Foreign and Do
mestic Commerce________
Bureau of the Census.........
Bureau of Standards_______
Coast and Geodetic S urvey..
Bureau of Marine Inspection
Patent Office___________
Weather Bureau 4....... ...........
1939
1940
1942
1944
1943
1945
1946
1947
216
286
366
355
365
390
703
958
856
2,196
926
985
897
863
1,728 212,687
946
988
1,347 1,329
853
8,671
1,190
1, 521
946
6, 936
1,720
2,097
853
4,925
2, 267
2,781
824
4,600
2, 326
2,415
809
6, 489
2,311
1,924
2,185
5,861
2, 262
2,160
2,137
4,411
2,522
2,285
1,011
1,372
958
1,383
924
1,341
1,013
1,326
5,653
1,399
6,142
1,228
6,612
1, 273
6,876
1,267
6,754
5 4,435
1,460
7, 499
1,826
7,907
6,019
8,056 10,120 11,492 10,847 12,953 14,884
3,447
1,200
4,132
2,950
3,212
3,137
2,544
159
179
Civil Aeronautics AdmfnisInland Waterways Corpo
ration....... ............................
1941
2,602
2,667
2,021
1,852
1,573
T o ta l-........................... 16,284 10,388 21, 560 4 29,669 30,206 31,743 32, 838 737,247 8 36,935 938,503
1 On or about July 1 of each year.
2 In addition to the number of employees listed, the Bureau of the Census employed more than 100,000
temporary intermittent Census enumerators.
8 The Marine Inspection and Navigation Service was transferred from the Department of Commerce to
the Treasury Department in February 1942.
* Under provision of Reorganization Plan IV, the Weather Bureau was transferred to the Department
of Commerce in fiscal year 1941. During the same year the Civil Aeronautics Administration also was
transferred to the Department. In addition, the National Inventors Council was established.
6
During 1945, the Office of Surplus Property was transferred to and made a part of the Department of
Commerce. During the same year it was again transferred out of the Department.
6 The Bureau of Lighthouses was transferred to the U. S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries was
transferred to the Interior Department in 1939.
7 During 1945, in addition to the number of employees listed, the Bureau of the Census employed 31,226
temporary intermittent census enumerators.
8 During the 1946 fiscal year a large portion of the Foreign Economic Administration was transferred into
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.
9 This figure does not include 8,493 employees who work without compensation for the Department nor
are such persons included in other figures in the table. It does include 6,957 part-time workers who actually
worked a total of only 1,207 man-months during June.
N o t e .— During 1947 segments of the Office of Price Administration, Office of War Mobilization, and
Civilian Production Administration were transferred to the Department.
T able 2.— Veterans in the employ of the Department of Commerce1
Bureau
Veterans
Total
employ
of
ees
Number Percent
total
958
2,137
4,411
2,522
2, 285
1,826
7,907
14,884
1,573
248
572
1,379
891
987
660
2,114
6,952
548
25.8
26.7
31.2
35 3
43.2
36.1
26.7
46.7
34.9
2 38, 503
14,351
37.3
7 As of July 1,1947.
2 Of this total, 27,442 are men and 11,061 are women; 50.4 percent of the male employees and 4.6 percent of
the female employees are veterans.
7 6 6 1 8 8 -4 7 -
-4
16
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
T able 3. —Geographic distribution oj employees within the United States
[As of Jan. 29,1947]
Veterans
State
U tah____________________________ _______________________
Total
employees
Number
Percent of
total
35,100
12,893
36.7
235
205
292
1, 883
376
114
1
12, 560
745
814
158
1,140
417
244
371
233
1,083
121
184
348
354
337
307
1,843
345
288
166
61
148
325
1,611
286
153
764
447
432
684
75
264
114
467
1,776
256
51
382
1,137
121
204
178
70
80
77
752
90
64
29.8
39.0
26.4
39.9
23.9
56.1
4,029
374
335
90
500
128
65
106
92
404
49
87
167
137
135
104
578
154
69
80
15
80
112
654
124
55
336
146
191
250
47
116
35
197
772
111
18
157
472
53
87
49
32.1
50.2
41.2
57.0
43.8
30.7
26.6
28.6
39.5
37.3
40.5
47.3
48.0
38.7
40.0
33.9
31.4
44.6
23.9
48.2
24.6
54 0
34.5
40. 6
43.4
35.9
44.0
32.7
44.2
36.5
62.7
43.9
30.7
42.2
43.5
43.4
35.3
41.1
41.5
43.8
42.6
27.5
17
OFFICE OF TH E SECRETARY
T able 4.—Distribution of employees by salary groupings
[As of Dec. 31, 1946]
Graded employees (subject to Classification Act
of 1923)
Ungraded
employees2
Bureau
Total
Office of the Secretary:
Bureau of Foreign and Do
mestic Commerce:
Census Bureau:
Bureau of Standards:
Coast and Geodetic Survey:
P atent Office:
Weather Bureau:
Inland Waterways Corpora
tion:
Civil Aeronautics Administra
tion:
Total:
CAF
service
P
service
SP
service
CPC
service
to Classi
fication
Act)
Total
802
99.8
628
78.1
101
12.6
5
0.6
68
8.5
2,128
100.0
1,516
7.12
585
27.5
1
0.0
26 1
1.3
2,582
48.5
2,160
40.5
331
6.2
23
0.5
68
1.3
2,335
99.8
382
16.3
982
42.0
575
24.6
396
16.9
4
0.2 } 2,339
1,216
58.7
208
10.0
395
19.1
564
27.2
49
2.4
854
41.3 } 2,070
1,679
778
791
14
0.9
4,186
58.3
835
11.6
1,065
14.8
2,241
31.2
45
0. 7
2,992 ]• 7,178
41.7
276
15.3
243
13.5
11
0.6
3
0.2
19
1.1
1, 530 } 1,806
84. 7
10,869
92.4
7,815
66.4
1,740
14.8
617
5.3
697
5.9
898 ) 11,767
7.6 *
26,073
74.3
14, 565
41.5
6,001
17.1
4,043
11.5
1,464
4.2
9,027 j 335,100
25.7
2
0.2 }
804
2,128
2,747 j
51. 5
96 1
5.7 f-------------
5,329
1,679
1“ Graded” columns include those employees whose salaries are based on the pay scales of the Classifica
tion Act of 1923, as amended.
2 “ Ungraded” column includes those employees whose salaries are fixed administratively, and are not
based on the pay scales of the Classification Act.
8 Excludes 193 WOC expert consultants and 2,307 employees outside continental United States.
T able 5. —Distribution of paid employees by sex
[As of July 1,1947]
Male
Bureau
Female
Total
Number
Percent
of total
Number
Percent
of total
Office of the Secretary_______________ ____ _____
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce_______
Bureau of the Census_________ ______ __________
National Bureau of Standards_______ ___________
Coast and Geodetic Survey........ .................................
P atent Office________________ ______ __________
Weather B ureau., ________________ __________
Civil Aeronautics Administration_______________
Inland Waterways Corporation_________________
532
1,036
2,121
1,933
2, 023
1,244
5,091
12,012
1,450
55.6
48.4
48.0
76.6
88.5
68.1
64.4
80.7
92.2
426
1,101
2, 290
589
262
582
2,816
2,872
123
44.4
51.6
52.0
23.4
11.5
31.9
35.6
19.3
7.8
958
2,137
4, 411
2, 522
2, 285
1,826
7,907
14,884
1,573
T o ta l....................................................................
27,442
71.3
11,061
28.7
38,503
18
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
D iv is io n
of
P r in t i n g S erv ic es
This Division is charged with the responsibility of reviewing and co
ordinating the printing, duplicating, and forms design and standard
ization programs for the Department. In keeping with this responsi
bility, it obtained or produced all printing, duplicating, photostating,
photographic, and graphic and design services in the most efficient
and economical form. Specifications were determined and schedules
of production for all work were established. I t also handled the mail
ing and distribution connected with these services.
The staff responsibilities of the Printing Section and the Forms
Standardization Section were strengthened. Revised Departmental
orders placed in the Printing Section the general staff responsibility
for supervising and assisting the offices and bureaus of the Depart
ment in the development of their printing and binding programs. The
Section reviewed current programs, planned future programs, advised
the Office of Budget and Management of any changes as reflected
in apportionments and allotments, and reported in obhgations on the
status of these programs. The Forms Standardization Section ex
tended the scope of its activities over the preceding year. The chang
ing picture within the Department was reflected in the work produced
by this section.
EXPENDITURES
The following statement shows the amounts expended or obligated
from appropriations available for printing and binding during the
fiscal year 1947 :
Office of the Secretary :
Printing and binding, Department of Commerce, 19471_______ $1,128,847. 50
Office of Technical Services----------------------------- ------------------48, 391. 72
Bureau of the Census :
Census of Agriculture_____________________________________
125,423. 72
Transferred and working funds____________________________
2, 272. 92
Civil Aeronautics Administration :
Transferred and working funds____________________________
175.10
Civil Aeronautics Board----------------------------------------------------------32, 000.00
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce :
Office of International Trade_______________________________
13, 264.79
National Bureau of Standards :
Transferred and working funds____________________________
1, 227. 74
Weather Bureau :
Transferred and working funds____________________________
5, 387. 84
1 Participated in by all bureaus and offices except the Patent Office, the Office of
Technical Services, and the Civil Aeronautics Board.
D iv is io n
of
O p e r a t in g F a c il it ie s
During the fiscal year 1947 the Purchase and Supply Section placed
9,434 orders involving the expenditure of approximately $2,175,000.
There were 136 contracts approximating $4,098,463 submitted for
examination by the several offices of the Department. In addition,
the Section examined 42 proposed specifications and invitations for
bids prepared by the Weather Bureau.
19
OFFICE OF T H E SECRETARY
During the fiscal year 5,572 typewriters were repaired, overhauled,
or cleaned by our typewriter repair shop; the Stock Section issued
approximately $181,717 worth of stock to the various bureaus and
offices of the Department; and the following shipments were made
by the Receiving and Shipping Section:
Pieces
Mail Shipments____________________________ 2, 728
Freight Shipments__________________________ 4 ,0S5
Express Shipments_________________________ 2, 822
W eig h t
( pounds)
21,166
523, 323
223,881
The Property Unit acted on a total of 882 surveys of public property
containing property valued at approximately $27,658,674 which was
surplus, lost, or destroyed. Over one million dollars worth of prop
erty was disposed of through the War Assets Administration during
the fiscal year. Through the action of this Unit in checking requisi
tions from the several bureaus and offices for supplies and equipment,
it was possible to fill requests for equipment from surplus amounting
to $63,607 appraised value, which was a direct savings to the
Department.
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1947, the Department’s
Library acquired two fair-sized war-agency libraries—the Office of
International Trade (Foreign Economic Administration) library with
approximately 11,000 volumes and the Office of Price Administration
library with approximately 50,000 books and pamphlets. In addi
tion to the regular work of the Library, a great deal of additional
service has been rendered the Office of Technical Services and the
various special Presidential committees housed in the Commerce
Building. The activity of the Library is reflected in its circulation
figures which show an increase of 12,835 over those for the fiscal year
1946.
At the close of the fiscal year the number of books and pamphlets
in the Department Library totaled 323,835; periodicals and news
papers currently received, 2,412; number of books and pamphlets
cataloged, 9,485; cards filed in main catalog, 17,755; books prepared
for the shelf, 6,958; number of volumes, pamphlets, and periodicals
circulated, 68,471; books and periodicals borrowed from the Library
of Congress and other libraries, 2,520; books and periodicals loaned
to other libraries, 2,887; telephone requests requiring research, 6,986.
S pe c ia l S ervices S t a ff
The reorganization of the Department and additions to its regularly
prescribed functions have brought about a broadening in the scope
of activities of the Special Services Staff during the 1947 fiscal year.
The staff services all bureaus and offices of the Department as well
as all other organizations housed in the building, such as the Business
Advisory Council, Civil Aeronautics Board, Committee for Economic
Development, Fish and Wildlife Service, Inland Waterways Corpora
tion, International Boundary Commission, and the President’s Com
mittee for Merchant Marine. The daily average of callers at the in
formation office during the fiscal year was 225, and the average of
telephone inquiries was 700.
20
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The withdrawal of the United States Maritime Commission’s in
formation clerks, on detail since before the war, when that organiza
tion moved its information service to quarters elsewhere in the build
ing, had a tendency to lower the number of calls and callers. This,
however, was more than compensated for by transfer to this Depart
ment of functions and personnel of various wartime agencies.
The number of requests for information from diplomatic and other
foreign missions resident in Washington, as well as those from Mem
bers of Congress and congressional and other committees, has shown
an increase. Maintenance of the cards covering more than 9,000 per
sons, the functional flexolines for all organizations serviced, and direc
tories and other records consumed more time than usual because of the
many changes in the Department.'
Office of Technical Services
The Office of Technical Services was established during the fiscal
year as an integrated organization for technical services to business.
Functions initiated under predecessor agencies reached peak opera
tion; others were still in the developmental stage; while several ex
perimental operations were terminated.
The actual field work involved in ferreting out German technology
was completed by June 30, but the program for recording the data
secured on microfilm for transmission to the American collection re
mained with a considerable backlog. Thus while actual operations in
German plants and laboratories ceased, investigators’ material con
tinued in the processing stage at the close of the fiscal year.
The research financing program, which operated during only a por
tion of the year, resulted in 28 research contracts before the balance
of funds as yet uncommitted were sequestered and the operation placed
in abeyance pending further study by Congress.
Operation of the Inventions and Engineering Division, embodying
technical advice to industry, a special inventors’ service, and National
Inventors Council staffing, proceeded on a minimum basis. The serv
ice for commercial inventors was abandoned to eliminate confusion
with Patent Office operations and the Technical Advisory Service was
knit into a group serviced by the same engineering talent as the
National Inventors Council.
Federal Science Progress, the Department’s monthly magazine for
the interpretation of Government scientific and technical research,
appeared in February, but was discontinued in June as not adapted to
the Department’s general business-service functions.
OTS was formally established under Department Order No. 52 on
August 28,1946. At that time the Office of Declassification and Tech
nical Services was given its new name, and was set up with the follow
ing groupings, in addition to the Office of the Director:
Technical Industrial Intelligence Division.
Bibliographic and Reference Division.
Industrial Research and Development Division.
Inventions and Engineering Division:
National Inventors Council staff.
Inventors Service.
Technical Advisory Service.1
Information Staff (a part of the Director’s office).
Reports for separate Divisions appear on following pages.
1TAS did not become an integral part of the I. & E. D. until December 18, 1946. Before
that it operated as a separate division.
21
22
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
T e c h n ic a l I n d u s t r ia l I n t e l l ig e n c e D iv is io n
This Division ceased its investigation of German wartime technology
on the last day of the fiscal year. During the year it brought to the
United States approximately 4,000 English language reports written by
American experts and 5,000,000 pages on microfilm of German lan
guage technical data comprising about 500,000 different documents.
Representatives of American industry have declared that although the
value of the information cannot be computed, there is no question of its
immense usefulness since it represents the best of the data in technolog
ically highly developed Germany.
Approximately 300 technical personnel drawn from all fields of
American industry were dispatched to Germany during the year, the
majority without expense to the Government. These investigators
brought to a total of about 700 the number of technical personnel sent
to Germany since the program was initiated early in 1945 by the J oint
Chiefs of Staff. The Department of Commerce assumed direction
early in 1946.
A limited amount of German materiel was evacuated to the United
States before June 30, when the German operation closed down.
Probably the most valuable item shipped was the equipment of the
Kloekner-Humboldt-Deutz Laboratory. This was a $4,000,000 estab
lishment in Germany, recognized as the outstanding research unit
engaged in the design and development of 2-cycle Diesel engines
involving the loop scavenging principle. A survey is being made of
the facilities available in United States colleges and universities for the
establishment of a new Diesel research laboratory to supplement exist
ing facilities and assure a continuing program of research in this field.
Letters have been sent to 110 schools having curricula in mechanical
engineering, asking for an expression of interest in the KHD labora
tory matériel. At the close of the year, the final disposition of this
laboratory equipment was still undecided.
A t the end of the year the Division was faced with the problem of
making available to American industry that portion of the information
that had not yet been disseminated. The principal task was the review
and evaluation in English of the German language material on micro
film. As the end of the fiscal year approached, plans were under way
to enlist the assistance of technical societies, trade associations, research
laboratories, other private firms and private individuals in analyzing
the data and arranging it in such form that it may be easily assimilated
by the greatest number of possible users in industry.
A few results of technical industrial intelligence work follow.
Synthetic fuels.—Germany was able to develop synthetically the
fuels and lubricants needed for a highly mechanized war. These find
ings are already being put to use in American private plants and com
mercial installations. Two plants, one of them costing an estimated
$15,000,000, are to be built in the South Central States. I f one Ger
man method, which involves the production of synthetic liquid fuels
by the Fischer-Tropsch process, proves economical, America’s liquid
fuels resources will be greatly expanded and many useful byproducts
will result.
OFFICE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES
23
Acetylene chemistry.—Because of its shortage of petroleum and its
chemical byproducts, Germany developed an entire system of organic
chemistry based on acetylene. This is having revolutionary effects
in the American chemical industry, and may result m many new and
cheaper products.
,.
,
.
Glass textiles.—Tests carried out m this country on glass fibers
made by a special German process indicate that they may be useful
as an asbestos substitute. This is important in view of the continu
ing scarcity of spinning grades of asbestos fiber.
Cold extrusion of steel.—Although cold extrusion has been prac
ticed in connection with various nonferrous metals m the United
States as well as Germany and other countries, the fabrication of steel
by this method has been practiced only in Germany. It was made
successful there by the use of a special type of metal-lubricating tech
nique. A considerable amount of experimental work has already been
done in this country, using German technique, and we are informed
that the process holds enormous possibilities for the future.
Vacuum melting—The Germans developed vacuum melting on
hard and high-temperatured alloys to a high degree. An outstand
ing advantage of the process is that under the low pressures used,
many of the impurities are removed by volatilization.
Agfa color film.—A great advance, both in quality and efficiency
of production, has resulted from the research of the Agfa film laboratories in making color films both, for motion picture and foi still
camera work. Whereas one process now used requires eight reels of
films for the manufacture of a final positive print, the Agfa process
requires only two reels. Several American film manufactures sent
qualified scientific representatives to Germany to obtain information
in this field and it is understood that several Agfa process motion
pictures are already in production here.
Chlorine and caustic soda.—New uses for these chemicals have pro
duced a demand in excess of present capacity. Two types of mercury
cells developed in Germany offer a simpler and cheaper production
method than that now employed.
Small motorcycles and motorcycle engines.—There is a great demand
for small, economical engines in countries where gasoline is scarce,
and a large export market is waiting for American firms to produce
these machines in which German design excelled.
Mahle die-casting machine.—This automatic process produces mag
nesium castings of a complexity never achieved in this country, at
the rate of 80 per hour.
Magnetophone.—This new sound-recording device utilizes a metal
lized plastic tape instead of a wax record, with greater economy and
usefulness. A t least one American firm is already planning to manu
facture this tape, and several firms are considering the production of
the recording and reproducing machine.
uUltran projection form grinding machine.—The unique feature of
this machine is an optical system permitting the operator to compare
a magnified image of his work directly with the design as the work
proceeds.
24
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Prevention of reversion in soybean oil.—The soybean industry has
lost approximately $10,000,000 per year because of a phenomenon
known as “reversion” in soybean oil. In addition to the loss to the
world’s critical supply of fats and oils, monetary losses amount to
$50,000,000 a year at present prices. Investigations revealed two Ger
man methods for overcoming reversion which were apparently trade
secrets. One of these methods has already been tested in this country
and found highly effective.
Advances in synthetic fibers.—A prominent research director be
lieves the German investigations will save a considerable number of
man-years in synthetic fiber research. The Germans do their research
work thoroughly, he has stated, and we will not have to repeat what
they have done—merely pick up the research and go forward. Re
portedly, continuous processes found may have a significant bearing
upon reduction in costs.
“/Swept-back” propeller blade.—The VDM aircraft “swept-back”
propeller blade has been duplicated in this country by an important air
craft components maker and it is understood to be undergoing flight
tests. It holds great promise for application to turbines.
B ib l io g r a p h ic
and
R e f e r e n c e D iv is io n
Since the general reorganization of this Division in March 1946, im
provements and developments in methods have been numerous, par
ticularly in the abstracting and cataloging process.
The Division, which has been named at various times the Library
Division, Library and Reports Division, and Bibliographic and Ref
erence Division, stems directly from President Truman’s Executive
Order No. 9568, dated June 8,1945. This was followed in August 25,
1945, by Executive Order No. 9604. These two orders authorized the
release to the general public of declassified scientific and technical
data from United States, Allied and former enemy sources. They
were modified in December 1946 by Executive Order No. 9809, which
transferred the authority and functions of the Publication Board to the
Secretary of Commerce.
The title “Publication Board” is still used by the Division since
the general authorization for declassification indicated that respon
sible agencies should send material to the Publication Board.
In addition to data from Germany, and documents from American
sources, the Division is beginning to receive material directly from
Japan. Some of it consists of up-to-date technological studies pre
pared by Japanese nationals on subjects of interest to American in
dustry. Many wartime and prewar Japanese publications have also
been received during the past year from the Washington Document
Center. This Center is the Washington processing office which was set
up to handle material gathered in Japan by the military forces. Al
though much material has already been received, a large part of it is
now out of date and of little value. We have been assured, however,
that valuable documents from this source will reach us during the
coming year.
The Atomic Energy Commission has been using the Division as an
official medium for releasing its declassified nuclear physics reports.
OFFICE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES
25
The Belgian Government has voluntarily contributed scientific re
ports to the Division. In addition, extremely important material has
been received from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, South
Africa, Italy, and France.
The excellent relations which OTS, through this Division, has had
with the British in the exchange of reports is noteworthy. At present
the British Intelligence Objective Subcommittee, commonly known as
BIOS, maintains a liaison office in Washington. Our work with this
office might well be cited as a fine example of international cooperation.
The British have generously provided large quantities of their printed
reports and with single microfilm copies of any of their manuscript
reports which were requested. They also provide a special reference
service for this Office and for American business firms. We, on our
part, provide a similar service for the British.
Several of the main sources of declassified data, both American and
foreign, have indicated that for some years to come there will be large
masses of scientific and technological information which will pass
from security to open classification. I t is extremely important that
some continuing office be kept in operation for making this informa
tion available to the general public.
The Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial Reports was increased
in size to 96 pages per weekly issue and will continue in this enlarged
form.
Printed Indexes to Volume 1,2, and 3 of the Bibliography have now
been issued, as well as a number index of all declassified OSRD reports.
In addition to the Bibliography, the Bibliographic and Reference
Division issued 40 special subject bibliographies in various fields such
as adhesives, ceramics, and plastics during the year.
A statistical summary of the Division’s work follows:
19b 7
19b6
__ _
86,489
27, 000
Reports received ------- ----- Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial
Reports:
25
52
Number of issues
— _____ . _
. __
4,592
1,606
Number of pages
20, 000
_
50,431
Reports abstracted
Cards mimeographed:
18, 000
50, 802
Sets _
350,000
Total cards
-------- ----- __________ 1,486, 825
Reference Services:
3, 200
42, 588
Phone calls
-----------6,297
2, 300
Personal callers ______ - . _ _ _ _
norrcspnnrlpnPG
3,900
.
_
28,875
Orders:
241,520
_______
224,858
$294, 029.40
$100, 568.15
Total income from sales .
$1, 308
$0.417
Average income per item l_.
1 The higher income per item in 1947 was due to the fact that very few low-cost mimeo
graphed reports were sold, while in 1946 a majority of reports sold were in mimeographed
form. Mimeographing of OTS reports was stopped late in 1945, owing to lack of funds.
I n d u s t r ia l R e s e a r c h
and
D e v e l o p m e n t D iv is io n
Under the provisions of Public Law No. 490, effective July 1, 1946,
Congress authorized the Department of Commerce to expend $1,000,000 for temporary employment of persons or organizations, by contract
26
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
or otherwise, for scientific research on new products, materials, substi
tutes, or other subjects and services determined necessary, including
the encouragement of inventive genius. An additional $500,000 was
authorized for transfer to the National Bureau of Standards for testing
and other scientific studies. To administer the grant of $1,000,000
the Industrial Research and Development Division was established in
OTS.
The new Division took over a skeleton staff and the remaining re
sponsibilities of the older Office of Production Research and Develop
ment, which had been transferred from the War Production Board to
the Department of Commerce by Executive order of the President on
January 3,1946.
As part of the plan to carry out the new responsibilities acquired
under Public Law 490, the Division on August 30, 1946, sent a letter
to research directors of land-grant and other nonprofit universities
and colleges, inviting their participation in the research activities by
acceptance of their appointment as consultants working without com
pensation. Under this “Regional Research Plan,” acceptances were
received from approximately 70 directors of university and college re
search laboratories in 44 States and 2 Territories of the Union.
In addition, the Division formulated and distributed a series of
statements and circulars embodying instructions for preparing pro
posals for research contracts, details on patent relations between the
Government and the contractors in such contracts,-and a standard con
tract form for use in making agreements with contractors. This con
tract provided for reimbursement of research expenditure on a basis
of “actual cost” (no loss—no gain). The terms of this contract, ap
proved by the Solicitor’s Office, October 16,1946, were based on the old
OPRD contract with changes based on experience gained in the ad
ministration and closure of approximately 225 OPRD contracts.
Other important policy documents prepared or in process of prepa
ration by this Division include: Reimbursement Information for
IRDD Contractors, Instructions for the Preparation of Project Re
ports, Form TS-11, Record of Invention, designed to outline for Gov
ernment files any inventions deriving from contract expenditures, and
other documents covering the contractor’s relationship to the Govern
ment with respect to inventions developed in his research.
The period from July 1, 1946, to December 1, 1946, was required to
complete the organization and obtain approval of policies and plans
for the Division. Between December 1,1946, and July 30,1947, a total
of 400 research suggestions were received by the Division. On March
7,1947, $500,000 of the original $1,000,000 congressional allotment was
impounded and the research program was held in abeyance during
budget reexaminations within the Department. On April 3, 1947,
the use of the research fund was reinstituted to the extent of $877,700,
maximum.
Notwithstanding the delays in negotiations resulting from the uncer
tainties of the research budget, a total of 25 contracts and 2 transfers of
funds were written during the fiscal year 1947, and a total of $820,625
was allocated. The following is a list of the contracts, by title, and the
funds allocated.
OFFICE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES
Contract No.
Title
(Cac-47-l).........
(Cac-47-2)_____
(Cac-47-3)..........
(Cac-47-4)_____
(Cac-47-5)..........
(Cac-47-6)........ .
(Cac-47-7)..........
(Cae-47-8)_____
(Cac-47-9)..........
(Cac-47-lÖ)____
(Cac-47-11)........
(Cac-47-12)........
(Cac-47-13)........
(Cae-47-14)____
(Cac-47-15)........
(Cac-47-16)........
(Cac-47-17)........
(Cac-47-18)........
(TF-22)......... .
(TF-35)..............
(Cac-47-19)........
(Cac-47-20)........
(Cac-47-21)........
(Cac-47-22)____
(Cac-47-23).........
(Cac-47-24)........
(TF-34)_______
(Cac-47-25)........
27
Amount
$22, 500
65, 900
11,400
13. 700
16.000
37,000
15, 000
19, 600
12, 500
10,000
38, 000
45, 000
10, 000
47,600
48, 900
(i)
67,100
10,200
34.000
10, 500
23,350
43,530
56,360
20, 000
34,820
1 $42,000 provided from the $500,000 fund earmarked for testing and other studies at the National Bureau
of Standards.
The contract on “Size Variation and Lamination of Clay Products”
(TF 22 above) was financed from a $500,000 fund earmarked for
testing and other studies at the Bureau of Standards in the 1946-47
OTS appropriation. The Bureau itself also originated several proj
ects to be financed by this fund. They did not constitute a regular
part of the Bureau’s program, but were undertakings especially
selected on the basis of their suitability in terms of the congressional
authorization to OTS.
These special Bureau of Standards projects were:
Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
Title
Amount
$12,000
50.000
12.000
11,000
20,000
8,000
At the close of the fiscal year, 255 of the 400 research suggestions
submitted for the program were under active consideration. The total
of funds requested for partially evaluated projects constituting the
workload “carry over” was $477,140.
The 1948 appropriation bill, signed by the President July 8, does
not include any funds for research. Consequently, the functions of
IEDD have been abolished. The technical personnel has been reduced
from 5 to 2, who will manage the existing research contracts and close
them after completion.
28
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The committee report on Senate bill S. 493, states that although—
a large majority of those representing small business and independent research
laboratories strongly supported this type of program as being essential to the
needs of industries that are unable to maintain research facilities of their
own—
the matter of basic legislation—
should be deferred at least until further study could be made into the problems
involved, based on the experience gained by the Department of Commerce under
the experimental program authorized by the 1947 Appropriation Act.
There is now no basic legislation authorizing a division of industrial
research and development in the Department of Commerce. Thus, it
appears that the future of applied industrial research in OTS may
depend considerably upon the value to the public of the contracts now
being completed.
Concurrently with the administration of the present contracts, all
files and records are being put into order, indexed and cataloged, so
that their information and great technical value will continue to be
available to industry after liquidation of the Division is completed.
I n v e n t io n s
and
E
n g in e e r in g
D iv is io n
National Inventors Council.—The National Inventors Council was
organized in 1940 to function in a liaison capacity between the inven
tive public and the armed forces.
Since its inception the Council and its small staff have screened 20,000
inventive ideas and made the more promising ones available to the
armed forces for review. Of these, over 100 have actually been adopted
and additional numbers are still undergoing rigorous tests and
investigations.
With the termination of hostilities, NIC’s wartime function of
handling large masses of unsolicited ideas ceased to be of great im
portance. As a result, the Council turned to the task of providing a
more direct informative link between the technical branches of the
Government and competent inventors and industrial experts.
To launch this new policy, Secretary Harriman during January
1947 sent letters to the heads of other executive departments and
agencies, inviting them to submit problems. The letter read in p a rt:
The National Inventors Council is a voluntary group of scientists, industrialists
and engineers who act in an advisory capacity to the War and Navy Departments
on inventions relating to national security.
The members of the Council have evidenced their willingness to act in a similar
capacity for other branches of the Federal Government faced with inventive or
engineering problems on which a board of such competence and unique qualifica
tions might render helpful services.
One of the most important steps in the NIC’s regular program was
to learn of the existence of problems susceptible to inventive solutions
and to make these available to inventors in appropriate fashion. Dur
ing the past year, two major problem lists were issued. One of these
pertained to the development of improved artificial limbs for veteran
amputees and the other to various projects of the Army, Navy, and
Coast Guard. The results of these releases have amply demonstrated
that the program is worthwhile.
OFFICE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES
29
the fiscal year the staff of the Inventions and Engineering
Division, acting for the Inventors Council, conducted 350 personal
interviews with inventors; evaluated 2,728 inventive ideas submitted
for consideration by the Council; and answered 8,704 inquiries on
patents and inventions.
Inventors Service.—In addition to carrying on its functions relat
ing to inventions bearing on the national security, and to technical
and other problems arising in other Federal agencies, the Inventions
and Engineering Division staff explored the possibilities of operating
as a general source of information for inventors with nonmilitary
ideas. _However, this proposed inventors’ service was never put into
operation, since after investigation it was found that too much con
fusion arose in many people’s minds between the Patent Office func
tions and those proposed by the I&ED.
Technical Advisory Service.—Departmental Order No. 49 trans
ferred the Technical Advisory Service Division from the Office of
Small Business to OTS on July 14, 1946. Departmental Order No.
52, issued December 18, 1946, abolished TAS as a division and trans
ferred its functions, personnel, and records to the Inventions and
Engineering Division.
During the first and second quarters, owing to the necessity of
developing an entirely new program, the service was only partially
active, awaiting approval of a field program. On December 10, 1946,
the field representatives responsible for the OTS program in the
regional offices reported to Washington for training, and a new TAS
program was formulated with their assistance.
As a result of the reorganization and reallocation of the various
responsibilities and duties formerly in TAS and made a part of the
Division, the service entered the third quarter with a sizable backlog
of unanswered inquiries. To meet this situation, an engineering sec
tion, as well as a file and stenographic pool was established within the
Division to support the work of TAS and also of the Na'tional Inven
tors Council.
During the third and fourth quarters the answers to 49 selected
inquiries processed by the TAS staff were edited and reproduced in
multiple copies. These answers have been in considerable demand,
both in Washington and in regional offices. A few titles indicating
the type of subjects covered in TAS reports are listed below.
Technical inquiries answered by TAS numbered over 2,200 during
the fiscal year, and many letters have been received which indicate
that this type of technical aid has been of great value. In general,
the inquirers fell into four categories. Some asked for help in solving
processing difficulties. Others wanted methods of improving pro
duction techniques. Still others requested full information about
manufacturing processes. A great many, obviously people wanting
to start in a new business, were looking for complete details on the
techniques, materials, equipment, and plant organization necessary
to the establishment of small manufacturing plants.
Though accurate figures cannot be obtained, since the Field Offices
stopped sending in reports to TAS in the fall of 1946, it is a reason
able estimate that distribution of multiple copies of TAS answers to
standard inquiries exceeded 10,000 during the fiscal year. This figure
30
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
should be added to the number of direct inquiries processed by the
Washington office to obtain an accurate picture of the usefulness of
the Service to business and industry.
.
. .
,
The techniques formerly employed by TAS m obtaining answers to
inquiries underwent a drastic change and improvement after the Serv
ice became a part of OTS. Formerly, the greater part of the infor
mation needed to answer inquiries was obtained from industry _and
other sources outside of Government. Under the new procedure,
approximately 70 percent of the answers were obtained from Govern
ment agencies, about 20 percent from industry, and the remaining 10
percent from libraries, technical schools and universities, trade asso
ciations, technical institutes, testing laboratories, and technical maga
zines. Instead of quoting excerpts from industrial corporations and
other sources, as was the previous practice, the information gathered
from many and varied sources was correlated into a single connected
St Listed below are some of the subjects about which TAS received
inquiries from individuals and corporations during the year:
Processing and packaging cottonseed oil.
Dispenser for pasty substances.
Fish odor neutralizer.
Hardener for balsa wood.
Apparatus to produce monochromatic light.
Canning of beef.
Machine to repair burlap bags.
Loose-leaf binder data.
Manufacture of book matches.
Termite control.
Materials with high coefficient of expansion.
Marble-cutting saw.
Steam jet cleaning equipment.
Preventing lire in restaurant exhaust ducts.
Electrolysis of sodium chloride.
Firing of pottery objects.
How to mold plaster in rubber molds.
Kecovery of silver salts from photographic waste.
Manufacture of gas heaters.
Expansion joint between granite and cement.
Aluminum alloys for auto jacks.
Dehydrating sweet potatoes.
Manufacture of wood flour.
Oil from refuse of rice milling.
Percentage of glass batch vaporized.
Transparent mirrors.
Vacuum drying of concrete.
Ignition temperatures in turbo-jet engines.
I N F O R M A T IO N S T A F F
During the fiscal year, the Information Staff continued to devote
its efforts to promoting wider public knowledge of the work of OTS
in all its branches, and specifically to publicizing the more important
OFFICE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES
31
scientific and technical reports acquired by the Bibliographic and
Reference Division.
In pursuit of these goals, the staff implemented half a dozen pro
grams which either existed at the beginning of the year or were started
soon after.
News digests.—A total of 479 technical news digests were issued dur
ing the year and were distributed by subject category to a carefully
selected mailing list composed largely of technical, professional and
trade journals. The OTS reports covered in these releases comprised
the cream of the scientific and technical knowledge which came to
OTS from sources throughout the world. (See section on Biblio
graphic and Reference Division.) I t is estimated that between onethird and one-half of all the sales of OTS reports during the year
resulted from the distribution of these news digests.
Commercial publication program.—During the year an effort was
made to encourage the publication by commercial publishers of the
most important OTS reports. This was undertaken because stand
ard reproduction methods, by photostat or microfilm, were inadequate
in many ways. They were extremely slow; in many cases they were
practically illegible; and they were over-costly. As a result of this
commercial publications program, approximately 250 of the best OTS
reports were reprinted in mimeograph, offset or letterpress by several
small publishers, and over 15,000 copies of these reports were sold
by them, according to their figures.
An important part of this program was the editing and publishing
in mimeographed form of 13 special Bulletins of Office of Technical
Services Reports Suitable for Commercial Publication. These bulle
tins, which went to a mailing list of approximately 100 selected pub
lishers, served the purpose of winnowing out from the enormous mass
of material abstracted in the Bibliography of Scientific and Indus
trial Reports those documents which had the greatest possibility of
being profitable for the commercial publishers. The publication of
the bulletin ceased with the end of the fiscal year.
The Translation Clearing House.—Late in the fiscal year, as micro
filmed material from Germany began pouring in, it became obvious
that full utilization of German technology would never be possible as
long as the language barrier existed. Furthermore, many independ
ent translators were showing great interest in OTS’s German-lan
guage documents, and some method had to be worked out to prevent
duplication of effort and preparation of two or more translations of
the same document. Finally, some publicity on the need for transla
tion was essential. To perform these tasks, the Translation Clearing
House was established, and was just getting under way by the end of
the year. Translations had been submitted by four commercial trans
lating firms for listing in the bibliography and for sale by the trans
lators themselves, and by two other organizations which gave copies of
translations of OTS reports to this Office for dissemination through
its usual channels. I t is believed that the clearing house will become
an increasingly effective operation during the coming year.
Federal Science Progress.—Authorized by the Bureau of the
Budget in the summer of 1946. this Government magazine for the
766188—47---- 5
32
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
interpretation of federally financed or sponsored scientific and techni
cal research appeared for the first time in February 1947.
Unfortunately, criticism developed from publishers with general
circulation in the scientific field that the magazine represented poten
tial competition, and overlapped the field of private publications. Al
though early departmental surveys had indicated that direct com
petition would not develop, the views of the publisher groups were
taken into consideration in making the decisions to discontinue the
magazine with the June issue. By that time the subscription list had
mounted to nearly 9,000, a remarkable total for a Federal magazine
without recourse to usual methods of circulation promotion. In
general its reception was excellent.
Special exhibits and conferences.—The Information Staff during
the year assisted in the organization and publicizing of a number of
technical exhibits, such as the Technical Industrial Intelligence Divi
sion’s Exhibit of German electronic devices, and the exhibit of the
German metallized paper condenser machinery in Chicago, 111. Staff
members also helped organize a few conferences, such as the special
meetings of the western and eastern sections of the pharmaceutical
industry at which medical discoveries in Germany were reported, and
new investigators recruited. In all, a total of 15 conferences, exhibits,
special meetings, and demonstrations were promoted by the staff dur
ing the year.
Atomic energy reports.—Liaison with the Atomic Energy Commis
sion, to establish ways and means of releasing to the general public
such nuclear physics papers as the Commission declassified, was the
responsibility of the Information Staff during the year. Over 400 such
reports were cleared to this Office and abstracted in the bibliography.
Special press releases.—Special stories were prepared and issued
as needed to promote the work of the Inventions and Engineering
Division, the National Inventors Council, and the Industrial Research
and Development Division. Furthermore, technical assistance was
frequently given these divisions in the preparation of their own
bulletins and other documents. The Administrative History of the
National Inventors’ Council, prepared as a part of the History of
the World War sponsored by President Roosevelt, was written by a
consultant member of the staff.
Bureau of the Census
INTRODUCTION
During the past year the program of current statistics received the
greatest emphasis in the work of the Bureau of the Census. In re
spect to the major censuses, the 1945 Census of Agriculture was com
pleted, preparation of schedules for the 1947 Census of Manufactures
was continued, and planning work was started on the Seventeenth
Decennial Census to be taken in 1950.
Factors associated with World War I I and its aftermath combined
during the fiscal year to bring upon the Bureau an insistent demand
for current data needed in the study of existent problems of Govern
ment and industry and in the development of plans for the future.
Among these factors were the outmoding of available bench-mark
statistics during the Avar period, the existence of urgent problems in
the early postwar period, and the increased demands for statistics
which developed during the war and have continued to exist. To the
extent that it was possible Avith available funds and authority, the
Bureau has complied with these requests for current information by
bringing up to date as many of the statistical series as possible and by
continuing, to some extent, work started during the war which was
found to be of general utility.
Compliance with demands for current data has been made easier
by the consolidation of the major gains made during the last few years
in such fields as current population measurement, and reporting on
industrial production, business trends, and foreign trade, and by addi
tional progress made during the past year in these fields of statistical
collection and compilation. These and other developments are sum
marized in later sections of this annual report. The possibility of
future maintainance of the Bureau’s operations in these fields de
pends, of course, primarily upon the financial resources made avail
able.
Coupled with this need for current statistics has been an increasing
interest and demand on the part of industry, business, and various
governmental agencies in the taking of new bench-mark censuses. The
Census of Manufactures, deferred in 1941, 1943, and 1945 to permit
the Bureau to concentrate its resources on war statistics, will be re
sumed to cover the year 1947. The Censuses of Business and Mineral
Industries are not provided for until 1950, although the demand for
these censuses is extremely great. An attempt of business interests to
have legislation passed which would make possible the conducting
of Censuses of Manufactures, Business, and Mineral Industries simul33
34
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
taneously once every 5 years, in years ending in “8” and “3” to cover
the previous year, was not successful. The legislation passed the
Senate and was pending on the House Calendar, after favorable com
mittee action, when the Congress adjourned. The existing law, which
provides for a Census of Manufactures every 2 years and the Censuses
of Business and Mineral Industries every 10 years, is therefore still
in effect. However, the discussion which accompanied the proposed
legislation revealed a strong demand for a Census of Transporation
and resulted in the inclusion of that census in the proposed program.
The Bureau also cooperated in statistical developments in the inter
national field. Chief among the developments here was the assistance
in the planning of the Census of the Americas to be taken in 1950.
The training and consulting programs for aiding the other American
Republics in preparing for this undertaking received considerable
attention.
The completion of the Census of Agriculture and adjustment of the
staff to the reduced level of 1948 appropriations resulted in the number
of full-time personnel in Washington at the end of the year being less
than half that at the beginning. The number of personnel in the Bu
reau’s field organization, however, increased somewhat as the program
of current statistics requires the maintenance of a staff trained in the
collection of statistics in the field through enumeration. The existence
and strengthening of this staff should greatly facilitate the taking of
the major censuses which are provided for in 1950 by providing a
trained nucleus organization.
L egislation
To meet the urgent need of businessmen, research organizations, and
other Government agencies for up-to-date Census information, the
Department again endorsed legislation which would establish a
modernized and more systematic legal basis for the Bureau’s program.
This legislation provided for quinquennial censuses of manufactures,
mineral industries, and transportation and other businesses to be
taken concurrently covering the years ending in “7” and “2”, the first
to cover the year 1947. I t also authorized abridged interim statistics.
Under the existing law, the Census of Manufactures is taken once
every 2 years, while the Censuses of Business and of Mineral Industries
are taken only at 10-year intervals.
Companion bills S. 554 and H. R. 1821, which were similar to H. R.
4781 previously introduced in the Seventy-ninth Congress, were in
troduced and hearings were held by House and Senate committees.
At the hearings the bills were strongly supported by the United States
Chamber of Commerce, the American Marketing Association, and other
business organizations, which emphasized the current need for au
thentic information which would remove many of the uncertainties
concerning the location and size of markets, wartime changes in the
volume of production and distribution in various parts of the country,
the location of new plants, changes in the relative importance of
various products, the distribution outlets through which those prod
ucts are moving, and similar information which figures in the daily
operations of all kinds of business and service organizations. The
BUREAU OF TH E CENSUS
35
witnesses indicated that the need could best be satisfied by the system
atic statistical procedures provided for in S. 554 and H. It. 1821.
During the hearings both bills were amended to include a census of
transportation.
The Senate bill (S. 554) was passed by unanimous consent during
May. H. R. 1821 was reported favorably by the House Civil Service
and Post Office Committee and was brought up on the House Consent
Calendar twice during the last week of the first session but was passed
over each time. The first session of the Eightieth Congress adjourned
without final action on the requested legislation. I t therefore remains
on the calendar for action when the Congress reconvenes.
In response to a widespread need for reliable information concern
ing all fats and oils, the Congress enacted into law S. 1497 (Public
Law 243). This law amends the act of August 7, 1916, providing for
the collection of data on cottonseed, so as to assure that there will be
available prompt and complete reports on stocks, production, and con
sumption of all the closely related primary fats and oils.
The bill relieving any religious denomination whose doctrine, teach
ing, or discipline prohibits the disclosure of information relative to
membership from operation of the penalty provisions became law
during the first session of the Eightieth Congress (Public Law 103).
Shortly after this, the appropriations committees of Congress elimi
nated the funds needed for completion of the 1946 Census of Religious
Bodies.
P
r e pa r a t io n p o r t h e
S e v e n t e e n t h D e c e n n ia l C e n s u s
During fiscal year 1947, a beginning was made on the geographic
work and on general research in connection with the preparation for
the Seventeenth Decennial Census. Much valuable experience point
ing toward the decennial period was gained in the course of the regular
work of the Bureau since the staff members engaged in the preparation
of current census statistics also form the nucleus of technical and
supervisory personnel required for the Decennial Census operation.
Thus, as a byproduct of a number of phases of the Bureau’s work, ex
perience has been gained which will contribute directly to the planning
for the Seventeenth Decennial Census.
Important advances in geographical methods and in obtaining maps
have arisen out of the sampling program and the search for improved
mapping materials in connection with the area sampling in the fields
of agriculture, population, and business. The sampling work has
stimulated the use of aerial photographs and has resulted in the de
lineation of incorporated place boundaries for practically all unin
corporated places of 100 or more population so that these can be
separately enumerated in the 1950 census. Also, the Sanborn maps
recently acquired will provide a much-improved basis for the taking
of the census in urban areas. Finally, it is expected that the experience
with schedule design, enumeration techniques, and field administra
tion will make possible definite improvements in the forthcoming
census.
For 1947, the only funds specifically appropriated for preparatory
work on the Seventeenth Decennial Census were for geographic work
36
EEPOET OF THE SECBETARY OF COMMEECE
(about $27,000). This advance appropriation was necessitated by the
large volume of geographical planning and preparatory work which
must be completed well in advance of the time when the actual enu
meration begins. The sum appropriated made it possible to begin work
on the following operations: Preparation of listings of unincorpo
rated places; review of metropolitan districts to determine what
changes are necessary; a survey of the feasibility of outlining stable
statistical areas in States where the county political subdivisions
change frequently; and a review of the problems of obtaining block
statistics in urbanized areas adjacent to the larger cities.
Discussions and investigations have been started with a view to
ward certain operating decisions on such problems as the type of
sample, treatment of small incorporated and unincorporated places,
and the general program for statistics for city blocks or squares.
These decisions were required as a basis for deciding upon the prepara
tory work to be budgeted for in the fiscal year 1949.
One of the subjects receiving considerable attention was the date
to be proposed for the next Census of Population and Agriculture.
There was general agreement that a shift from April 1,1950, to Octo
ber 15, 1949, would be desirable because of the great improvement to
be expected in the statistics pertaining to agriculture. However, be
cause of the short time left to obtain authorization, it seemed ad
visable to request no change in date for the 1950 census and to defer
the proposal for the revision of date until the next quinquennial Cen
sus of Agriculture.
The planning for the Seventeenth Decennial Census also benefited as
a byproduct of the Survey of Population, Labor Force, and Housing
conducted in April 1947. This survey provided specific background
for schedules and instructions, for field organization and training,
and for tabulation, which will be of value in the 1950 program.
Certain other developmental work in the Bureau during the past
year may contribute in a very important way to the success of the 1950
census. For example, developmental work upon electronic tabulating
equipment and upon the use of mark-sensing techniques for punching
machine cards offers much promise in connection with decennial enu
meration, punching, and tabulation of census schedules. Likewise, the
continuing personnel-training program of the Bureau is providing
tools and techniques which should contribute significantly to the train
ing program for the Seventeenth Decennial Census, both for the field
work and for clerical operations in Washington. Finally, the exist
ence of a field organization giving continuous attention to problems
of field collection of data and of organization for a complete census
will greatly increase the efficiency of field operations for the 1950
census.
I nternational S tatistics
During the fiscal year 1947, the international statistics program was
concerned with assisting other countries in this Hemisphere in pre
paring for the 1950 census of the Americas, primarily through its
Training and Consultants programs. In addition, facilities of the
Bureau were utilized to acquaint visitors from about 40 different na
tions with the work of the Bureau, data on the United States was
BUREAU OF TH E CENSUS
37
furnished to foreign countries, and statistics on foreign countries were
furnished in response to inquiries from Government and other sources.
The Census Library Project, a cooperative project of the Library of
Congress and the Bureau of the Census, compiled an extensive bib
liography entitled “National Census and Vital Statistics in Europe,
1918-39.” This volume, now in press, is scheduled for release January
1948.
Training 'program.—As part of its contribution to the United States
program of the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific and Cul
tural Cooperation with other American Republics, the Bureau in
stituted its first training course in census methods and techniques. In
preparation for the forthcoming 1950 census of the American nations,
20 trainees from Guatemala, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecua
dor, Chile, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica, Haiti, Para
guay, and Mexico participated in this organized instruction. Lec
tures, training classes, seminars, laboratory exercises, and demonstra
tions were designed to provide each trainee with adequate background
information on census organization and administration and on over
all statistical methodology and procedures for enabling him to assume
a responsible position in census work in his own country. Also,
trainees as well as Bureau staff members were enabled to exchange ex
perience with technicians in parallel fields in the other American Re
publics.
Consultant program.—Another phase of this program was the de
tail of United States census employees as consultants to the Govern
ments of Ecuador, Paraguay, Costa Rica, and Uruguay to aid officials
and agencies concerned in organizing and taking censuses, to assist in
the integration of census-type statistics with related types of statistics,
and to help create statistical organizations with qualified personnel.
For example, in Ecuador where no general census has ever been taken
and where, furthermore, no maps are available as a basis for taking a
census, work was begun with the cartographic and geographic phases
of the 1950 Census of Population and Agriculture of that nation.
In Paraguay, foreign trade statistics were reorganized; a classifica
tion index for foreign trade commodities was published to serve as a
basis for the evaluation of the country’s foreign commerce. In Costa
Rica, a survey of the existing statistical services was made, and an or
ganization plan including recommendation on appropriate legislation,
budgeting, training of personnel, and equipment was submitted in
preparation for the 1950 census in that country. Upon the request of
the President of Uruguay, a consultant assisted in the organization
and initial work of Uruguay’s census commission and in planning and
organization preparations for the 1950 census.
Other countries visited by Census Bureau consultants in connection
with this program were Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicara
gua, Republic of Panama, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Brazil.
In each country the consultant reviewed the present status of its
statistical organization, with special attention to national censuses,
and interviewed technicians who were potential candidates for train
ing grants.
The 1950 census of the American Republics program is under the
direction of a special committee of the Inter-American Statistical
38
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Institute. I t has received the approval and support of the United
Nations Economic and Social Council Organization, the Inter-Amer
ican Defense Board, and other official organizations. Consultants
and trainees working on this program are supported by interdepart
mental funds provided for this purpose in the State Department’s
appropriation.
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES IN PRINCIPAL SUBJECT
FIELDS
A g r ic u l t u r e
All work on the 1945 Census of Agriculture was completed during
the fiscal year, except for the physical printing of reports now at the
Government Printing Office. As the enumeration began in January
1945, this census was taken under trying wartime conditions. Because
the shortage of enumerators and the rationing of tires and gasoline
delayed the enumeration in many States, the information for various
farms was obtained under widely varying conditions and at varying
periods during the year. Necessarily, the accuracy of the results was
affected, especially the data for inventory items. Moreover, the
scarcity of personnel and supplies, associated with the war and post
war periods, made the 1945 Census of Agriculture one of the most
difficult of all censuses to complete.
Despite the difficulties encountered, the time period required for
completion of the work, to the point where the last report of the 1945
Agriculture Census was sent to the printer, was 3 to 6 months less than
for either the 1940 or 1930 Censuses of Agriculture and the same as
for the previous quinquennial Census of Agriculture taken in 1935.
The total appropriation for the 1945 Census of Agriculture was
$14,684,000. The results of the census were made available to the
users of Census data in the form of 18,900 pages of press releases and
in publications having a total of 9,857 pages.
During the fiscal year, final reports were issued showing detailed
data by counties. A separate report was issued for each State or,
in some cases, for a group of neighboring States. These final reports,
published in 33 parts, comprise volume I of the reports on the 1945
Census of Agriculture. Volume I I of the same series, constituting a
general report, also was prepared for publication. This general re
port contains a summary by States of the information collected, to
gether with historical data for previous censuses.
To obtain more information about the Nation’s farms and their
people than was provided by prior Censuses of Agriculture, the 1945
census included 70 additional questions which were asked of a sample
of approximately 6 percent (about 400,000) of the farms. The com
pilation of the data for these inquiries was completed, and the figures
were issued in press-release form in June 1947. These statistics have
been prepared for final publication as a special report on the 1945
Sample Census of Agriculture, a volume now in press.
BUREAU OP T H E CENSUS
39
For the 1945 census, a classification of farms by economic class was
developed for the purpose of measuring the significance of the different
producing groups. During prior censuses, farms had been classified
by number of acres (size), by color and tenure of farm operator, by
type of farm, and by value of products—classifications which made
no provision for many needs for data on agriculture. The limitations
of these classifications became most apparent when attempts were
made to measure the scale of operations, and relative significance, of
the different producing groups of farms in the total agriculture of the
United States. In contrast, by means of the economic classification
devised for the 1945 census, farms may be segregated into seven dis
tinct and clearly recognizable groups on the basis of gross farm income
and value of land and buildings. Approximately 400,000 farms have
been thus classified, comprising the sample of about 6 percent of the
Nation’s farms mentioned above.
The 1945 economic classification, and the resulting tabulation of data
by States, provides a large store of data needed for recognizing and
understanding agricultural problems. The problems of one class of
farms differ materially from those of other classes. Thus, the largescale farm will have problems differing from those farms operated by
the farmer and his family; the small-scale farm where most of the
farm products grown are consumed on the farm has problems differing
from those farms operated on a commercial scale. Information on
these various classes of farms is now provided, for the first time, by
the economic-class tabulations of the 1945 Census of Agriculture. The
special report being issued on the 1945 Sample Census of Agriculture
shows how many farms there are in each class, where these farms are
located, and how important the farms in each class are in the total
agriculture of our Nation and of each State.
A volume on Multiple-unit Operations, another special report of
the 1945 Census of Agriculture, also was prepared during the fiscal
year. Approximately half a million share croppers operate farms in
the Southern States. These share croppers work under the super
vision of the multiple-unit, or plantation, owner or manager. The
basic data for the report on multiple-unit operations were compiled
on the basis of combining all the farms comprising the multiple-unit or
plantation into a single operating unit. The preparation of this
special report was recommended by the United States Department of
Agriculture and many of the agricultural colleges and universities
in the South. I t provides a wealth of information on the organization
and operation of plantations in the South and indicates the resiilts
that would have been obtained if places operated by share croppers
were considered as parts of plantation or multiple-unit farms and not
as separate farms.
A Graphic Summary on Land Utilization was prepared as a co
operative project with the United States Department of Agriculture.
This report portrays the use made of the land and the productive ca
pacity of farm lands during World War I I with similar characteristics
for earlier periods. Attention was given to factors contributing to
record volumes of crop and livestock production with little expansion
in physical areas.
40
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Cotton ginnings and production.—During the fiscal year the Bureau
continued to collect and issue its periodic reports on cotton ginnings
and production. Twelve reports on cotton ginned prior to specified
dates were prepared and issued on the dates prescribed by Congress.
The annual bulletin on cotton production for the crop of 1946 was pre
pared and sent for printing in May. A special report on cotton-gin
ning machinery and equipment in the Nation’s 12,000 cotton gins was
published during the year. This special report presents data by
counties, showing cotton gins classified by type, By number of stands,
by capacity, and by kind of power. It also gives a count of the number
of cotton gins having various types of machinery and equipment.
B u s in e s s
The monthly retail and service trade reports.—The past year was
the first complete year of operation of the monthly trade reports serv
ice on its present basis. Covering all independent retail trades and
selected service trades, the program is designed to produce both na
tional and local statistics on the level and trends in the volume of trade.
National figures are prepared on the basis of reports from stores located
in the selected local areas in which the program is conducted.
The published trade report series, by the close of 1947, included
monthly statistics on trade trends, by kind of business (a) for the
country as a whole, and (h) for 60 cities of over 100,000 population
(compared with 12 such cities a year previous). Also published were
monthly figures on the trends in total retail trade in each of some 200
smaller cities. Trade statistics on a State basis were discontinued by
the end of the fiscal year since the local areas, selected to represent the
entire Nation, are not necessarily representative of the separate States.
The present program emphasizes development of accurate estimates
of total United States trade volume by kind of business, supplemented
by trend data for individual communities and important marketing
centers.
A basic change in the format of the published trade bulletins was
made during the course of the year. The large number of separate
State bulletins and releases for various local areas were replaced by
nine regional bulletins issued for the retail trades and a consolidated
bulletin for the service trades. This change in format was designed to
facilitate use of the trade bulletins and to reduce costs of publication
and distribution.
A further product of the trade program was the Annual Trade Re
port on Sales and Inventories of Independent Retail Stores, 1946 com
pared with 1945, for various kinds of retail trade in the Nation, in 29
large cities, and in a number of other local areas.
A basic realinement in the trade program was necessitated toward
the end of the year by the considerable reduction in the budget for
1948. I t was necessary to withdraw census field operations from 81
areas which include 32 cities of over 100,000 population and limit field
work to the original 68 areas which include 33 cities of over 100,000
population. Except where a cooperative plan, such as described be
low, can be instituted for conducting the trade program, it will be neces
BUREAU OF TH E CENSUS
41
sary to discontinue the preparation of monthly trade statistics for
cities where census field services have been withdrawn.
A cooperative plan for obtaining the assistance of local business
organizations was developed during 1947 and was employed, or nego
tiations to employ it were under way, in 25 cities at the end of the fiscal
year. Under this plan, representatives of local chambers of com
merce^ or similar organizations, are deputized as census agents. They
assist in_ developing a list of business firms, interview local merchants
to explain the program and to enroll them as reporters, and follow up
on delinquent reporters. Also in prospect is the extension of a co
operative plan of operation to include several State university bureaus
in addition to the bureaus of business research of the University of
Texas and of Ohio State University which are now participating.
A further change occasioned by the reduced appropriation has been
the elimination of the monthly reports for the following service trades:
(®) Automobile repair shops; (b) barbershops; (o) cleaning, pressing,
alteration, and repair shops; (d) photographic studios; and (e) shoerepair shops. Remaining service trades include: Beauty shops; clean
ing and dyeing plants; power laundries; linen-supply service with
laundry facilities; and linen-supply service without laundry facilities.
I t is planned to continue release of the Monthly Retail Chain Store
Report issued jointly with the Office of Business Economics. Budget
limitations prevent the immediate development of local as well as na
tional figures on chain-store activity, but it is planned further to im
prove the sampling base for these statistics.
Wholesale trade reports and other current business reports.—In ad
dition to the Monthly Wholesale Trade Report series previously
published, a new series of special trade releases was issued during
1947. These special releases, prepared in conjunction with the Office
of Business Economics, provide data on the trends and dollar volume
of sales and stocks of wholesale merchants nationally and regionally,
on dollar volume and trends in independent and 'chain-store sales
nationally, and on independent store sales trends for various local
markets. Special trade releases developed during 1947 include: Trends
in the Drug Trade; Trends in the Electrical Goods Trade; Trends
in the Grocery Trade; and Trends in the Tobacco Trade. It is planned
to add five special trade reports to the above group. However, the
limited appropriations will prevent continuation of the following re
ports which were conducted in all or part of 1947: (a) The Quarterly
Report of Lumber Inventories and Receipts of Retail and Wholesale
Yards; (b) Production, Stocks, and Shipments of Canned Foods—
at the packer level (statistics of canned-food stocks and shipments at
the distributor level will continue to be compiled by the Census Bu
reau for a limited number of foods and will be published along with
packer information for selected canned food commodities, supplied by
the National Canners’ Association) ; and (c) the Monthly Report of
Green Coffee Inventories and Roastings.
F oreign T rade
During the fiscal year it was necessary to reduce the scope of the
foreign trade statistics supplied to business, industry, and Government
42
REPORT OP T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
agencies. The limited appropriation available made it necessary to
eliminate from the program many important objectives and to curtail
the scope and content of the remaining program in order to maintain
as much as possible of the basic compilations. In addition, the mcrease in foreign trade during fiscal 1947 raised the work load of com
piling the statistics to levels substantially higher than in preceding
years, including those before the war. The number of export ship
ments, for example, rose from 5.5 million in fiscal year 1946 to 7.7
million in 1947, an increase of 40 percent.
Considerable curtailment in the publication program was thus made
necessary by reduced funds. In addition to abridging the amount of
country and commodity detail shown and the size of print used in
some reports, it was also necessary to discontinue publication of
others, such as reports showing monthly import and export com
modity totals and lend-lease and UNRRA export information. The
preparation of published monthly statisticsin a form showing import
and export cumulative figures was also discontinued. In addition,
publication of two monthly summary reports was stopped—one show
ing information on United States trade with its territories and posses
sions and the other showing information on shipments made under
the UNRRA program. Compilation of the detailed statistics previ
ously published in these reports was continued, however.
While volume I of Foreign Commerce and Navigation was released
for both 1948 and 1944, it was not possible with available resources to
complete this work for 1945. Progress was made, however, in complet
ing work on all, and releasing most, of the back issues of Monthly Sum
mary of Foreign Commerce of the United States for the years 1942—45
which had been withheld from publication during the war period for
security reasons.
A larger number of machine tabulation sheets were made available
to Department of Commerce field offices during the past year than in
prewar years. Arrangements also were made for these offices to sell
foreign trade statistical publications.
Shipping statistics program.—Certain projects, such as the compila
tion of statistics on entrances and clearances of aircraft in the foreign
trade of the United States, and the compilation of shipping informa
tion on shipments to United States territories and possessions from
continental United States, were either drastically curtailed or elim
inated from the shipping statistics program because of budgetary
considerations. There was also a reduction in the vessel cargo statistics
compiled for the Maritime Commission which were initiated in
January 1946. I t was also necessary, effective with the 1945 statistics,
to curtail the compilation of shipping statistics by eliminating data
on methods of transportation other than vessel and aircraft.
Continued progress was made, however, by initiating in January
1947 a system of supplying shipping statistics to the Army Engineers
in place of the statistics which they had formerly compiled inde
pendently. This proj ect was started under the auspices of the Bureau
of the Budget in order to eliminate duplication and to improve the
quality of the statistics. In addition, it was possible to make avail
able for distribution additional monthly summary reports showing
customs district and port information for vessel and air imports and
BUREAU OF TH E CENSUS
43
exports, trade-route and trade-area data for water-borne traffic, and
vessel entrance and clearance figures. Resources also permitted the
release of the 1943 edition of volume I I of Foreign Commerce and
Navigation of the United States and transmittal of volume I I for 1944
to the printer. Volume I I for 1943 represents the initial publication
of import and export trade information by method of transportation,
showing the domestic and foreign ports of lading and unlading, and
similar information. Resources were not available, however, to permit
work to begin on comparable volumes for 1945 and 1946 ; these volumes,
will ultimately have to be reduced in scope by the elimination of in
formation on trade by rail and truck and methods of transportation
other than vessel and air, and by reducing the amount of other in
formation presented.
Special tabulations eliminated.—In addition to _the above-de
scribed curtailments in the scope and content of the import and ex
port statistics programs, the preparation of separate detailed infor
mation on the following trade was discontinued: Lend-lease and
UNRRA exports; imports and exports by, or for the account of,
United States Government agencies ; and imports under the Reciprocal
Aid Program. The compilation of separate statistics on Government
agency imports and exports was originally advocated by the clearing
office for Foreign Transactions and Reports to measure the extent
of Government participation in import and export activities. The
preparation of separate statistics on Reciprocal Aid imports, also
advocated by the clearing office, was intended for use in measuring
the movement of goods into the United States under the reverse lendlease aid program.
I t was possible on a reimbursable basis to prepare special reports
for the Office of International Trade on export shipments under
license. These tabulations were needed for the export-control
operations.
It was also possible to compile separate information on the amount
of surplus property imported into the United States under the provi
sion of Public Law 457, as revised. Information on commodities was,
however, eliminated from the tabulations on shipments of foreign mer
chandise in transit through the United States between foreign coun
tries.
Foreign trade statistics notes.—During fiscal 1947 a monthly re
lease, entitled “Foreign Trade Statistics Notes,” was distributed to all
recipients of foreign trade statistics reports. This release contained
methodological notes and information on special problems encountered
in compiling foreign trade statistics.
P
o p u l a t io n
While the principal activity of the Bureau during the past year in
the field of population involved the preparation of reports on current
population trends, it was also possible to start planning for the Seven
teenth Decennial Census. The work done on planning for 1950 is sum
marized in an earlier section of this report.
Current population survey.—Estimates were published each month
of the numoer of persons in the labor force, employed and unemployed,
44
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
by sex, based on a monthly cross-section survey of the civilian popula
tion. Detailed data for each month on age, class of worker, occupa
tion, hours worked, and duration of unemployment were published in
Labor Force Bulletin No. 7 and in regular monthly supplements to the
Current Population Reports—Monthly Report on the Labor Force.
In connection with the monthly survey of the civilian population,
several inquiries were undertaken to provide more detailed informa
tion on the behavior of the labor force, including one on the type of
employment held by persons with more than one job during a given
week (July 1946); one on part-time workers (September 1946), which
contained special information about persons working less than a 35hour week during the survey week in September, distinguishing per
sons who were regular part-time workers from those who had full-time
jobs but were working shorter hours during the week in question for
various reasons such as vacation, illness, and the like; one on employ
ment characteristics of families (February 1946) ; and one on employ
ment characteristics of migrants (February 1946).
Special inquiries relating to marital status, migration, and school
enrollment were conducted in conjunction with the current population
survey. Reports presenting results of these inquiries were published
during the year.
During the fiscal year the revision of estimates of labor force, em
ployment, unemployment, and related classifications for the period
March 1940, to June 1945, by months, was completed. The revision
was necessitated mainly by the introduction of a new interview tech
nique in July 1945, which raised the level of the labor force and affected
in differential fashion the various components of the labor force and
the various groups of persons not in the labor force.
Survey of the population, labor force, and housing.—In April 1947,
a sample survey of scientifically selected areas throughout the United
States was made. Information concerning the population, labor force,
and housing was obtained in a national sample of 25,000 households in
148 areas. Releases will present the analysis of housing and laborforce characteristics and of various population characteristics, includ
ing urban-rural residence, marital status, educational attainment,
school attendance, migration, and family composition for the United
States as a whole and for regions.
Additional households were enumerated in 34 of the leading metro
politan districts to permit publication of separate statistics for these
districts. At the end of the fiscal year, a separate series of releases
relating to population, labor force, and housing was in preparation
for each of the 34 metropolitan districts. Surveys of the labor force
also were conducted in October and November 1946 in 21 selected
large cities and metropolitan districts.
Because of reduced funds it will not be possible to conduct an ex
panded survey of the United States during the next fiscal year, or
surveys of any local areas to obtain population and housing charac
teristics.
Consumer income.—During the fiscal year 1947, a preliminary re
lease, entitled “Family and Individual Money Income in the United
States: 1945 and 1944,” was issued summarizing data obtained in
May 1945 and April 1946, in connection with the Current Population
BUREAU OF THE CENSUS
45
Survey. A final report on the distribution of family and individual
money income in 1945, containing detailed tables which relate various
socio-economic characteristics to income, is being prepared.
A survey of consumer income in 1947 was conducted in connection
with the April 1947 survey of population, labor force, and housing
in 148 sample areas. The results of this survey were being processed
at the end of the year.
Current 'population estimates.—During the past year the following
releases involving population estimates were issued: “Estimates of
Population for the United States, by Months; by Age, Color and Sex;
by Urban, Rural, and Farm Areas—for Years Including 1946,” “Esti
mated Population of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin
Islands,” “Estimated Population of the Washington, D. C., Metropoli
tan Counties,” “Forecasts of the Population of the United States,
1945 to 2000,” “Methods of Estimating Current Population of Coun
ties,” “Families and Secondary Families, 1946,” and “Recent Trends
in Population Replacement.”
Veterans’ housing surveys.—Surveys were made at the request of
the National Housing Agency in 102 separate localities. Results of
the individual surveys were analyzed and published in a series of
reports. A summary report was published on the salient results of
till the veterans’ housing surveys made by the Census Bureau and the
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In November 1946, a report was issued on the results of a national
veterans’ housing survey which was made in connection with the
monthly Population Survey for June 1946.
Special censuses.—Fifty-five special censuses, including two for
entire counties, were taken during the year at the expense of the com
munities requesting the censuses.
Institutional statistics.—Three annual reports—Patients in Mental
Institutions, 1944; Prisoners in State and Federal Prisons and Re
formatories, 1945; and Judicial Criminal Statistics, 1945—were pub
lished during the year.
As a result of a conference held in September 1946, it was decided
to discontinue the collection of judicial criminal statistics. This con
ference, attended by representatives of groups interested in these data,
was in general agreement that the series of statistics as collected
sulfered from rather serious limitations. No change in the method
of procedure was possible without the expenditure of considerable
money, and no additional money being available for this work, the
collection of judicial criminal statistics was discontinued.
Sixteenth Census reports.—Completion of the last three of the spe
cial reports based on the returns of the Sixteenth Decennial Census had
been delayed by war work. Because of the great interest in the sub
jects covered, however, these reports (listed below) were completed
during the year.
Differential Fertility, 1940 and 1910—Fertility by Duration of Marriage.—
Issued in July 1947.
Internal Migration, 1935 to 1940—Social Characteristics of Migrants. Issued
in September 1946.
Educational Attainment by Economic Characteristics and Marital Status
1940. To be published in September. This is the first report of this
character to be issued by the Federal Government.
46
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Census of religious bodies.—Work on the 1946 Decennial Census of
Religious Bodies was begun early in September, and suspended at the
close of the fiscal year because no provision had been made for this
census in the appropriations for 1948. At the end of June 1947,
yearbooks and lists of churches had been received from 264 denomina
tions, covering 212,320 churches; schedules had been mailed, to 198,483
churches; and completed schedules had been received from 128,655
churches. The returns for most of the denominations were so incom
plete that no summary statistics of any value could be derived from
the schedules received.
G overnm ents
Governmental finances.—Most 1947 work regarding governmental
finances involved the preparation of type-of-government reports,
dealing respectively with States, counties, and large cities.
For States there were issued (1) a series of individual State reports:
(2) a comprehensive volume on all 48 States; and (3) topical reports
on tax collections, balances, and debt. For counties the program pro
vided national and State-area aggregates of major financial items and
individual-county data on 1,000 sample counties. For cities there were
issued (1) individuality reports for the 37 cities having 1940 popula
tions over 250,000; (2) a comprehensive volume covering all 397 cities
with populations over 25,000; and (3) topical reports on debt and
property taxes.
National aggregates regarding debt of all governments, including
not only States, counties, and large cities, but also smaller cities, other
local governments and the Federal Government, were presented in
the annual report on governmental debt. During 1947 a similar com1
prehensive report on' governmental revenue was undertaken, but was
not completed before the end of the fiscal year. Considerable gain in
timeliness of financial reporting was made during fiscal 1947.
Governmental employment.—During 1947 the program on public
employment involved quarterly repoi’ting of national and State-area
figures on the number of employees and monthly pay rolls of all gov
ernments (Federal, State, and local), with the local data based on a
sample of about 19,000 governmental units. Individual-government
figures were also issued, on an annual basis, covering all 48 States,
nearly 1,000 cities, and more than 400 counties. Reports issued dur
ing 1947 reflected for the first time expansion of the subject matter
to include school as well as nonschool employment. Approximately 40
percent of all State and local public employment is concerned with
schools. A brief special report on State and local government em
ployment in 8 metropolitan areas was also issued, in connection with
a special survey proposed and financed by the Bureau of Labor Statis
tics. There was considerable improvement in timeliness of reporting
under this program.
Other reports and services.—A major report, entitled “Vote Cast in
Presidential and Congressional Elections, 1928-44, “was completed
and published during fiscal 1947, as well as two other elections reports
similar to those issued in earlier years, relating to State initiative and
referendum proposals and to the dates of forthcoming State and local
elections. Two reports in the field of governmental organization were
BUREAU OF TH E CENSUS
47
completed, dealing respectively with county boards and commissions
and "with elective offices of State and county governments; almost com
pleted in the same series was a third report, dealing with governmental
units overlying city areas. An extended special study of compara
tive financial data regarding the District of Columbia and. 13 other
cities was undertaken for the Committee on the District of Columbia
of the House of Representatives for its use in considering District rev
enue problems. Through the Municipal Reference Service, govern
mental data and information were provided to many Federal agencies,
State and local governments, research groups, and individuals.
Survey of needs for governmental data.—During 1947, an intensive
study was undertaken of the major informational needs of non-Federal
users of governmental data, to complement the report On needs of Fed
eral agencies which was previously prepared under the direction of
the Bureau of the Budget. Plans for this complementary study were
laid in a series of conferences with representatives of the Bureau of the
Budget and of such independent organizations as the Institute of Pub
lic Administration and the Public Administration Clearing House. A
detailed schedule of inquiry was prepared and circulated to approxi
mately 100 individuals representing the informational needs of finan
cial and other officials of State and local governments, associations of
public officials and of municipalities, teachers, civic and research agen
cies, business and taxpayers’ groups, and financial and other journals.
Approximately 70 of these respondents were interviewed personally,
most of them by the field staff of the Bureau of the Budget. At the
close of the fiscal year, work was under way on the development of a
report of findings and conclusions. However, sufficient evidence was
already in hand to be useful to the Census Bureau in developing the
program of governmental statistics for 1948 and subsequent years.
I
n d u st r y
During the fiscal year, the Bureau’s industry statistics program
involved 92 regular commodity surveys and planning for the 1947
Census of Manufactures. For the regular commodity surveys, 467,000
reporting forms were received from 117,000 manufacturers, tabulated,
and the results prepared for publication in Facts for Industry reports.
More than 1,500,000 copies of these reports were distributed during
the .year, of which more than 1,000,000 were sent direct to business,
Government, and other users in response to their request, the remainder
being distributed under statutory directions. More than 80 trade pub
lications, having a combined circulation of over 600,000, republished
all or part of these reports in addition to widespread reporting in the
daily press. The technical personnel of the Industry Division spent
a substantial part of their time in planning, developing, and clearing
with industry the reporting forms to be used in the 1947 Census of
Manufactures.
Current industrial statistics.—Of the 92 commodity reports con
ducted during the year, 55 were monthly surveys, 20 were quarterly,
and 17 were annual. Coverage of the metal products industries was
seriously impaired when it became necessary to discontinue the metal
products plant operations report following the collection of June
766188— 47----- 6
48
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
1946 data. The number of surveys conducted during the year by
major groups were as follows:
Processed foods________________________________________________ 1
Textile mill products____________________________________________ 11
Apparel and leather products__________________________________ 9
Lumber and finished wood products____________________________ 4
Pulp and paper, printing_______________________________________ 3
Industrial chemicals, fats and oils and rubber products____________ 16
Mineral products_______________________________________________ 6
Primary metal products__________________________________________ 10
Intermediate metal products_____________________________________ 12
Machinery and equipment__________ - __________________________ 16
Transportation equipment_______________________________________ 4
These surveys provided monthly, quarterly, and annual Facts for
Industry reports on the output of many important manufactured com
modities for which information was not publicly available from other
sources. They are the most important source of information on the
short-term industrial activity of the country. The commodities
covered, with few exceptions, are those which contribute importantly
to changes in the physical volume of production and in the volume of
business transactions. They thus provide a valuable set of measures
of the current activity of a large segment of American manufacturing.
Probably the most important continuing survey initiated during the
year was one relating to quarterly household furniture production.
Statistics are being compiled for upholstered and other furniture and
for bedding products by geographic region. The failure of a few
large producers to file reports was responsible for the discontinuance
of surveys relating to internal-combustion engines, to unitary com
mercial refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, and to cabinets
for this unitary equipment. In accordance with the policy of avoid
ing duplication where adequate statistical information is publicly
available, the surveys relating to small electrical appliances, electric
household ranges, portable vacuum cleaners, domestic mechanical
refrigerators, domestic laundry equipment, and radios, which the Cen
sus was conducting for the Office of Price Administration, were dis
continued. The latter agency stated that it no longer needed official
data on these products and private trade associations indicated their
willingness and ability to make similar information publicly available.
The Metal Products Plant Operations Report, which was discon
tinued with June 1946 data, together with its predecessor surveys,
OPM-69, PD-25A, and PD-275, provides a continuous record by
quarters from July 1942 through June 1946 for nearly 8,000 of the
Nation’s largest metal product plants. The period includes the early
stages of conversion, the peak of war production, and reconversion to
peacetime pursuits. In order that these data might be most useful
in studying the war production effort, a historical record has been
carefully prepared on a consistent basis for each plant, and the results
transferred to mechanical tabulating cards.
Census of Manufactures.—The planning program for the 1947
Census of Manufactures as outlined in July 1946 has been substantially
completed. The reporting schedules and policies developed for the
1947 census are based on the results of this work.
BUREAU OF TH E CENSUS
49
A cooperative program was developed for pretesting recommended
inquiries with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Common
wealth of Pennsylvania, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United
States Department of Labor. Three surveys were initiated and com
pleted which furnished the Bureau of the Census much valuable
information on the feasibility of various forms of questions. Results
from these surveys have guided the preparation of the general in
quiries common to all reporting schedules.
On the basis of an examination of the products statistics collected
during the past censuses, a set of criteria has been developed for
selecting individual products to be included on the product schedules
for the various industries. These criteria have provided the basis
for obtaining better balance in the individual product statistics to be
compiled by the Census. Criteria have also been developed for deter
mining what materials should be included in the materials-consumed
inquiries. These results have been assembled in drafts of approxi
mately 200 separate product schedules for industries or industry
groups. Of these, 170 have been developed and reviewed for con
formance to the criteria, 140 have been reviewed by interested Govern
ment agencies, more than 100 have been mailed to representative
manufacturers and trade groups for their suggestions, and 30 have
been sent to the Bureau of the Budget for official approval.
Plans and procedures were developed for certain precollection
activities which will substantially reduce the cost of field operations
and speed up the completion of the Census. These procedures include
an address verification in cooperation with the Post Office Depart
ment, a complete pre-canvass of individual and multi-unit establish
ments to determine the product schedule to be mailed to them, and a
matching of the Census file with the Social Security Board file of
manufacturing establishments to aid in obtaining complete coverage.
The industrial areas used in the 1939 census have been reviewed and
the groundwork has been started for a revised list of such areas, for
the 1947 census. This work is being carried out in connection with
the program for establishing standard metropolitan areas, so that the
industrial areas used for presenting the census wi!1 be the same as
those used in compilations for other subject fields. Special studies
have been completed in connection with the proposal not to tabulate
data for establishments with less than a certain number of employees,
rather than the present practice of eliminating those establishments
with less than $5,000 value of products.
S t a t is t ic a l A bstract
Public reception of recent improvements in the Statistical Abstract
of the United States is reflected in the increased sales of this volume,
the 1946 edition having sold over 10,000 copies. This volume, printed
as a House Document for the use of Members of Congress, is a con
venient one-volume summary of statistical data issued by various gov
ernmental agencies as well as by nongovernmental sources. I t is
generally recognized as the official compendium of the United States
statistics.
50
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
In addition to the County Data Book mentioned in the last annual
report, the staff worked during the past year on a volume entitled
“Historical Statistics of the United States,” the third supplement to
the Statistical Abstract to be prepared. This supplement brings to
gether, for the variety of subjects covered, historical data extended
back through time. Annual figures are shown where possible. In
the preparation of this volume the Bureau had the cooperation of a
special Committee on the Source Book of Historical Statistics, Ad
visory to the Director of the Census, set up by the Social Science Research Council. The Committee on Research in Economic History,
also operating under the auspices of the Social Science Research Coun
cil, made funds available to supplement the work done by the Bureau
of the Census. This volume, now with the printer, should be available
early in calendar year 1948.
BUREAU SERVICES AND ADMINISTRATION
G eography
During the fiscal year the work of improving the basic mapping
facilities of the Bureau was continued at an accelerated pace in view
of the need of the geographical materials in current sampling sur
veys and in the forthcoming Decennial Census. Arrangements were
made to obtain all available aerial photographs for the 140 metropoli
tan districts, the larger unincorporated areas, and incorporated places
under 25,000 population, as well as photo-index sheets covering the
entire United States. The photo-index sheets permit ready identifi
cation of areas for which photographs are desired. Arrangements
also were made to obtain photographs from new flights for approxi
mately 80 counties. Recently compiled street maps were obtained for
some of the larger municipalities and the Sanborn map collection was
augmented by the purchase of new maps. Through a contract with
the Sanborn Map Company, the Sanborn maps were maintained on a
current basis during the year.
Much extensive experimental work was done in an effort to improve
the quality of the map reproductions made by the Bureau. It is be
lieved that the techniques developed will insure better map copies at
less cost for future field surveys. The work of establishing boundaries
for unincorporated places was continued during the year and pro
cedures were developed to permit the setting of .limits for the thickly
settled urban sections adjacent to the larger cities.
The designation of samples for the current surveys conducted by
the Bureau involved considerable geographic work. Such samples
included those for the monthly population surveys as well as the localarea surveys, monthly retail trade surveys, veteran housing surveys,
and others. The accuracy of the maps contributes also to the accuracy
of the sample results by decreasing the possibility of enumeration
errors. The Sanborn maps and aerial photographs are indispensable
in this work as they provide detailed inf ormation not available on any
other type of map.
For urban and other thickly settled areas not shown on the Sanborn
maps, pre-enumeration surveys were conducted to determine the ap
BUREAU OF T H E CENSUS
51
proximate number of dwellings in each block or counting unit, and
the results of these surveys were used to provide the map information
needed for the selection of the sample. For the areas included in the
Sanborn maps, the same type of information was obtained from the
tabulations prepared from these maps. For the rural areas, existing
map information was used with modifications indicated by New Con
struction surveys. These surveys furnished the location of recent con
struction projects containing 25 or more new dwelling units, and thus
helped in the determination of segments of the maps for sample
coverage.
Although these preenumeration surveys were justified by their value
for the current sample surveys alone, the information obtained in re
gard to the shifts in population since 1940 will be of inestimable value
in planning for the 1950 census.
S a m p l in g
During 1947 sampling plans for business, population, agriculture,
and industry surveys of the Bureau were developed or improved.
Thus a new sample was designed which, when carried out, will for the
first time permit estimates of total retail sales by kinds of business with
measurable accuracy; plans were instituted for improving the method
of sampling and evaluating the reliability of the estimates of the cur
rent population sampling covering labor force and other characteris
tics ; and plans were made and carried out for getting the most reliable
estimates possible of the sample taken in connection with the 1945
Census of Agriculture, and for evaluating the sampling errors of the
published results. In connection with the Census of Agriculture, an
important advance in census methods was introduced, in that a sample
check enumeration was undertaken to determine how successful the
Census enumerators were in carrying out their instructions. In ad
dition, studies were made to determine the most economical and re
liable methods of selecting samples of various types and for various
purposes, and to determine the best ways of preparing estimates from
the sample data. Studies were also conducted to determine the extent
to which the specifications of the sample design are actually carried out
in practice. As a result of such studies, improvements in the pro
cedures used by the Census Bureau have been and will be made. A
study was made and an improved method introduced for sample veri
fication of punch cards.
Another important activity of the sampling staff has been frequent
consultation with representatives of business and marketing organiza
tions, other Government agencies, and foreign Governments. The basic
nature of the work carried on by the Bureau in this field is thus accorded
widespread recognition.
D is t r ib u t io n
of
I n f o r m a t io n
During the fiscal year the Bureau’s public relations activities were
directed toward introducing specific and potential users to types of
census information of particular applicability to their own operations.
52
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
As an example, the final results of the 1945 Census of Agriculture were
distributed to the administrative heads of approximately 3,000 State
and regional trade associations. Most of these trade associations pub
lish weekly or monthly bulletins which go to all of their industry
members within their respective States. Short articles were included
in many of these bulletins, as, for instance, one designed to show to an
automobile dealer the information revealed by the Census which would
enable the dealer to use the information for his county as a measure
of his own mai’ket potential.
Other examples included three presentations for Indianapolis, Pitts
burgh, and Washington, D. C., respectively, designed to acquaint
businessmen with the sales material contained in Census records. These
studies were presented in speeches before business organizations in
the respective cities. Similar demonstrations, distributed through
the facilities of the Newspaper Advertising Executives Association
Bulletin and the Bureau of Advertising, produced excellent results.
Regular users of Census reports, as well as potential users have
found the Subject Guide, an index to the contents of Census reports,
extremely helpful. A short monthly release, List of Publications Is
sued, has also been very helpful for users to keep current on the reports
that are available. Beginning with the issue covering the publications
of the calendar year 1946, the Subject Guide has been augmented by a
catalog resulting in a single report, Catalog and Subject Guide, which
includes all reference information for cataloging and using Census
reports issued during the period covered.
During the year, nearly 4,000,000 copies of Census publications and
releases were distributed to addresses listed by request on regular mail
ing lists and to other persons requesting specificreports. The filling
of these requests included approximately 1,500,000 copies of the Facts
for Industry series, 1,500,000 copies of reports on Retail, Wholesale,
and Service Trades, 400,000 copies of preliminary releases and final
reports of the 1945 Census of Agriculture, and 253,000 copies of reports
on Foreign Trade.
Other than the Census of Agriculture material, the most frequently
requested of the publications issued during the past year were the
Monthly Report on the Labor Force, the Monthly Retail Trade Report,
and the Facts for Industry series.
M a c h in e T a b u l a t io n
The machine tabulation activities of the Bureau required 2,134,273,000 card passes through the various types of tabulating equipment
during the year. ^More than four-fifths of the entire volume handled
pertained to projects carried on in the Bureau. The remainder in
volved work done on a reimbursable basis for agencies other than the
Bureau. A summary of the year’s tabulating work is shown in table 1.
Work handled for other agencies included the analysis of current
and temperature data for the Navy Hydrographic Office, involving
more than 2,500,000 mariners’ observations taken over a period of 20
years in all oceans. Another example of assistance rendered another
governmental agency was the work done for the Veterans’ Administra
tion. Information relating to Veterans’ Education and Training was
53
BUREAU OF TH E CENSUS
urgently needed. The Bureau of the Census assisted by helping
organize and operating the tabulation program until such time as the
Veterans’ Administration was able to obtain the necessary facilities to
take over the project.
A conversion program has been initiated which is designed to incor
porate in all Census-owned tabulating equipment those improvements
which were successfully tested under actual working conditions during
the 1945 Census of Agriculture. This work is scheduled for completion
by the time the full complement of equipment is needed for the Seven
teenth Decennial Census.
Efforts to increase further the efficiency of tabulation have been
intensified now that material and personnel are again available and
various wartime developments have been declassified. Improvements
in punch-card equipment have been developed and tested. Work has
been continued on the electronic tabulating machine, a source of poten
tially great increase in tabulation efficiency. The National Bureau of
Standards has practically completed preparation of design specifica
tions of this machine. The design phase includes the construction of
critical components.
With the cooperation of the International Business Machines Cor
poration, experiments have been conducted to investigate the possibility
of a new type of enumeration schedule. On the proposed schedule, the
enumerator will make marks with special ink in boxes provided for
answers, rather than write in longhand. I t is hoped that this type of
schedule will permit the automatic punching of cards without the use
of the conventional type of key-punching equipment and will materi
ally speed up the punching operation. A field test indicated that this
technique is a definite possibility for future enumerating and punching.
T
able
1.—Machine tabulation work-load, fiscal year 191ft
[In thousands of card passes]
Type of project
Total
Operation
Census
T o ta l.....................................................................
P
e r so n a l
Other
Federal
agencies
State or local
governments
and non
government
agencies
2,134,273
1,813,013
313,569
7,691
100.0
27,966
17, 697
1,487, 750
318,448
171,755
105,824
4,833
84.9
22, 600
12, 730
1,257,905
269,195
151,105
95,083
4, 395
14.7
5,305
4, 908
226, 324
46,334
20,228
10,032
438
0.4
61
59
3, 521
2,919
422
709
C e n s u s R ecords
The demand for personal information from the Census records re
lating to age and citizenship continued during the fiscal year and in
creased by approximately 1,000 applications over the number received
during the preceding year.
54
REPOET OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
During the fiscal year 1947, transcripts of the records were furnished
for 79,044 persons. A t.otal of 61,353 new applications, accompanied
by the required fees, and 11,772 reopened cases were handled. A large
part of the cost of this activity was met from fees paid by applicants
for age and citizenship certification.
Approximately 3.5 percent of the applications received during the
year called for information from the 1917-18 World War draft regis
tration cards, which were transferred to the custody ,of this Bureau in
1942. These cards contain data as to age and citizenship and also bear
the signature of the registrant as certifying that the information is
true.
This information is used largely in place of a birth certificate by
persons whose birth was not recorded in the State at the time it oc
curred. While most of the States now provide delayed registration
of birth, the Census records are often needed as one piece of evidence
of date and place of birth in obtaining such registration. The Census
data are requested for many purposes, the principal one at present
being that of establishing age as evidence of eligibility for old-age as
sistance. Other uses are those of employment, naturalization, insur
ance, passport, relationship in claims for inheritance, and for gene
alogical purposes.
One interesting use for which Census records have been requested
since the end of hostilities in Europe is as evidence of American birth
of persons residing in Europe who are desirpus of returning to the
United States. These included prisoners of war and displaced persons,
as well as women who married Europeans years ago and went to
Europe to live.
Great care is exercised in giving information from the Census rec
ords in order to carry put the law which provides that these records
shall be confidential and also authorizes the Director of the Census to
furnish data from the population records for proper purposes, pro
vided that it is not used to the detriment of the person to whom it re
lates. Accordingly, record transcripts are furnished only on written
applications of the person himself, or to his authorized representative.
F
ie l d
O r g a n iz a t io n
The Bureau’s field organization demonstrated its flexibility during
the past year by conducting a large number of surveys of varying
types and coverage. Continuing surveys, such as the Monthly Current
Population Survey and the Monthly Retail and Service Trade Report,
numerous special population censuses, inquiries into local government
employment, and surveys of particular industries were conducted. A
survey of sawmills was made in three States and also over 100 veter
ans’ housing surveys were conducted for the National Housing Agency
on a reimbursable basis. In addition, considerable temporary expan
sion of the field organization was effected in order to meet the heavy
demands of the April 1947 survey of population, housing, and the
labor force.
A small staff in Washington plans and directs the work of the field
offices. Part of this staff maintained close liaison with subject matter
specialists to make sure that field work met all technical specifications
BUREAU OE TH E CENSUS
55
and that the experience acquired in the field was utilized to develop
improved survey techniques. Time schedules were planned to equalize
the workload in the field as much as possible. An analysis of training
materials and techniques was made, and the amount of training mate
rial greatly increased. Another important factor in raising the qual
ity ,of enumeration was a series of training conferences for field super
visors held in March 1947.
Administrative instructions and procedures for field offices were
codified and incorporated into a field office administrative manual.
Marked improvement in the handling of administrative matters by
field offices was shown after the manual was put into use. A pay-roll
form was developed and put into use in the field which also provided
a current analysis of field costs for each survey.
In the field, the Area Supervisors for the nine census areas provided
over-all direction of the Bureau’s work. District offices operating on
a local level varied in number from 67 at the first of the year t,o a total
of 122 in April. During peak operations, approximately 3,000 per
sons were employed in the field offices, most of whom worked on the
expanded current population survey. Additional assistant area super
visors and full-time enumerators were employed as needed during the
operation of large surveys. Following the April survey, budget limi
tations made necessary a rapid contraction of the field organization.
On June 30 there were 67 district offices open, 7 of which were super
vised by personnel traveling from other district offices. The number of
areas and area offices was reduced to eight.
Preliminary planning work for the field organization to handle the
Seventeenth Decennial Census was also begun during the past year.
Plans for the handling of the field work in connection with the cotton
statistics program were made which called for the collection of cotton
statistics in about 300 counties under the direction of established field
offices. The cotton statistics will continue to be collected in about 300
counties by special agents employed by the Bureau for that purpose.
Despite the reduction in the size of the field force by the end of the
year, a strong foundation still existed on which an organization can
be built to handle the field work for the Census of Manufactures in
1948, as well as other large-scale field operations scheduled in the
future.
M ic r o f il m
The placing of valuable census records on 35-mm. microfilm was con
tinued during the year. This program made possible the permanent
preservation of records, reduced space requirements, and increased the
usability of census data available to the public.
During the year, the microfilming of the 1900 Census of Population,
involving over 1,672,511 pages, was accomplished. This completed the
placing on microfilm of all Censuses of Population from 1840 through
1940 inclusive, with the exception of 1890 for which practically all the
records were destroyed by fire. Master negative film files of these data,
other than those classified Confidential, were constantly used in the
reproduction of positive film copies for outside agencies.
The microfilming of 60,361 aerial photographs of the United States
was a new project completed to facilitate the distribution of map in
56
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
formation by the Bureau. Experimental work was also initiated for
the use of Rodachrome or Ansco Color film in the copying of colored
maps.
Additional projects were completed, on a reimbursable basis, for
various agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Daughters
of the American Revolution, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Toledo
Public Library, and University of Texas.
P erso n n el
The level of personnel in the Bureau of the Census continued to
decline during the fiscal year, partly because of the completion of the
Census of Agriculture and partly because of reduction in force due to
decreased appropriations. By the end of the year, less than 2,000
full-time departmental employees were on the Bureau’s rolls, a de
crease of over 50 percent since last year. The status of the Bureau’s
personnel is shown in table 2.
During the year there were 528 accessions and 2,623 separations
of full-time employees. Such personnel actions, combined with the
necessity of complying with Government-wide regulations on reduction
in force, retention registers, and similar problems, placed considerable
strain on the Bureau’s administrative machinery, but all actions were
carried out on schedule with as much assistance to the employees as
possible.
■Ta ble 2. —Personnel, Bureau of the Census, as of June 30,1946 anA 1941
Total
Departmental
Field
Group
1946
1947
1946
1947
1946
5,861
4,411
4, 216
1,978
1,645
2,433
4,446
1,415
2,196
2, 215
4,129
87
1,975
3
317
1,328
221
2,212
1947
1 Excludes approximately 356 employees on miliary furlough for 1946 and 221 for 1947 and employees serv
ing without compensation.
In addition, the needs of the Bureau required an extension of the
training program to help meet the problems of improving the Bureau’s
survey operations. For the field offices, material was prepared to
facilitate and standardize the training of enumerators. For the
Washington office, a supervisor training leaflet was issued regularly
and 250 employees were given refresher training to improve their
efficiency.
F
in a n c e
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1947, funds appropriated and
received from other sources aggregated $14,842,000. Appropriated
funds for over-all operations were $12,150,600, of which $12,000,000
was for the regular Census programs, and $150,000 was for Age and
Citizenship Certification under the Social Security Act. The unobli
gated balance of funds appropriated in 1945 for the Census of Agricul
ture in the amount of $1,350,000 was also available. Amounts received
57
BUREAU OF TUIE CENSUS
from other than Government agencies for census statistics and special
surveys including age and citizenship searches (Trust Funds) were
$189,400, and receipts from Government agencies for special surveys
and tabulated statistics (Working Funds) totaled $287,000. An
amount of $76,700 was received from the State Department in connec
tion with the program, Cooperation with the American Republics,
for the purpose of developing the theory and practice of census taking
on a standardized basis, $261,000 was allotted to the Bureau from the
Department’s Printing and Binding Funds, and $144,000 for penalty
mail.
The regular Bureau program was curtailed by Reorganization Plan
No. 2, 1946, which provided for the transfer of Vital Statistics to the
Public Health Service, with a resultant transfer of $901,411 of the
$12,000,000 appropriated. Transfer of $300,000 was made to the
Bureau of Standards out of monies appropriated for fiscal 1946 for
the construction of an electronic tabulator, in accordance with Public
Law 521, Seventy-ninth Congress.
The Bureau’s fiscal operations are summarized in table 3.
During the year the original budget estimates for the fiscal year 1948
were prepared and, as submitted to the Congress, included requests for
$19,205,000. The amount appropriated for the Bureau in Public Law
166 amounted to i l l , 240,000.
T able 3. —Fiscal operations of the Bureau of the Census for year ended June 30,
1947
[ ( ) Indicates deductible figures]
Census of
Agricul
ture
Work for
other
Federal
agencies
Work for
outside
organiza
tions or
individ
uals
$1,348, 404
11,349,959
$904.380
1,049,328
8175,084
189,388
Salaries and expenses
Description
All Bureau
wrork
Bureau of
Census
Social
Security
Act
Obligations...................................... $13,921,134 $11,345,478
Amount available for obligating... 14, 242, 263 11, 503,588
$147,788
150,000
Allotted from Department of
Carried over from previous years..
12,150,000
481,723
287,188
189,388
2,068, 260
(934, 296)
12,000,000
150,000
2 404,999
«(901,411)
3 76, 724
287,188
i 1,349,959
718,301
«(32,885)
189,388
1Includes $2,722 reimbursements to appropriations.
2 Comprises $261,000 for printing and binding and $143,999 for penalty mail, that are allotted from, and
accounted by, the Departm ent of Commerce from appropriated funds.
3 Received from State Department for Cooperation with the American Republics program.
4 Includes $137,871 received for census and citizenship searches and $51,517 for special compilations.
3 Transferred to the Federal Security Agency under title “ Salaries and Expenses,” Vital Statistics, Office
of Surgeon General, Public Health Service, 1947.
e Subject to rescission; work completed funds reverted to Treasury surplus.
Civil Aeronautics Administration
OFFICE OF FEDERAL AIRWAYS
During the fiscal year 1947, the Office of Federal Airways concen
trated its efforts toward expanding and improving the services it offers
to the flying public.
In the field of radio aids to air navigation, great strides have been
taken toward the ultimate objective of converting the Federal Airways
Air Navigation System from the existing low/medium frequency radio
ranges to a system employing static-free very high frequency omni
directional radio ranges. By the construction and establishment of
radio-instrument landing systems, installation of approach-light lanes,
and the implementation of airways communications stations and air
port traffic-control towers with very high frequency communications,
substantial improvement of the Federal Airways System has been real
ized. In addition, the Office of Federal Airways has completed a con
siderable volume of work on the establishment, modernization, and im
provement of airports under the DLAND (Development of Landing
Areas for National Defense) and DCLA (Development of Civil Land
ing Areas) programs.
The status of the Federal Airways System at the beginning and end
of the fiscal year is shown in the following table:
July 1,1946
Civil airways:
Landing areas:
Intermediate fields, operated jointly with a local government, lighted__
Lighting aids:
Air navigation radio aids:
Communications facilities:1
Traffic control facilities:
Teletype and interphone circuits:
Weather reporting circuits:
Traffic control circuits:
June 30,1947
43,387
44,008
226
1
55
202
4
63
1,891
32
1,875
58
361
25
75
23
2ô3
19
360
72
78
42
264
51
350
8
387
8
103
28
124
29
62,120
60,273
772
31,708
40,962
31,013
37, 552
454
1,851
1 In addition, 9 stations are being operated for the Navy and 1 under Executive Order No. 9709.
2 Operated by the CAA; does not include stations operated by the Weather Bureau.
59
60
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
A ir N a v ig a t io n F a c il it ie s S er v ic e
Substantial progress was made in the modernization of the Federal
Airways System during the fiscal year, although the shortage of nearly
all essential materials and equipment made its accomplishment most
difficult. Instrument landing systems were completed at the higher
priority airports; the very high frequency radio range program was
well advanced toward completion; the first high-powered low-fre
quency long-range navigation facility was completed to the stage that
preliminary operational tests can be made; installations of airport
surveillance radar and precision beam radar were completed at three
airports; and other miscellaneous air navigation facilities were added,
improved, relocated, or discontinued. In addition, the DLAND
(Development of Landing Areas for National Defense) and the DCLA
(Development of Civil Landing Areas) programs were essentially
completed.
During the year cooperation with the military services, other Gov
ernment agencies, and with the industry and the public continued,
particularly through participation on the Air Coordinating Committee
and on joint committees with the Air Transport Association. Othergroups were consulted on specific problems.
The Maintenance Division of the Air Navigation Facilities Service
was established during the fiscal year 1947 as an independent inspec
tion agency with the functions of establishing levels of excellence of
technical performance of the air navigation facilities and of determin
ing regional compliance with the approved standards.
Instrument landing systems.—During the fiscal year, 32 instrument
landing systems at the more important airports were commissioned,,
bringing the total of commissioned systems up to 51. Radio installa
tion has been completed at 5 additional locations and is under way at
11. Construction is under way at 9, and the remaining 20 installations
in the program are being surveyed. It is anticipated that 2 additional
systems will be transferred from the Army, which will make a total
of 98 systems in the program.
VHF radio range stations.—Forty-seven very high frequency radio
range stations were completed during the year, bringing the total of
completed stations up to 72. There are now 383 stations assigned for
construction in the program; 76 VAR (two-course visual, two-course
aural) and 307 VOR (omni-directional). Of the 311 incompleted sta
tions, 304 are in various stages of survey or construction. The shortage
of materials and equipment substantially delayed this program.
Approach lightï lanes.—The number of approach light lanes was in
creased by 26 during the year, bringing the total number of light lanes,
to 58. This total includes 7 Bartow lanes taken over from the military
services in Alaska. The remaining installations are neon lights. In
general approach lights are installed on runways being equipped with
instrument landing systems.
During the year a major amount of work was done in cooperation
with the Army, Navy, Air Transport Association, and the Air Line
Pilots Association in the development of a high-intensity approach
light system. Experimental installations have been completed at.
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
61
Areata, Calif., and Newark, N. J., in order that comparative tests may
be made of the best types of this equipment.
Compass locators.—During the year,,19 compass locators were com
missioned, bringing the total number in service to 42. Eleven addi
tional locators have been completed and are awaiting flight check;
radio equipment is being installed in 4 others, and the construction,
less radio equipment, has been completed on 16.
There is now a total of 137 locators in the program which includes
an outer marker locator for each instrument landing system together
with 41 middle marker locators. Three additional locators are being
reserved, pending the transfer of two instrument landing systems from
the Army.
High-powered, low-frequency, long-range navigation facilities.—
The first facility of this type was installed on Nantucket Island, Mass.,
during the fiscal year, using temporary radio equipment. Four addi
tional facilities were assigned to the regions for construction during
the year; one each at San Juan, P. R .; Omaha, Nebr.; San Francisco,
Calif.; and Honolulu, T. H. The 300-foot towers have been procured
for the above stations together with much of the construction materials.
Specifications have been completed and are being issued for the radio
equipment for this program.
Airport surveillance and precision beam radar.—During the latter
part of the fiscal year, three airport surveillance and precision beam
radars loaned by the Army Air Forces were installed, one each at Wash
ington National Airport, LaGuardia Field, New York, and the Munici
pal Airport, Chicago. Operational tests were conducted using the
display of information in the control towers at these locations.
VHF fan markers.—During the fiscal year 1947, 49 approach con
trol fan markers were assigned for construction. Eight of these in
volved the installation of monitor equipment only in the associated
airport traffic control tower. Four of the new fan markers assigned
were completed and commissioned during the year. In addition, three
full power and two low power fan markers were assigned other than
for approach control, and also two relocations were assigned using
Army funds. Of these, five have been commissioned. The remaining
fan markers from previous programs were completed.
Intermediate frequency radio ranges.—To improve air traffic opera
tions in the vicinity of New York, the LaGuardia radio range was
relocated to Clason’s Point. A new Adcock (tower type) range was
constructed at New Hackensack, N. Y., to replace the range relocated
to Stewart Field at the request of the Army during the war. New
Adcock ranges were constructed at Areola, Va., and Millville, N. J.,
and a loop-type range at Brandywine, Md., to facilitate the high
volume of air traffic between Washington and New York. The Fort
Wayne, Ind., loop range was relocated. The simultaneous voice fea
ture was added to 4 loop ranges in a program that, when completed,
will total 14 stations.
Air marking.—In addition to encouraging States, civic, and private
organizations to install standard air markers, a cooperative program
was carried on whereby each State was to install one marker for each
marker installed by the Administration. By the end of the fiscal
62
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
year a total of 1,412 markers had been completed in the States of Ari
zona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,
Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota,
South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, Wyoming. This total includes 423 markers completed at
the end of the previous fiscal year. In addition, a total of 572 roof
markers were installed by the Administration on its airway facility
buildings in the various States.
DLAND airports.—The program of the Development of Landing
Areas for National Defense, consisting of 196 projects at a cost of
$137,641,332, was completed during the fiscal year except for some
very minor work being completed at five of the airports.
DCLA airports.—Thirty airports projects were authorized under
the Development of Civil Landing Areas program. At the end of the
1947 fiscal year 16 of these were finished, 12 were 95 percent or more
completed, and 2 had been recently started. Of the total appropria
tion of $9,757,890, construction totaling $9,039,965 had been completed.
Intermediate landing fields.—Under the appropriation for the
Establishment of Air Navigational Facilities, one intermediate field
was completed during the 1947 fiscal year. The one major airport
being constructed under this program at a cost of $2,750,000 was about
95 percent completed at the end of the fiscal year. Five intermediate
fields were under construction and 2 additional projects were being
surveyed. There was a net decrease of 13 fields during the year through
the discontinuance of obsolete fields and the replacement of fields by
municipal airports.
Airway aids.—Relocation of airway aids (light beacons) was under
taken on sections of the Columbus-Philadelphia and Nashville-Wash
ington Airways. The Los Angeles-Denver Airway is being supple
mented with beacon lights for its full length of 431 miles. There was
an increase of 621 miles of implemented airways during the fiscal year.
VHP equipment for airway communications stations.—Very high
frequency receiving equipment (122.1 Me.) for all airway communica
tions stations and transmitting equipment (111.1 Me.) for 214 airway
communications stations were obtained from military surplus and dis
tributed to the regions. Most of the 122.1 Me. receivers were installed
prior to the end of the fiscal year. Transmitter installations were
delayed awaiting delivery of a circular polarized antenna obtained
through a procurement program.
Control towers.—The control-tower program was increased by 29
towers to a total of 129. One tower structure was being constructed
at Brownsville, Tex. A number of the new towers had previously been
operated by the military services and others by the municipalities. The
remainder were established in space furnished by the cities. Equip
ment on hand at the beginning of the year was sufficient for 117 towers,
and equipment for 12 towers was procured. At the end of fiscal year
1947,124 towers were in operation.
Teletype systems.—Teletypewriter equipment was ordered for the
conversion of a portion of the radio telegraph circuits to radio teletype
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
63
at New York, N. Y .; Lagens, Azores; Honolulu, T. H .; Wake; Guam;
Anchorage, Alaska; Manila, Philippine Islands; Miami, F la.: San
Juan, P. R.; Balboa, C. Z.
All message diversion equipment (MEDIS) for use on service A
networks has been delivered. During fiscal year 1948 this equipment
will be installed and commissioned in the stations at New York, A t
lanta, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Salt Lake City, and
Fort Worth.
OFACS stations.—-The planning, engineering, design, and procurement of communications equipment were completed for 9 new overseas-foreign airways communications stations. Communications
equipment was designed and procured for expanding the facilities of
the 8 existing OFACS, including the conversion .to frequency shift
teletype in the Caribbean area, the installation of 333 kc. international
emergency air-ground circuit at Sayville, N. Y., and the expansion and
modernization of the VHF control circuits at 5 stations.
Alaska VHF communications facilities.—The planning, engineer
ing, design, and procurement of VHF and telephone carrier equipment
for an intra-Alaska chain of 57 VHF communications stations were ac
complished. YHF survey of approximately 40 of the facilities was
completed and construction at 4 stations was commenced. Installation
of radio equipment was deferred until fiscal year 1948.
Alaska airports and fields.—During the fiscal year the conversion of
military airports to civilian use was continued. Improvements to
existing facilities, including the construction of water and sewer sys
tems and the repair of major flood damage at one airport, were,
accomplished.
Alaska air navigation facilities.—One intermediate frequency radio
range was installed and commissioned on the coastal airway.
Transfer of former military installations.—Under Executive Or
ders 9709 and 9797 former United States Military Communications
and Air Navigation Facilities at Paris, France; Lagens, Azores; Casa
blanca, French Morocco; Dakar, French West Africa; Tontouta, New
Caledonia; Athens, Greece; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Honolulu,
Hawaii; Wake Island; Guam; Canton Island; Palmyra; and Midway
were transferred to the CAA. At five of these locations contracts
were negotiated with air lines to handle the communications until such
time as the CAA could assume full responsibility or the facility could
he transferred to a foreign Government. Maintenance and engineer
ing modifications were performed on these military facilities in order
to make them suitable for use by civil aviation. Of the above stations,
Paris, Lagens, Casablanca, Dakar, Tontouta, and Athens were trans
ferred to the Governments of the countries in which they were located.
_Navy maintenance program.—The Navy maintenance program con
tinued on 30 facilities at locations including Argentia, Newfound
land; Port Lyautey, French Morocco; Bermuda; Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Trinidad; Kaneohe; Palmyra; and 8
locations in Alaska. Ninety-six domestic Navy facilities were main
tained in the 7 regions. These included 30 loop-type radio ranges, 1
Adcock radio range, 26 fan markers, 10 NATS positive flight control
stations, and 29 teletype facilities.
766188— 47------7
64
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Philippine rehabilitation program.—The sum of $8,000,000 was set
up under the Philippine Rehabilitation Act to establish, operate, and
maintain a system of air navigation facilities and associated airways
communications services to serve interisland and international routes.
During the fiscal year an engineer-in-charge was detailed to the Philip
pines to initiate this program. The work includes long-range and
short-range radio facilities; communications stations and control
towers at four locations ; and the improvement of the Manila Airport.
Action has been taken on the procurement of radio equipment valued
at $1,250,000 for this program.
Work in other foreign countries.—Engineers from this office made
installation of a weather reporting station at Thule, Greenland, for
thè Weather Bureau and assisted the Property Management Division
in the procurement of surplus electronic equipment in the European
area.
Equipment was procured or action initiated for the procurement for
an instrument landing system for the Irish Government, two VOR
ranges for the French Government, two fan markers for the Portu
guese Government, and technical information, instruction books, and
specifications were furnished to many other countries. Advice on
airport construction was furnished to Belgium and Lebanon.
A ir w a y s O p e r a t io n s S er v ic e
Performance standards.—Supervised on-the-job training was car
ried on at the 153 air traffic control facilities and at the 405 communi
cations facilities for the benefit of new personnel, who are practically
all veterans, and also for more experienced personnel. Pertinent
available publications were secured and distributed and other train
ing material was specially prepared as needs were indicated. Formal
short-course preparation of specially recruited communications per
sonnel for Alaska was continued at the CAA Aeronautical Center at
Oklahoma City. Material was prepared for use in a training and
certification program for Air Route Traffic Control personnel.
Special projects.-—Under Executive Order 9709 the Civil Aero
nautics Administration assumed operation of the communications fa
cilities at Lagens, Azores; Paris, France; and Dakar, French West
Africa. The CAA operated these facilities for approximately 9
months and in the interim period instructed the Portuguese and French
in the fundamentals of operation. Having fulfilled their obligation
the CAA then transferred operations to the respective nationals.
Precision Beam and Airport Surveillance Radar installations have
been made at the Chicago, New York, and Washington towers, and
operation has been on a test basis. During the test period three
aircraft in distress were landed safely at the Chicago airport by the
operation of these facilities.
Discussions between representatives of the CAA, Weather Bureau,
and Australian Department of Civil Aviation were concluded and a
coordinated plan was developed to provide communications, traffic
control, and meteorological services for International operations over
the U. S.-Australian-New Zealand air routes.
65
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
The CAA assisted the Army in the development of the Military
Flight Communications System (plan 62). Activation of this plan
relieved the CAA of responsibility of handling for the Army the
majority of the Visual Flight Rule flight plans and arrival reports.
Communications division.-—At the close of fiscal year 1947, there
were 405 communications stations in operation (395 operated with
CAA funds, 9 operated with funds transferred from the Navy, and 1
operated on funds received under Executive Order 9709), including
stations located outside the continental United States. All of these
stations were providing services to both civil and military aeronautical
interests. These stations handled approximately 4 million messages
with aircraft in flight during the year. This was approximately a
30-percent increase over the previous year. At the end of the year
virtually all stations in the continental United States were equipped
to handle VHF communications with military aircraft, and about
half the stations were equipped to receive air-to-ground transmissions
from itinerant civil aircraft on VHF. Transition to VHF for airground communications was steadily being accomplished. At the
end of the year successful tests of VHF air-ground communications
with scheduled air carriers were being made.
The landline communications systems during fiscal year 1947 pro
vided four national teletype services and one national interphone
service. Description of these services follows :
Identification
Purpose
Collection and distribution of hourly airways
weather information and Notices to Airmen.
The collection and distribution of synoptic
weather information.
The collection and distribution of international
weather information.
Total teletype...............
Interphone service F._............ Transmission of aircraft control communications..
Total..............................
Mileage
Drops
29,498
521
31,013
24,470
454
206
6,305
45
91, 286
37, 552
1,226
1,851
128,838
3,077
During the middle of fiscal year 1947 the United States Army Air
Forces inaugurated its Military Flight Communications System
(plan No. 62). Activation of this system relieved the Civil Aeronautics
Administration of responsibility for handling for the Army the ma
jority of the Visual Flight Rule (VFR) flight plans and arrival
reports on CAA communications systems. This plan does not alter the
Civil Aeronautics Administration method of handling Instrument
Flight Rule (IFR ) Communications.
Four overseas-foreign trunk circuits were converted from radio
telegraph to radioteletype operation, bringing the total number of
overseas-foreign radioteletype circuits to nine.
Of AC stations maintain communications with 70 overseas or foreign
correspondents.
66
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
A ir T r a f f ic C ontro l D iv is io n
Air route traffic control.—Twenty-six air route traffic control centers
located within the continental limits of the United States and three
centers, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Honolulu, located outside the con
tinental limits of the United States were operated during the fiscal
year. The twenty-sixth domestic center, El Paso, was commissioned
in October 1946.
In November 1946 air traffic control over the North Atlantic was
activated in conjunction with the establishment of the North Atlantic
Eegion of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The New
York Oceanic Air Traffic Control center assumed control of that
portion of the North Atlantic Region assigned to the United States.
Oceanic air route traffic control sectors in the Boston, Washington, and
Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control centers were established to
assist in controlling a portion of the North Atlantic area assigned to
the New York center.
Air route traffic control centers handled a total of 9,557,687 fix post
ings during the year, an increase of 1,400,415 over the previous year.
In addition, a total of 12,285 flight advisory service messages were
issued.
The delivery of the new type flight progress board units to several
centers was completed late in the fiscal year. It is expected that the
new flight progress posting system will be in operation at 14 centers
early in the fiscal year 1948.
Flow control procedures were inaugurated in the New York and
Washington centers on a trial basis during the year. The results indi
cate that these procedures should be continued and further developed.
Army Flight Service centers were relocated from quarters in con
junction with air route traffic' control centers to Army quarters at vari
ous Army airfields, and the number of Army Flight Service centers was
reduced. A plan for coordination between Army Flight Service cen
ters and air route traffic control centers was developed and placed into
effect.
Air-route surveillance radar was temporarily installed and operated
by the Army at the Washington center. Relocation of the scopes to
form an integral part of the center lay-out is now in progress. Service
tests to ascertain the usability of this equipment in air-route traffic
control will be made during the 1948 fiscal year.
The installation of air-route surveillance radar in the New York
center by the Airborne Instrument Laboratory, in conjunction with
the Air Transport Association, was started during the year. I t is
expected that the installation will be completed and service tested
during the 1948 fiscal year.
Airport Traffic Control.—A t the close of fiscal year 1947, the Civil
Aeronautics Administration was operating 124 control towers—119
with Federal funds and 5 with funds supplied by municipalities.
During the fiscal year 1947 these towers controlled approximately
1,300,000 landings and take-offs of aircraft per month.
Overseas control towers operated during fiscal year 1947 consisted
of five in Alaska and one in the Territory of Hawaii. These are in
cluded in the above totals.
67
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
The number of towers providing approach-control service was in
creased to a total of 61 during the year. Funds for equipment to
establish approach control at a total of 100 locations were provided
in the 1947 budget, and it is expected the remaining (39) towers will
be equipped during the first part of fiscal year 1948. Three modified
GCA trailers loaned by the Army to the Civil Aeronautics Admin
istration were set up at New York, Washington, and Chicago air
ports with the scopes remoted in the towers. This equipment was
installed to determine the practicability and usefulness of radar in
the surveillance and control of airport traffic. The equipment had
received 3 months’ service testing at Chicago by the close of the fiscal
year, and approximately 1 month, at New York and Washington,
Airport traffic-control personnel received training in GCA technique
in three groups, as follows:
Location
Num ber of
personnel
13
5
16
Sponsor
Gilfillan Bros.
CAA.
Army.
1 Supplemented by additional training at various Army air bases throughout the country.
Radar equipment was also operated on an experimental basis at
Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. These projects were conducted in
cooperation with the Technical Development Service.
Combined towers/INSACS were established on an experimental
basis at five locations in the United States to determine the effective
ness of this type of facility. Regional reports indicated, however,
that the results were generally unsatisfactory. By the end of fiscal
year 1947, one such facility had been restored to its original status
of two separate units and it is expected that no additional combined
operations will be authorized.
OFFICE OF SAFETY REGULATION
During the fiscal year 1947, Safety Regulation was faced with the
need for constant revision of certain basic programs and the imple
mentation of many new policies owing to the continued rapid expan
sion of the aviation industry and the task of reconversion from wartime
to peacetime aviation. The increased complexity of modern aircraft
made mandatory the use of specialized engineers and test pilots to cope
with the new engineering problems thus presented, and resulted in
many new developments in the training of crew personnel, conduct of
proving runs, and in establishing operational limitations.
Other factors which increased the responsibility as well as the
workload of Safety Regulation were (1) the increase in nonscheduled
air-carrier operations; (2) the material increase in the production of
aircraft; and (3) the increase in private flying resulting in part from
the availability of aviation training under the G. I. bill of rights.
The staffing program was delayed in respect to the authorized
increase for inspector employees because of the uncertainty as to the
amount that might be approved by Congress under Public Law 390.
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
68
Consequently, the program for the staffing of the District Office posi
tion was not completed prior to July 1, 1947, resulting, therefore, in
both a backlog of field inspections and a large amount of overtime
work.
Designee 'program.—The designee program, which was initiated
some years ago and which provides for the designation of qualified
volunteer personnel in the industry to perform required functions
of safety regulation work under the supervision of Civil Aeronautics
Administration personnel, was expanded during the year. The plan
calls for CAA supervision only of the manufacturer, scheduled and
nonscheduled air-line operations, aviation schools for both ground and
flight training, medical examiners, and other phases of the aeronautical
industry.
I t will require most of the fiscal year 1948 to recruit and train the
additional inspectors needed to supervise this designee program. As
noted on the following tabulation, on July 1, 1947, there were 7,997
of the various types of designees whereas on the same date the over-all
supervisory inspection personnel totaled but 531. Obviously, if all
the work performed by these designees had to be performed by CAA
personnel, the request for personnel would be greatly increased. The
saving to the Government is estimated at several millions of dollars.
The following tabulation, compiled as of July 1, 1947, shows the
current number of designated representatives as compared with those
on July 1,1946:
J u n e SO, 1946
Medical :
June so> l a ’>7
1,670
Medical examiners_____________________________ 1, 861
Flight operations :
81
Flight examiners (air-line transport)----------------120
Airman :
1,763
Private______________________________ 3, 380
17
Commercial__________________________
823
21
Mechanic__________ :_________________
404
43
Instrum ent__________________________
101
------1,844
------4,708
3,595
6, 689
Aircraft and components:
Designated engineering representatives—
40
Designated manufacturing inspection
representatives_____________________
51
Designated air carrier maintenance in
spection representatives_____________
39
Designated aircraft maintenance inspec
tion representatives-------------------------- 1,178
Total
2
31
16
653
1,308
_ 7, 997
-----
702
4 ,2 9 7
Transport aircraft and operation categories.—The question of trans
port aircraft and operation categories has been under discussion for
some time by the various interested Services of Civil Aeronautics Ad
ministration and numerous other groups. With the exception of trans
port category aircraft and scheduled passenger operation, there are no
specific rules relating airplane performance to airport sizes. In addi
tion, Part 04b of the Civil Air Regulations makes no distinction be
tween passenger and cargo airplanes with respect to performance or
other airworthiness requirements. Furthermore, part 42 covering
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
69
nonscheduled operations falls short of providing the same level of
safety as that provided for scheduled operations.
During the Joint Aircraft Industries Association Technical Com
mittee Meeting on Separate Cargo Category held April 15,1947, it was
unanimously agreed by representatives of several industry groups and
the Army and Navy that there should be definite rules governing cargo
operation and that a separate cargo category be established.
In view of the growing concern over operation categories and in an
effort to reconcile the deficiencies in the regulations, the Civil Aero
nautics Administration prepared a chart proposing a method of cate
gorizing aircraft and operating requirements for aircraft, airmen, and
operations in all classes of air carriers. The chart is being circulated to
the industry for approval.
F l ig h t O p e r a t io n s S er v ic e
The postwar expansion trend which was so evident in fiscal year
1946 was continued in the fiscal year 1947 and the following figures
reflect this expansion insofar as scheduled air carrier operations are
concerned:
Aircraft______________________________
Scheduled trips................... ............... ...........
July 1,1946
July 1,1947
579
1, 214
730
1,410
Percent in
crease
26
« 16
1 This does not include scheduled trips of feeder lines.
The rapid conversion from hostilities to peacetime operations is
most apparent in new air-line equipment primarily designed for pas
senger safety and comfort.
Four of the trunk lines air carriers procured large four-engine air
craft with pressurized cabins and placed them in long-distance highaltitude operation during this fiscal year. The inauguration of this
type of operations by American Airlines, Inc., National Airlines, Inc.,
and United Air Lines, Inc., with Douglas DC-6 aircraft, and by
Eastern Air Lines, Inc., with Lockheed L-49 aircraft, reflects a defi
nite trend toward high-altitude, long-distance operations.
There was a consistent and substantial increase in the expansion
of scheduled air-carrier operations, both United States and foreign
flag, resulting from the postwar conditions and expansion of national
aviation interests; extensions of prewar existing routes and inaugu
ration of new routes authorized by the Civil Aeronautics Board; ex
tensions and inauguration of operations in South America, European
and Asiatic-Pacific areas.
As of July 1, 1946, the United States flag operators were using a
total of 129 aircraft exclusively in operations outside the United
States, whereas on July 1, 1947, the total of aircraft used exclusively
in operations outside the United States by United States flag opera
tors was 172. I t is interesting to note that for all practical purposes,
prior to World War II, there was only one large United States flag
70
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OP COMMERCE
operator engaged in extensive foreign operations. Today there are
14 United States flag carriers operating in the international field, with
tremendous expansion of scheduled mileage. As of July 1, 1947, the
total certificated route mileage was 171,773. This is an increase of
41,500 over the previous year and indicates the basic need for forwardthinking policies.
Among new foreign flag operators are Commonwealth Pacific Air
lines, Ltd.; Royal Dutch Airline; Scandinavian Airlines System;
Sabena; and Peruvian National Airways. And an application is
presently being reviewed for Philippine Airlines. The total foreign
flag operators now number 25.
A continuous review and check has been maintained on proving
flight reports, covering practically all areas of the globe, submitted
by Transcontinental & Western Air, Pan American Airways, Ameri
can Overseas Airlines, Colonial Airlines, Chicago & Southern Air
Lines, and Northwest Airlines.
In the latter part of 1946 there were several serious air-carrier acci
dents that occurred during approaches for landings under indefinite
ceiling conditions when the ceilings were near authorized minimums.
Early in January 1947 the Civil Aeronautics Board, acting upon CAA
recommendation, revised section 61.752 of the Civil Air Regulations
to delete reference to “measured” ceilings. At about the same time
all of the four-engine landing minimums were reevaluated, in co
operation with air carriers, and revisions to four-engine landing mini
mums where such revisions seemed appropriate in the interest of safety
were effected. Since these actions were accomplished, no serious
scheduled air-carrier accidents have occurred during approaches for
landings under instrument conditions.
During the year 401 Standard Instrument Approach Procedures
for radio ranges and 25 Standard ILS Approach Procedures were
approved or revised, and Standard procedures, including minimums,
have been published in the Flight Information Manual and on Coast
and Geodetic A1 Charts for information and guidance of the flying
public. Instrument landing facilities have been commissioned at a
number of the more important airports throughout the United States.
Most of the scheduled air carriers have established training programs
for the indoctrination of their pilots in the techniques of using instru
ment landing systems, and the landing minimums down to 30% have
been authorized for the scheduled air carriers at a number of airports
where instrument landing system facilities have been commissioned.
Nonscheduled aircraft operation activities expanded tremendously
during the fiscal year. The number of nonscheduled air-carrier operat
ing certificates issued by the regions for the fiscal year 1947 totals
1,479. There are 1,384 applications pending or in the process of cer
tifications, while 762 applications have been canceled, abandoned, or
disapproved. The aircraft utilized by 1,333 operators at the time of
certification consisted of the following types:
Multi-engine: 480, of which 197 were DC-3, 9 were C-46, 28 were
DC-4, and 11 were amphibians.
Single-engine: 2,661, of which 95 were seaplanes or amphibians.
One operator is certificated for helicopter operation utilizing four
helicopters.
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
71
During this period air-carrier operating certificates were issued to
six feeder-line air carriers and the CAB issued conditional Certificates
of Convenience and Necessity to eight feeder-line air carriers. These
conditional Certificates of Convenience and Necessity were issued on
the basis of the air carriers showing that they could serve a reason
able number of communities along the authorized routes and therefore
CAA was called upon to provide the CAB with considerable infor
mation concerning the adequacy of airports at the proposed feeder
line stops. It is expected that Air Carrier Operating Certificates will
be issued to most of these eight feeder lines during the coming fiscal
year.
Ceiling and visibility minimums—take-off, regular, straight-in, and
alternate landing minimums—were established for nonscheduled civil
flying for each Standard Instrument Approach procedure.
To assist the eighth region which was understaffed, a, special inspec
tion team consisting of seven inspectors from Washington and the
field offices was assigned for the purpose of expediting the program
of certificating nonscheduled air carriers in that region. The total
work accomplished by this group in region 8 amounted to 27,688 manmiles of travel and 243 man-days of work. A total of 79.55 man-hours
were flown in region 8 aircraft and 48 inspections with associated paper
work were completed; 32 certificates were issued and 18 others were
initiated.
A sample company operations manual for the guidance of non
scheduled inspectors and operators and for applicants who desire a
nonscheduled operating certificate was developed and produced.
An experimental helicopter air mail shuttle service was conducted
in the New York area for a limited period of time by the Helicopter
Air Transport, Inc. This operation was closely followed for the pur
pose of determining the future operational problems involved.
The coordination of requests from the Federal Communications
Commission for investigation of proposed noncommercial and com
mercial radio station sites for probable aeronautical hazards involved
resulted in this office handling 2,710 items of this nature. In addition,
approximately 700 miscellaneous investigations were made in connec
tion with handling of “notice of construction or alteration along or
near civil airways.” A total of approximately 250 conferences were
held with Federal officials, attorneys, and engineers representing com
mercial radio interests and other private industries in coordination and
execution of the above-described work. A total of 153 air navigation
facilities certificates were issued during the above period; 8 certificates
for the operation of “true lights” were canceled.
A ir c r a f t
and
C o m p o n e n t s S er v ic e
Mayor accomplishments or projects during the year.—The Douglas
DC-6, Lockheed 649 and L49, all large transports, were approved and
introduced into scheduled operation; the first helicopter for water
operation received civil approval; extensive and improved testing
equipment for stress analysis, powerplant installations, and flight test
ing was developed and contracts for construction have been let; and
72
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
21 types of military aircraft were approved under the newly estab
lished Part 09, Aircraft Airworthiness Limited Category.
As a result of meetings held with the industry and specialized groups
in airframe, powerplant, equipment, and flight performance, new and
revised regulations were effected to reflect improvements and develop
ments in the field of aviation. Principal results are: A set of cate
gories for use in all types of operation. This is a far-reaching step
in an attempt to coordinate and integrate the requirements involving
aircraft, airmen, and operations. An amendment to CAR 03_ and
CAR 04 requiring a thorough service test of all new or extensively
modified aircraft was adopted by the CAB. New regulations and
related safety standards have been developed for the improvement
of materials, fire-detection systems, and fire-fighting systems.
As a result of the introduction of the newly developed type air
craft, the Douglas DC-3 was replaced on certain routes and the use
of four-engine aircraft on heavy traffic density routes and long hauls
has reflected in this service in increased maintenance activities. To
handle the increased activities in foreign scheduled air-carrier serv
ice, six additional foreign offices were staffed with maintenance
inspection personnel.
Technical data for turbo-jet and turbo-prop engines were reviewed.
A type certificate for one of the engines is likely to be issued shortly.
Other major engine projects were the approval for civil use of fuel
injection systems and water injection systems, turbo-superchargers,
low-tension ignition systems, high-performance fuels, rocket motors,
and the 3,500-horsepower Wasp major engine. Reverse pitch pro
pellers and automatic feathering devices are now in use or under
going tests on a number of transport type aircraft. Pressurized cabins,
thermal deicing systems, improved radio communication and instru
ment approach equipment, including the use of radar devices, have
also added heavily to the administrative burden.
The negotiations for the United States international airworthiness
standards, which have been largely carried on by this service, have
been extremely successful. Work has been in progress in preparation
for a special meeting to be held in Paris in September on temperature
accountability, and for the annual meeting of ICAO next spring.
This work includes development of additional aircraft categories
governing all commercial nonscheduled passenger and freight opera
tion. Owing to lack of clearly defined domestic policies governing
this type of operation, and a wide difference of opinion within the air
craft industry on the subject, establishment of a United States posi
tion has been extremely difficult.
The designee system is now in effect in both the engineering and in
spection fields and a total of 1,308 designees were active at the close of
the fiscal year. Indications to date point to better service to the public
and, as a result of the work accomplished by the designees, CAA per
sonnel have been able to devote greater attention to over-all supervision
in the engineering and inspection fields. An example of the services
rendered by designees is clearly shown in the nonscheduled division,
where over 90 percent of all inspections were conducted by designees.
More effective supervision, made possible by the new designee system,
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
73
in addition to effective proposed revised regulations, of which categori
zation of repair stations is considered extremely beneficial, should bring
about a greater degree of safety in the entire nonscheduled field.
Fees for registering aircraft and recording aircraft ownership were
instituted. Collections total approximately $350,000.
Complete decentralization of activities and responsibilities for ad
ministration of the regulations to the regional offices is being accom
plished. Significant functions in this regard will be the issuance of
Type and Production Certificates by the regional offices.
The most significant developments appear to be that :
(1) The volume of production of approved models has been decreas
ing recently ; however, there has been extensive activity in the develop
ment of new models, particularly transport types.
(2) In connection with further development of “all-weather” trans
port aircraft, much work must be done to determine the safety of new
heat deicing installations, communication, equipment, radar, automatic
propeller feathering devices, reversible propellers, jet assisted take-off
installations, and other similar new devices rapidly coming into use.
(3) A greater degree of responsibility for safe construction and
maintenance of aircraft and components is being delegated to the air
craft manufacturers and repair agencies.
(4) Plans are now nearing completion to delegate a greater degree
of responsibility to scheduled air carriers for their maintenance and
inspection organizations and procedures of the operators.
A ir m a n S er v ic e
The expansion and growth in all phases of aviation were reflected in
increased workload and services rendered by the Airman Service.
Continuing the policy of appointing qualified designees to give ex
aminations, a considerable growth in the number of such designees was
noted. The number of private pilot examiners increased during the
year from 1,763 to 3,380. The number of commercial pilot examiners
had an even greater increase, from a total of 17 to a total of 823. The
same growth is reflected in the number of mechanic examiners, the
total rising from 21 in July 1946 to 404 in June 1947.
All of the above figures reflect the tremendous expansion in peace
time aviation. As a result of the G. I. bill of rights under which exservicemen may acquire aviation training and experience, there has
been an unprecedented expansion of flying schools. At the close of
June 1947 CAA had certificated a total of 2,489 ground and flying
schools. In addition, there had been approved 76 schools for the train
ing of mechanics. In all matters pertaining to training under the G. I.
bill of rights and school certification, complete cooperation is given to
the Veterans’ Administration.
In view of the large increase in the number of certificates a change
in the manner of issuing them became necessary. Eecordation and
issuance of all airman certificates were centralized in Washington.
This is accomplished by mechanical means and greatly facilitates both
speed of issue and control of all certificates on a national basis.
The grading of written airman examinations is also operated on a
centralized basis since the number of such examinations rapidly out
74
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
grew the regional facilities for processing them. As a result, their
grading is now done mechanically in the Washington office. During
the year the flow of such examinations was fairly even, with a high in
July 1946 of 11,279 and a low in June 1947 of 8,529. The total of
examinations processed was 121,742. In addition, a total of 17 new
examinations were issued.
The trend toward larger and more complex airplanes necessitated
certification of three new classes of flight personnel—flight radio
operators, flight navigators, and flight engineers—and plans for prep
aration of appropriate certificates were completed during the year.
Studies were made and personnel trained in the maintenance and
operation of helicopters and in glider operations.
A v ia t io n M e d ic a l S er v ic e
Physical standards.—Current physical standards permit medical
certification of the majority of applicants in some capacity. A waiver
procedure enables individual evaluation of the aeronautical capabili
ties of those who fail to meet standards and permits their medical cer
tification in many instances. Continuous studies of physical standards
and performance records have been made during the past year in
order to suggest improvements in aircraft design and operational
efficiency and for the development of physical standards in keeping
with the changing designs of aircraft and operational requirements.
Physical examinations for air-line transport and commercial pilots
are performed by physicians who have been training as flight surgeons
and who have been designated as medical examiners for the admin
istrator. This group numbered 1,861 as of June 80. Physical ex
aminations for student and private pilots are performed by the family
physician. There were a total of 301,367 medical certifications in
the fiscal year 1947. Of this number 388 were waiver cases.
Aviation psychology.—Psychological factors that have been con
sidered in the promotion of aviation and the furtherance of public
safety include the effective span of attention of the individual in order
to design instruments and properly lay out the instrument panel; re
action time for purposes of control design; the dimensions of visual
experience for cockpit visibility requirements and for the indoctrina
tion of pilots in the illusory sensations which affect judgment; and
the exploration of the psychological aspects of aircraft accidents.
In collaboration with other groups this Division began developing
an over-all rating of the individual that takes into consideration his
physical qualifications, psychological characteristics, and airman per
formance record. This rating will assist materially in the selection
of airmen for particular types of flying activity and provides the
applicant with information about himself that will aid him in plan
ning his aviation career. The public safety will benefit in both
instances.
Aeromedical design.—Aeromedical design may be regarded as the
adaption of aircraft to the human organism. In aircraft design, per
haps more than elsewhere, human needs have been subjugated to
engineering requirements. Experiences of both military and civil
aviation have demonstrated that there are limits in structural design
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
75
beyond which even the most able pilot falls short of optimum effi
ciency. Whereas in military aviation the subjects for study have been
young and vigorous persons, civil aviation must consider the very
young, the aged, the debilitated, and the infirm in defining these needs.
The Aeromedical Design and Material Division has been concerned
with human factors which are pertinent to the design of aircraft and
aviation equipment. The Division is prepared to furnish quantita
tive descriptions of man’s physical characteristics, capabilities, limita
tions and his tolerance to physical, chemical, and dynamic-systemic
stresses. Such quantitative “specifications” for man provide the
aeronautical designers and engineers with a sound basis for further
adapting the aircraft to the pilot.
Operational hygiene.—Operational hygiene includes aero-physiol
ogy, which is concerned with the study of all physiological factors
which affect airmen and the application of this knowledge to the solu
tion of airmen’s problems to increase their safety, efficiency, and useful
flying life. There is little point in the selection of qualified individ
uals or in building a proper aircraft if conditions of operation are not
maintained in accordance with physiological requirements. The ma
jor physiological factors that have been considered during 1947 will
be continued during the fiscal year 1948. These include :
(1) Low barometric pressure (altitude) with its concomitant prob
lems of anoxia and decompression sickness, oxygen equipment, pres
surized cabins, etc. Other problems are aero-otitis, aero-sinusitis,
transportation of individuals with physical defects, limits of physical
defects adversely affected by low barometric pressure.
(2) Cold and heat, their effect on efficiency, relation to problems
of heating and ventilation, especially in pressurized cabins.
(3) Acceleration and deceleration, effect on the individual and safe
limits. Of these two, deceleration as it occurs in aircraft accidents is
of the greatest interest. Aero-physiology is concerned with the limits
of tolerance to deceleration, and, in cooperation with Aeromedical
Design, in protecting the individual within these limits through proper
design of aircraft and equipment.
(4) Psycho-physiological limitations. In cooperation with Aviation
Psychology, studies the psycho-physiological limitations of personnel
and attempts to incorporate this information into aircraft instrumen
tation, operations, and operating conditions. By defining psychophysiological limitations, assists in establishment of airman standards,
OFFICE OF AIRPORTS
Federal-aid airport program.-—The Federal-Aid Airport Act was
passed by the Seventy-ninth Congress (2d sess., Public Law 377) to
provide for the development or improvement of public airports in the
continental United States, its territories, and Puerto Rico. Under the
act, annual appropriations amounting in the aggregate to $500,000,000
can be made to the Administrator over a period of seven fiscal years.
The maximum appropriation for any fiscal year shall not exceed $100,000,000, and shall remain available until June 30, 1953, unless sooner
expended. All Federal expenditures under this act are to be matched
by local sponsors. An appropriation of $45,000,000 was made avail
76
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
able for such purposes for the fiscal year 1947 and the Office of Air
ports immediately initiated the Federal-aid airport program with the
implementation of the rules and regulations for administering the act,
publication of a National Airport Plan, and staffing of regional and
district offices with the necessary personnel to carry out the provisions
of the act.
That the result of the above was more than satisfactory was evi
denced by the spontaneous response from public agencies, State aero
nautics commissions, and sponsors in filing project requests amount
ing to $290,000,000 in Federal monies to assist in the development and
construction of urgently needed airports mainly postponed or deferred
during the war years.
Through necessity, and in accordance with section 8 of the act re
quiring prior authority of the Congress before undertaking any proj
ects for the development of class 4 and larger airports, only class 1,
2, and 3 airports were included in the 1947 program in the amount of
approximately $35,000,000 of Federal participation.
Toward the close of the 1947 fiscal year it became apparent that it
would be more advantageous to merge the 1947 and 1948 programs
into one program which would include all classes of airports. Because
there was a carry-over of funds not expended in 1947 and a reduction
of 50 percent in the funds requested for 1948, the merger would allow
for better distribution of the funds available and enable more priority
projects to be included.
The tremendous expansion in civil aviation activities, including
nonscheduled private flying and particularly scheduled air transport
operations, has created a serious deficiency in adequate airport facili
ties throughout the country. I t is believed that the F ederal-aid airport
program will help to alleviate this deficiency as larger appropriations
are forthcoming. In so doing, it will provide the necessary impetus
to encourage local public and private investment in the development
of an adequate national airport system.
Advisory service.—Under the airport advisory activities of the
Office of Airports the collection and maintenance of accurate informa
tion relative to all airport facilities within the continental United
States and its territories were continued through 1947. These airport
facilities records form the basis of airport information disseminated
to airmen through the “Airman’s Guide” (containing Notices to Air
men), and for charting and mapping purposes, as well as to the
military.
Development of landing areas.—At the end of the fiscal year it was
determined that the development of landing areas, national defense
program, should be drawn to a close. Of the 545 sites, all are now
physically completed with the exception of 6. The above-mentioned
number of projects was required for purely military necessity, and
to convert the great majority of them for civilian use will require addi
tional expenditures from the Federal-aid airport program.
OFFICE OF FIELD OPERATIONS
Because of the expanding activities of the Office of Foreign and
Field Operations, it was necessary to separate its two major func-
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
77
tions. As a result, during the fiscal year 1947 two separate offices were
formed, the Office of Foreign Operations and the Office of Field
Operations.
_
.
.
The Office of Field Operations now consists of an assistant adminis
trator, two regional counselors, and three administrative and clerical
personnel. The assistant administrator serves in direct liaison_ be
tween the regional administrators and the administrator in Washing
ton, and the regional counselors serve as the direct contacts with the
field through the medium of field trips. _
Two conferences, including all regional administrators with the
assistant administrators in Washington, were called by the Office of
Field Operations for the administrator during 1947. Matters con
sidered which required further action were followed up by the Wash
ington office in the interest of mutual understanding and agreement.
Routine correspondence has been reduced, but the Monthly High
lights Reports submitted by each region continue to be of primary
interest to the Administrator. He, in turn, advises the regional admin
istrators of correspondingly interesting items of Washington hap
penings.
In addition to field trips covering all continental regions and Alaska
by field operations personnel, the assistant administrator inspected
the CAA offices in the ninth region (Hawaii) and made a special trip
to the Caribbean area.
OFFICE OF FOREIGN OPERATIONS
Civil aviation missions were operated in Mexico and Peru during the
year and negotiations were begun to provide for similar missions to
Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. These missions
are conducted under the sponsorship of the Department of State for
the purpose of assisting the Latin-American Republics in establishing
civil aviation codes, organizations, and facilities. The missions are
operated on a cooperative basis for the mutual benefit of the United
States and the Latin-American Republics. The missions stimulate the
sale and use of United States products and facilitate the safe and
efficient operation of United States flag air carriers, while permitting
the Latin-American Republics to draw on the entire technical knowl
edge of the CAA and the United States aviation industry for civil
aviation programs best adapted to their needs with minimum cost.
United States civil aviation equipment techniques, standards, and
practices were demonstrated in the United States to civil aviation rep
resentatives from 30 foreign governments.
Itineraries and conferences were arranged for numerous visiting avi
ation officials of foreign governments including those from China, In
dia, Spain, Switzerland, Philippines, Iran, Iraq, Union of South
Africa, Siam, Netherlands, and France.
Arrangements were made for the heads of civil aviation of Mexico,
Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, and Peru to study CAA and United
States aviation methods in the United States as guests of the CAA un
der sponsorship of the Department of State.
78
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The Governments of Portugal and France were assisted in the pro
curement of specialized aviation material available only through CAA
sources.
The Governments of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, and Portugal were
assisted in the recruitment of highly qualified United States civil avi
ation personnel. Arrangements were made for the training in the
United States of civil aviation technical personnel from Belgium,
Czechoslovakia, Syria, the Philippines, and the 20 Latin-American
Republics.
Continuous study, including field inspection trips, has been made of
facilitation of international air travel problems with the result that
many recommendations for the simplification of air travel and the
elimination of artificial barriers were made and implemented. A
United States-Canadian governmental and air carrier working group
was created to consider mutual aviation facilitation matters.
Arrangements were made for the operation of former military air
navigation facilities in foreign locations needed for civil aviation un
der the authority of Executive Order 9709 at Paris, France; Casa
blanca, Morocco; Azores; Dakar, French West Africa; and Tontouta,
New Caledonia.
An agreement was prepared for negotiation with the Republic of the
Philippines for the CAA to train citizens of the Philippines in the
United States and to establish, maintain, and operate air navigation
facilities in the Philippines in accordance with the Philippine Reha
bilitation Act of 1946.
Foreign field offices to insure safety of operation of American flag
air carriers abroad were operated at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Lima,
P eru; Mexico City, Mexico; London, England; Cairo, Egypt; Shang
hai, China; Manila, Philippine Islands; Paris, France; Balboa, Canal
Zone; and Sydney, Australia. Arrangements were made to establish
an office at Tokyo, Japan, and negotiations were started for an office
at Buenos Aires, Argentina.
OFFICE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
The Office of Business Management, operating as the directing and
coordinating center for all administrative and business management
matters, continued its efforts to develop better and more efficient ad
ministrative operating practices throughout the Civil Aeronautics
Administration.
The Budget Service continued to fashion its program, policies, and
procedures to fit into the Administrator’s decentralization plan. In
creased emphasis was placed on the need for improved budget esti
mates from the regions and Washington officials and the need for
more closely relating these estimates to the program and operating
requirements of the Administration. In addition, considerable at
tention was given to the need for strengthening the fiscal program
ming of the agency in order to make this procedure a more effective
tool of management and in order to provide a closer tie-in between
financial activities and operations.
The Management Analysis Service, by way of putting into opera
tion the reorganized structure of CAA. continued s u r v a v s and studies
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
79
of Washington and regional offices which resulted in appreciable
economies through the elimination of undesirable operating prac
tices, adoption of improved procedures, and consolidation of func
tions. The service developed reporting systems providing work load
and management control statistics not heretofore available. A pro
gram for determining and depicting, comparatively, the quality of
the various regional performances was initiated. Administrative and
service manuals prepared and disseminated throughout the Admin
istration conveyed basic standards for the guidance of administrative
and operating personnel of CAA.
Staff assistance and advice rendered to administrative and operat
ing offices effected organizational improvement, establishment of basic
objectives, a firmer outline of functions. Potential savings resulted
from the installation of streamlined operating procedures, particular
ly with respect to relieving field technicians of clerical functions.
Personnel classification operations were strengthened and certain
authorities granted the regions to give them direct control of more
of their actions. Plans were completed for a field standards program
to coordinate fully with the Civil Service Commission field classifica
tion authorities and responsibilities.
Contract and requirements service.—There was established in each
region centralized management of all CAA property, equipment, and
supplies, including the operating of regional warehouses serving all
CAA organizational units. In continental regions, the centralized
management of maintenance supplies assures a sustaining supply of
materials at Federal Airways field stations and relieves the field tech
nicians of unnecessary clerical duties.
The following surplus property, vital to CAA needs, and which
otherwise would have necessitated purchase at cost from commercial
sources, was acquired from disposal agencies by transfer without
charge under the provisions of Public Law 490 : Radio, electronics,
and other operating equipment, $4,300,000 ; airport property for use
as intermediate landing fields, $5,600,000. Additional property hav
ing a value of approximately $750,000 was acquired by purchase
from appropriated funds.
The General Accounts Service audited and scheduled for payment,
approximately 200,000 vouchers involving the expenditure of $97,500,000. Obligations were incurred and recorded for an additional
$25,400,000. Employees engaged in 24-hour continuous operations re
ceived approximately 170,000 premium payments, each of which had
to be individually calculated. Improvement effected in reporting pro
cedures expedited submission of reports required for management pur
poses and by the General Accounting Office, Bureau of the Budget,,
and others.
Approval of the Comptroller General was obtained for simplifying
pay-roll procedure, accounting practices in the Alaska office, and han
dling fees collected in the Registration of and Recording of Liens on
Aircraft.
The Project Audit Staff was established to undertake the responsi
bility for auditing the records of sponsors on the Federal Airport
program for determining and verifying the cost of airport projects...
766188— 47----- 8
80
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Aircraft-control service.—The Administration’s fleet of 231 aircraft,
located in continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and 7 foreign
countries, operated over 37,000 flight hours or about twice the number
of hours flown in any previous year. The hours flown were utilized
as follows:
Office of Federal Airways—Patroling and checking Federal Air
ways and aids to navigation----------------------------------------------- 11, 705
Office of Safety Regulation—Travel between airports not served
by common carrier, inspection trips to aircraft factories and
installations, and proficiency flying_______________________ 20, 776
Office of Airports—Surveys of new, existing and surplus airports,
including proposed sites and seaplane bases----------------------- 2, 020
Administrative Offices—Transportation of administrative person
nel on official business___________________________________
960
Miscellaneous—Ferry flights for aircraft and necessary test
flights____________________________ '______________________ 1, 672
Insufficient funds prevented proficiency flying thought necessary to
maintain the competency of CAA pilot personnel.
The Administration replaced practically its entire fleet by acquiring
over 200 surplus military aircraft. Modification and certification of
these surplus aircraft have been 95 percent completed. Spare parts,
engines, accessories, and hangar, line, and shop equipment valued at
approximately $11,000,000 have been located and transferred without
charge under the provisions of Public Law 490. The replaced aircraft
have been declared surplus.
Alaska Commissary operations.—The following is a report for the
fiscal year 1947.
S a les:
Pay-roll deductions-------------------------------------------$197, 750. 93
20, 830, 83
Cash sales____________________________________
Weather Bureau employees-------------------------------22,208.23
Construction camps------------------------------------------22,163. 38
Other Government agencies_____________________
12,610.27
Mess hall per diem credit and cash sales----------12, 849. 29
M iscellaneous_________________________________
428.92
Accounts receivable-----------------------------------------24,138. 70
Gross sales______________________________________________ $312,980. 55
Cost of goods sold :
Inventory July 1,1946__________________________ 151,187.17
Purchases during 1947---------------------------------------- 335, 513.16
Less inventory June 30, 1947____________________
486, 700. 33
283,367. 01
------------------ 203,333.32
109, 647.23
Operating expenses:
Salaries______________________________________
Travel________________________________________
Transportation (GBL)_________________________
Transportation (contract)_____________________
Communications_______________________________
Equipment____________________________________
Supplies and miscellaneous_____________________
Net operating loss.
82, 249.13
221.60
33,075.00
2,037.09
47. 68
1,273. 80
342. 38
------------------ 119,246.68
9, 599.45
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
81
OFFICE OF AVIATION INFORMATION
The demand for information on all phases of aviation by both users
and writers was greater during the fiscal year 1947 than in any previous
year.
Growth of the pilot-training program, in which approximately 81,000 ex G I’s were receiving training simultaneously, inauguration of the
Federal Airport Plan, requests for information from foreign countries
and special assignments for the International Civil Aviation Organiza
tion, as well as an upsurge of private flying, accounted for a large
portion of the work of the Office of Aviation Information during the
year.
I t was inevitable that the impact of aviation activity, which was
reflected in a 63-percent increase in the number of registered aircraft,
a 76-percent increase in the number of student-pilot certificates issued,
and a 110-percent increase in the number of civil aircraft produced,
would be felt in increased demands for informational material in the
form of press releases, publications, and visual aids.
An additional heavy work load was placed on our office as a result
of investigations in air-safety and air-navigation aids, which created
widespread national interest and increased the volume of requests fo r'
technical data, conferences, and collaborations with writers from the
daily press and popular and technical periodicals. Activities of an
unusual nature included two national exhibitions depicting the work of
the Civil Aeronautics Administration in contributing to domestic and
international aviation. The first was presented to a gathering of inter
national aviation technicians representing 60 nations at Indianapolis,
who had made a survey of technical aspects of aviation abroad and
here, studying the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s Federal Air
ways system and its component navigation aids. Here there was un
folded the whole story of what the United States has in air naviga
tion equipment, graphically illustrated, emphasized, and described by
publications prepared in three languages by the Office of Aviation
Information.
As a result of the Indianapolis conference ICAO, the International
Civil Aviation Organization, adopted almost in toto methods, tech
niques, and equipment developed and sponsored by the CAA. I t was
estimated by financial experts that this will eventually result in the
sale abroad of approximately $100,000,000 in American manufacturers’
equipment. As a byproduct of the Indianapolis technical gathering
the same visual material was presented to the general public at the
National Aircraft Show in Cleveland, where it formed the theme
center of the technical exhibits.
Other work of the office was routine except that it was in larger
volume than ever before. Some 110 press releases were sent out and
21 speeches written for CAA speakers. The wartime history of the
CAA was completed and submitted to the Bureau of the Budget.
Bibliographies on such subjects as flying clubs, skywriting, and air
ports were compiled by the CAA library. A tremendous amount of
information on the airport program, consisting principally of local
ized information on individual projects, was disseminated. A larger
82
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
number of writers than in any previous year wrote and visited the
office for specific facts and figures. The number of veterans seeking
information on aviation tapered off, but inquiries from the press,
radio, Government agencies, and the general public increased.
The Office gathered material from all CAA regions for the editing
and preparation for publication of a booklet on Terrain Flying, which
will be a practical aid to pilots flying over dangerous terrain and
over country unfamiliar to them.
Statistics were in unusual demand during the year as the funda
mental tools of the trade needed by the aviation industry in order
to effectively plan its future programming. As a result, several spe
cial studies were prepared. Among these was one depicting the growth
of nonscheduled operations, resulting in a special, statistical study
called The Development, Operation, and Regulation of the Nonsched
uled Air Carrier, the first such material made available in this field.
The Statistical Service also made a Pilot Age Study, a report on
Civil Aircraft by States and Counties, and completed the report on
United States Military Aircraft Acceptances (1940-45) of Aircraft,
Engine, and Propeller Production.
An Annual Production Review for the calendar year 1946 was made
ready for publication, the first annual summary to present the official
record of both military and civil production in the three major seg
ments of the aeronautical manufacturing industry.
More posters in the CAA’s educational campaign against unsafe
flying were prepared by the Visual Service of the Office. These posters,
exhibited at airports all over the country, are products of the CAA’s
experience in the field, where inspectors are in constant contact with
all grades of pilots. The work of visual information specialists in
graphic presentation of flying aids and new electronic developments
was effective in “selling” United States ideas and equipment for use
on world airways.
The Office fell heir to four excellent airport displays used by the
Aeronautical Industries Association in its space at the Cleveland
show and these were used in other exhibits to advance and explain
the Federal Airport Program.
In addition to the technical pamphlets in three languages, the Pub
lications Service of the Office printed four important booklets: Ad
vancing Air Navigation, an account of the CAA’s air navigation
aids; United States Navigation Aids, a brief description of air nav
igation devices and systems available in the United States; Manual 42
for use by nonscheduled air carriers; and an Air Safety Enforcement
Guide, which details safety rules, regulations, and practices in simple
language for all pilots, and which has proved an important link be
tween the CAA and the various State aviation organizations in the
promotion of flying safety.
The third of the CAA’s simplified textbooks for the beginner pilot,
Facts of Flight, was completed and sent to the printer, and a booklet
for use by CAA personnel was published. The CAA Journal, official
monthly publication of the CAA and the Civil Aeronautics Board,
reached a paid subscription figure of 11,796.
The high standards set in previous publications have been continued,
as is clearly illustrated by Realm of Flight and Path of Flight.
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
83
To date, approximately 176,000 copies, at 60 cents per copy, of the
former and approximately 103,000 copies, at 40 cents per copy, of the
latter have been sold by the Superintendent of Documents. This
tremendous sales volume of these two publications alone shows that
the return to the Government more than paid for the initial cost of
writing, editing, and processing.
First issues of the Airman’s Guide for Alaska appeared during the
year along with two issues of the Flight Information Manual, valu
able flying aids for all grades of pilots.
Routine work of the Office reflects most accurately the increased
interest in all matters aeronautical. Requests for information by
phone and mail totaled almost 138,500 and the replies included the
distribution of 8,153,000 specifications, regulations, amendments, and
publications.
OFFICE OF TH E GENERAL COUNSEL
During the fiscal year 1947 the Aeronautical Legal Office was
reorganized into four main divisions and is now known as the Office
of the General Counsel. The reorganization was necessary in order
to provide for a higher efficiency in handling legal demands from the
various services of the CAA and to put into effect the regional attor
ney system under which one regional attorney is provided for each
of the nine regions. In addition, during the middle of the fiscal
year the entire responsibility for the legal work arising out of the
Federal airport program was placed upon the Office of the General
Counsel, creating a whole new field of work.
General Counsel.—The General Counsel and Assistant General
Counsel, in addition to having final responsibility for the supervision
and direction of all operations of the office, attended numerous meet
ings, representing the CAA and the Department of Commerce. The
General Counsel was the Commerce member and the Assistant Gen
eral Counsel was the alternate on the legal subcommittee of the air
coordinating committee. In addition, the General Counsel was a
member of the United States section of CITEJA and was present
at a large number of meetings at this organization required in order
to prepare the position of the United State delegation at the ICAO
Conference held in Montreal, Canada.
The General Counsel or the Assistant General Counsel, as repre
sentatives of the Administration, attended numerous meetings at
national organizations affecting civil aviation, such as the National
Aviation Clinic sponsored by the NACA, the meetings of the Aviation
Committee of the American Legion, and several meetings of local
boards of trade. In addition, the General Counsel was requested to
do special work for the aviation committee of the American Bar
Association.
Enforcement and Litigation Division.—In order to present a proper
picture of the activities of this Division, it is necessary to consolidate
the enforcement actions taken by the nine regional attorneys in the
several regions and class them as a portion of the activities of the
Division. It should be pointed out that the Enforcement and Liti
gation Division supervises these enforcement activities and reviews
84
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
all enforcement actions taken by the regional attorneys to insure
adherence to established policies and to secure national uniformity.
During the fiscal year 1,788 reports were received, which, added
to the 529 violation reports carried over from the previous year, made
a total of 2,317 enforcement cases to be handled by the Office of the
General Counsel during the fiscal year. This represents an increase
in violation cases of approximately 30 percent over any previous year.
Of the total of 2,317 enforcement cases, over 60 percent were com
pletely disposed of during the fiscal year, the violator being punished
by a monetary fine or by suspension or revocation of his certificate.
Of the remaining 40 percent of the cases, 33 percent were in various
stages of proceeding short of final assessment of penalty; only 7
percent were cases on which no action was taken at the end of the
fiscal year.
Of the 477 cases in which complaints had been filed with the CAB
and decisions had been rendered during the fiscal year, there were
394 cases in which the certificate was revoked or suspended. In 83
cases the complaint was either dismissed by the board or withdrawn
by the Administrator. During the same period, 295 civil penalty
actions were initiated and a total of $39,240 was collected arising from
civil penalty action, $33,890 being collected directly by the CAA and
$5,350 being collected by the Department of Justice as a result of
cases referred to that Department for collection in the district courts.
The balance of the enforcement cases were either handled by repri
mand or filed for record if the violation was minor, or were still in
some stage of proceeding short of final action. For instance, 621
cases were still pending before the CAB.
A total of 167 hearings were held before the CAB, at which attor
neys of this Division or regional attorneys represented the Adminis
trator. This represents an increase of approximately 30 percent over
the number of hearings in which the Administrator was requested to
appear during any preceding year.
General Opinions Division.—This Division was assigned 727 items
during the fiscal year requiring the preparation of written memoranda.
Approximately 50 percent of these items constituted formal written
opinions on questions of law presented by various organizational units
of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, and by members of the gen
eral public. Legal clearance was given to 63 documents prepared in
other offices of the Administration, and 313 oral opinions were rendered
on questions where formal written opinions were not required. The
questions presented concerned interpretation of the Civil Aeronautics
Act,_ appropriations acts and other legislation, Regulations of the Ad
ministrator, contracts to which the Government was a party or in
which it had some interest, and claims by or against the Government.
A considerable increase in the complexity of claims questions presented
resulted from the enactment of the Federal Tort Claims Act, per
mitting the administrative settlement of certain claims against the
Government, and waiving the Government’s immunity to suit with re
spect to certain other types of claims.
The work of the Division also included preparation of reports to theDepartment of Justice on the law and facts with respect to suits filed
by or against the Government. Contracts, agreements, and permits-
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
85
were prepared for execution by various officials of the Administra
tion, in cases where the standard forms of Government contracts were
not applicable. The most important of these related to the operation
of air-navigation facilities throughout the world taken over by the
CAA from the armed forces.
Increased activity in the field of large-scale financing of the pur
chase of aircraft resulted in many inquiries from the general public
regarding the legal aspects of the registration of aircraft and the
recordation of conveyances, mortgages, and other instruments affecting
aircraft. Several drafts of proposed international conventions on
these subjects were analyzed in the Division.
One member of the Division devoted the major part of his time to the
legal aspects of the administration of the Washington National Air
port, including the negotiation of miscellaneous contracts, renewal of
permits and leases, and legal clearance of insurance policies and bonds.
This work was greately increased during the fiscal year because of the
fact that many of the existing contracts at the airport expired during
the year, which was the fifth since the commencement of major oper
ations there.
Legislation and Regulations Division.—Activities of the Legislation
and Regulations Division included coordination of the views within
the Administration and preparation of the Administration’s comments
on 80 legislative bills, proposed legislative bills, and proposed com
ments of other Departments and agencies of the Government on legis
lative bills, and preparation of seven drafts of proposed bills relating
to the functions of the Administration. Attorneys from this office
also attended 17 regular and 4 special meetings of the CAA-CAB
subcommittee for consideration of proposed amendments to the Civil
Air Regulations, prepared 590 interpretations of and proposed amend
ments to the Civil Air Regulations, provided 487 advisory opinions,
and gave legal clearance to 129 documents of various types issuing
from the Administration.
This office also represented the Administrator before the CAB in
all meetings having to do with the adoption of Civil Air Regulations.
Eleven parts and revisions of parts of the regulations of the Admin
istrator and 28 amendments to these parts were prepared, all material
for insertion in the Federal Register was given legal clearance and
certified, and liaison was maintained between the Bureau of the Fed
eral Register and the Administration. An analysis was made of all
duties, functions, and procedures of the Administration to insure com
pliance with the Administrative Procedure Act, and regulations set
ting forth these duties, functions, and procedures were prepared and
published in the Federal Register.
Airports Division.—Prior to November 3, 1946, some of the legal
work of the Administration with respect to airport matters was per
formed by personnel of the Office of Airports, independently of the
Office of the General Counsel. On that date, however, the Adminis
trator placed all airport legal work under the direction and supervi
sion of the General Counsel and on January 2,1947, the Airports Divi
sion of the Office of the General Counsel was established on an informal
basis to carry out this function. Since then, the airport work of the
86
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
General Counsel’s Office has been performed by and through that
Division.
The major part of the airport work of the General Counsel’s Office
during the past fiscal year has involved the administration of the
Federal Airport Act.
Fifteen applications for Federal aid from sponsors of projects un
der the Federal Airport Act and a like number of Grant Agreements
between the United States and such sponsors have been reviewed and
approved as to legal sufficiency. In view of the sponsors’ lack of
knowledge of or unfamiliarity with requirements of the Federal Air
port Act and the regulations, as well as the procedure to be followed
in obtaining assistance under the act, work of this Division in connec
tion with the review of applications for grants submitted during the
first fiscal year, which were the first submitted in the program, involved
extensive study and revisions of documents submitted in order to cure
defects and deficiencies.
Approximately 78 formal legal opinions involving the Federal air
port program have been rendered; approximately 52 letters or other
types of communications involving legal questions or problems have
been cleared; and approximately 128 matters involving legal questions
or problems ave been handled by correspondence other than formal
legal opinions.
Ten requests for conveyance of Federal lands under section 16 of the
Federal Airport Act, addressed to the Federal Department or agency
having jurisdiction over such lands, have been reviewed and approved
as to legal sufficiency.
Eight amendments to the Federal Airport Act have been prepared
and recommended to the Congress through the Department of Com
merce, and 10 reports have been made, through the Department of
Commerce, on legislation before the Congress relating to airports.
In addition, two reports were made to the Bureau of the Budget o n .
comments of other Government Departments on legislation before the
Congress relating to airports.
Regional attorneys.—Regional attorneys operating under the super
vision of the General Counsel’s Office rendered a total of 2,131 inter
pretations of or opinions concerning legal matters arising in their
respective regions; 2,013 items of general correspondence were handled
by these attorneys and legal clearances were issued by them in con
nection with 284 matters handled by other branches of the Administra
tion. The regional attorneys attended a total of 969 conferences and
26 public hearings other than those involving safety enforcement
work. The regional attorneys in two regions each delivered a series
of lectures on enforcement of Civil Air Regulations.
PLANS AND PERFORMANCE STAFF
During the year the staff served the Administrator in planning and
coordinating activities involving program planning, the Air Coordi
nating Committee, the International Civil Aviation Organization,
and aeronautical standardization. Specific programs are discussed
below.
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
87
Program planning.—The Program planning officer is charged with
the development of recommendations with respect to broad policy mat
ters and general problems affecting CAA and the development of basic
considerations applicable to over-all, long-range planning of agency
operations, as well as the agency-wide appraisal of programs, adminis
tration, and performance. During the year a report concerning
charging for Federal Airways services was completed and transmitted
to the Congress. In addition, a report covering estimated appropria
tion requirements for fiscal years 1948 through 1952 was prepared in
accordance with the request of the Bureau of the Budget.
The Air Coordinating Committee {ACC) .—The ACC liaison repre
sentative serves as the point of contact between the Air Coordinating
Committee and the entire Department of Commerce, involving par
ticularly the Office of Assistant Secretary of Commerce (for Air),
CAA, Weather Bureau, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey. His work
involves preparation of departmental proposals to the committee, as
well as the coordination and implementation of policies and decisions
resulting from ACC actions.
The measure of accomplishment of the Liaison Representative is
found in the accomplishments of the Air Coordinating Committee it
self. Among the more important subjects handled by the committee
during the year were (a) formulation of a statement of certain aviation
policies of the Executive branch of the Government, ( b) a resurvey of
the condition of the aircraft manufacturing industry, (c) policies
respecting United States participation in the International Civil Avia
tion Organization, and {d) facilitation of international air travel
through removal or relaxaton of outmoded restrictions involved in
customs and immigration clearances, public health and quarantine
inspections, and issuance of passports and visas.
CAA-ICA O Program,.—'The CAA-ICAO coordinator is the focal
point for international civil aviation matters arising in the Inter
national Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal (of which the
United States is a member), or arising in the United States for trans
mittal to ICAO, wherever such matters affect the Department of Com
merce. This span of coordination was extended to embrace all Federal
agencies concerned with technical or air navigation matters by desig
nation of the CAA-ICAO coordinator as United States-ICAO Air
Navigation Coordinator.
Following the ratification by the twenty-sixth nation, the permanent
International Civil Aviation Organization came into being on April 4,
1947, succeeding the Provisional Organization which had existed since
August 15,1945. During the year, 11 divisions of the Air Navigation
Committee of ICAO met in Montreal. CAA personnel headed 4 dele
gations and served as cochairman of 1 delegation, the total CAA par
ticipants being 36, with a far greater number involved in the prepara
tion of the United States position.
These meetings resulted in the further development of Recommenda
tions for International Standards and Practices in the fields of Acci
dent Investigation, Aerodromes, Air Routes and Ground Aids, Aero
nautical Maps and Charts, Aviation Meteorology, Rules of the Air
and Air Traffic Control, Airworthiness, Aeronautical Telecommunica
88
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
tions and Radio Aids, Operating Standards, Personnel Licensing, and
Search and Rescue.
In addition, the first assembly of the permanent Organization was
held in May 1947 with five CAA members on the delegation. Air
navigation meetings were held during the year in four world regions
for the purpose of determining the requirements of civil aviation in
those regions and the difficulties which might be encountered in the
application of ICAO Standards and Operating Practices to the regions.
The United States delegations to these meetings were headed by a
CAA employee, with a total of 49 CAA participants.
Largely under the leadership of the CAA, the United States has
continued to maintain its leading role in the postwar development of
international civil aviation and has succeeded in having United States
principles accepted for the most part as the basis for International
Standards and Practices.
Standardization coordinator.—The standardization coordinator
serves as the Administrator’s point of contact with Government and
industry organizations dealing with the establishment of uniform
practices and procedures in the field of aeronautics. In this connec
tion, represents the CAA on policy matters, arranges for CAA technical
representation where necessary, and prepares, coordinates, and presents
the CAA position at meetings of committees which deal with this
subject.
During the year the standardization coordinator began the estab
lishment of a series of directives known as Technical Standard Orders.
Two major subdivisions of the Technical Standard Order System, the
aircraft component series and the airport and navigational aids light
ing and marking series, are now becoming very active. The component
series establishes the performance requirements of certain recognized
Government or industry standards as the minimum safety requirements
for aircraft components which are satisfactory to the Administration.
The airport and navigational aids Series sets forth standard marking,
lighting, and lay-outs for airports, seadromes, and visual navigational
aids such as beacons and roof marking. A registry of such orders and
of all standard conditions and procedures established by the Civil Air
Regulations is being established. The coordination of the Technical
Standard Order program embraces all technical standards dealing
with aircraft, airports, airmen, or airways, as well as authorization of
deviations from standards which may be necessary.
OFFICE OF AVIATION TRAINING
During the fiscal year 1947 an Aviation Educationist was assigned
to each continental regional office in the position of assistant to the
regional administrator for aviation training.
Aviation education division.—North Carolina, Washington, and
Wyoming were added to the list of States which have published State
wide programs of aviation education for their public schools, voca
tional schools, and institutions of higher learning. This brings to
23 the number of States whose aviation education programs are avail
able in published form: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida,
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
89
Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri,
Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Penn
sylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Wis
consin, and Wyoming.
Thirteen other States and the Territory of Alaska have no pub
lished bulletins but do have manuscripts for such in preparation, and
also have programs of aviation education in effect: Alabama, Alaska,
Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee.
Ten additional States, the District of Columbia, and the Territory of
Hawaii, are developing interest toward comprehensive aviation edu
cation programs: Arkansas, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa,
Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, North
Dakota, Utah, and Vermont.
Two States have published revisions of their original aviation edu
cation programs (Nebraska and Wisconsin). Five other States are
contemplating publishing revision of their original aviation education
programs (California, Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, and
New York).
Interests in establishing aviation education programs have been
served through sending materials of instruction and pertinent infor
mation to Puerto Rico, Panama, Canada, British West Indies, Ecuador,
England, Belgium, Argentina, Holland, China, Cuba, the Philippines,
and Sweden.
At the request of State and local school authorities the CAA Educa
tionists assisted with the implementation of aviation education pro
grams established and with the formulation of plans developing. To
this end, a total of 745 conferences and meetings were attended; 89
maj or addresses were given; 71 airport operations institutes were held;
73 summer school workshops were conducted; and contributions were
made toward the planning and executing of 421 additional imple
mentation activities such as seminars, lectures, and consultation inter
views. The major task of the CAA Educationists continues to be
developing and implementing State-wide programs of aviation educa
tion, including the flight experience course for high school students.
The results of a CAA aviation education research project on methods
of instruction in high-school aeronautics were published by the
McGraw-Hill Book Co. under the title, “Teaching Aeronautics in
High Schools.” In addition to this, other research projects listed
below were undertaken by the central office staff and are now available
in published form, including bibliographies on Aviation Education
for Guidance Counsellors, the Social, Political, Economic, and Inter
national Aspects of Aviation, Recent Air Age Education Textbooks
and Professional Aspects of Aviation Education; Educational Impli
cations of Aviation in 1946; Catalogue of Films Distributed by the
C AA and a Film Bibliography of Aviation; Sources of Free and Low
Cost Aviation Materials; a Survey of Collegiate Courses in Aviation
and Related Fields; an Outline of a Suggested Junior College Program
in General and Vocational Aviation; and a Guide to the Preparation
■of a State-wide Program in Aviation Education.
90
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Through arrangement with the graduate school of the University
of Southern California, a CAA aviation education research project
has recently been initiated. This program will study the problem of
secondary school course enrichment through use of aviation content.
Both instructional method and curricular materials are concerned in
the research.
The Teaching Aids Laboratory has been kept up to date and con
tinues to influence interest in the possibilities of aviation education.
Located in the Commerce Building in Washington, it is open to the
public. I t provides an effective implement whose use promotes im
provement in teaching through directing attention of visitors to the
most recent developments in instructional devices, audio-visual aids,
and textual materials.
Recently, the Division has been called upon to serve the developing
interest in aviation education manifest by the Army Air Forces, the
CAP, and the Navy. Cooperation has been extended to all such
interested agencies.
Foreign nationals training program.—The CAA Foreign National
Training Program, sponsored by the Department of State, made
steady progress during 1947 on the training of Inter-American avia
tion personnel under the appropriation, “Cooperation with the Ameri
can Republics,” and also inaugurated the selection and training of
aviation personnel from the Republic of the Philippines under the
appropriation, “Philippine Rehabilitation.” The activities accom
plished by the Foreign National Training Section are as follows:
Completion of postgraduate courses for 28 Fourth Inter-American
Program mechanic trainees who were receiving on-the-job training
with air lines and other United States aviation concerns at the close of
fiscal 1946.
Completion of the Fifth Inter-American Aviation Training
Program, which consisted of 18 Airway Technicians trained at the
CAA Training Center at Kansas City, Mo., and eight Aviation
Industry Interns who were given a 2-month orientation course at
the University of Michigan, then placed with various United States
air lines and aviation industries for a 10 months’ on-the-job training
course.
Commencement of the Sixth Inter-American Aviation Training
Program, consisting of 13 aviation industry trainees who were selected
and given a 2-month orientation course at the University of Michigan
and then placed with various aviation industries and air lines for
10 months’ on-the-job training; and 20 air traffic control and communi
cations trainees, who were selected and sent to Oklahoma City where
they are being trained at the University of Oklahoma City and the
CAA aeronautical center at Oklahoma City.
Inaugurated the selection and training of a third category of
trainees, called Key Aviation Employees. Forty-three of these awards
were granted. They provided for this group an 8-week period of study
and observation of the organization, administration, and operation of
civil aeronautics as developed in the United States and with the
methods and techniques in some specialized field of aviation in which
each trainee is primarily interested and judged best qualified, taking
into consideration the special needs of his country for key aviation
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
91
personnel. Twelve of these trainees have arrived in the United States
and four have completed training and returned to their homes.
The selection and granting of awards were completed, travel
arrangements made, and training commenced at Oklahoma City Uni
versity and the CAA aeronautical center for 50 aviation trainees from
the Republic of the Philippines. There are 3 groups, consisting of 14
in air traffic control, 18 in airways communications, and 18 in airways
maintenance.
Owing to the consolidation of all CAA training facilities, at the
completion of the fifth program of Kansas City, Mo., equipment and
personnel of the Foreign National Training Facility were moved to
the aeronautical center at Oklahoma City.
Funds for subsistence and training in fiscal 1947 were provided
through the Interdepartmental Committee for Cultural and Scientific
Cooperation of the Department of State, with the exception of $3,000
provided by Chilean National Airlines for two trainees sponsored by
that company.
Audio-visual training aids division.—During the year it directed and
supervised the transfer of the CAA training film center from the air
way traffic control centers to the regional offices; secured, serviced,
and distributed to the film centers a total of nine 16-mm. sound motionpicture projectors including kits of spare parts, 692 fiber shipping
cases of assorted sizes, 1,389 reels of 16-mm. sound motion-picture
projectors including kits of spare parts, 692 fiber shipping cases of
assorted sizes, 1,389 reels of 16-mm. sound motion pictures, 1,026 film
strips, nine 16-mm. film rewind sets, eighteen 35-mm. filmstrip projec
tors and transcription playback units, nine 16-mm. film splicers, and
nine SVE (model G) filmstrip projectors; and supervised and directed
the film activities of the training film centers and maintained the nec
essary statistical records of same. These records revealed that 5,793
films were loaned by the regional film centers for 10,752 showings to an
estimated audience of 309,810. The film center at Washington, D. C.,
distributed during the year a total of 582 films for 1,044 showings to
an audience of 34,430.
At the request of the Office of Safety Regulation, a script was pre
pared for a filmstrip entitled “Airman Service” ; a color sound film
strip “CCA Communications System” was prepared for the Office
of Federal Airways; and 100 black/white transparencies (2 by 2)
were prepared for the Aircraft and Components Service.
The Division directed and supervised the preparation of seven sound
filmstrips in each of three foreign languages—French, Spanish, and
Russian. These filmstrips are being distributed to the overseas sta
tions of the Office of Foreign Operations.
At the request of the Office of Foreign Operations, the Division
secured, serviced, and made available to Colonel Jones, attached to
the United States Military Government of Germany, a total of 30
motion pictures on various aviation subjects, one 16-mm. sound motionpicture projector, and one 35-mm. filmstrip projector and transcription
playback unit.
Thirty-nine projectors were reconditioned, maintained, and serviced.
In addition, 11 Pacific Sound (model 6) playback units, equipped
with SVE (model G) 35-mm. filmstrip projectors, were completely
92
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
overhauled. These latter units were distributed to the fourth region,
where they will be used by the Airways Operation Branch in conduct
ing its Spanish Language courses.
Color transparencies and appropriate captions of the historical
model airplanes constructed by Paul K. Guillow were prepared.
These transparencies will be consolidated into a filmstrip depicting a
100 years of fixed wing aircraft development.
The Division compiled a film bibliography of approximately 700
titles. In addition to classifying the various films into appropriate
categories, each film was evaluated to determine the instructional levels
at which it might be used effectively. Only films readily available
on a sale, rental, or loan basis were included.
Each of the 170 film subjects available on loan from each of the
CAA training films centers was previewed and evaluated. A brief
synopsis of each film, including running time and other pertinent
data, was prepared and these were consolidated into an appropriate
film catalogue.
The Division negotiated the release by the Navy Department of
158 projectors to CAA, as well as 690 vacuum tubes to maintain this
equipment; contributed various visual training aids and equipment
to different exhibits, such as PICAO exhibit at Indianapolis, Cleve
land Air Show, New England Air-Age Conference; assisted other
Government agencies, namely, Department of Agriculture, Library of
Congress, United States Office of Education, and Department of In
terior, on matters pertaining to the production of visual training aids.
Also assisted several foreign governments, in particular India, Aus
tralia, and Union of South Africa, on questions relative to the sources
and utilization of aviation training films.
I t established a film center at the CAA aeronautical center at
Oklahoma City and supplied it with several hundred films; developed
and prepared photographic display panels which were distributed to
educationists for use at their summer aviation workshops. Also pre
pared various visual training aids and equipment for the New England
Air Age Conference.
The Division supervised the modification of twelve 16-mm. sound
motion-picture projectors (model At-1) by the Collins Motion Picture
Service, Baltimore, M d.; these projectors will be shipped to CAA’s
foreign stations. It edited the film bibliography for R. Haefner’s
study on the Teaching of Aeronautics in the High School, published
by McGraw-Hill.
Flight training division.—1The Flight Training Division and the
Basic Instrument Flight-Training program were consolidated during
the year.
One of the major activities of the Division is in connection with
veterans. This function includes continued assistance, as requested,
to the Veterans’ Administration in its administration of the GI bill of
rights, the United States Office of Education, and to individual
veterans.
Liaison is maintained with the Statistical Section of the Veterans’
Administration to provide current monthly statistical information
relative to the number of veterans receiving flight training under
Public Law 346, as amended, their sex, age group, and type of course-
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
93
Arrangements are currently in effect with the War and Navy De
partments to provide current statistical information as to the number
of service personnel under flight training. This information includes
the branch of service, such as Regular, Reserve, Liaison, Glider, Coast
Guard, and National Guard, and in some instances age groups. A
continuous study is being conducted and presented regularly of Gov
ernment-subsidized flight training. A specific study was made and
presented regarding the “Hoyt Plan” for reserve training.
A study of the recordation activities of CAA and the Veterans’
Administration was made. As a result, applications for Airmen
Certificates were stamped to provide additional statistical informa
tion relative to veterans’ flight training.
Arrangements were completed with the Navy Department for the
transfer of 10,000 units of flight-training literature. This material
will be distributed to interested individuals at no cost. Progress was
made on the acceptance of naval training devices to be used by the
CAA Standardization Center.
Arrangements were completed with the Coast and Geodetic Survey
for the mutual use of the Simulated Instrument Training Laboratory
and coordinated effort toward the utilization and development of
charts for aerial navigation from a training viewpoint. A relatively
modern model trainer was provided for the program at no cost.
The Basic Instrument Flight Training Program was reviewed,
utilization of the equipment increased, and lectures were prepared on
range composition, theory, and practical application of flying radio
beams, wind correction, methods of orientations, let-downs, emer
gency pull-ups, and approved radio communications. Courses for
the program were planned and developed integrating beam bracketing,
orientations, use of flight gear, emergency procedures, cross-country,
homing, localizer and glide path, ground control approach, omni
directional, etc., under clear, static, ice, and rough air conditions.
Special courses were developed and conducted designed for specific
reasons such as familiarizing engineers with details of instrument
flight operations to enable them to carry out specific technological
projects. Problems were prepared involving weather reports, winds
aloft, stacking of planes, providing known "traffic, giving varied air
traffic control clearances, etc. Charts were prepared and scaled on
trainer radius for the above problems. A model simulated flight
training installation was developed and maintained. Briefing ma
terials have been procured and presented in an operational manner.
Tours through the installation have been conducted and the program
and equipment explained to educational groups. Specific courses in
the simulated instrument flight trainer were given to 123 people in
the last year.
A statement by the United States delegation to ICAO on Technical
Training Facilities within the United States was compiled at the
request of the Deputy Administrator.
Technical and professional training division.—The Division assisted
the Office of Safety Regulation in planning and preparing a stand
ardized promotion rating system.
It prepared and presented a plan for in-service training for the
Office of Airports; observed and assisted with the training classes.
94
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
for inspectors of safety regulation and assisted in planning the indoc
trination training program conducted by Personnel Service of Busi
ness Management.
The Division also prepared a statement of policy on Government
participation in providing vocational training for the over-all Avia
tion Education Policy Report; prepared an instruction booklet on
the Preparation of Government Letters and Reports for the Office of
Safety Regulation; and prepared and presented a plan for collecting
and consolidating all reports on the training conducted throughout
CAA.
Representatives of the Division attended approximately 25 train
ing conferences not specifically mentioned above and provided pro
fessional advice concerning the planning of training programs for
operational offices.
PERSONAL FLYING DEVELOPMENT
During the fiscal year assistants to the Regional Administrator for
Personal Flying Development were appointed in regions 2 and 5.
Meetings on personal flying were held in Daytona Beach, Atlanta,
Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and Buffalo which were
attended by the Assistant to the Administrator for Personal Flying.
Contracts were negotiated and arrangements made for installation
of cross-wind landing gear on Fairchild PT-19, Piper Cub, Ercoupe,
Bellanca Cruisair, Twin Beech, Douglas DC-3, and Northrop Pioneer.
Cross-wind landing gears were accepted and extensive flight tests
and demonstrations conducted on Fairchild PT-19 and Piper Cub
airplanes. The success of these demonstrations means that airplanes
so equipped can use single runway strips in almost any kind of weather
and it will therefore not be necessary to build personal flying airports
with runways in many directions. The flight tests proved that castered-wheel planes can be landed in weather formerly considered too
severe for safe flight in any kind of light plane. During the test flights
take-offs and landings were made with the wind blowing straight across
the runway in gusts up to 50 miles an hour.
Four meetings of the nonscheduled flying advisory committee were
held during the year for which agenda were prepared, detailed ar
rangements made, and minutes issued.
A very large number of letters, telegrams, and telephone inquiries
on personal flying problems were taken care of during the year.
TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICE
Toward the close of the year, the Technical Development Service was
removed from the Office of Federal Airways and made a separate office.
The service has, as in the past, engaged in development work, engi
neering, flight, and service testing in the fields of aircraft components
and accessories, air navigation devices, airports, and radio navigation
and communication.
Aircraft components and accessories.—Facilities have been com
pleted for carrying out tests on aircraft fuel tanks to determine their
resistance to rupture on rapid deceleration or impact such as would be
encountered in a crash. The object of the tests which will be con
ducted using these facilities is to establish safety standards for fuel
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
95
tanks and their appurtenances, and to gather data upon which im
proved designs may be based.
Power-plant installation fire tests have been carried to near comple
tion for the B-29 airplane, and considerable work has been accom
plished toward preparing other aircraft installations for future testing.
In addition, fire tests have been completed and reports published on
hydraulic fluids, aircraft vacuum systems, including fire-resistant
hoses, and so-called “safety fuels.”
A laboratory building and test facilities for conducting fire tests on
jet-engine installations have been brought to an advanced stage of
construction and it is expected that tests will be under way well before
the close of fiscal year 1948. Erection of these facilities has been
financed by equal contributions from the Army and the Navy.
A comprehensive survey of the noise levels' arising from the opera
tion of various types of aricraft has been completed, and the results
published in report form. In gathering the data for this survey, thou
sands of sound level measurements were made of common noises
encountered in everyday life as well as those generated by a wide
variety of aircraft under various operating conditions. It is expected
that this report will prove of value in legal work having to do with the
location of airports.
In addition to continued development work leading to improved
aircraft windshield design from the standpoint of impact resistance,
the windshield structures of eight new transport type aircraft were
tested for compliance with Civil Air Regulations. This latter work
was conducted on a fee basis and paid for by the manufacturers of the
aircraft.
Airports.—A new type of approach lights, known as slope-line
lights, has been developed and is undergoing flight tests at Indianap
olis Airport. At Indianapolis, only enough lights have been installed
to cover 1,800 feet of the approach lane. It is planned to test a full
3,000 feet of these lights at the Areata Landing Aids Experiment
Station during the forthcoming fog season.
A method of progressively dimming approach lights to simulate
wliat would actually be observed during fog has been developed and an
installation of the system has been made at the experimental station.
This promises to speed the experimental program by making it pos
sible to observe approach lights as they would be seen in fog, without
having to wait for fog conditions.
An abbreviated system of slope-line lights has been developed and
• flight-tested at Indianapolis. These lights are a substantial improve
ment over the range lights currently in use at most airports.
A system of low-cost boundary lighting for small airports has been
developed and a trial installation is under test at the Aretz Airport
at LaFayette, Ind.
A method of measuring and continuously recording the moisture
content of airport soils in situ has been developed and is undergoing
test. This method is applicable to the measurement of the moisture
content of the soil under runways and promises to be a valuable tool
in the evaluation of drainage practice and runway construction
methods.
766188— 47-------9
96
.
REPORT OP TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Studies of rainfall run-oif and drainage continued throughout the
year at Rome, Ga.
Radio development.—The experimental station was host to 250 dele
gates to the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization,
representing 60 nations, during October of 1946. The delegates were
at the station for 3 weeks, during which time they witnessed demon
strations on the ground and in flight of radio navigation and com
munication systems proposed for international standardization by the
United States. Following these demonstrations, the delegates con
vened at Montreal and reached agreement on systems which they would
recommend to their governments for international standardization.
The system proposed by the United States was accepted in its entirety.
Continued development of the VHF omni range during the year has
resulted in a twofold increase in accuracy, together with improvement
of equipment which will simplify maintenance procedures.
Specifications for distance-measuring equipment employing radar
principles were completed and a contract was let with the Hazeltine
Corp. for 21 air-borne units and 11 ground units. This initial procure
ment is of an experimental nature to obtain equipment for further
study. About half of the units purchased were paid for by the Navy,
and will be turned over to that agency upon delivery.
During fiscal year 1947 the radar development group at the experi
mental station has applied MTI (Moving Target Indication) to several
radars and achieved successful operation with antenna rotational
speeds as high as 30 revolutions per minute. Previously, MTI opera
tion was limited to antenna speeds of about 12 revolutions per minute,
MTI is an ingenious means of eliminating radar echoes from fixed
objects. Ground clutter is thus removed from the scope presentation
and only objects having motion relative to the radar antenna are
displayed.
Air-borne radar studies were carried on in southeastern Alaska with
the cooperation of Alaska Coastal Airlines, and a report, entitled
“Radar Navigation in Southeastern Alaska,” was published. Another
report dealing with air-borne radar, “Radar Mapping of the ChicagoNew York Airway,” was published during the year.
Engineers of the service worked with the Air-borne Instruments
Laboratory in establishing a long-range radar system in the vicinity
of LaGuardia Field, New Work. This system will be used as an
experimental aid to traffic control in that area and will be maintained
by this service.
A low-frequency, high-power omni radio range was established at
Nantucket Island, Mass., during the year, following development work
which had been completed at Indianapolis. The experimental station
designed and constructed the rotating goniometer and tuning units for
this station and contributed engineering and flight assistance in com
missioning the station.
Air navigation devices.—Development work was completed on a
navigator sphere, an instrument for the rapid calculation of position
from celestial observations.
A ball-drop sextant, developed with the cooperation of the Naval
Observatory, was given extensive tests in comparison with bubble-type-
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
97
sextants. The ball sextant appears to have marked advantages under
adverse conditions for making observations, such as rough air.
Charts giving Great Circle lines of position from the Nantucket lowfrequency omni range were developed in both Mercator and Lambert
projections. A limited number of each of these charts were published
for use of navigators on the North Atlantic airway.
Members of the Division participated in PICAO charting meetings
at Dublin, Paris, Cairo, and Montreal, and contributed substantially
to the formulation of international standards in aeronautical charting.
Specifications were prepared for instrument landing charts portray
ing the location of radio instrument landing facilities and giving the
approved procedures for their use. Arrangements were made for
publication of these charts.
Drafting, photography, and preparation of text were completed for
eight technical development reports.
RESEARCH DIVISION
During 1947 research was completed on the role of the visual acuity
in learning to fly a plane safely. The largest source of rejection of
applicants for pilot certificates during the past 21 years has been de
ficient vision, and visual acuity has been the primary visual factor
for rejections. The results of this investigation revealed that people
with very poor visual acuity can learn to fly safely and skillfully.
Another finding of this research gave strong evidence that the medical
flight test given to people with poor vision as a special examination
does not discriminate and is, therefore, not a valid test.
This research on visual acuity is the first attempt to validate physi
cal requirements set up many years ago on the basis of expert advice.
The flight experience of the two groups after obtaining their pilot
licenses is being followed up and, thus far, no significant differences
have been discovered.
An investigation made by the Research Division 2 years ago showed
inadvertent stalls, particularly during turns, to be one of the chief
factors in private flying accidents. During the past year a project
was set up to determine the usefulness of a mechanical stall warning
device which informed the pilot of the approach of his plane to a stall
ing condition. The results of the investigations carried on this year
showed that few students, private pilots, or instructors can recognize
when a stall is imminent. Taking the average performance for a series
of different maneuvers, conducted at Bedford, Nashville, and West
chester Airports, it was found that most of the fliers believe they are
at the “stall-point” when only three of the five lights are lit. Actually
a stall occurs only after four or five lights flash, depending on the
maneuver.
A companion project is seeking to determine whether accuracy of
stall perception can be improved through training and use of stallwarning indicators, which flash lights and sound a horn.
These experiments have already shown that instructors and students
are generally unable to detect the incipient stall and strongly support
the supposition that light planes should be regularly equipped with
automatic stall-warning devices.
98
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
A timely research study during the year was designed to devise
methods for the improvement of the selection, training, and upgrading
of air-line pilots. This investigation is being conducted by contractors
who employ personnel who directed psychological research in the Army
Air Forces during the war. The investigators are interviewing air
line pilots, company check pilots, and CAA air carrier inspectors.
They are also inspecting the CAA records of examinations for air-line
pilot ratings and CAB accident reports. A preliminary report on the
result of this investigation is now being prepared. The project will
be continued on an extensive basis.
A long study leading to improvement in the training of aircraft
flight instructors was completed. Methods were devised for the meas
urement of the instructor’s ability in a practical flight instruction sit
uation. Methods for the improvement of such instruction are being
prepared in manual form for general distribution.
Two researches have been made to get basic information on the
amount of flying done by various classes of pilots; second, the time
that nonscheduled airplanes fly. Both of these studies have been
completed and reports of the results are being prepared. Preliminary
figures on the amount of flight time of private and nonscheduled air
planes will be known for the first time and will be used in adminis
trative and developmental work of the CAA. The data will also be
of special value to the trade.
An examination of accident records for 1945 showed that accidents
may be classified as originating in show-off flying and otherwise. It
was found that, with a restrictive definition of show-off type, 30 per
cent of all serious and fatal accidents could be classified as show-off
flying. The information obtained has been put in pamphlet form
and 100,000 copies are being distributed to new pilots.
A study was made of the age of pilots and the results were dis
tributed to the trade, including insurance companies. This study,
entitled “Age of Pilots,” provided valuable evidence on the age char
acteristics of the customer pool of airplane purchasers.
WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT
Activity at the Washington National Airport continued to increase
steadily during the fiscal year 1947. Enplaning and deplaning pas
sengers increased 298,380 over the preceding fiscal year to a new high
of 1,239,958. Although the military air traffic (plane arrivals and
departures) decreased during the year by 22,083, the total aircraft
movements increased by 7,930 to a total of 175,242.
In order to take care of the increased activity, to allow more effi
cient operations, and to provide necessary facilities for both the gen
eral public and airport employees, several projects were undertaken.
Specifically, aircraft delayed take-off and warming-up areas were
completed; areas were paved in front of hangars No. 1 to 6 to provide
additional plane parking space; improvements were made to the
drainage system; a cafeteria was completed adjacent to the present
hangars; the airport acquired the fire crash equipment previously
maintained and operated by the Army (this equipment, combined with
the airport’s existing equipment, is now being operated by the air
CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION
99
port) ; the gasoline concessionnaire installed an additional 630,000gallon storage tank; and the channel to the dock for the gasoline barges
was dredged to assure an adequate gas supply at all times.
In September 1946 the operation of the control tower was trans
ferred from the airport to region 1.
Construction was begun on five additional hangars to take care of
the increased demands by the scheduled commercial aircraft for addi
tional hangar space, and these are expected to be finished by the end
of the fiscal year 1948.
In spite of greatly increased operating costs, the revenues accruing
to the airport for the fiscal year continue to exceed the funds expended
for actual maintenance and operation of the airport.
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
GENERAL STATEMENT
The fiscal year 1947 marked the first full year since the close of the
war that the Bureau’s activities were concerned primarily with its
normal peacetime program. Certain delays in the process of return
ing ships and personnel from the armed forces delayed resumption
of the work, but in the closing months of the year the program was in
full operation.
If an over-all characteristic of the year’s work were to be singled
out, it would undoubtedly be the growing interest shown by the public
in our products and the manifold ways in which the Bureau can serve
commerce and industry. I t is becoming recognized that there is need
in the economic program of the country for fundamental surveys and
maps to furnish the basis for engineering planning and for the de
velopment of natural resources, just as there is need for accurate
charts to safeguard our water-borne and air-borne commerce.
S urveys for E conomic P l a n n in g
Surveying and mapping are fact-finding operations, and intelligent
national, State, or municipal planning is impossible without them.
Modern reclamation, navigation, flood control, and multiple wateruse projects, such as for the Ohio, Columbia, Mississippi, and Mis
souri River Basins, which must consider a river system as an integrated
whole, require planning on an extensive area basis. Comprehensive
horizontal and vertical control surveys must therefore precede the
planning stage.
On a more local level, control surveys are essential to wise city and
county planning and for the perpetuation of property boundaries in
areas of high land values. It is in the national interest that all sur
veys, no matter how localized, should be integrated in the national
network of geodetic control. This can be accomplished by a further
break-down of our control surveys so that an economical tie-in may
be made by local surveyors and engineers.
P rogress i n S urvey E lectronics and T echnical E q uipm ent
We have kept abreast with developments in the fields of electronics
as applied to distance and angle measurements. These systems are
not yet adapted to geodetic survey use, but improvements in instru
mental equipment that will afford the degree of accuracy required in
the work of the Bureau are being watched. The optimistic note
101
102
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
sounded in our last year’s report regarding the use of electronics in
hydrographic surveying has been fully justified by our experiences
during the past year. Extensive use of Shoran for offshore control
has been made in the western Aleutians and along the Atlantic coast,
and enthusiasm is expressed for the method by those using it. We
have redesigned and rebuilt the Coast and Geodetic Survey electronic
position indicator, with which it will be possible to carry hydrographic surveys for about 200 miles beyond the limits of Shoran,
thereby adding to the accuracy and efficiency of oceanographic investi
gations and surveys of the Continental Shelf and beyond.
Developments in instruments and processes in other fields of the
Bureau’s work will result in improved efficiency and greater economy.
Among these were a mathematically accurate parabolic reflector, for
use in triangulation, that increases the range of the signal lamp and
improves its haze-penetrating power; a seismic sea-wave warning sys
tem; a new technique for measuring the magnitudes of earthquakes
from instrument records; and a new process for making color proofs
from photographic positives for use in deep-etch reproduction.
We have further experimented with certain of our nautical charts
to develop a type that will best meet the needs of vessels using the
Loran or Radar systems of navigation. The project begun toward the
end of the last fiscal year of charting the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
was continued during 1947. There is an increasing demand for charts
of this waterway and the Bureau is expediting the program. A new
series of aeronautical charts for the United States was introduced—
the Radio Facility Charts. Complete radio data to facilitate the plan
ning and execution of cross-country flights are provided. These charts
are finding wide use by commercial, private, and military airmen.
C ooperation W it h O ther A gencies
The Bureau has continued to cooperate with various Government
agencies and private organizations in furnishing information on our
methods and techniques and in other ways. A large amount of carto-'
graphic and reproduction work was done on a reimbursable basis for
the War Department, State Department, Bureau of Foreign and Do
mestic Commerce, and Civil Aeronautics Administration. An agree
ment was concluded with the Geological Survey whereby coastal topo
graphic maps prepared by the Coast and Geodetic Survey will be
turned over to the Geological Survey for publication. In turn, the
results of the permanently monumented control surveys made by the
Geological Survey will be turned over to the Coast Survey for pub
lication. This arrangement is of primary significance and should
result in a more logical definition of the functions of the two agencies
and simplify the procedure of obtaining maps and survey data. An
arrangement has also been concluded with the Hydrographic Office
of the Navy Department which makes the Coast and Geodetic Survey
the repository for magnetic and tidal data. All such information
obtained by the Hydrographic Office will be sent to the Bureau for
analysis and publication.
The Bureau participated in the Philippine Rehabilitation Program,
authorized by the Seventy-ninth Congress. Under this program the
U. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
103
survey work interrupted by the war will be continued and 20 Fili
pinos will be trained each year until June 30,1950. An officer of the
Bureau has been placed in charge of the Manila Field Station and
named director of Coast Surveys. Other Survey personnel have been
.assigned to duty at Manila to assist in the operation of the program.
Technical assistance was also given to the Philippine Government in
the matter of establishing a modern map reproduction plant. Recom
mendations and detailed specifications were furnished on all items
of equipment and accessories necessary, with special consideration
given to the availability and utility of the basic equipment.
B roadening O ur T echnical S ervices
The program of broadening the technical services of the Bureau
discussed in our last annual report, progressed during the year, under
very.limited funds for needed personnel. It is axiomatic that a pub
lic-service bureau should endeavor to render the maximum of service
to the public. The keynote of this program has therefore been to de
velop a better understanding, a more effective distribution, and a
greater utilization of the products of the Bureau’s activities. Apart
from its function of making and publishing nautical and aeronautical
charts, with which mariners and aviators are familiar, the work of the
Bureau touches a variety of other fields which could have application
in many scientific and engineering endeavors.
It is this availability of information and services that is being
stressed by the Bureau in a number of ways. For example, a new
series of State maps on a scale large enough to show the actual tri
angulation and leveling nets in the area, with appropriate references
for obtaining the desired information from the Bureau, has been
published.
Another means for the dissemination of Bureau information to the
public has been through the medium of specially prepared exhibits.
A number of these were on display in various parts of the country in
conjunction with meetings and expositions of national scope and im
portance.
A third means has been through news releases, in the daily press
and in technical magazines, announcing survey projects, new and re
vised charts issued, and new publications of the Bureau ; through the
issuance of pamphlets, manuals, and other publications describing
Bureau practices ; and through the publication of articles in technical
and trade magazines, and the preparation of lectures describing and
interpreting the methods and activities of the Bureau to scientific and
engineering societies and to the general public.
A closer liaison has also been established with governmental and pri
vate agencies through representation on various scientific and technical
boards, panels, and commissions, and through active participation by
personnel of the Bureau in the programs of national and international
bodies dealing with surveying and mapping or related fields.
The response to this program of broadened service has been a no
ticeable increase in requests for geodetic data and in the sale of nauti
cal and aeronautical charts to the public; in addition, the Bureau is
being consulted on a far greater variety of matters than heretofore.
104
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Closer contact with the public is desirable, particularly with local sur
veyors and engineers who could benefit from the use of Survey data.
This can be achieved by increasing our field stations and their per
sonnel.
N eeds of th e B ureau
Our service to the public can be improved if certain activities or
liaisons can be resumed or undertaken as early as possible.
One of these is the flight-checking of aeronautical charts. This is
an important part of the charting program. Constant flight-check
ing should be maintained, and each chart should be inspected on the
average of once every 3 years. Owing to the limited funds available
for field work during the past year, it was possible to flight-check only
two charts.
The rate of surveys in strategic sections of our coastal regions and
of Alaska should be advanced. A stepped-up program would not
only serve our military needs during any future emergency but would
be of immediate benefit to our commerce and industry.
Our program of research and development should be accelerated. A
specialized scientific organization advances in proportion to its success
in research. Future requirements in the national security program
will call for greater accuracy and speed in survey methods, computa
tion, and reproduction, and further acceleration in planning for sur
veying our natural resources. We should begin now to lay the founda
tion for a broadened program of research.
Finally, a close liaison should be maintained, through the Depart
ment, with the National Security Council, and particularly with the
National Military Establishment. The functions and responsibilities
of the Bureau are closely allied to military planning and operations.
This has been recognized by congressional enactment. A liaison, as
proposed, will insure a maximum usefulness of the Bureau’s technical
services and products in time of national emergency.
FUNCTIONS OF TH E BUREAU
The importance to our maritime commerce of a complete knowledge
of our coast and the character of the sea bottom near it was recognized
at an early period in the history of our country. In 1807 the Congress
directed President Jefferson to cause a survey of the coast to be made,
although, owing to certain delays, including the War of 1812, actual
field work was not begun until 1816. This was the beginning of the
Coast Survey.
An important extension of the Bureau’s work was made in 1871,
when a geodetic connection between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts was
authorized. Since that time the Bureau has been actively engaged in
extending triangulation and precise levels in the interior of the country
for the control of topographic and geologic surveys and large engineer
ing undertakings, and has been continuing the same work along our
coasts for charting our water areas.
Two other activities, not contemplated in the original act, have been
added to the functions of the Bureau in recent years—the investigation
U. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
105
of earthquakes, or seismology, transferred from the Weather Bureau
in 1925, and the preparation of aeronautical charts, delegated to the
Secretary of Commerce under the Air Commerce Act of 1926.
Through the years the importance of this undertaking has become
increasingly evident from the benefits that have accrued to commerce
and industry, to science, engineering, and the national defense. Some
of the more specific of these have been the decrease in shipwrecks and
lower insurance rates that invariably follow the completion of compre
hensive coastal surveys and the publication of the resulting data. Be
cause of its unique organization, administered by a commissioned corps,
its technically trained personnel, and its specialized equipment, the
Bureau forms an effective reserve for service in the National Military
Establishment.
P roducts of th e B ureau
The Coast and Geodetic Survey today renders a considerable variety
of essential services for the advancement of marine, aviation, commer
cial, and industrial interests of the country. The products of the Bu
reau invariably take the form of publications. Charts and maps and
certain processed publications are produced in our own printing plant.
Other publications are printed at the Government Printing Office.
Available to the public are:
N autical C harts and C oast P ilots for use by the Navy, Merchant
Marine, fishing industry, and the small pleasure-boat owner.
A eronautical C harts for use by the Armed Services, commercial
air carriers, and private pilots.
T opographic M aps o f coastal areas fo r use in charting and for
p la n n in g en gin eerin g and other construction.
G eodetic C ontrol D ata (triangulation, leveling,
and gravity) for
use by Federal, State, and local mapping and engineering agencies,
by private surveyors and engineers, and by scientific investigators.
T ide and C urrent P ublications (Tide and Current Tables, Tidal
Current Charts, and special tide and current surveys) for use in
navigation, coastal construction, waterfront litigation, and scientific
investigations.
G eomagnetic P ublications for use by Federal mapping and chart
ing agencies, by local surveyors in boundary surveys, and by geophysi
cal prospectors in search for oil and other minerals.
E arthquake R eports fo r use b y construction engineers in th e design
o f earthquake-resisting structures, by g eo lo g ists and insurance sta tis
tician s in earthquake areas, and b y scien tists in the stu d y o f earth
quake phenom ena.
CHARTING OUR COASTAL WATERS
When the Coast Survey first began its charting work, our country
consisted of a narrow coastal belt along the Atlantic coast and com
prised about 15,000 statute miles of shore line. With the Nation’s
territorial expansion, the activities of the Bureau have grown until
today its jurisdiction extends to all the waters of continental United
106
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
States, Alaska, the Philippines, Guam, the Hawaiian Islands, Puerto
Rico, the Canal Zone, and the Virgin Islands—comprising a total
shoreline of more than 100,000 statute miles.
To cover this extensive coastline, 892 different nautical charts are
published. These range from large-scale harbor charts, used for close
inshore navigation and requiring fullness of detail in topographic
and hydrographic features, to small-scale sailing charts, used for off
shore navigation and necessitating a greater generalization of detail.
The function of the nautical chart is to safeguard our seaways. I t
must keep commerce informed of changes in hydrographic conditions
brought about by the forces of nature or by the works of man. The
millions of dollars spent annually on harbor improvements, port facil
ities, lighthouses, and buoys would fail of their full purpose if these
improvements were to be omitted from the charts. As our ports and
harbors grow the charts must grow with them. They must be revised
frequently to give an accurate picture of existing conditions.
The field surveys executed by the Bureau are the basic data used in
the construction and revision of nautical charts. These surveys are
supplemented by data from other organizations, especially data rela
tive to channel and harbor improvements, and changes in aids to
navigation.
Charts are brought up to date by periodic resurveys and by publi
cation of new editions showing the changed conditions. In some of
our seaports changes are so numerous that it is necessary to reissue the
harbor charts four times a year by new and revised editions. The
problem of nautical charting is therefore a never-ending process.
Our service to commerce will be measured by the degree to which we
can keep our charts current.
CHARTING OUR AIRWAYS
The Coast Survey came into being during a period when maritime
countries began to recognize the governmental responsibility for sur
veying and charting their coasts. This concept has become basic. It
was reaffirmed by the Air Commerce Act of 1926, because of the funda
mental similarity between marine and air charting. Public safety
requires the use of up-to-date and reliable charts. A constant flow
of information must therefore go out to aviators regarding our civil
airways and our airports. This information must reflect changes in
culture, in aids to navigation, and in other vital aeronautical data.
In some of the chart series, it is necessary to maintain a weekly revision
schedule. Obviously, the ramifications of the program of preparing
and maintaining aeronautical charts are such that only a Federal or
ganization supported by the public can accomplish it satisfactorily.
Because of its trained personnel and the many years of experience
in the preparation of nautical charts, the Bureau was assigned the task
of preparing and publishing aeronautical charts. To date, 789 have
been issued for the United States and possessions. As with surface
navigation, charts of widely varying scales are required to meet the
different needs of air navigation. These range from large-scale charts
107
TJ. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
for use in approach and landing operations at airports to small-scale
charts for use in navigating high-speed transports.
Aeronautical charts are compiled from the basic survey data of the
Bureau supplemented by the best topographic data from more than
50 miscellaneous sources. They are designed to be read easily by the
pilot in a rapidly moving airplane and emphasis is given to features
of aeronautical importance. Upon the basic chart, there are over
printed in color, usually magenta, airports, beacon lights, radio-range
stations, and other aeronautical data. Before final publication, and
to insure accuracy of the detail shown, the preliminary chart is flown
by an experienced observer and details on the chart are compared with
actual ground features. Necessary corrections and additions are
noted. Some of the most important information is obtained from the
flight-check.
CHART PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
During the fiscal year 1947 the Bureau faced a heavy backlog of
revision data for its nautical and aeronautical charts. Efforts were
concentrated on improving the quality of the charts by applying the
most vital information to them. There still remains a heavy work
load of compilation work on all types of charts. There was a greater
demand from the public for charts, and efforts were concentrated on
supplying the charts with more efficient and improved service.
To relieve the overburdened facilities of the Washington Office, re
gional chart distribution centers were established at New York and
Baltimore. Nautical charts are now furnished to these offices un
corrected and hand corrections are made there. This has resulted in
a saving in the number of personnel engaged on this work in the
Washington Office.
The sale of nautical charts to the public increased approximately
40 percent over 1946, although the total demand decreased to some
extent, because the requirements of the Navy Department were less in
1947. The demand for aeronautical charts also increased during the
year, in spite of the fact that the requirements of the War Department
decreased from 66.8 to 46.4 percent (including airport charts) of the
total issue.
The relative annual output of navigational charts and related pub
lications is given in the following table:
Charts and related publications issued
T y p e of c h a rt or p u b lic a tio n
1944
1945
1946
2,913,666
17,645,892
4,330, 547
16,899,049
16,086
81,449
86,038
13,884
98,016
40,933
2, 235,396
9,097,817
2, 705,446
14,067
80,014
37, 856
1947
1,225,639
7,988,426
4,885,703
15,993
65,767
45,778
108
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The distribution of nautical and aeronautical charts during the
year was as follows:
Distribution of nautical and aeronautical charts in 1947
N A U T IC A L
Free issu e:
Navy Department---------------------------------Coast Guard___________________________
War Department_______________________
Coast and Geodetic Survey_____________
Other Department_____________________
503,369
3,621
41,301
17,407
6,587
Percent
41. 6
.3
3 .4
1. 4
.5
S a les---------------------------------------------------------.Condemned-------------------------------- ----------------
572, 285
529,876
123, 478
47.2
42. 7
10.1
1, 225, 639
100. 0
1,225, 639
U . S . A ERO N A U TICA L
Free issue :
War Department___________ ___________ 2, 851, 495
Navy Department______________________ 1, 214,153
66, 922
68,' 480
Coast and Geodetic Survey
Other Departments
89,945
40. 0
17. 0
.9
.9
1. o
4,290,995
1, 644,105
123, 478
60.1
23.0
10.1
7,144,398
100.0
Sales
_ _
Condemned
-
_ _ _
7,144, 398
U . S. AIRPO RT
4,885, 703
Total issue.
S PE C IA L AND FOREIGN A ERO N A U TICA L
Total issue____________________________________________________
844, 028
Total___________________________________________________
14, 099, 768
The number of individual nautical charts on issue at the end of the
year was 892. To produce the 1,225,639 copies issued, 644 printings
were necessary, as follows: 13 new charts, 77 new editions, 502 new
prints, and 52 reprints. A program of reconstruction and extensive
revision of the nautical charts has been necessitated by the large accu
mulation of hydrographic and topographic data during the war years
which could not be applied to the charts because of press of war wprk.
Approximately 8 million hand corrections were necessary to cor
rect the charts to date of issue. Dangers requiring hand corrections
and other navigational information were reported to the Coast Guard
and Hydrographic Office for publication in the weekly Notice to Mari
ners. During the year a new practice was initiated of sending to eight
district offices marked copies of Notice to Mariners to show the items
being applied by hand correction to the charts. This will insure an
agreement between nautical charts issued by the district offices and
those issued from the Washington Office.
The project begun toward the end of the last fiscal year of charting
the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was continued during 1947. There
U . S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
109
is an increasing demand for charts of this waterway, and the Bureau
is expediting the program. The volume of traffic in the completed
portion of the waterway has reached a t.otal many times that in the
Atlantic waterway. The completed project will run from Carabelle,
Fla., to the Mexican border—a distance of 1,076 miles—and will re
quire 33 large-scale charts, similar in design to the Atlantic intra
coastal charts. Five of these charts have been published to date, and
eight more are in various stages of completion.
A new chart for use with the Loran system ,of navigation has been
developed. This new chart is printed on the reverse side of the con
ventional chart and carries the Loran curves superimposed upon a
printing of the conventional chart, but with most of the soundings re
moved and more depth curves added. A navigator employing the
L,oran system may now use the Loran chart without reference to the
standard chart.
Two special charts were produced for use in connection with the
International Meeting on Marine Radio Aids to Navigation at New
London, Conn., to demonstrate the use of Loran and Shoran. Six ad
ditional experimental charts for use in Radar navigati.on were pro-'
duced. These show topography by gradient tints and should facili
tate the correlation of the charted detail with the radarscope.
In the field of related nautical chart publications, the Bureau pub
lishes a series of Coast Pilots to supplement the information shown on
the charts. A pr.ogram for expediting revision of these Pilots is pro
gressing satisfactorily. Field inspection for the revision of the At
lantic Coast Pilots continued throughout the year. Inspection of Sec
tion C, Sandy Hook to Cape Henry, was completed; and the work on
Section D, Cape Henry t,o Key West, had progressed south to Myrtle
Beach, S. C.
The aeronautical charts of the United States and possessions were
maintained. These include 226 standard aeronautical charts, 521 in
strument approach and landing charts, and 42 radio facility charts, a
total of 789. The standard charts are revised generally every 6 months
on schedule, and the remaining charts are revised weekly as necessary.
To maintain these charts, 1,503 printings were necessary.
During the year a new series of aeronautical charts was intro
duced—the Radio Facility Charts. Forty-two charts, each measuring
8 by 10y2 inches, cover the entire United States. These charts provide
complete radio data to facilitate the planning and execution of cross
country flights and are similar to the data formerly published in Air
Navigation Radio Aids, which was discontinued toward the end of the
last fiscal year. The special type of information necessary for aero
nautical operations, by use of radio facilities, is depicted on these
charts, which are finding wide use by commercial, private, and military
airmen. Under the maintenance program for these charts, revisions
will be made on a weekly schedule to provide users with the latest
changes in radio facility data with a minimum of delay. These charts
are distributed in quantities of 20 or more copies of each sheet on a
yearly subscription basis which includes automatic distribution of
all revisions for the entire year. Single copies of any of these charts
may be purchased without revision service.
110
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
A new route chart, Chicago, 111., to Gander, Newfoundland, was
published in January. This chart was primarily designed to meet
the requirements of air carriers operating over the North Atlantic
and using high-speed, high-altitude, long-range aircraft. I t covers
all international air routes originating in the United States and extends
to transoceanic take-off points in Newfoundland and Labrador so that
only one chart is necessary for all such operations on this side of the
Atlantic.
To fill the requirements of the principal commercial air carriers
that operate certificated overseas routes, and of the military forces,,
the Bureau published the second of a series of aircraft position charts,,
covering western Europe and northwestern Africa. These charts are
designed for selected areas that require a special type of air naviga
tion chart. The construction of the third chart of this series, which
will cover the Caribbean area, is in progress.
In addition to the production of the standard aeronautical charts
special work was accomplished for the War Department and other
governmental agencies. These included route charts, azimuthal equi
distant charts, gnomonic tracking charts, grid navigation overprints,
link trainer charts, and miscellaneous charts.
Owing to the limited funds available for field work, flight-check
operations during the year consisted only of the flight-checking of two
local aeronautical charts. Constant flight-checking should be main
tained, and each chart should be inspected on the average of at least
once every 3 years.
A new field station Avas established in September 1946 at Chicago,.
111. This is the fourth station established by the Bureau for liaison
with the Civil Aeronautics Administration for the distribution of
aeronautical charts and for the dissemination of survey data to the
public. Other stations previously established are at Kansas City, Mo.,
Atlanta, Ga., and Fort Worth, Tex.
The Kansas City field office was enlarged and now supplies all aero
nautical chart agencies west of the Mississippi Kiver. I t is planned
to establish a new distribution office in San Francisco or Los Angeles,
Calif., for the west coast. The issue of charts from these offices results
in a saving in the amount of space needed for storing charts in the
Washington Office and the accompanying processing of orders for
charts, and also furnishes more efficient service to the chart users and
chart agents, owing to their closer proximity to the distribution center.
During the year, 22 new nautical chart agents and 123 aeronautical
chart agents were appointed. More than 40 agencies were canceled
as a result of certain inefficiencies disclosed on inspection. At the end
of the year there were 181 nautical and 364 aeronautical chart
agencies.
The standardization of aeronautical charts, both national and inter
national, was furthered through work with the Air Coordinating Com
mittee, which was established by Executive order during the fiscal year
1946. The task of applying international standards to the charts,
of the Bureau was begun.
111
U . S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
SURVEYS OF COASTAL WATERS
The fundamental data used in the production of nautical and aero
nautical charts are derived from coastal surveys, which include hy
drography, topography, and coastal triangulation. These surveys are
carried on by ships and shore-based units to obtain information con
cerning obstructions to navigation, locations of channels, character
istics of the sea bottom, shore lines, and other topographic features
along the coasts required for the production of marine charts and coast
pilots.
Before the war, the annual progress of surveys along our coasts pro
ceeded at an economical rate without attempting to advance too far
ahead of commercial needs. Main seaports and approaches were sur
veyed, as well as the more important inlets. With the advent of war
this work ceased, ships were transferred to the Navy, and hydrographic
parties assigned to areas of strategic importance.
When the war closed preparations were made to resume our program
of surveying and charting and to extend it into regions of partially
undeveloped natural resources, where oil, fishing, and mining opera
tions are either being carried on or are contemplated. Owing to the
delay in the retransfer of ships back to the Survey and to the needed
alterations and repairs, it was not until the closing months of the
fiscal year that the program was in full operation.
During the year 19 survey vessels and several shore-based units were
engaged on coastal surveys along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts
of the United States, and in Alaska. In the Philippines the Bureau
operated one vessel in conjunction with the Philippine Government.
A summary of the surveys accomplished is given in the following table :
Statistical summary of coastal surveys
Hydrography
Locality
Sound
Area
ing
lines
Wire
drag
Topography
Area
Shore
line
Area
Square
Square
Square
Miles miles Miles miles Miles miles
9,048 1,199
1
42
' 113
5
56
23
Í
1
90
Chesapeake Bay_____________ 2,322
671
3, 728
5,346
826
23
32
39
2, 804
371
15
40
727
38
88
23
23,458 49,350
310
16
Philippines..................................
Total____ ____________
47,856 52, 562
98
28
191
71
Triangulation
Geo
Length
of
Area graphic
posi
schemes
tions
Miles
Square Nummiles
ber
2
4
5
2
55
7
213
177
5
1,244
119
12
360
7
277
1,430
505
Along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the survey vessels Lydonia,
Cowie, Faris, Gilbert, Hilgard, 'Waiwwright, Sosbee, Parker, Bowen,
Stirni, and Hydrographer accomplished hydrographic, wire-drag, or
coast pilot surveys.
The Lydonia made Shoran-controlled hydrographic surveys off the
New Hampshire and Maine coasts during the summer months and off
the coast of South Carolina during the winter months.
766188—47---- 10
112
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The Cotdie was engaged throughout the year on hydrographic sur
veys in the James River and Chesapeake Bay areas, many of which
were of particular interest to the Corps of Engineers.
The Faris made coast pilot investigations along the coast between
New York and Norfolk until November 1946, when the vessel was dis
posed of because of its age and the excessive cost of needed repairs.
The Gilbert accomplished hydrographic surveys along the coast of
Maine. The vessel was prevented from doing field work during the
winter because of the installation of a new engine and delays incident
thereto.
The Hilgard and Wainwright made hydrographic and wire-drag
surveys in Boston Harbor and hydrographic surveys in the Chickahominy River, Va. From November 1946 to January 1947 the Hilgard
was engaged on coast pilot inspection in the Chesapeake Bay area.
During the last quarter of the fiscal year both vessels made a current
survey in Delaware Bay.
The Sosbee was engaged on hydrographic surveys off the coast of
Maine until the end of October 1946, when coast pilot investigations
were begun in Chesapeake Bay and continued south from Norfolk,
Va., via the Intracoastal Waterway, to the vicinity of Myrtle Beach,
S. C.
The Parker, Bowen, and Stirni made wire-drag surveys in the lower
Chesapeake Bay area and at its entrance to search for, locate, and
determine the least depths over numerous wrecks.
The Hydro grayher, returned from the Navy toward the end of the
last fiscal year, was reconverted and began hydrographic surveys in
the Gulf of Mexico on November 2, 1946. This vessel also conducted
field tests with newly designed electronic position-finding equipment.
On the Pacific coast and in Alaska, the survey vessels Explorer,
Surveyor, Pioneer, Pathfinder, Derickson, Patton, Lester Jones, Westdahl, Hodgson, and Bowie were engaged on hydrographic, topo
graphic, triangulation, or current surveys.
The Explorer, in conjunction with the Pioneer and Surveyor, made
Shoran-controlled hydrographic surveys, and topographic and tri
angulation surveys in the vicinities of Attu, Aggatu, and Buldir
Islands, in the western Aleutians, with work progressing in an eastwardly direction. During the winter months the Explorer was en
gaged on hydrography and triangulation in the vicinity of the San
Juan Islands, Wash.
The Pioneer, the former Mobjack, was transferred from the Navy
Department in August 1946, and sailed for Alaska in April 1947,
after conversion for survey duty.
The Surveyor, in addition to assisting the Explorer in the Aleutians,
later began hydrographic surveys along the south side of the Alaska
Peninsula, between Shelikof Strait and Cold Bay. During the winter
the Surveyor was engaged on hydrography and triangulation in Hood
Canal, Wash.
The Pathfinder, after conversion for survey duty, was recommis
sioned on August 23, 1946, and assigned to hydrographic and topo
graphic surveys in the vicinity of Naknek, Bristol Bay, Alaska. Dur
ing the winter months hydrography was accomplished in the vicinity
of the San Juan Islands, Wash.
XJ. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
113
The Derickson made hydrographic and triangulation surveys at
Adak Island in the Aleutians, as well as in the northerly part of
Prince William Sound, between Valdez and Whittier. During the
winter months, the vessel established triangulation control in the San
Juan Islands, Wash.
The Patton made hydrographic and triangulation surveys in the
vicinity of Sitka, Alaska, and assisted the Explorer in the develop
ment of shoal areas in the approaches to Massacre Bay, Attu Island.
During the winter, the Patton and Lester Jones completed radio
current-meter surveys in Puget Sound, Wash.
The Lester Jones was engaged on air photographic inspection along
the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, in the vicinity of Stepovak Bay,
and furnished water transportation to a geodetic party in Cook Inlet.
The Westdahl made hydrographic surveys in the Columbia River
until decommissioned in October 1946. The vessel was sold in Jan
uary 1947.
The Hodgson, the former PCS-1450, was transferred from the Navy
Department and converted for survey duty, replacing the Westdahl
on hydrographic surveys of the Columbia River on October 28, 1946.
A hydrographic survey was completed for the Navy Department at
Cathlamet Bay, Astoria, Oreg.
The Bowie, the former PCS-1405, was transferred from the Navy
Department in August 1946, and made hydrographic surveys in San
Francisco Bay.
At the request of the Navy Department, an Arctic shore party accom
plished reconnaissance and control surveys along the Arctic coast,
from Point Barrow to Peard Bay.
A shore-based party was engaged on combined operations in Bristol
Bay, Alaska, in the vicinity of the Egegik River, which area is of
interest to the fishing industry.
A shore party began surveys in Pend Orielle Lake, Idaho, at the
request of the Navy Department.
A shore party under the direction of the Supervisor, Southwestern
District, completed a scheme of second-order triangulation on San
Clemente Island, Calif., and a second-order base measurement at
Muroc Air Base to serve as an aircraft speed-trial course.
In the Republic of the Philippines, the Manila office of this Bureau
was returned to the jurisdiction of the Coast and Geodetic Survey
by Public Law 370—Seventy-ninth Congress. This law authorized
the Philippine Rehabilitation Program, which provides for the con
tinuation of the survey work interrupted by the war and for the train
ing of not to exceed 20 Filipinos each year until June 30, 1950. A
commissioned officer of the Bureau was appointed Director of Coast
Surveys of the Philippine Islands, and three commissioned officers
and three civilian employees were assigned to the Manila Office to
assist in field operations, revision of obsolete charts, and training.
The Tulip, a 200-foot steel twin steam-engine vessel, was transferred
from the United States Navy to operational control of the Director
of Coast Surveys. Funds for carrying out the program, with the
exception of the pay of commissioned officers, are being transferred
from appropriations made to the Department of State.
114
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
District offices were maintained during the year at the following
ports: Boston; New York; Norfolk; New Orleans; Los Angeles; San
Francisco; Portland, Oreg.; Seattle; and Honolulu. These offices ren
der valuable service in supplying information for the correction of
charts, in disseminating nautical and engineering data in response
to requests from public and official sources, in assisting the field parties
of the Bureau in obtaining supplies and personnel, and in planning
field work of the parties working in their respective districts.
Processing offices were continued at the two principal bases of the
field parties, Norfolk and Seattle. These offices process field records,
plot hydrographic surveys, and perform other work in connection with
the survey records. The operation of these field offices expedites the
application of field surveys to the finished nautical charts and permits
close cooperation between the field engineer and the office cartographer.
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SURVEYS
Topographic surveys as a basis for the land information shown
on the nautical charts have always been a necessary function of the
Bureau. Originally these surveys were all made by planetable, but
since 1922 an increasing use has been made of aerial photographs. To
day topographic surveys are almost invariably based on aerial photo
graphs. Aerial photographs have also been found to be indispensable
in connection with other survey work of the Bureau, such as airport
surveys and reconnaissance studies for triangulation in Alaska.
All topographic surveys based on aerial photographs are considered
photogrammetric surveys. These surveys may generally be subdivided
into the following phases of work: The taking of the aerial photo
graphs, the laboratory processing of the photographs, field inspection
of the photographs and the necessary supplemental ground surveys,
office compilation, and the office review and drafting.
As in past years, the United States Coast Guard cooperated with this
Bureau in furnishing airplanes and crews for aerial photography.
The principal areas photographed were: Bristol Bay, Alaska; Puget
Sound, Wash.; Roosevelt Lake, Wash., from Grand Coulee Dam to
the Canadian Border; Columbia River from Vancouver to Bonneville
and from The Dalles to the Snake River; Willamette River, Oreg.,
from Portland to Salem; the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from
Houma, La., to Corpus Christi, Tex.; and various scattered sections
of the coastline for revising the nautical charts. In addition some
200 airports scattered throughout the United States were photographed
for use in making airport surveys.
During the year photogrammetric field surveys were in progress in
the following areas: Eastern Maine; Delaware River; the Potomac
River along the District of Columbia-Virginia boundary; the Cape
Hatteras-Neuse River area in North Carolina; the Florida east coast
from Homestead to Wabasso; Portland, Oreg.; the Willamette River,
Oreg., from Portland to Salem; Roosevelt Lake, Wash.; and the
Alaska Peninsula in the vicinity of Cape Fox.
The photography along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, a project
begun during the previous fiscal year, included 480 statute miles from
Houma, La., to Corpus Christi, Tex., preparatory to field surveys and
XJ.V S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
115
photogrammetric compilation to provide the location of aids to navi
gation and up-to-date topographic details for the new Intracoastal
Waterway charts.
The survey of Roosevelt Lake, Wash., is a cooperative project with
the Bureau of Reclamation and the Geological Survey. Large-scale
photogrammetric surveys of the shore line and adjacent details are
being made to provide the basic data for detailed hydrographic surveys
and to provide vertical control for contouring by the Geological Sur
vey. The original survey sheets prepared by both agencies will be
used by the Bureau of Reclamation for silting studies. Nautical charts
of the Lake will be compiled and published by the Coast and Geodetic
Survey.
Photogrammetric offices continued in operation at Baltimore, Md.,
and Tampa, Fla., where topographic and planimetric maps were com
piled of coastal areas in eastern Maine; Delaware Bay and Delaware
River, New Jersey and Delaware; the coastal area of North Carolina;
and the east coast of Florida. The combined field and office party
organized in Portland, Oreg., during the previous fiscal year was con
tinued under the direction of the Supervisor, Midwestern District.
The compilation of planimetric maps in the vicinity of Portland was
completed and compilation was started on new projects of the Willa
mette River, Oreg., and Roosevelt Lake, Wash.
Work in the Washington Office included compilation of large-scale
planimetric maps of the District of Columbia-Virginia boundary line
by means of the stereoplanigraph; compilation of topographic maps of
the Alaska Peninsula by means of the nine-lens stereoscopic plotting
instruments; and comp'iltaion of new planimetric maps and revision
of others by graphic methods for use in nautical chart revision. Re
vision of 440 statute miles of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from
Carrabelle, Fla., to Houma, La., was completed for use on the new
Intracoastal Waterway charts. Review and drafting of planimetric
and topographic maps prior to publication were continued.
Five airport survey parties operated throughout the United States
during the fiscal year and 87 fields were surveyed. These surveys are
used in the production and maintenance of aeronautical instrument
approach and landing charts and obstruction plans. The latter are
used by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in administering regu
lations regarding the allowable pay load of various aircraft.
Seventy-one obstruction plans were published during the year, bring
ing the total published to date to 88. This is part of a program for
the construction of plans for some 550 airports requested by the Civil
Aeronautics Administration. Thus far all work has been on new plans.
During the next fiscal year, however, resurveys to insure adequate
maintenance will be required. This will necessitate an increase in the
number of airport survey parties.
With the removal of wartime restrictions on the distribution of
aerial photographs, there has been an increasing demand for copies of
these by the general public. This has noticeably increased the work
load of the air photographic laboratory.
A summary of the photogrammetric mapping of coastal areas for
the fiscal year 1947 is given in the tabulation on the following page.
Sum m ary of photogrammetric mapping
....
Photogrammetric field surveys
Locality
Miles
Square
miles
Square
miles
Square
miles
3,100
146
27
200
300
20
305
29
440
21
465
408
457
457
2,520
272
688
875
404
1,500
398
132
250
229
Square
miles
500
40
275
11,255
2,445
3,318
Square
miles
300
60
113
21
4
7
1 766
168
34
1 57
21
1
152
Number
1 Project includes revision of existing maps and compilation of data for nautical charts, No new maps to be published.
summary.
Square
miles
Number
9
19
48
250
431
Planimetrie maps
published
257
684
240
1,450
1,600
Number
Topographic maps
60
460
8
1,749
44
u25
13
380
17
97
13
1,642
80
Figures are not included in totals at bottom of this
OF COM M ERCE
T otal___________ _______
Planimetrie maps
and shoreline
surveys
SECRETA RY
North Carolina (Cape Hatteras-Neuse River area)
Oregon (Columbia River and Willamette River)__
Virginia (Rappahannock River to James River)____
Washington:
Lake Roosevelt......................................
Puget Sound________________
Contours
Interior Contours
(plane(stereo
area
table)
scopic)
OF T H E
Bristol Bay________
California (San Francisco Bay)___ _ .
Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (Delaware River)
District of Columbia, Virginia (D. C.-Va. boundary)...
Florida:
Stuart to Fort Myers to T am pa_____
East coast, Florida Bay to Vero Beach.............
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas (Gulf Intra
coastal W aterway)___________
Maine (Portland to Canadian boundary)...
Maryland (Patuxent River)..............
Square
miles
1,065
Shore
line
REPO RT
Alaska:
Glacier Bay____ __________
Aerial
photog
raphy
05
Compilations completed
U . S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
117
GEODETIC CONTROL SURVEYS
Geodetic control surveys consist of triangulation to establish hori
zontal control (latitude and longitude), leveling to determine eleva
tions above mean sea level, astronomic observations, base line meas
urements, and determinations of the value of gravity, throughout the
country.
For accurate surveys for land development projects covering large
areas, the earth’s curvature must be taken into account. Geodetic sur
veys serve this purpose and provide a homogeneous network of loca
tions and elevations for use in the planning and construction phases
of flood control, irrigation, drainage, water supply, hydroelectric de
velopment, navigation, and other large-scale engineering and mapping
projects; and in the planning and building of transmission lines, high
ways, railroads, canals, tunnels, and airports.
To encourage and enable local engineers and surveyors to connect
their surveys to the Federal network of control, the present policy of
the Bureau provides for triangulation stations spaced at intervals of
about 4 miles in agricultural areas and from 2 to 3 miles in metro
politan areas. For elevations, bench marks are located at 1-mile in
tervals along the lines of leveling which run along highways and are
spaced approximately 6 miles apart.
The major activities during the past year have been concerned with
the continuation of geodetic control surveys in the Columbia River
Basin and the Missouri River Valley. These surveys, requested by
the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, will permit
the coordination of the maps and the many local detailed engineering
surveys and plans needed in studies for the development of multiple
water uses and for other natural resources of these regions.
The Missouri Valley project has as its primary objective the control
of floods by the building of dams at various points along the rivers,
impounding the waters in reservoirs, and regulating the flow in the
lower reaches of the rivers. The impounded waters will in some in
stances be used for irrigation purposes to reclaim vast areas of sub
marginal farm lands. The areas being surveyed, under a priority
schedule established by the Corps of Engineers, are along the main
stem of the Missouri River from Kansas City upstream and on various
tributaries, such as the Gasconade, Blue, Osage, and Niobrara Rivers.
In connection with this project, triangulation was also accomplished
in Nebraska, in an area northwest of North Platte, for mapping control
for the Geological Survey.
Other control surveys made at the request of the Bureau of Reclama
tion were: Triangulation along the Rio Grande from Brownsville to
Rio Grande City, Tex., for the Valley Gravity Reclamation project;
triangulation in Arizona in connection with the investigation of diver
sion routes for the Colorado River for the central Arizona project; tri
angulation along the Green River southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah,
for the central Utah project; leveling along two lines on each side of
the San Joaquin Valley from Bakersfield to Red Bluff, Calif., with
several cross lines. There is evidence of subsidence in the valley, and
periodic leveling is planned to determine the extent and characteristics.
118
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Additional surveys requested by the Corps of Engineers included
triangulation and leveling in the Trinity Valley of Texas for the
development of the Trinity River Watershed, and for the canaliza
tion of the river channel to provide barge transportation from the
Gulf of Mexico to Dallas and Fort Worth.
As an adjunct of the Trinity River project and at the request of
local officials, detailed control was provided in Dallas and Johnson
Counties for planning purposes.
An extensive program of leveling was also initiated in Alabama for
areas along the Black Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers where the Corps
of Engineers have a number of river-improvement projects.
Geodetic control surveys for mapping by the Geological Survey in
cluded triangulation and leveling in Indiana, and triangulation in
Mississippi, between Jackson and McCombs, where recent oil dis
coveries have enhanced property values. The survey monuments
established will be of value not only for the mapping project but also
for use of local engineers and surveyors in coordinating their individ
ual surveys for boundary and property demarcation.
Miscellaneous control surveys accomplished during the year at the
request of various Federal agencies include the following: Leveling
to establish elevations of water gages along the Kentucky Reservoir
in Tennessee and Kentucky for the Tennessee Valley Authority; tri
angulation in the Tonto National Forest, Ariz., and triangulation and
leveling in the Mount Hood National Forest, Oreg., for the Forest
Service; and gravity observations on several of the Hawaiian Islands,
the Palau Islands, Admiralty Islands, and the Solomon Islands for
the War Department. Cooperative projects accomplished provided
control in the vicinity of El Paso, Tex., and Salton Sea, Calif., for the
Army, and near Camp Davis, N. C., for the Navy.
There was increasing evidence during the year of the growing in
terest in more detailed urban control surveys to provide a permanent
base for the tie-in and coordination of local surveys. In the East
Bay region of San Francisco, 11 county, municipal, and utility or
ganizations requested a detailed scheme of triangulation and base
measurement over the area to correct chaotic local survey conditions
and to coordinate them for planning and construction. This was a
cooperative project for which the Bureau furnished the supervision,
the instrumental equipment, the portable steel triangulation towers,
and accomplished the mathematical treatment of the results. The
local agencies provided the greater number of employees and paid
the costs of the field operations. A similar cooperative project, in
cluding leveling, was under way to accomplish urban control for Cin
cinnati, Ohio, at the request of the City Engineer’s Department.
A cooperative leveling project was completed for San Antonio,
Tex. Precise elevations were established for about 60 bench marks,
placed systematically throughout the city and marked with concrete
markers set to a depth of 30 feet. The new leveling revised the eleva
tions of old marks, provided additional data to study vertical move
ments of bench marks, and placed various local detached level surveys
on a common datum.
At the request of the Highway Department of Nevada, the State
Planning Board, and various municipal and local engineers, detailed
XT. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
119
triangulation and base measurements were made for the cities of
Reno, Sparks, Winnemucca, and Las Vegas. Triangulation was also
provided in northeastern Nevada along the Utah and Idaho boundary
lines and in the Minidoka National Forest.
A triangulation survey northwestward of Aberdeen, Md., to the
vicinity of Delta, Pa., was completed during the year at the request
of local officials and engineers.
In California detailed triangulation was completed between Santa
Cruz and San Francisco Bay. A comparison of the recent work with
observations made a number of years ago will determine whether land
movements have occurred in this area during the past 65 years. Tri
angulation, traverse, and leveling were also accomplished at the earth
quake fault line near Palmdale, Calif. I t is proposed to repeat this
work periodically to determine whether earth movements can be
detected before a disastrous earthquake occurs.
Astronomic observations for latitude, longitude, and azimuth were
made in Idaho, Oregon, North Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Indi
ana, for use in the adjustment of the triangulation.
The variation of latitude observatories at Ukiah, Calif., and Gai
thersburg, Md., continued in operation throughout the year. These
are two of five observatories located on the same parallel of latitude
(39°08'N.) and operated on an international basis, the other three
being in Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union. Each observatory makes
observations on the same groups of stars. During the year 1,560 star
pairs were observed at Gaithersburg and 1,431 at Ukiah.
A triangulation and base measurement party operated in south
western Alaska to provide an arc from Portage Bay, Alaskan Penin
sula, to Egegik on Bristol Bay, thence eastward straddling Iliamna
Lake and connecting to established marks at Kamishak Bay, Cook
Inlet. This will provide control for photogrammetric and hydrographic surveys for the charting of Bristol Bay.
Through the leadership of Bradford Washburn, director of the
New England Museum of Natural History, a cooperative mapping
project of the Mount McKinley Range was carried out. Aerial photo
graphs were taken by the Army Air Forces and directions were ob
served by Mr. Washburn to supplement observations made by the
Coast and Geodetic Survey. Elevations of the highest peaks have
been determined. The information will furnish control for the map
ping of Mount McKinley National Park.
Control surveys to mark the Virginia-District of Columbia bound
ary line were made. Monuments were established at approximately
1-mile intervals and connections in distance and direction made to
the high water line, which marks the boundary. The demarcation of
the boundary line is specifically assigned to the Coast and Geodetic
Survey by act of Congress.
During the year levels were run to 86 airports, making a total of
712 airports at which sea-level elevations have been determined and
connected to the Federal network of levels.
The field activities during the year are summarized in the table on
next page.
120
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Area triangulation—first- and second-order
Number of Length of
stations
scheme
Locality
100
314
210
49
28
102
12
.32
30
164
20
97
53
121
176
9
28
9
62
10
191
75
30
164
97
16
67
97
20
29
23
39
33
5
109
101
23
13
Cowlitz and Klickitat Rivers, Wash.................................. .................
Conowingo, Md. to IToltwood, P a ....... ............. .....................
2,808
Miles
320
195
35
90
340
210
90
235
30
125
205
15
10
125
40
105
215
25
90
Area
Square miles
4,090
3, 645
2,260
165
7,060
6, 280
2, 000
3,660
345
1,100
1,390
8,950
55
10
2,000
420
2, 545
5,895
1,185
1,890
65
2,215
1,365
25
105
50
85
30
90
60
25
20
250
2,370
1,345
1,875
1,110
1,850
3,035
480
335
4,140
76,665
First-order base-line measurement
Locality
Egegik, A laska............ ........................
Beehive, Ariz......... ...............................
Livermore, Calif____ _______ _____
Berkeley, Calif____________________
Jasper, In d ............................................
Dixon, M o..............................................
Length of
scheme
Miles
4.3
4.0
2.1
1.5
.2
4.2
3.8
2.4
.6
2.4
2.2
1.0
4.8
2.5
3.9
Locality
Length of
scheme
Miles
Fort Bliss, N. Mex____
6.8
3.1
2.4
5.2
1.9
6.1
5.2
5.0
5.3
4.7
93.1
121
TJ. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
Traverse measurement
Locality
Number of Length of
scheme
stations
F IR S T -O R D E R T R A V E R S E
Miles
Total........................... ..................................................................... .................
120
9
30
120
39
11
2
3
1
13
4
S E C O N D -O R D E R T R A V E R S E
Reconnaissance
[For area triangulation—first- and second-order]
Locality
Flaxton to Halliday, N. D ak______________________
Portage Bay to Bristol Bay to Cook Inlet, Alaska____
Northwestern Nebraska_______________ ___________
Wind River, Wash_____________ ________ _________
N orthem Indiana______________ ______ . . _____ ___
Upper Cowlitz River, Wash___________________ ___
Qros Ventre and Buffalo Rivers, Wyo.......... ........... ......
Big Blue and Nemaha Rivers, Nebr. and K ans.............
Salmon River, Stanley to Salmon, Idaho........................
Vicinity of Winnemucca, Nev....... ........... . . ............. ......
Reno-Sparks area, N ev........................... ................... ......
Lemhi River Valley, Idaho_______ _____ __________
M ount Hood National Forest, Oreg_______________ .
Vicinity of Conowingo, Md., and Holtwood, P a ______
Vernal to Provo, U tah .------------------------- ------------- Osage River and Pottawattomie Creek, Kans................
Osage River, Mo-------- ---------------------------------------Western Arizona........................................... ................... .
Rio Grande Valley, Tex______ ______ __________ _
Carson City to Fallon, N ev............................................. .
Central Indiana............................................................ .
Reno to Carson City, N ev...... ........................................
Vicinity of Las Vegas, N ev......... .................. .............. .
Athens to Kaufman, T ex........ ................... ......................
Corsicana area, Tex______________________________
Hillsboro to Forth Worth, Tex____ ______________
Marble Canyon, Ariz................................. .......................
Tombigbee River, Miss, and Ala.......................................
Pasco to Wenatchee, Wash......... ........ ......... ...................
Black Warrior River, Ala_________________________
Missouri River, Kansas City, Mo., to Sioux City, Iowa.
Saltillo Base Net, N ebr............................. ............. ..........
Annapolis to Kent Island, M d ...................................... .
Northeastern California................................................... .
Bristol Bay, Alaska____ _____ ________ ___________
Vicinity of Camp Davis, N. C ............. ..........................
East Bay Cities, C alif................................ .....................
Vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio..... .................. .....................
Total.
Length of
scheme
Area
7
105
50
25
130
50
Square
miles
1, 000
4, 390
5, 235
345
7, 985
1, 365
2, 150
7, 240
1, 435
55
45
650
1, 870
505
4, 160
3, 870
4, 625
12, 305
1, 390
1, 240
5, 270
1, 365
250
390
720
865
95
8, 200
6, 270
2, 560
4, 700
50
35
7, 140
1, 000
65
1, 365
600
6,052
102,800
Miles
100
220
210
30
615
85
100
410
95
15
10
50
110
30
150
245
290
550
125
100
390
50
25
35
40
50
15
570
375
130
455
10
122
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Leveling
State
Illinois______________________
Firstorder
Secondorder
Miles
79
1,416
83
115
256
3
Miles
851
60
22
2
3,035
146
292
79
1
311
187
219
Firstorder
State
Secondorder
Miles
7
53
Oregon......... .............................
Miles
24
390
212
459
146
11
1,397
264
116
6
4
218
397
103
3,494
7, 599'
Astronomy
Determinations
Determinations
State
L ati
tude
Longi
tude
Azi
m uth
Idaho________ _______
3
1
3
1
2
North Dakota_________
1
2
1
2
1
3
State
O r e g o n .____ ________
Lati
tude
Longi
tude
Azi
m uth
2
0
2
0
1
1
10
10
0
G ravity
Determina
tions
Location
Hawaiian Islands...
Palau Islands____
Solomon Islands. _.
Admiralty Islan d s..
2
T otal. ............
5
1
I
1
Summary of geodetic work, June 8 0 ,19Jf7
Work
July 1,1946, to Total to June
June 30, 1947
30, 1947
Miles
4,140
11,093
Number
27
0
10
10
9
Miles
103,710
349,109
Number
306
56
1,002
804
1,290
XJ. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
123
In the Washington Office and in the computing office in New York
City, work was continued on the processing of the geodetic field sur
veys and in preparing the results for dissemination to Government
agencies and the general public. Computations and adjustments
were completed for 92 triangulation projects, involving 6,625 stations
for which geographic positions (latitudes and longitudes) were deter
mined. A new method of adjusting area and complex schemes of
triangulation was introduced during the year, which makes use of
the variation of coordinates principle instead of the more complicated
method of condition equations. Further improvements in this method
are anticipated.
Preliminary computations were made for 4,589 miles of leveling,
and 17 level nets were adjusted. One of these, in the Pacific North
west, will serve to place on a consistent basis all elevations in Oregon,
Washington, most of Idaho, and parts of California, Nevada, Utah,
and Wyoming, as well as in Canada. Another noteworthy accom
plishment was the adjustment of the network of leveling (475 miles)
in the vicinity of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif.
Maps for each State on an approximate scale of 1: 600,000 were
issued during the year on which the triangulation schemes are indi
cated. Similar State maps are issued showing the level lines. The
distribution of these maps has resulted in increased requests from
the public for geodetic survey data.. These include requests for de
scriptions of triangulation stations and bench marks, and lists of
geographic positions, plane coordinates, and elevations. During the
year there were lithoprinted 2,772 pages of descriptions of triangula
tion stations, 1,116 pages of descriptions of bench marks, and 4,392
pages of geographic positions and plane coordinates.
Legislation authorizing the use of the State Plane Coordinate Sys
tems for property descriptions was adopted by the following States
during the year: Maine, Tennessee, South Dakota, and California.
This brings the total number of States with such legislation to 24.
Surveys of property so described are connected to the Federal network
of control, and are preserved for future recovery.
A set of tables was prepared for the computation of plane coordi
nates in the Republic of the Philippines using a transverse Mercator
projection. The zones for the systems were determined after consul
tation with the Board of Surveys and Maps of the Philippine Islands.
The Bureau has cooperated with the 311th Reconnaissance Wing,
United States Army Air Forces, in investigating and recommending
computation procedures for Shoran triangulation, and has kept
abreast of investigations of other electronic means of distance and
angle determination. These systems are not yet adapted for field
geodetic survey use, but it is essential to have all available informa
tion on these new methods. Investigations as to accuracy, practica
bility, economy, and efficiency of operation compared with conven
tional methods will be made as electronic methods develop.
124
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
TIDE AND CURRENT SURVEYS
The Coast and Geodetic Survey is charged with the function of
obtaining and publishing tidal data. Observations and investiga
tions of tides and currents are carried on to pi-ovide basic data for
the surveying activities of the Bureau as well as to supply essential
information for safeguarding maritime commerce and aiding the
industrial development of coastal property. Soundings taken during
hydrograhpic surveys must be corrected for the height of the tide,
so that the nautical chart will show all depths referred to a uniform
datum. Similarly, the datum of mean sea level must be determined
from tide observations at various points along our coasts for the
control of the network of leveling extending over the country. The
results derived from long series of tide observations also furnish
the only quantitative data for determining the slow change taking
place in the relation of land to sea, that is, whether any given coastal
region is rising or sinking relative to the sea.
With modern deep-draft vessels operating on fixed schedules, ad
vance information on the rise and fall of the tide and the ebb and
flow of the current are prerequisites to safe navigation. Such infor
mation is made available to the mariner through annual tide and
current tables, and tidal current charts published by the Bureau.
Although designed primarily as an aid to navigation, tide and cur
rent predictions now have wide application to practically every ac
tivity associated with coastal waters. There is an increasing demand
for this information for such diverse purposes as the launching of
ships,_schedules for arriving and sailing, harbor construction work,
yachting, and fishing. In the industrial development of coastal prop
erty, these data are used for the location and design of piers, bridges,
and factories; for the determination of boundaries of water-front
property; for offshore oil production projects; and for the solution
of problems of sewage disposal and water pollution.
Aside from the published tables, which are sold at the major ports
through sales agencies and field offices of the Bureau, the information
is disseminated through newspapers, radio stations, and publishers
of almanacs and calendars.
A related field of work is that of investigation of the temperature
and density of sea water along our coasts and in our harbors, the
results of which are also available in the form of publications. This
information is required by the shipping industry, industrial plants
using sea water, the fishing industry, and for various scientific pur
poses, such as determining the strength of a radio signal after it
passes over a body of water.
To obtain the data for tide and current information, the Bureau
had in operation, during the year, 40 primary and secondary tide sta
tions on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; 31 stations on the Pacific coast,
in Alaska, and in the Hawaiian Islands; 9 stations in foreign coun
tries; and, under the State Department program of cooperation with
the American Republics, 11 stations in Central and South America.
Fifty-four of these stations were maintained in cooperation with other
agencies, including the Governments in Central and South America,
U. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
125
the various units of the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, and municipal
and research organizations. Nine new stations were established and
four stations were discontinued.
Observations of the temperature and density of sea water were ob
tained at 67 of the tide stations and at 3 stations established for ob
serving temperatures and densities only. Of these stations, 8 were
in operation in Alaska, 8 in the Pacific islands, and 6 in Central and
South America.
Tidal bench-mark recovery operations were carried on along
the Pacific coast, in Alaska, and in the South Atlantic States.
A project was initiated in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers
for establishment of tide stations in the western Pacific area. Stand
ard tide gages have been established on several islands, and a detailed
program for extending systematic tide observations has been worked
out. Apart from providing much-needed original tidal data for the
prediction of tides in this area, the project will be a major contribu
tion to the development of tidal knowledge in the entire Pacific.
The data will also be of material help in the study of seismic sea
waves.
Data accumulated from current surveys extending over a number
of years by parties basing at Seattle during the winter season were
incorporated in a new publication, Tidal Current Charts, Puget
Sound (northern p a rt), which presents a comprehensive view of the
complex tidal current movement in that area. Work preliminary
to the preparation of similar charts for the southern part of the
Sound is now in progress. A tidal current survey of Delaware Bay
and River was in progress at the end of the fiscal year. Through a
cooperative arrangement with the United States Coast Guard, con
tinuous hourly observations of the current to cover a period of a
year or more were inaugurated at Overfalls and Five Fathom Bank
Lightships in the vicinity of Delaware Bay.
The preparation of special tide and current reports for particular
areas for the use of the J oint Army-Navy Intelligence Service was con
tinued at the request of the Hydrographic Office, and three reports
were completed during the year. A seismic sea-wave warning system
has been devised and will be installed as soon as the necessary equip
ment is obtained. A local seismic sea-wave warning device has been
built and will be placed in operation at Honolulu in the near future.
Special sheets of predicted tide curves for Bikini Atoll for the months
of September and October, 1946, were prepared for the after-effect
studies of Operation “Crossroads.”
Arrangements for the exchange of tidal information between the
Bureau and England, Canada, India, Argentina, France, and the
Netherlands were in effect during the year. Daily tide predictions,
together with a roll of predicted tide curves for Bangkok Bar for the
year 1948, were supplied to Siam. A compilation of the tidal harmonic
constants for 214 stations derived from analyses made by the Bureau
since 1938 was furnished to the International Hydrographic Bureau
at Monaco for its archives, and for distribution to the hydrographic
offices of the various member states.
126
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
GEOMAGNETIC SURVEYS
The geomagnetic work of the Bureau was begun in 1843 as one of
the essential steps in the preparation of nautical charts. As long as
the navigator steers his vessel by the magnetic compass, he must have
data on the amount the compass needle deviates from true north at
any given locality. Both the nautical and aeronautical charts of the
Bureau provide this information. The Survey is able to furnish such
information as a result of its continuing magnetic survey of the United
States and the regions under its jurisdiction.
Magnetic surveys are important to land surveyors in retracing prop
erty lines surveyed many years earlier with the magnetic compass, and
frequent use is made of our data on the secular change of magnetic
declination. In addition, the space and time variations of the mag
netic field are important to geophysical prospectors who use magnetic
methods in their search for oil-bearing structures and other mineral
wealth. Knowledge of transient changes in the magnetic field is useful
to activities dependent on radio communications and radio aids to
navigation; and all the aspects of geomagnetic science are significant
in various types of basic research.
Magnetic observations have been made at thousands of places
throughout the United States and its Territories to determine the
change in declination from place to place. In the United States the
direction of magnetic north ranges from 24° east to 22° west of true
north, or a total range of 46° between the northwestern and north
eastern corners of the Nation. Because of the constantly changing
direction and strength of the earth’s magnetic forces, observations are
necessary at periodic intervals. The present program of the Bureau
calls for the determination of the magnetic elements at about 200 re
peat stations at 5-year intervals in order to determine the annual
change.
During the year, continuous photographic records of the principal
magnetic elements were obtained at the magnetic observatories at Chel
tenham, Md.; San Juan, F. R .; Sitka, Alaska; and Tucson, Ariz. At
Honolulu, T. H., the recording was continuous except for a short
period in March when the magnetograph was transferred to a site a
few miles distant on account of excessive vibration transmitted from
low-flying aircraft at the old site.
A departure from past practice has been inaugurated at the mag
netic observatories that will afford more nearly up-to-date infor
mation at all times. Mean values are no longer scaled for each hour
but only the values for the twenty-fourth hour of each day are scaled.
Approximate monthly and annual mean values are derived from the
abridged scalings. The first number of a new and trial form of
report (MG-report) was issued, for the Cheltenham Observatory.
I t contains quarter-size reproductions of the magnetograms, together
with approximate monthly and annual mean values derived from
U . S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
127
abridged scalings. This report presents the results in their entirety,
thus providing information not previously published, although lack
ing a great mass of numerical evaluation formerly furnished. If
this form of report is adopted finally, it will supersede for all Coast
and Geodetic Survey observatories the series of biennial volumes
heretofore issued containing numerical results.
The automatic declination recording station at Gatlinburg, Tenn.,
was reactivated in July 1946. Active steps have been taken toward
the establishment of two similar stations, one in northern Florida
and one at Logan, Utah.
Two regular field parties were in operation during the year, one in
central and northern Alaska and one in South America.
Special magnetic projects were undertaken in the Arctic and
Antarctic in cooperation with the Navy Department. Magnetic ob
servations were made near the north geomagnetic pole; one station
was at Thule, Greenland, and seven were on Devon Island and neigh
boring islands in Canada. In addition to the observations at Little
America IV, advantage was taken of the opportunity to observe at
Old Panama (Panama) and at Amberly, Christchurch (New Zealand).
Several Navy observers who participated in this expedition received
preliminary training by the Coast and Geodetic Survey.
The training of a Canadian observer was begun, for another Arctic
magnetic survey, and an observer was trained for, and instruments
loaned to, the Finn Ronne Antarctic Expedition.
As in past years, current revisions of data for the use of the com
pass in navigation were accomplished with respect to several hundred
nautical and aeronautical charts issued or revised during the year.
Magnetic conditions based on records at the Cheltenham Observatory
were reported daily to the National Bureau of Standards in connection
with its program of forecasting radio transmission conditions. In
addition, magnetic data were furnished other Government agencies.
A weekly report on magnetic conditions (Cheltenham K-indices) was
instituted in January.
Cooperation between the Bureau and the Department of Terrestrial
Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington was continued.
Among the more important items were: Maintenance of international
magnetic standard at the Cheltenham Observatory by means of the
sine galvanometer, and the operation there of a cosmic-ray meter;
continuance of atmospheric-electric observations at Tucson, Ariz.;
and close collaboration in the matter of special instruments. Mag
netic data were exchanged and a, number of magnetic instruments
obtained on the basis of an indefinite loan.
A contract has been awarded for the construction of a new mag
netic observatory near Fairbanks, Alaska. Because of the possibili
ties of future air travel over the north polar regions, the obtaining
of continuous magnetic observations in this important area will con
tribute to the safety of such flights.
766188—47---- 11
128
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The following table shows the distribution of magnetic observations
during the year:
Distribution of magnetic observations
Repeat stations
New
Location
Com
plete 1
Declina
tion only
Old
Com
plete 1
1
Total......... .........................................
8
1
5
1
1
3
7
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
11
7
1
1
1
1
24
Total
Declina
tion only
_
7
Other
stations
1
28
1
1
1
1
2
2
23
7
1
1
1
3
7
3
2
1
1
2
1
61
1 A complete station comprises measurement of declination, horizontal intensity, and dip, thus completely
defining the field.
SEISMOLOGY
Seismological investigation in the Coast and Geodetic Survey was
begun in 1925 and had for its main objective the mitigation of loss of
life and property in the United States due to earthquakes. The Bureau
maps earthquake areas and evaluates earthquake risk through the
operation of seismographs and the systematic collection of earthquake
information; it operates seismographs of a special type to furnish
the structural engineer with accurate records of destructive earth
quake motions and analyzes the records for practical application to
engineering problems; and, finally, it investigates the scientific
aspects of earthquakes to obtain a better understanding of the prin
ciples underlying their cause, frequency, and distribution. The
Bureau’s program is directed to the improvement of building codes
and the safeguarding of lives and property.
The earthquake program of the Bureau is a highly cooperative one
and close contacts are maintained with business, engineering, and
scientific agencies which are concerned with this specialized activity
in the interest of public safety and scientific research. Voluntary
cooperation is obtained from thousands of individuals, many of them
meteorological observers, and from State collaborators, who are will
ing to aid earthquake research by submitting reports on their
activities. Current earthquake catalogs are prepared from these re
ports. Immediate information on strong shocks everywhere in the
U . S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
129
world is made possible through the cooperation of Science Service
and the Jesuit Seismological Association at St. Louis University.
In recent years there have been increasing demands on the Bureau
because of greater interest in seismology on the part of universities
which are inaugurating courses in seismology, by scientific and en
gineering organizations which are becoming increasingly active in
various fields of related research, and by National Defense units
which find seismology and other branches of geophysics playing an
increasingly important part in their programs.
During the year seismographs were operated at four magnetic
observatories and at the Ukiah Latitude Observatory. Fifty-two
seismographs designed to register destructive motions were main
tained in the western part of the United States and seven outside the
country. Three tiltmeters measuring the microscopic motions of
basement rock were operated on the west coast to detect minute move
ments which may occur in advance of a major earthquake. Vibration
measurements were made during the controlled detonation of large
quantities of unserviceable munitions in Idaho.
About 240 earthquakes were accurately located from instrumental
data, and about 150 were less accurately located from 1,800 descrip
tive reports collected in the United States. In one instance a special
questionnaire coverage was made. Immediate information on the
location and magnitude of 58 earthquakes was made possible through
900 telegraph and radio messages sent by key stations in the Western
Hemisphere and Pacific areas. Strong-motion seismographs yielded
46 records registered by 6 moderately strong earthquakes. Two simi
lar records of minor shocks were obtained at South American stations.
Seismograms of the destructive earthquake of August 4, 1946, in the
Dominican Republic were collected from stations all over the world;
these are being analyzed to determine the exact origin of the earth
quake and other technical features.
Aid was extended to 22 cooperating stations located at various uni
versities in analyzing their records and publishing results. In most
instances valuable information obtained at such stations would be lost
without this assistance. Three proposed sites for private seismo
logical stations were tested to determine their suitability for operating
highly sensitive seismographs.
The furnishing of technical and statistical information on earth
quakes is an important part of the Bureau’s activity. Information on
earthquake risk in Alaska and our newly acquired Pacific islands was
furnished contractors, public utility companies, and the Army and
Navy. Data on earthquakes in the United States were furnished
insurance and business concerns and other Government departments.
In the Puget Sound area, which was shaken badly by two earthquakes
in the spring of 1946, the operators of large factories employing many
persons were advised on methods of mitigating injury and loss of life
during earthquakes.
Seismograph records of several important earthquakes were sent to
seismologists in Italy and Russia for special study. Seismographic
data, in the form of periodic bulletins, were prepared and sent to
stations and organizations throughout the world, and similar publica-
130
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
tions were received in exchange. The Survey obtained the cooperation
of about 75 foreign and domestic seismologic stations in making a
special tabulation of microseismic data to determine their possible
connection with world-wide weather conditions. Seismographs were
loaned to the Finn Ronne Antarctic Expedition.
The Coast and Geodetic Survey cooperated with the Bureau of
Keclamation in maintaining the latter’s seismologic projects at Lake
Mead, Shasta Dam, and Grand Coulee Dam. The primary objective
is to investigate possible seismic activity due to the impounding of
great masses of water within limited areas.
Plans were made to test the practicability of broadcasting seismic
sea-wave warnings, and a new list of seismic sea waves was compiled.
To advance the engineering-seismological program of the Bureau,
an advisory committee of California engineers was organized to ad
vise on ways and means of solving the many technical problems which
lie between the recording of seismic data and the successful applica
tion of such data to engineering problems.
IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS, EQUIPMENT, AND
TECHNIQUES
Because of its highly specialized activities, the Bureau has from its
inception recognized the importance of developing new and improved
instruments, equipment, and techniques, and of adapting the current
findings of science to its own needs in order that better results could
be obtained at reduced costs. Frequent requests are received from
Federal, State, and municipal agencies, as well as from private enter
prise, for technical details on new instruments, methods, and practices.
Correspondence with foreign interests, both governmental and private,
has increased since the war, and many representatives have visited the
Bureau to observe the new processes and acquire data on their
performance.
The Bureau services the equipment and instruments used in its
work. It maintains radiosonic and photogrammetric laboratories for
the development and improvement of instruments and techniques used
in these fields. Various wartime developments in instruments and
processes were further improved and adapted to Bureau use during
the year.
The Shoran electronic equipment was further improved for hydrographic surveying and changes were made in the operating tech
niques. The Coast and Geodetic Survey electronic position indicator,
previously developed and tested, was redesigned and rebuilt. With
this equipment it will be possible to determine accurately a ship’s
position at a distance of 250 or more statute miles from shore, or about
200 miles beyond the limits of Shoran. Laboratory calculations of the
probable error in any one distance measurement is approximately 100
feet. This new distance-measuring device will make possible more
accurate oceanographic investigations, particularly in the regions
beyond the Continental Shelf.
Another hydrographic improvement was a special control developed
for use with echo-sounding equipment. This device, which generates
a small amount of accurately controlled 60-cycle power (accuracy
U . S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
131
better than one second per day), eliminates the necessity of making
laborious corrections to soundings for errors caused by oif-frequency
power supplies.
Other important improvements made during the year in instrumen
tal equipment are the following:
A mathematically accurate parabolic reflector was designed for the
5-inch signal lamp used in triangulation. This furnishes a brilliant
beam with approximately parallel rays, which increases the range and
efficiency of the lamp and also improves its haze-penetrating ability.
A small quantity of these are now undergoing field trial.
A smaller, lighter, and more effective heliotrope has been designed
which makes use of square mirrors instead of round ones. An experi
mental model of a geodetic level provided with a coincidence type of
level bubble reader has been partly completed. A new type inter
ferometer for use with the gravity apparatus was designed to simplify
the instrument and to prevent damage to the precision mirrors, which
have been subject to frequent damage in the past.
Experiments have been conducted to adapt a wartime development
in photographic reproduction to the application of graduations on our
geodetic level rods. These experiments are promising and if success
ful will reduce by a very considerable amount the time required to
graduate a rod. Another wartime development—a clear glazing com
pound which is tough, water-resistant, and quite hard—lias been used
on the rods in place of clear lacquer, and has shown no sign of deteri
oration or discoloring after exposure to the weather for more than 6
months.
The micrometer microscope for first- and second-order theodolites
has been entirely redesigned to provide easier access to the moving
parts, to reduce wear, and to provide a positive method for adjusting
for focus and “run.”
The bearing material for the leg joint of the tripods used on a
number of our instruments has always been made of metal and wears
out after one or two seasons’ use. Experiments conducted in an accel
erated wear test indicate that such bearings made of a fabric-base
phenolic plastic give about eight times the length of service.
The clock case for the standard tide gage has been redesigned to
enclose this unit. This will exclude dust and reduce corrosive action.
The framework supporting and enclosing the gage has also been
redesigned for better protection and to provide a sturdier gage. The
portable tide gage has been modified to permit observing larger ranges
of tide.
Several strong-motion accelerographs have been improved by the
addition of 12-inch tape recorders and by the use of newly developed
torsion suspensions on the accelerometers. A convenient portable
photographic recorder for field use is nearing completion. Consider
able development work has been completed on a low-cost pen-recording
shock recorder for use in seismic regions.
A seismic sea-wave warning system has been devised and will be
placed in operation as soon as equipment is received. A local sea-wave
warning indicator has also been devised and tested and will be installed
at Honolulu in the near future.
132
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
A recently developed technique for measuring the magnitudes of
earthquakes from instrument records was adopted, and an analyzing
machine to process records of destructive earth motions for engineer
ing use was designed.
The making of instruments for geomagnetic work is a highly spe
cialized activity,- heretofore confined chiefly to a very few European
firms. During the past year, however, domestic firms have contracted
to build several variometers for recording magnetic fluctuations, using
new designs developed in the Bureau. In addition, two large earth
inductors of unique design have been received. Improved three-com
ponent tape recorders for use at secondary magnetic observatories are
nearing completion. Some progress has also been made on the devel
opment of a pen-recording magnetograph for use in the Arctic.
An extra-wide-angle aerial lens covering a field of 120° and a
projection lens to produce practically distortion-free prints are being
manufactured by the Bureau of Standards. This lens will be useful
for photographing airports and for small-scale surveys.
In the field of photolithography a new process for making color
proofs from photographic positives, for use in deep-etch reproduction,
has been developed. This process is an extension of the technique
previously developed of preparing color proofs on plastic directly
from negatives.
An improved ground or stain was developed for negative engraving
which provides a better engraving surface and gives more consistent
results.
A change in design of the compass roses used on charts presented the
problem of replacing thousands of existing compasses on wet-plate
negatives with the new style. A compass negative has been developed
which permits mechanical adjustment to any desired magnetic varia
tion. With this process only a relatively few negatives will be required.
The Bureau has continued to cooperate with various Government
agencies and private organizations during the year, in furnishing in
formation on our methods and techniques and in assisting in procuring
such equipment as they needed. Four precise levels were inspected for
the Army at the manufacturer’s plant. Considerable interest has been
shown in our tidal equipment. Instruments were loaned to the Finn
Ronne Antarctic Expedition and to the Bradford Washburn Expedi
tion to Mount McKinley, Alaska. Tests of the buoyancy, offset, and
drift of various designs of temporary marker buoys used in mine
sweeping operations were made by two Survey vessels at the request
of the Naval Bureau of Ships.
COOPERATION W ITH AMERICAN REPUBLICS
During the past 7 years the Coast and Geodetic Survey has par
ticipated in the “Cooperation with the American Republics” program
sponsored and financed by the Department of State. Two major ac
tivities or programs are included in the over-all program—the “Scien
tific and Technical” and the “Exchange of Persons.” The first is a
consultation program. Under it, Bureau experts in tidal surveys, geo
magnetism, seismology, geodesy, hydrography, and map and chart
production visit corresponding agencies in those countries which have
U . S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
133
adopted our methods and procedures, or to those which are planning
extensive surveying and mapping operations and are concerned with
standardizing operations throughout the American Hemisphere. The
second is an in-service training activity and consists of selecting quali
fied technicians and engineers from various Latin American countries
and awarding them training grants or fellowships in the fields in which
they are interested.
The cooperation program has produced important benefits to the
United States as well as to the other American Republics. The con
sultations with the surveying and mapping agencies of the American
Republics have continued to establish and maintain friendly relations
with military, naval, and civil departments. In addition to creating
good will, valuable scientific data were obtained for mapping, charting,
earth movements, and horizontal and vertical control. The in-service
training program provides an effective medium for the interchange of
surveying and mapping developments and the wider adoption of our
methods and equipment. The purchase of United States equipment
and materials through special missions and the individual trainees has
continued at an increased rate.
Under the consultation program, cooperative tide stations were oper
ated at the following 11 ports in Central and South America during the
year: Habana, Cuba; Tampico, Puerto Mexico, and Progreso, Mexico;
Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Talara, Callao, and Matarani, P eru; and Yalparaiso, Puerto Montt, and Punta Arenas, Chile. The Coast and
Geodetic Survey furnishes and installs the instrumental equipment for
these stations while the cooperating countries provide the maintenance.
The gage records from each station are analyzed in this Bureau and a
copy of the results forwarded to each cooperating agency. The obser
vations are supplying valuable data for the calculation of tide tables,
the prediction of tides, the construction of nautical charts, and the de
termination of various tidal datum planes required in the development
of coastal areas and in the study of changes in the relation of land to
sea.
Magnetic observations were made in Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Chile,
Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. These surveys furnish information
on the secular change of the magnetic elements and assist in the de
velopment of systematic observation practices to determine magnetic
variations which affect navigation, radio communication, and related
scientific activities.
A Bureau representative visited eight American Republics—Argen
tina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, and Vene
zuela—as part of the State Department’s project to develop closer
cooperation between seismologists of the Western Hemisphere. A
geophysicist was also sent to Guatemala and Costa Rica to install
equipment for recording destructive earthquake motions.
An officer who had been assigned as a geodetic expert to four of the
American Republics in the preceding fiscal year continued operations
in Brazil for 5 months, observing, advising, and instructing personnel
of geodetic survey organizations.
Another officer was detailed to Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to
follow up on the results of earlier training programs, to furnish techni
cal recommendations to mapping agencies in those countries and to
134
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
encourage the adoption of uniform standards and modern methods for
the reproduction of maps and charts.
A lighthouse engineer (specially engaged cinder this program)
was assigned to the Dominican Republic, at its request, to make a
comprehensive survey of existing aids to navigation. Technical ad
vice was furnished and detailed recommendations were made for new
installations and for modernizing old ones. A plan was submitted
for an organization to operate and maintain all aids to navigation
and for a 5-year plan of operation and construction. These improve
ments would be of great value to our commerce in the Dominican
Republic through aid to the safe navigation of merchant ships in
these waters.
Under the in-service training program grants are awarded under
three categories: Type A—financed by the United States, type B—
financed by the foreign government, and type C—financed jointly.
During the year, 27 training grants were awarded as follows: In map
and chart production to Bolivia (1), Chile 13), Colombia (1), Cuba
(2), Ecuador (3), Mexico (4), and Peru (1) ; in geodetic surveying
to Chile (3), Ecuador (1), El Salvador (2), Mexico (2), Paraguay
(1), and Uruguay (1); in hydrographic surveying to Mexico (2).
Of these, 19 grants were of type A, 7 of type B, and 1 of type C. In
addition, four trainees (from Bolivia, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru)
under the 1946 program continued their training in 1947.
The in-service training period varies from 3 to 8 months, depending
upon the field of activity pursued. The emphasis in this program
is on practical application of methods and procedures rather than
on formal lectures. Trainees in geodetic and hydrographic surveying
spend part of their time in the Washington Office learning the office
methods of processing field data, but the greater part of their time is
spent in the field observing or performing the various activities. Those
training in map and chart production receive specialized instruction
to meet their particular needs and interests, with a general orienta
tion in the entire field. Many of the trainees work on charts of their
countries, utilizing all of the modern techniques of chart construction
and reproduction. There appears to be a special need for the develop
ment of modern photolithographic reproduction in most of the Latin
American countries, but extensive progress has been retarded because
of the scarcity of United States equipment and materials available for
purchase.
As part of the over-all program of cooperation with the American
Republics, four experts from the Bureau in the fields of geodesy, aero
nautical charts, photogrammetry, and hydrography, attended the
Third Consultation of the Commission on Cartography of the Pan
American Institute of Geography and History held in Caracas, Vene
zuela, in August 1946. This conference was attended by prominent
leaders in the surveying and mapping fields from the 21 American
Republics.
An indirect cooperative activity has been the encouragement and
assistance given by the Bureau to the American Congress on Survey
ing and Mapping. The type of information contained in the official
journal of the Congress appears to fill a need of private and govern
mental interests in the American Republics. Many of the former
U. S. COAST ANI) GEODETIC SURVEY
135
trainees have found in it a means of keeping abreast of the latest
developments in equipment, practices, and procedures, particularly of
the Federal mapping agencies. Membership in the Congress from
the American Republics now numbers approximately 100 with repre
sentation from 15 countries.
REPRESENTATION ON COMMISSIONS, BOARDS,
AND PANELS
To keep abreast of scientific and technical developments, both
national and international, in the fields of activity in which it is inter
ested, and to contribute its specialized knowledge to the study of
future national needs, the Bureau has maintained representation and
membership on a number of commissions, boards, panels, and com
mittees. In some of these, membership is defined by law or by Execu
tive order, while in others the cooperation of the Bureau is volun
tarily sought. _ Some of the more important and active of these groups
are the following:
_Mississippi River Commission.—The director of the Bureau con
tinues to serve as the Coast and Geodetic Survey member of the Mis
sissippi River Commission. The commission is responsible for the
improvement and maintenance of the Mississippi River, from Cairo,
111., to the Gulf of Mexico, for flood control, for promoting navigation,
and for facilitating commerce on the river.
_Joint Research, and Development Board.—The chiefs of the Divi
sions of Photogrammetry, Coastal Surveys, Geodesy, Geomagnetism,
and Seismology and the chief of the Section of Seismology are mem
bers or deputy members on various panels of the Committee on Geo
physical Sciences of the Joint Research and Development Board of
the National Military Establishment.
Air Coordinating Committee.—The chief of the Aeronautical Chart
Branch represents the Department of Commerce and is chairman of
the Subcommittee on Aeronautical Charts, Technical Division, Air
Coordinating Committee. This committee was established by Execu
tive order to coordinate the aviation activities of the Federal Govern
ment and deals with such matters as standardization of symbols and
specifications for aeronautical charts.
International Civil Aviation Organization.-—An officer of the
Bureau, on detached service, represents the United States in several
capacities with the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO). This organization deals with all phases of civil aviation
on an international level, particularly with regard to promoting safety,
developing standards, and encouraging uniform procedures. The
Bureau is also represented on the committee making recommendations
to the ICAO Council on Dimensional Standardization.
Pan American Institute of Geography and History.—The director
of the Bureau is a member of the United States Advisory Committee
on American Cartography for the Commission on Cartography of the
Pan American Institute of Geography and History. The Bureau is
represented on several of the technical committees of the Commission
on Cartography. The Commission was set up in 1941 for the purpose
of facilitating and expediting progress in map making in the nations
136
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
of the Western Hemisphere, through the interchange of ideas, the
exchange of information, and the promulgation of standards for the
various classes of maps and surveys.
Miscellaneous representation on boards, etc.—The Bureau has official
representation on a number of scientific and technical associations and
committees, among which are the Governmental Advisory Committee
on Oceanography; Advisory Committee for Research on Lithographic
Papers of the Lithographic Technical Foundation; United States
Board on Geographical Names; Federal Specifications Board; Ameri
can Standards Association; California Advisory Committee on En
gineering Seismology; Federal Inter-Agency River Basin Committee;
and Joint Map Photo Committee of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In addition, there are other scientific and engineering groups in
which membership is voluntary, but which the Bureau encourages be
cause they provide a forum for the mutual interchange of ideas and
for bringing the Bureau’s activities and progress to the attention of
scientists, engineers, and others. Many of our personnel hold execu
tive positions or head technical committees in these organizations,
among which are the American Geophysical Union, American Con
gress on Surveying and Mapping, Institute of Navigation, Interna
tional Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, Central Bureau of the In
ternational Association of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity,
and International Seismological Association.
PERSONNEL AND FINANCES
The number of persons in the service of the Coast and Geodetic Sur
vey at the close of the fiscal year was 2,380.
During the year, 1,231 appointments were effected, 1,080 separations
occurred, 11 employees were retired, 5 were inducted into the armed
forces, and 243 line promotions (including reallocations) and 1,033
within-grade promotions were made. Of the 1,231 appointments
made, 115 were employees who returned to duty from military fur
lough and 701 were veterans who received new appointments, making
a total of 816 veterans placed in the Bureau during the year.
Wage board employees of the Bureau were given an adjustment in
salary averaging approximately an 8-percent increase in base pay as
a result of the Commerce Department Wage Board order of August
30, 1946, and approximately a 9-percent increase as the result of De
partment order of March 7, 1947. In accordance with the Depart
ment’s order of April 21, 1947, automatic promotions to and includ
ing the maximum rate within a level will be permitted annually to
wage board employees with an efficiency rating of good or better.
An officer and a geophysicist were assigned to the Navy Antarctic
Expedition to make geomagnetic observations at Little America IY.
Another geophysicist was attached to the Navy’s Arctic Expedition
“Nanook” and made observations near the geomagnetic north pole.
Four geophysicists participated in the atomic bomb experiments at
Bikini.
Four officers, two mathematicians, and one cartographic engineer
were assigned to duty in the Republic of the Philippines under the
Philippine Rehabilitation Program, and will continue the surveying
U . S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
137
and charting operations inaugurated while the islands were under
Army jurisdiction.
A tidal specialist was assigned to the War Department for 3 months
during the year to develop a program of systematic tide observations
in the wetern Pacific in connection with Army survey projects.
Two officers have been assigned to the Caribbean Defense Command
of the War Department as consultants in surveying and mapping
for national defense plans in South American countries.
At the request of the Government of the Dominican Republic, three
Bureau representatives visited that country after the destructive earth
quake of August 4, 1946, to investigate the disturbed area and make
recommendations for future seismologic investigations.
One officer was serving as alternate representative of the United
States on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organiza
tion, and also as the United States Representative on the Air Navi
gation Committee.
At the end of the fiscal year all of the 93 officers who had been trans
ferred to the Armed Forces by Executive order during the war had
been returned to the Coast and Geodetic Survey with the exception of
5 who were still serving with the Army and Navy. In addition two
officers were serving as instructors in surveying, one at the Field Artil
lery School, Fort Sill, Okla., and one with the Marine Corps at
Quantico, Va. Another officer was assigned as survey expert with the
Field Artillery Test Section of Army Ground Forces Board No. 1 at
Fort Bragg, N. C. One officer completed the 5 months’ course at the
Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Va.
On July 1, 1946, a Budget Unit was created in the Personnel Man
agement Section.
The following table is a break-down of the number of people in the
Bureau by regular appropriations and other funds as of June 30, 1947.
Part-time fixed-fee employees and $l-a-year men have been omitted
from this table.
Distribution of personnel by appropriations
Appropriation
Washington office:
Field service:
T o tal-.______ _______________________ ________________
Commis
sioned
Civilian
Total
26
848
29
3
874
29
3
26
880
906
132
1.249
12
81
1,381
12
81
132
5
1,342
1,474
5
163
2, 222
2,385
Collections covering miscellaneous receipts, including nautical and
aeronautical charts and related publications, totaled $441,927 as com
pared with $436,078 during the preceding year.
138
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The following funds, from the sources indicated, were made avail
able to the Bureau during fiscal year 1947:
Available funds
Regular appropriation__________ .__________________ _____________ $8, 814,000
First Deficiency Appropriation Act, 1947_________________________
510, 700
Second Deficiency Appropriation Act, 1947________________________
290,000
Total appropriations______________________________________
9, 614, 700
Reimbursements from other departments to credit of appropriation
fo r :
Salaries and expenses, departmental_________________________
Salaries and expenses, field__________________________________
137, 672
63,421
Total reimbursements_____________________________________
201,093
Working funds received from:
Bureau of Reclamation (seismological work, Boulder D am )__
Bureau of Reclamation (seismological work, Coulee D am )___
Bureau of Reclamation (seismological work, Shasta D am )___
Navy Department ( “Crossroads” program)___________________
10,200
2,400
2,400
2,150
Total working funds______________________________________
17,150
Transfer from :
Department of State (Philippine rehabilitation)_____________
218,000
Allotments from :
Department of State (cooperation with American Republics)___
Department of Commerce (printing and binding)_____________
117, 004
84,000
Total allotments__________________________________________
201, 004
Total funds received______________________________________ 10, 251, 947
PUBLICATIONS
The results of the Bureau’s work are disseminated to the public
in the form of charts, special publications, and processed material.
Marine and air charts are the principal publications of the Bureau and
are printed at the Washington Office. Other publications are generally
printed at the Government Printing Office.
Charts and related publications are sold to the public at the various
field stations of the Bureau and at the Washington Office, as well as
at authorized agencies located at strategic places throughout the
country. Other publications may be purchased from the Government
Printing Office.
In the field of related nautical chart publications, manuscripts for
new editions of the Alaska Coast Pilot, P art II, and the Atlantic
Coast Pilot, Section C, were sent to the printer during the year.
Supplements were published for eight other volumes of the Coast
Pilots. These volumes contain a wide variety of information which
cannot be conveniently shown on the charts. At the request of the
Navy Department, a general supplement to the Pilots, Serial 693,
Restricted, Danger, and Anchorage Areas, was published giving gen
eral warnings resulting from wartime activities.
TJ. S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
139
New editions of the Nautical Chart Catalog and the Aeronautical
Chart Catalog were issued. These have been printed for the first time
as separate publications.
Tide and current tables, consisting of four volumes published annu
ally in advance, give information.on the rise and fall of the tide
and the ebb and flow of the current for numerous ports and waterways
along our coasts and in foreign areas. Four special tide and current
tables for the western Pacific region were also published, and a new
edition of Tidal Current Charts, Long Island Sound and Block Island
Sound, was issued. At the end of the year a new edition of Tidal
Current Charts, San Francisco Bay, and a new publication, Tidal
Current Charts, Puget Sound (Northern P art), were in process of
reproduction.
Also completed during the year were index maps of tidal bench
marks and loose-leaf compilations of descriptions and elevations of
tidal bench marks for Washington, Oregon, California, and Maine.
Similar material was nearing completion tor Maryland. This in
formation is used by surveyors and engineers in hydrographic opera
tions, coastal construction, and other engineering projects.
A revised 1947 edition of the publication TW-1, Surface Water
Temperatures, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, which furnishes valuable
information for shipping and fishing interests and for industrial
plants using sea water, was published during the year.
Two special publications relating to tide and current work were
reprinted: No. 196, Manual of Tide Observations, and No. 215, Manual
of Current Observations.
In the field of seismology, manuscripts for Serial 699, United States
Earthquakes, 1945, and for a revised edition of Serial 6Q9, Earthquake
History of the United States, Part I, were sent to the printer. The
first publication is an annual statistical summary of the year’s earth
quakes ; the second, a catalog of the stronger shocks of historical record
through 1946. In addition, three quarterly processed reports were
issued during the year. These included the Seismological Bulletin, a
register of seismogram interpretations for all regular and cooperating
stations of the Bureau; the Abstracts of Earthquake Reports for the
Pacific Coast and the Western Mountain Region, containing sum
maries of earthquake information; and the Progress Report on StrongMotion Earthquake Work, containing abstracts of important earth
quakes, analyses of strong-motion seismograph records, and miscel
laneous news items.
A chart of Seismic Sea Wave Travel Times to Honolulu was pub
lished, which gives the time required for a sea wave to reach Honolulu
from an earthquake epicenter in the Pacific Ocean.
In the field of geomagnetism, Serial 166, Directions for Magnetic
Measurements, was reprinted with slight corrections. Processed report
MO-24, Magnetic Observatory Results at San Juan, P. R., for 1929-30,
was also issued, and a similar report for the Honolulu observatory for
1937-38 is in press. The first number of the new MG reports, en
titled “Magnetograms, Cheltenham, Md., January to June 1946,” was
issued. A similar report for the Sitka, Alaska, observatory was in
140
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
press. These reports contain quarter-size reproductions of the mag
netograms obtained at the observatories.
In the field of geodesy, manuscripts for Special Publication No. 237,
Manual of Geodetic Astronomy—Determination of Latitude, Longi
tude, and Azimuth, No. 239, Manual of Geodetic Leveling—Field
Methods, and No. 238, Air-Line Distances Between Cities in the United
States, were forwarded to the printer. The latter publication gives
■distances between each of 500 cities and will be of considerable use
to the air-cargo transportation companies which determine costs on a
weight-per-mile basis. Processed publication G-58, containing tables
for the computation of geographic positions by calculating machines
using the constants of the International Ellipsoid, was being printed
at the end of the year. This publication will be particularly useful in
the South American countries. Publication G-56, Elevations From
Zenith Distances, was also prepared and printed within the Bureau.
Serial 685, Regulations of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, was issued
during the year. This governs the operations of the Bureau, both
field and office.
In addition to these formal publications, a number of leaflets, pamph
lets, articles, lectures, and miscellaneous items were prepared for the
purpose of describing and interpreting the methods and activities
of the Bureau to scientific and engineering societies and to the general
public.
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce
OFFICE OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS
Problems confronting business in the shift to peacetime markets
put a high premium upon the results of economic analysis. The econ
omy, emerging from the reconversion stage, came into a postwar phase
of markedly different character ; the business community was required
to chart its course with the increasing aid of current data and analyses.
The Office of Business Economics turned its resources to the provision
of such analyses, as well as to the establishment of guideposts in the
form of measures of new or altered relationships in the fields of pro
duction and consumption.
This service was rendered not only directly through the monthly
Survey of Current Business, but indirectly through consultation with
other Government agencies—notably the Council of Economic Ad
visers. For its two reports, as of January 1 and July 1, 1947, the
Council drew upon the Office for data requisite to the evaluation of
the economic situation, especially in the fields of balance of interna
tional payments, national income, and gross national product.
A thoroughgoing roviow of tho concopts and. statistical procedures
involved in the national income and gross national product statistics,
under way for the past 5 years, was brought to completion at the end
of the fiscal year. The results were presented in the National Income
Supplement to the Survey of Current Business. This report presents
data on the fluctuations since 1929 of more than a thousand key ele
ments of the country’s economic life. I t shows the reaction of each to
prosperity and depression, to war and reconversion. Finally, it pre
sents each sector of the economy in cross section, to bring out the basic
quantitative facts about its relation to the other sectors.
.
The extensive revisions embodied in the Supplement were made m
the li°fit of carefully formulated definitions of the most important
aggregates and their components. These definitions, differing m sev
eral important respects from those used previously, were evolved after
extensive consultations—in which specialists of other countries par
ticipated—and reflect a consensus of expert ] udgment.
The new tools of analysis introduced m the supplement provide
answers to economic questions of wide business importance and public
interest. How did the war affect consumer expenditure patterns with
reference to the two-hundred-and-fifty-odd classes of goods and serv
ices* How is public expenditure at each level of Government dis
tributed among domestic business, foreign suppliers, employees, cred
itors and other groups? How much of the Nation’s foreign spend141
142
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
îf
by business firms, and how much by consumers directly,
and by (government, m peace and war ? How does corporate business
compare with noncorporate business, with Government, with private
households, as a source of income to Americans? What role do the
modern multi-billion-dollar social insurance funds play, year by year,
m the absorption and release of purchasing power? What effect did
war have on the relative importance of the country’s 60 major indus
tries ? How did corporation inventories in specific industries respond
to wartime and reconversion pressures?
The series regularly published in the standard income and product
tables familiar to readers of the Survey of Current Business have been
improved in degree of statistical reliability, in the amount of sup
porting detail shown, and in appropriateness for their most common
uses. Each of the underlying component series from which the totals
are built up has been reexamined, and revised to make all possible
use of newly available source data and improved methods of estima
tion. By this means it has been possible to improve a number of
underlying series—such as those for noncorporate industry—so that
they can be shown separately for the first time.
Typical of the comments following the publication of this volume
was the statement that the National Income Supplement “places in
the hands of American economists, businessmen, and other interested
groups the most comprehensive kit of statistical tools ever assembled
in this or any other county.”
Significant advances were similarly achieved in other sectors of the
Office of Business Economics, toward completion of the backlog of
work regularly published in peacetime but disrupted by the war.
The biennial Statistical Supplement to the Survey of Current Busi
ness, in process of preparation after interruption during the war years,,
involves compilation of data back to 1935 for more than 2,700 statis
tical series of value to business. Revisions in the data published in
the last Statistical Supplement are being entered and explained, along
with those new series for which historical data have been established..
Publication of the prewar'series of annual bulletins on the United
States balance of payments is also being resumed, with one volume
already in press. This will provide a comprehensive survey of the war
years, 1940-1945, and will present data previously restricted by se
curity regulations. More recent periods have been covered regularly
by the institution of a quarterly reporting system for balance-of-pay
ments statistics. This practice, made necessary by the increased im
portance of such information in international trade policy since the
end of hostilities, has met a primary current need but to some extent
has delayed the preparation of more exhaustive analyses. The needs
of United States representatives concerned with the new international
organizations—such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the United
Nations affiliates—have been given first consideration.
In this connection, the work of the Clearing Office for Foreign
Transactions has provided the bench-mark data for evaluation of
United States participation in international programs. Although
largely restricted by security regulations to use by members of Con
gress and heads of Federal Government agencies, the material pub
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
143
lished quarterly by the Clearing Office has yielded byproduct data
susceptible of more general use. As the central collecting and compil
ing unit on all Government operations abroad, the Clearing Office
maintains invaluable records containing consolidated data on cash
transactions, procurement activities, relief and rehabilitation commit
ments, economic aspects of occupied areas administration, our foreign
installations, and surplus property disposal.
In studies of the rapidly expanding domestic business population
after the war, the Office of Business Economics has been called upon
increasingly to furnish statistical break-downs and analyses of cur
rent trends. Established as the primary official source of estimates of
business births and deaths, the Office has been engaged in continuing
analysis of these data, as for example., in an investigation into the
reasons for business mortality.
The reporting of current movements of significant major business
indicators—of inventories, shipments, and new orders, for example—
has continued, and the quarterly reports jointly issued by the Office of
Business Economics and the Securities and Exchange Commission on
actual and anticipated expenditures for new plant and equipment.
Such surveys provide reliable evidence of enterprisers’ judgments as
to market opportunities.
The general progress of the Office of Business Economics was re
flected during the year in the material presented in the monthly Survey
of Current Business, the main outlet for the data and analyses de
veloped by the Office. The paid circulation of this magazine increased
markedly, and sufficient demand for advance release of its contents was
registered by subscribers to require arrangements with the Govern
ment Printing Office for the development of a faster schedule of
printing.
OFFICE OF DOMESTIC COMMERCE
Carrying out its part in fostering and promoting commerce and
industry, the Office of Domestic Commerce made considerable progress
during the fiscal year.
By means of specialized studies, reports, surveys, and articles, and
by handling thousands of inquiries from businessmen and groups of
businessmen, the Office gave valuable assistance to industry seeking
the answer to many pressing problems.
Through representation on numerous interdepartmental and inter
agency committees, as well as through its work with business groups,
the Office played a part in formulating policies and programs of
maximum use to business.
A number of reports and studies were made for congressional com
mittees and presented as testimony. Subjects covered included indus
trial production, petroleum, iron and steel, and bottlenecks to indus
trial output.
Early in 1947 the Office recruited and trained a field force whose
responsibility it is to make the services of the Department available
through the various departmental regional and district offices.
Activities of the several divisions of the Office of Domestic Commerce;
during the fiscal year are described in detail.
766188—47----- 12
144
REPORT OP TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
M arketing
The Marketing Division continued to foster a more efficient and
effective distribution of goods and services from the producer to the
consumer, and to serve as a focal point in the Department of Com
merce for the retail, wholesale, and service trades. Studies and reports
were prepared for the use of businessmen in the analysis of markets;
to stimulate the adoption of more effective and efficient operating
methods; to point out areas and opportunities for reducing distribu
tion costs, and to provide a basis for more profitable operations.
Inquiries for assistance in solving marketing problems for both pro
spective and operating businesses increased materially, and the services
rendered by the Division to individual businessmen were expanded
accordingly. Distribution cost analysis methods have been a matter
of major concern of the Department for many years. A study of these
methods was made covering successful marketing cost reduction tech
niques of manufacturers in various cities. Contacts were maintained
with major wholesale trades in connection with present and proposed
efficiency studies. Closer cooperation of the Department with the
Nation’s retailers was obtained through the organization of a Retail
Trade Advisory Committee representing 44 national retail asso
ciations.
The series of manuals on establishing and operating various retail
trades and services was continued, and covered numerous fields includ
ing music stores, bookkeeping services, mail order businesses, and gift
and art shops. Other publications relating to marketing practices
such as Selecting a Store Location, Retail Policies, and Merchandise
Display, were published and sold in large quantities. A Study of
Tobacco Wholesalers’ Operations, a major study of wholesale efficiency,
was completed, and two additional major wholesale efficiency studies
were undertaken in the grocery and drug trades. These studies have
been conducted with the close cooperation of the trades covered.
T rade A ssociations
The Trade Association Division continued its function of serving
as the Department’s, as well as the Federal Government’s center of
information on trade associations, chambers of commerce, and all
other cooperative nonprofit organizations of businessmen, thus pro
viding most valuable channels for the dissemination of the statistical
and economic services of the Department. Surveys by the Division
disclose that such agencies now exist in some 4,000 cities and towns.
The publication United States Associations in World Trade and
Affairs, was prepared during the year as an aid to postwar world
trade. A directory was completed covering the 1,400 trade associa
tions of national scope. A number of conferences were arranged
with business organizations and participation in trade conventions
throughout the country was facilitated by the'issuance of reports on
conventions and industrial exhibitions.
Progress was made on two major studies of trade association aids
to business and the public in market research and industrial research.
Cooperative arrangements for greater use of Department studies and
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
145
facilities were formulated with such organizations as the American
Trade Association Executives and the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States, as well as with a number of other associations in
individual industries.
C onstruction
The Construction Division, during the fiscal year, provided more
detailed information about more phases of the construction industry
than had ever before been available. Revised data on value of con
struction put in place, extending back to 1915, were prepared; State
estimates classified by types of construction were made available for
the first time and were completed for the period from 1939 through
1946; and an index to permit measurements of the physical volume
of construction was inaugurated. To provide more insight into an
other large segment of the market for construction and construction
materials, a pamphlet analyzing the pattern of expenditure for resi
dential maintenance and repairs was issued. Other statistics on
construction materials output and use in building were correlated,
and issued in the form of quarterly estimates of the demand-supply
situation for major materials, as well as in regular monthly produc
tion, shipment, and inventory reports.
Periodic reviews of the construction situation and of the changing
outlook for construction were the subject of important feature articles
released for the information of the industry. The monthly Industry
Report on Construction and Construction Materials is the Division’s
chief outlet for statistics, analytical review, and other material of
interest to the trade.
As part of its service to industry, the Division is also engaged in a
long-term study of the relationships between volume of construction
and general levels of output, employment, and income in the economy.
In this connection, the Division has published a study of the pattern
of behavior of the construction industry in the two most recent war
periods.
The Division has recently issued two new publications designed to
assist building officials and others interested in modernizing and re
vising their local building codes. These two—Publications Relating to
the Preparation and Revision of Building Laws and Work Sheet for
Checking the Dates of Standards and Specifications Incorporated by
Reference in Building Laws—are the most recent source of reference
materials on this important subject.
I ndustry
In its first full peacetime year of operation the Industry Division
completed the reorientation of its activities from a wartime basis.
Individual inquiries (by letter, telephone, and personal visit) were
handled at an average of more than 3,600 a month, reaching a peak
of over 5,000 a month at the year’s end. This increased volume was
cared for in part by the preparation of brief topical bulletins and
basic source lists on the major inquiry subjects. The first of a series
of basic industry surveys was completed with publication of the
146
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
report United States Petroleum Refining—War and Postwar. The
underlying research on the survey of the steel industry was completed
and a first draft of the report written. The final study should be
released during the 1948 fiscal year. Some preliminary work has been
done on other industries which will be taken up as rapidly as facilities
permit.
Special studies requested by and prepared at the expense of indus
try included the nineteenth annual analysis of the production and
distribution of salad dressings and mayonnaise and the twentieth
annual survey of the confectionery industry. The latter study has
been further expanded to include regional analyses. Requests from
other industries are being considered for inclusion in the current year’s
research program.
Nine industry reports were published periodically and were placed
on a subscription basis during the year. These reports analyzed
significant current trends based on all available data for each industry
and contain research results not otherwise available. The reports
cover the following industries: Chemicals and drugs; fats and oils;
sugar, molasses, and confectionery; coffee, tea, and spices; canned
fruits and vegetables; leather.; lumber; pulp and paper; and rubber.
A Commodity Reference Series was inaugurated, consisting of sum
mary analyses of salient data for important raw materials and finished
products; some 20 of these analyses were released covering such items
as copper, lead, tin, zinc, glass containers, and methanol. The indus
trial series, a medium for special detailed surveys of specific indus
tries, included bulletins entitled “Manufacturing Brick and Tile to
Serve Your Community” ; “Boot and Shoe Industry Statistics” ; and
“Opportunities for Establishing New Businesses in Aviation.” Addi
tional booklets in the Establishing and Operating Series were pre
pared covering retail shoe stores, small print shops, retail jewelry
stores, stationery and office supply stores, book stores, weekly news
papers, and retail paint, glass, and wallpaper stores.
Special reports published or completed during the year included the
first annual Chemical_ Statistics Directory, which provides an index
to all Government statistical releases on chemicals in 1945. In coopera
tion with the Office of International Trade there was issued the pilot
study, Statistical Summary of Raw Materials and Finished Products—
United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, containing production
and supply statistics for a selected list of materials and products in
each of the areas.
Industry Division analysts actively participated in the work of
numerous standing and special interdepartmental committees, sup
plying commodity and industry information essential to the proper
functioning of these groups. These activities included representation
on committees called by the Atomic Energy Committee to discuss the
supply and demand of certain key materials and products, and on
committees established by Presidential direction to determine the
impact of world conditions on the Nation’s economy. Standing com
mittees on which staff members of the Industry Division served in
cluded the following: Standard Commodity Classification Committee,
Budget Bureau (34 memberships, including 1 chairman, on the
27 committees); Strategic Materials Committee and 10 Industry Com
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
147
mittees, Army and Navy Munitions Board (17 memberships, includ
ing 5 chairmanships); and Federal Specifications Board Subcom
mittees, Treasury Department (7 memberships).
T ransportation
The Transportation Division was engaged during the fiscal year
in promoting the development of more adequate and economical trans
portation in terms of the changing needs of commerce. I t prepared
data used in several proceedings before regulatory agencies where
rates or adequacy of service problems were involved.
The Division answered numerous requests for information on pack
aging, routing of shipments, availability of transportation services,
freight rates, and opportunities in the fields of trucking, aviation, and
shipping. A t the request of chambers of commerce, area research
groups, and State development agencies in the West, it prepared Stateto-State traffic-flow studies for the Intermountain States and the
Mountain-Pacific territories. The waybill material, together with
port-to-port intercoastal traffic in specific commodities compiled
from records of the United States Maritime Commission, was utilized
to furnish rate and traffic data to west coast steel interests, salt com
panies, and many other individual firms facing plant-location prob
lems. The Division also prepared an exploratory study to determine,
on the basis of point-to-point rate and traffic data, the effect that trans
portation factors have had upon the location of the cast-iron pipe
industry. That study was designed as a pilot study for other projects
which will explore the effects of transportation m determining the
location of particular industries.
During the year the Division supplied many members of Congress
with trade and traffic data covering all forms of transportation, par
ticularly with respect to the car-shortage problem, the St. Lawrence
Seaway, and the disposal of war-built pipe lines.
The Division also inaugurated studies to estimate the prospective
traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Much of the data contained in
those studies was subsequently presented by the Secretary of Com
merce to a Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
and eventually used by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in
its report on a joint resolution authorizing the construction of the
Seaway.
A bimonthly Industry Report on Domestic Transportation was
prepared; each issue analyzed significant current developments in
some area of transport. The Industry Reports on air-cargo services
were particularly significant in collecting for the first time valuable
information on a new and growing business. The reports on shipping
were widely sought by business groups because of the data they con
tained concerning changes in ocean freight rates.
A rea D evelopment
Considerable progress was made by the Area Development Division
during the fiscal year. Operating with a very small staff, the Divi
sion perfected a program of Federal-State cooperation, which has
148
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
resulted in a well-organized and steady flow of economic, technical,,
and statistical information to regional, State, and local agencies.
The program was greatly stimulated as a result of a 5-day confer
ence in April with 26 representatives of State planning agencies. At
this meeting the Office of Domestic Commerce, as sponsor, arranged
for presentation of the programs of 8 of the Department’s 11 bureaus
and offices. The exchange of ideas at this conference was extremely
helpful to the Division in extending the services and facilities of the
Department to planning groups throughout the country.
The Division answered hundreds of inquiries from individuals and
organizations and acted as an informational clearing house on area
development data, problems, techniques, and procedure. Special serv
ices were extended at the request of regional, State, and local planning
organizations. Examples of this type of services are : The Calif orniaShasta Cascade Area Development Program ; cooperation in a special
program under way in the Northern Peninsula of Michigan; and
advice and counsel with the Arkansas State Planning and Development
Commission.
A number of publications of particular interest to such groups were
issued during the year. These included Industrial Uses of Selected
Timber Species, Industrial Basic Location Factors, and Industrial
Utilization of Industrial Resources. In addition, the Division main
tained direct contact with planning agencies throughout the country
by means of a monthly bulletin describing the latest developments
and publications of various governmental agencies which it was felt
would be of particular interest and usefulness.
All Department field offices were instructed to maintain close work
ing relationships with development and planning agencies and, wher
ever possible, to render maximum service. Representatives of the
Division attended numerous conferences of planning groups in the
field and outlined the Division’s policies and services.
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE
This office performs in the field of foreign commerce all those ac
tivities assigned to the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce
under its legislative mandate to “foster and promote the foreign and
domestic commerce of the United States.” Through service to busi
nessmen, both new and old, and participation in the formulation of
pertinent basic Governmental policies, OIT seeks a balanced expan
sion of world trade as its contribution to betterment of world living
conditions and peace.
_OIT comprises four operating branches, namely, Areas, Commod
ities, Intelligence and Services, and Export Control; and four staff
units, namely, Foreign Service Operations, Administrative Manage
ment, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, and the General Counsel. The
Director and his Associate provide over-all direction of the work.
Generally speaking, OIT performs (1) informational and advisory
services, (2) business representation and trade policy functions, and
(3) services required in connection with specific trade promotion pro
grams. Under (1) the work involved consists of the collection and
analysis of information, by country and by commodity, including
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
149
the analysis of conditions, trends, and problems; and the distribution
of such information, through publication and general dissemination,
direct business contacts, and the preparation of memoranda and re
ports for other agencies, the Congress and the public generally. Under
(2), OIT takes action on problems of individual businesses or trade
problems of general concern, and participates in the formulating of
basic governmental trade policies. In addition, OIT administers cer
tain operating trade programs, such as those involved in the conduct
of trade with the occupied areas, the administration of the British
Token Import Plan, the China Trade Act.and the Foreign Trade
Zones Act.
.
Transitional postwar problems continued to dominate a considerable
portion of OIT’s activities during the fiscal year. As the year ended,
it was apparent that permanent peacetime economic relationships
could not be expected for some years to come, and that the period of
postwar improvisations must be expected to continue.
Thus international trade involves problems that were not present
when only the forces of supply and demand operated through com
petitive markets in which prices were expressed in convertible cur
rencies. Some of the new problems can best be dealt with by foreign
traders themselves, but many others make assistance from Government
bureaus indispensable. The special needs of American foreign trade
require Government agencies to give constant attention to designing
interim methods, to their modification as conditions improve, and
to constant observation of their operation.
Experience in international negotiations leading toward the creation
of the International Trade Organization, and in the closely related
Reciprocal Trade Agreement negotiations has also led to a corollary
conclusion. Interim methods and ad hoc solutions no matter how
well conceived nor how immediately effective in achieving temporary
workable relationships are, in the last analysis, futile as a means toward
stable, peaceful, and profitable international commercial relations
unless the goal of liberalized multilateral, nondiscriminatory world
trade is kept constantly in sight. I t is in this light that OIT has
viewed the expenditure of a considerable portion of its energies during
the past year in work for the establishment of ITO, and for the
attainment of mutually advantageous results in the Reciprocal Trade
Agreeements negotiations.
F oreign T rade T rends
United States merchandise exports during the second half of the
fiscal year were running at an annual rate of 15.2 billion dollars,
the highest rate in our trade history, not excepting even the peak
6-month period of the war. This represents a fivefold increase in
dollar value over the prewar level. When the price rise is eliminated,
it is found that volume has been running three times the prewar rate.
Contrary to popular belief, a smaller percentage of current export
shipments is going to Europe today than in the years preceding the
war. The percentage distribution of our exports to North America
was comparable to the prewar pattern. The largest percentage in
crease in our trade was with South America.
150
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The dollar value of imports during January-June 1947 period
was at an annual rate of $5,800,000, or approximately twice the value
of the prewar level. When, however, a correction is made for the
price rise, it is found that the volume of shipments from abroad is
only about 10 percent in excess of the 1936-38 rate.
Thus, it can be seen that the countries of the world were accumulat
ing a trade deficit with the United States during this period at an
annual rate of about 9.5 billion dollars. This acute trade unbalance
characterizes the relation of virtually every country of the world
with the United States, with only three or four exceptions. Canada,
for instance, during the first half of this year, bought twice as much
as she sold. South America as a whole also purchased twice as
much. Europe, however, received 14 times as much goods as she
sold, in dollar terms.
The United States sells not only goods but also services to the
other nations of the world. When the total value of United States
sales of goods and services is compared to the total value of goods
and services which we purchase abroad, the over-all deficit which
accumulated during the first half of the year was at an annual rate
of 12 billion dollars, or at the rate of approximately 1 billion dollars
a month.
This deficit in the trade of other countries with tke United States
has been financed by clraAving down reserves and by practically ex
hausting existing United States governmental credits. As the year
drew to a close it was clear that United States export trade would,
in the absence of further credits, decline markedly in the near future.
I t is within the framework of these circumstances that OIT has
endeavored to discharge its responsibilities to the American economy
during the past year.
Its resources have comprised not only the knowledge and talents of
its own specialized personnel. Cooperation with the Foreign Service
of the State Department, and with the Department of Commerce
Field Service in the United States has been invaluable. As means
of disseminating information to the American foreign trade com
munity reliance has also been placed not only on the private press but
also on the Department’s Foreign Commerce Weekly, and on OIT’s
International Reference Service and Industrial Reference Service.
B y A rea
Import and exchange regulations adopted by many foreign coun
tries have grown steadily more restrictive during the year. This
necessitated not only that American foreign traders should be kept
currently informed of their provisions but also, on occasion, that
official representations be made to the governments of the countries
involved in order to prevent unnecessary hardship for American
trading interests.
For example, an impending change in Swedish import regulations
led to official negotiations with a mission from that country, resulting
in changes in the proposed regulation greatly lessening its harmful
impact on American exporters. In the case of India, OIT initiated
action whereby modification of import restrictions was secured, allow
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
151
ing shipment of approximately $50,000,000 worth of goods for which
orders would otherwise have had to be canceled.
To enable American exporters, barred from the British market by
regulations restricting British imports to goods of highest essentiality,
to retain at least a portion of their prewar position in the United
Kingdom, OIT successfully advocated the establishment of the
British Token Import Plan. Under this plan, importation of goods
of lesser essentiality is permitted, up to 20 percent of an American ex
porter’s prewar British shipments. OIT assumed responsibility for
administering this plan, including issuance of the necessary scrip to
prospective exporters.
I t was necessary to continue the detailed survey of the position of
each foreign country in the international trade field, particularly the
changes brought about by the war. For the countries that had been
occupied by the enemy, data had to be compiled on what industries
were still in existence, the state of their equipment, availability of
labor, supply of raw materials, and capacity to export. In the case
of other countries it was necessary to ascertain what new industries
had developed, the expanded capacity of old industries, their stock
pile of raw materials and the amount of finished products in ware
house or available for foreign markets.
Interest in investments in Latin America increased, promoted in
part by the effort of several of the countries to encourage the inflow
of capital and to avail themselves of United States technical superior
ity. Benewed interest also was shown in establishing branch factories,
assembly plants and offices, partly as a result of known pressures in
the area for increasing protection for industry.
Despite unfavorable developments in the Far East since the end. of
the war, the interest of American businessmen in trade possibilities
has been, and continues to be, intense. This interest has been expressed
by a wide range of firms and individuals new in the field, as well as
by those seeking to reestablish old connections. A large potential
demand for American capital and consumers’ goods notwithstanding,
exports to the Far East have been limited, owing to the increasing
shortage of hard currency in the various Far Eastern countries. An
exception is the Philippines where the dollar situation was better and
where prospects of developing trade between the United States and
that country continued to be optimistic.
Trading conditions in all British Commonwealth countries have
undergone such material changes that experienced prewar exporters
request guidance and assistance in taking advantage of the limited
opportunities and in securing current information on import, exchange
and price controls, the shipment of samples, and other pertinent
marketing data.
Inquiries respecting Europe ranged from requests for routine trade
statistics to detailed information upon trading procedures in indi
vidual European nations. Increased emphasis was placed upon in
formation concerning basic economic developments in each European
nation. This latter type of inquiry reflected the growing concern of
American business over conditions abroad and its resultant need for
information concerning underlying economic factors as a basis for
fundamental decisions on business policy.
152
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The recent stress placed upon economic and commercial reporting
by the Foreign Service came to fruition during 1947 in a heightened
flow of economic reports. These reports provided an improved basis
for handling the more elaborate inquiries received from private
concerns.
Consideration of international loans required assembly and analysis
of detailed information relating to the import needs of prospective
borrowers, their balance of payment positions and the proposed loans’
effect on the United States economy.
Continuing attention was devoted to overcoming difficulties barring
progress toward resumption of normal trade with the occupied areas.
Problems to which solutions were sought in this connection included
transactional mail service, adequate economic reporting, currency sta
bilization, and fixing of currency conversion rates. Assistance was
rendered American businessmen planning deals to be carried out in
Germany and Japan, and commercial travel to these areas was
facilitated.
Information concerning availability of industrial plants and capital
goods in former enemy areas for allocation to United States repara
tions accounts was secured and disseminated to the American business
community to permit persons interested in acquiring these items to
prepare purchase offers. In addition OIT participated in the formu
lation of policy recommendations to the Inter-Allied Reparations
Agency.
B y C ommodities
Increased emphasis was placed on the stimulation of soundly ex
panded imports and on rendering service to American importers to an
extent comparable with that consistently afforded exporters. Efforts
were accordingly made to develop sources of supply for raw materials
and other goods needed by the American productive and distributive
systems, and to expedite importing operations through providing ex
panded facilities for supplying international commodity information
to prospective importers. Efforts were also directed toward supplying
basic information to prospective shippers abroad on potential markets
in the United States and toward assisting foreign governments and
businessmen in developing techniques for marketing goods in this
country.
Thus, it has been possible to develop and increase the sales potential
ities of a wide range of materials and commodities which the American
economy could absorb to a much greater extent than had heretofore
been sold in this market. Domestic businessmen and industry have also
provided valuable leads for promotion of imports.
With respect to exports, analyses have been prepared by specific com
modities and materials, showing the adverse effect which might be ex
pected from the contemplated foreign import restrictions. This has
resulted in some instances, in retarding such actions. The trend toward
nationalization of industry in many countries has made it necessary for
the commodities staff to study methods of doing business under such
conditions. Many factors are involved in these surveys which vary
not only from country to country but industry to industry. The facts
in each situation have had to be evaluated and suitable working ar
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
153
rangements developed to aid business in solving the many problems
involved.
.
As part of this program Part I of World Chemical Developments,
an annual series suspended during the war, was prepared. A compre
hensive study of United States petroleum import prospects was pub
lished in the Industrial Reference Service. Also published in this
Service were surveys on world markets for a wide variety of commodi
ties including pulp and paper and special varieties of paper products,
scientific goods, foodstuffs, drugs and pharmaceuticals, textiles and
leather, and radios and appliances.
The periodic Foreign Service reporting schedules were partially re
established and the receipt of hundreds of brief reports on specific re
quests for commodity information from many countries has permitted
a closer approach to the ideal of maintaining a constant flow of timely
data for the benefit of business and industry. The steady improvement
noted in this phase of operation indicates that reports for all major
commodities, from all countries, will soon be available.^
Among the special activities which were initiated during the year for
the benefit of specific industries was the establishment of two industry
advisory committees, one representing the machine tool industry and
the other the leather and leather raw materials industry. Meetings of
these groups guided OIT in providing assistance required by industry
in international trade.
B y S pecial S ervices and I ntelligence
Considerable progress was made in 1947 in rehabilitating traditional
media for assisting United States foreign traders in establishing and
broadening their personal trade contacts abroad. These aids, such
as World Trade Directory Reports, Trade Lists and Trade Opportuni
ties, are again approaching their prewar status of immediate availa
bility, currency, and effectiveness.
During the fiscal year lists of foreign-trade contacts, covering ap
proximately 2,000 major commodity classifications, were revised.
Slightly under 2,500 commodity groups were current at the end of the
year; this number represented about 50 percent of the demonstrated
immediate requirements of business. Coverage in both of these serv
ices has been widened numerically, areawise, and in respect to basic
content. Over 78,000 individual requests for information were re
ceived. In addition, over 3,000 individually investigated trade leads
for new foreign business were brought to the attention of United States
foreign traders.
The utility of these services as import promotional media increased
with the development of the dollar shortage problem abroad. A
brochure on import techniques was issued and an improved method for
reporting import opportunities was developed to facilitate United
States import trade. Revision of the Department’s mailing list of
importers was completed to insure the effective channeling of all per
tinent import information.
The Unsatisfactory Trade Contract Program, initiated in 1941 to
.assist United States'firms to avoid or eliminate ideologically objec
154
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
tionable or inimical trade contacts abroad, was brought to an end near
the close of the year.
Initial steps were taken to reestablish trade developmental media
for the former enemy countries.
The appearance of many new and inexperienced firms in the importexport field and the continuance of seller market conditions have been
reflected in the large number of trade complaints filed with the De
partment both by foreign and United States firms. Direct efforts at
adjustment were undertaken by the Department in 3,748 cases during
the fiscal year. Remedial techniques which were evolved enjoyed
reasonable success. Efforts were continued to develop more effective
preventive measures in order to reduce the number of complaints,
received.
Close contact has been kept with American insurance companies in
order to be informed on their problems and needs insofar as interna
tional insurance activities and international trade are concerned. In
surance data from abroad received by the Department, developing
trends and restrictions of insurance markets of particular countries
and the internal adjustments of insurance matters by other countries
have been studied and reported on. Meetings have been held with the
management of many oi the leading American insurance companies
and associations, and with the top executives of many of the leading
foreign insurance companies and insurance supervisory officials of
foreign governments, with a view to working out a long-range pro
gram for cooperative activity.
The destruction and general deterioration of transport, communica
tions and power facilities throughout the world and the extent of
rehabilitation efforts after the war required the collection, analysis,
and dissemination to American exporters and importers of detailed
information as to the current status of these facilities abroad.
In addition, consideration of European relief needs necessitated de
tailed analysis of the transportation, communications, and utilities
potentialities of the European Area.
OIT likewise represented the interests of American trade, in the
formulation of United States policy in respect to international aviation
arrangements, development of our merchant marine, participation of
the United States in the Pan American Railroad Congress Association,
and other international transportation problems.
The notable success in promoting international trade, which was
scored by the European international trade fairs and exhibits, espe
cially in the decade prior to the war. led OIT to consider the poten
tialities of this medium as a means of stimulating sound expansion of
United States export-import commerce. Accordingly, activity di
rected toward this end was inaugurated during the fiscal year. Special
ized knowledge and advice required for the planned participation of
industry and governmental agencies in international trade fairs and
exhibits in the United States and abroad was made available to the
business public. Advice was also extended to organizers of interna
tional trade fairs in the United States in order to enable them to obtain
maximum results through a better knowledge of the techniques of fairs
and exhibits. Assistance was also given United States industrial
exhibitions which might be developed into instruments of interna
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
155
tional trade by disseminating through the Foreign Service information
on those domestic shows to business people abroad.
While it is hoped that pleasure and educational travel by American
citizens abroad will ultimately contribute importantly to the balancing
of international monetary accounts, the continuing results of wartime
devastation and economic disruption have made it possible during the
past year to achieve only partial success in stimulation of this activity.
Nonetheless, considerable progress has been made in facilitating com
mercial travel by United States citizens in many sections of the world.
This assistance has in the main taken the form of expediting passport
and other clearances for commercial travelers, and in enlisting the
aid of the Foreign Service in arranging contacts for these travelers
with important commercial interests abroad.
B y L iaison W it h the F oreign S ervice
Postwar expansion of our foreign trade resulted in steady increase
in the inquiries received from American businessmen and in the num
ber of trade opportunities, trade lists, world trade directory reports,
and general foreign economic reporting coming to OIT from Foreign
Service officers abroad. Incoming communications increased by 27.4
percent over fiscal 1946, and outgoing by 45 percent. During the year,
Foreign Service officers were instructed to forward trade inquiries
received by them to OIT. This change in procedure has in many cases
accelerated the service rendered the inquirer. I t has also frequently
laid the foundation for continued services by OIT to businessmen by
bringing them into closer contact with its operations.
A Committee on the Foreign Service was established in OIT early
in the year. Its purpose was to make recommendations to the Depart
ment’s representatives on the Board of the F oreign Service concerning
the functions of the Service ; the policies and procedures to govern the
selection, assignment, rating, and promotion of Foreign Service offi
cers; the policies and procedures to govern the administration and
personnel management of the Service ; and other duties performed by
the Department of Commerce by the Foreign Service.
Later in the year a subcommittee on Foreign Service Reporting was
also established to function under the general supervision of the com
mittee on the Foreign Service. This subcommittee was made respon
sible for all matters relating to requests for reports from the Foreign
Service. A set of principles relating to the substance, need, coverage,
and frequency of reports was formulated.
OIT continued its participation in the appointment, training, trans
fer, and promotion of Foreign Service officers engaged in economic
and commercial reporting, by having its representatives take part in
the examination of candidates for positions in the Service, by prepar
ing efficiency ratings for incumbent officers with relation to their eco
nomic work, and by the formulation of foreign post staffing patterns
to insure the maintenance of personnel complements adequate for
economic and commercial work.
Three meetings of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Activi
ties of the F oreign Service, composed of businessmen and representa
tives of the Departments of State and Commerce, were held during
156
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
the year. A joint meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial
Activities and the Board of the Foreign Service was held in February
at the suggestion of the Department of Commerce. At these meetings
measures for better utilization of the Foreign Service on behalf of
American business were discussed and recommended.
B y C ontrol of E xports 1
Export controls were instituted in July 1940 when the President
was empowered to control exports as a measure of national defense.
During hostilities, these controls served as a most effective weapon
of economic warfare and also made it possible to channel necessary
supplies to our fighting Allies and to other friendly nations who
were producing goods for the war effort.
After the Japanese surrender, the major purposes changed. The
export control function was administered to achieve the following
objectives: to protect the civilian economy of the United States from
an unwarranted export drain of materials required for reconversion
to a peacetime economy; to promote foreign trade through commercial
channels by recognizing established trade interests and by encouraging
new exporters, including veterans; to assist the production abroad of
critical commodities needed both for United States consumption and
for essential needs of foreign countries; to assist foreign countries to
obtain their minimum essential civilian requirements; to provide
facilities and equipment for the maintenance and expansion of United
States enterprises abroad; to aid in carrying out the American foreign
policy; and to remove, as rapidly as the supply situation would per
mit, all restrictions on exports.
To insure a continuing and effective procedure for determining
the extent of limitation necessary on exports, there was established
in December 1946 an Export Policy Committee to replace the Joint
Committee on Export Controls. The chairman of this committee was
attached to the personal staff of the Secretary of Commerce and the
regular membership, acting in an advisory capacity to the chairman,
was composed of representatives of the Office of International Trade,
Office of Domestic Commerce, and Office of Small Business of the De
partment of Commerce; Office of Temporary Controls; National
Housing Expediter; Department of State; Department of Agricul
ture ; and other interested agencies upon invitation. This committee
considered and made recommendations concerning export quotas and
deletions from or additions to the Positive List of Commodities under
export control by the Department of Commerce.
Continuous effort was exerted to relieve the export trade of unneces
sary licensing requirements. Two actions initiated during the fiscal
year were especially important, (1) the net removal of 270 items
from the positive list, representing a decrease of approximately 41
percent, and (2) the extensive use of the consolidated license proiThis report relates solely to operations of OIT during the fiscal year—July 1, 1946,
through June 30, 1947. Since then the national interest has necessitated a considerable
strengthening of export controls. The present report is an accurate record of performance
during the 1947 fiscal year and an indication of the policy followed and the objectives
sought until events compelled their modification.
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
157
cedure. On July 1, 1946, there were 653 items on the positive list;
December 31,1946, 635; and on June 30,1947, 383.
This decrease in the number of listings was principally the result of
deletions from the positive list of cotton manufacturers and semimanu
facturers, hides, skins, and leather (representing the largest single de
control action); certain rubber and rubber products; naval stores, guns,
and resins; most logs and hewn timbers; agricultural machinery and
implements; construction, conveying, mining, well, pumping, and
metal-working machinery; all trucks, automobiles, parts, accessories,
and service equipment; fish and fish products; all major dairy prod
ucts, except butter; and approximately one-third of the medicinal and
pharmaceutical preparations, industrial chemicals, and chemical
specialties.
During the fiscal year the Consolidated License (CL) procedure was
extended to include a greater number of commodities. As of June 30,
1947, this procedure was applicable to more than half of the commodity
groups remaining on the positive list. The previous CL procedures for
various commodities were standardized and made applicable to all
commodities subject to this procedure. This simplified form of li
censing was designed to expedite the processing of applications and to
afford the exporter greater freedom in the distribution of his export
quota. It permitted OIT to discharge its licensing responsibilities
with a substantially reduced staff.
A remarkable achievement in the face of staff reductions of the Ex
port Supply Branch was the decrease in the backlog of license applica
tions from a high of 63,000 at the end of June 1946 to a low of 22,500 in
May 1947.
Changes in governmental policy and organization resulted in the
elimination of all provisions regarding price control on exports. Also
the authority for the export control of sugar and sugar-containing
products was transferred from OIT to the Department of Agriculture
by the Sugar Control Extension Act of March 31,1947.
Other modifications and relaxations in existing procedures were also
effected during the past fiscal year. The general license for shipments
of limited value (GLY) was amended to permit individual shipments
of each entry on the positive list up to GLY value limitations specified
for each entry, rather than confining GLV values to shipments of com
modities included within a single schedule B number. In addition the
definition of “one importer” was clarified to prohibit the use of this
general license for multiple shipments.
The provisions governing gift shipments by mail under general li
cense were relaxed to remove all restrictions on weight, permissible con
tents (except for shipments to Germany and Japan), and dollar value
except for specific foodstuffs and medicináis. The restrictions govern
ing the exportation of technical data were relaxed to permit such data
to be exported under the general license provisions provided such ex
ports are not restricted by any United States Government agency.
Throughout the year, every feasible service to exporters was per
formed. Exporters’ Service Section, an organization established to
disseminate export-control information, interviewed over 15,000 visi
tors, handled over 26,000 telephonic inquiries, and answered approx
158
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
imately 20,000 letters and telegrams. In addition, replies were for
warded to about 10,000 inquiries from the field offices. The special
veterans’ preference officer administered the veterans’ preference plan
and offered special assistance and advice to United States veterans
of World War I I who were reentering export trade or who desired
to enter this field. Exporters were kept abreast of changes in regula
tions through the quarterly publication of the Comprehensive Export
Schedule and the issuance of Current Export Bulletins.
F oreign-T rade Z ones
During the fiscal year, the Office and functions of the Execu
tive Secretary of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board were transferred
from the Office of the Secretary to the OIT. OIT’s Associate Director
was designated as Alternate for the Secretary of Commerce in place
of the Solicitor of the Department and in this capacity became the
chairman of the committee of alternates. This transfer of ForeignTrade Zone activities was in keeping with the policy of the Depart
ment to center all foreign-trade promotion activities in OIT.
During the fiscal year the committee of alternates held seven meet
ings to review and prepare material for the Board in connection with
the administration of the act. The committee also held several in
formal hearings during the year. The executive secretary and his
staff arranged these meetings and prepared material for considera
tion by the committee of alternates. In addition, a number of in
formal conferences between members of the legal staffs of the three
Departments represented on the Board—Commerce, Treasury, and
War—were arranged for the purpose of developing preliminary data
and, where necessary, legal memoranda for the use of the committee
of alternates and the Board.
During the year the chairman of the committee of alternates and
the board’s executive secretary visited the New York zone to inspect
the facilities and confer with municipal authorities and customs
officials on its operation. The executive secretary also visited New
Orleans where he participated in the exercises of the formal opening
of foreign-trade zone No. 2 on May 1, 1947. The grant for the estab
lishment and operation of the New Orleans zone was issued July 16,
1946.
Although the regulations for administering the Foreign-Trade Zone
Act provided for review of preliminary decisions of the Commissioner
of Customs on manipulations permitted in foreign-trade zones, the
first cases docketed under these regulations (C. F. It. 400.800 (e ))
were decided during the year when the operators of the New York
foreign-trade zone asked the board to review a series of adverse rul
ings. After a complete study of the legislative history of the Celler
Act by the legal staff of the Office of International Trade, and follow
ing an open hearing before the committee of alternates, the board in
reversing the Commissioner of Customs in order No. 15, held that the
operations covered by the rulings did not constitute manufacture and
could be performed in a foreign-trade zone under the provision of the
act permitting merchandise to be “assembled, mixed or otherwise
manipulated.”
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
159
During the first session of the Eightieth Congress, duplicate bills
(H. R. 4350 and H. R. 4351) were introduced, which, in addition to
other provisions, would authorize manufacturing and exhibiting in
foreign-trade zones. The enactment of legislation permitting manu
facturing in foreign-trade zones would simplify the law insofar as
determining permissible activities in these zones.
The board’s executive secretary met with officials of the Depart
ment of State during the year to aid in the development of a plan for
the utilization as a free port of harbor installations erected for war
purposes by the United States Government at Monrovia, Liberia.
Plans for this free port operation were contained in the Executive
Agreement between the United States Government and the Govern
ment of Liberia, executed in 1943.
OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS
Every effort of the Office of Small Business has been directed during
the year toward providing the Nation’s small businessmen with types
of information and assistance which will help them to meet the inten
sified requirements of present-day competition. Basically, 03B activ
ities centered on adapting the vast resources of the Department to
the particular needs of smaller manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers,
and operators of service businesses while at the same time giving
special consideration to those starting in business for themselves.
Close contact has been maintained with the Senate and House Small
Business Committees as well as with groups responsible for smallbusiness activities within the Federal Trade Commission, Department
of Justice, War Assets Administration, and other Federal and private
agencies which recognize the importance to our economic life of a
freely competing body of small enterprises.
As industry and business emerged from the early reconversion
period into more nearly normal conditions, OSB began to make a
fundamental and necessary shift in program. During the fiscal year,
there has been a deliberate lessening of emphasis on the “direct”
assistance approach to small-business problems which stressed aid to
individual enterprises. Instead, the Office has concentrated on helping
to improve the competitive position of entire industry groups and
broad business segments.
M anagement D ivision
Available data indicates that the primary cause of difficulty for
operators of small business establishments is lack of managerial skill.
Many small and inexperienced businessmen find that the complexities
of present-day business methods pose too many baffling problems of
merchandising, market analysis, pricing, inventory control, and Gov
ernment reporting—to cite but a few fields of specialized knowledge.
Unlike the operators of larger enterprises, the small-scale owner-oper
ator cannot hire specialists to perform these tasks for him. He must
be his own expert and struggle along against his larger competitors
as best he can.
To assist the small businessman with his management problems, the
Office of Small Business issued and disseminated widely through the
766188—17----- 13
160
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Department’s field offices and other cooperating agencies some 260
small-business aids. These documents are written in nontechnical
language and are rarely more than 2 pages in length. They are fre
quently abstracts of articles in trade papers, professional journals,
Federal and State government reports, university research studies,
and technical handbooks. Two general types of aids have been issued
by the Management Division. The first deals with management prob
lems ; the second, with case studies.
In the first group each publication is confined to a specific type of
management problem. Some representative titles are: Boosting
Worker Productivity, Eight Ways to Strengthen Your Advertising,
Finding the Bight Color for Your Product, How to Fix Compensa
tion for Salesmen, Mail Order Lists, Meeting Super Market Compe
tition, Public Warehouse Service, the Use of Premiums, Sales Train
ing for Hardware Store Employees, and Errors in Figuring Costs.
Each aid in the second group is an account of how a small busi
ness has successfully solved a particular management problem. It
has been found that the best way to help a businessman solve a prob
lem is to show him how others in his own line of business have over
come similar difficulties. The list of case study titles includes: Chang
ing Counter Check Method to Speed up Customer Sei'vice in a Betail Grocery Store, Controlling Volume for Profit, Developing Com
petitive Advantages in a Betail Furniture Store, and the Value of a
Sound Credit Policy.
While the Department’s field offices have been the primary means for
getting these management aids into the hands of small businessmen,
greater attention is being given to increasing their flow through nor
mal business channels. Trade associations and other business groups
have cooperated by reproducing these aids at their own expense, or
buying copies for distribution to their members. Manufacturers and
wholesalers have also reproduced the Small Business Aids and dis
tributed them to their customers through their salesmen. In these
ways, the widest possible distribution of this management material
is assured to the members of the business community who need it most.
In addition to preparing two booklets in the Establishing and Oper
ating Series published by the Department during the fiscal year, the
Office of Small Business was active in obtaining wider distribution
for the entire series, especially to persons planning to start small busi
nesses. At the end of the fiscal year more than 500,000 of these books
had been sold.
Upon the recommendation of the small business advisory committee,
OSB made arrangements with the Motion Picture Service of the
Department of Agriculture to produce a 30-minute sound picture illus
trating the importance of retail sales training. The film is now avail
able through the Department’s field offices.
As a further step in the Department’s long and cordial relation
ships with university schools of business and bureaus of business re
search, the OSB extension service program was formally inaugu
rated. This experimental program is designed to assist small business
in the field of management and closely parallels the recommendations
of the Committee for Economic Development. As a start, this program
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
161
was being conducted only with Indiana University, the University of
Michigan, and the University of Texas. Emphasis was upon the
development of courses in the management of small business enterprises, research into the special problems of small businesses, conduct
of business management conferences, counseling, and the further
dissemination of Department of Commerce publications. During
the fanal quarter of the fiscal year, the University of Texas reproduced
and distributed 18,400 copies of Small Business Aids. Based upon
experience gamed in working with these universities, it is planned
shortly to introduce the extension service program into other uni
versities.
I ndustrial P roduction D ivision
1 he activities of the Industrial Production Division were directed
toward the improvement of the small manufacturers’ position. In the
first half of fiscal year 1947, industry was more embarrassed by short
ages than it had been during the war, even though numerous con
trols were still in effect and remained so until January 1947 OSB
continually presented the_ needs of the small plants to controlling
agencies and sought adoption of measures which would guarantee the
small operator at least a minimum share of available materials.
Typical of the results in this field was the return of steel to the
pieference rating list and action to make small businesses operating
below the minimum economic rate eligible for supplies of cruciallv
scarce steel items This regulatory relief helped to tide many small
plants through a hazardous reconversion period.
Snnilar accomplishments were recorded in other scarcity fields, for
the abandonment of priorities did not in many instances coincide
with the disappearance of shortages. Major deficits in basic and
secondary production materials existed, although to a lesser decree in
some classes, through the close of the fiscal year. For example the
scarcity of industrial alkalis resulted in curtailment of bottle glass
production. This, m turn, seriously reduced the supplies of bottles
for many small bottling businesses throughout the country. OSB was
able at least partly to relieve many of these shortage conditions by
encouraging large producers and suppliers to make more equitable
distribution of scarce items to many new as well as the thousands
or established small companies.
During the fiscal year, the Department’s field offices processed appioxunately 19,500 small business requests for assistance in shortage
difficulties, some 8 percent of which were from persons wanting to
start new enterprises. OSB in Washington processed more than
8,800 such cases, representing the more complex shortage problems
referred from the field for solution.
The OSB procurement program, having as its objective equitable
distribution of Government purchases among small businesses, made
considerable progress. On the basis of policy agreements with pro
curement agencies, OSB was successful in establishing joint field
operating procedures to “spread” Federal contracts among small
businesses. Incidental to this activity a comprehensive manual, Proeurement Operational Procedures under OSB General Government
162
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Procurement Project, was compiled. This assembled for the first
time the actual purchasing procedures of all Government agencies
for ready reference by businessmen. This general acceptance within
Government of the principle of procurement distribution is reflected
in the language of pending legislation affecting Army and Navy pro
curements. The bill under consideration provides that a fair propor
tion of the total value of all contracts be placed with small business
when not of manifest disadvantage to the Government.
The effectiveness of the procurement program may be measured by
the reported distribution to small business of 16,235 contracts valued
at $77 f ,246,932 out of a total of 28,076 contracts valued at $1,942,153,723 awarded during the fiscal year.
Preliminary to the development of a subcontracting program, prog
ress was made in studying the general advantages of widespread sub
contracting activities. These studies involved not only direct subcon
tracting benefits, such as cost savings, improvement in quality and
standards, but they also explored such considerations as the desirabil
ity of subcontracting in strengthening the secondary production sys
tem in terms of defense and full employment.
A series of Small Business Aids on manufacturing problems was
inaugurated. In these aids the production principles used by largescale manufacturers have been simply treated to enable the small plant
operator to familiarize himself with experience-tested “shop kinks”
and production methods. The development of the production assist
ance program may satisfy a long-felt want of the small manufacturer
and do much toward improving his general competitive position.
Within the framework of its official responsibilities deriving from
legislation for representing small business in United States Govern
ment surplus property disposal, the Division continued^ to represent
the needs of small business before the War Assets^Administration, Kecontruction Finance Corporation, and other holding or disposal agen
cies, in order to secure due consideration in their rules and regulations.
The Division helped to secure the prolongation of small business prior
ity activities by BFC; it staunchly advocated the resumption of
priority service for small businesses at the earliest possible date.
The distribution of surplus machine tools and industrial equipment
to small manufacturers continued to be a major concern of the Division
which launched new programs to measure this type of demand and
facilitate the acquisition of industrial tools by small manufacturers.
This continuing program has not only helped to modernize small
plants, improve their competitive facilities and expand their produc
tive capacity, but it has further reinforced the national objective of
strengthening the secondary production system comprised mainly of
small manufacturers.
Augmented efforts were made by OSB during the year to encourage
multiple tenancy occupation of surplus war plants by small manu
facturers. In connection with this effort, a program was started with
WAA to provide advance information on the availability of surplus
plants, together with complete site and engineering data. This service
will enable small manufacturers to submit bids; they were formerly
prevented by the time element.
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
163
B u sin e ss P ractices D iv ision
The Business Practices programs of OSB related, first, to Govern
ment services and regulations and, second, to unfair business practices
and barriers to free competition. The first program is based on the
knowledge that many services available to small business from Govern
ment agencies are relatively unknown and inadequately utilized, while,
at the same time, some of the many problems confronting small busi
nessmen are created by governmental regulation and control. The
second program is designed to promote fair trade practices and to min
imize monopolistic and unfair business practices.
A number of pamphlets, articles', and bulletins dealing with com
petitive practices were prepared. They were designed to furnish spe
cific, nontechnical and practical information on laws and regulations
affecting smaller enterprises and on Government services and facilities
available to small business. Both long-range problems and those of
current interest were emphasized. For example, in anticipation of
the return to a buyers’ market, a pamphlet on Small Business and
Regulation of Pricing Practices was prepared. Other material in
cluded a booklet on Small Business and Government Regulation, which
reviewed forms of organization, trade practices, taxation, licensing,
labor relations and miscellaneous controls. A number of bulletins on
Government services and facilities' were issued. These related to the
aids available to small business from the Federal Trade Commission,
the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Labor, the
Patent Office, and the Copyright Office.
Close working relations were established and maintained with Fed
eral regulatory and enforcement agencies, principally the Federal
Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of
Justice. Contacts with these two agencies were on virtually a day-today basis involving complaints of monopolistic practices, legislative
matters relating to trade regulation, and the broader aspects of con
centration and monopoly. These activities resulted in a more compre
hensive and effective service to trade groups and small businessmen
confronted with competitive practice problems'. Close cooperation
was also maintained with congressional committees and private organi
zations concerned with the competitive position of small business.
Illustrative of the liaison activities of the Division is the following
statement of the Attorney General of the United States:
The Small Business Unit has close working arrangements with the Office of
Small Business of the Department of Commerce. Cooperation between these
two agencies has brought about an unusually comprehensive type of service on
more than one occasion.
Direct and specific assistance was furnished to individual small busi
nessmen and trade groups in connection with problems concerning
laws and regulations, trade practices, and making contact with the
proper Government agencies. In general, the assistance rendered took
the form of representation of small enterprises before Federal agencies
and the compilation and dissemination of regulatory data. Problems
handled covered a wide range of subjects and frequently involved tech
nical questions in the fields of price discrimination, price maintenance,
basing-point systems, refusals to deal, unfair methods of competition,
and many others.
164
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
F in a n c e
and
T ax D iv isio n
The basic objective of the Finance and Tax Division has been to
aid well-established and new small business enterprises in the solution
of their finance and tax problems. Small businesses need to know
more about how to deal with banks and Government agencies and what
is required of them in doing so; moreover, they need to learn as much
as they can about every phase of their particular businesses. Such
knowdedge makes them better businessmen, thereby better business and
credit risks.
The banks and the credit bureaus of the Nation deal with a large
segment of all types of small business enterprises daily. Through a
cooperative program with the American Bankers Association, OSB
has been able to disseminate through that association’s 16,000 member
banks financial and tax material that is most likely to benefit the small
businessman. A similar arrangement has also been made with the
Bank of America; OSB material is being used in over 500 branch
banks in the State of California.
Negotiations were also begun with the Associated Credit Bureaus
of America; when completed, OSB finance and tax information will
be available to approximately 180,000 small businesses that use this
association’s member credit bureaus.
Many of the financial difficulties of small business arise from lack
of information about and understanding of loan applications to banks
and the management of funds. To help meet this problem informa
tional material was prepared for distribution through the various
channels enumerated above.
The booklet, The Small Business Man and His Bank, sets forth
clearly the things the small businessman must do in order to establish
satisfactory and continuing work relationships with commercial
bankers. Accounting records and credit ratings are emphasized.
Consideration is also given to the propriety of inquiries by banks
into the private activities and financial status of loan applicants.
This publication was reviewed by a number of commercial banks before
publication.
One major problem of small enterprises is that of acquiring equity
capital. Information was developed and made available to inquiring
small businessmen covering all the industrial development corpora
tions that were known to exist in the United States, indicating the
functions and organization of such corporations, and how they may
be of assistance in obtaining equity capital.
An important phase of the Division’s work has been the analysis of
the current financial situation of small businesses in order to develop
policy proposals of such a character as to improve their financial
position.
Tax laws, forms, and procedures have become so complicated and
burdensome that they constitute a major problem in small business
operations. Authorities on taxes have neglected to prepare instruc
tional materials on tax problems and procedures for the particular
use of the typical small businessman. Informational leaflets dealing
with tax questions of immediate concern to small business have been
prepared and distributed.
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
During the past year a great number of Federal income tax retv
have been questioned by the Government. The pamphlet, Y our Rig.
of Review When the Government Questions Your Income Tax Re
turn, was prepared, checked by the Internal Revenue Bureau, and
issued. Shortly after publication, two additional editions of this pop
ular pamphlet were issued. Other leaflets which contain down-toearth explanations and interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code
and regulations as they apply to the small businessman have been made
during the year.
OFFICE OF FIELD SERVICE
In recognition of the need for placing the facilities of the Depart
ment at points where they can be of greatest value and usefulness to
the business public, funds were provided by the Congress to enable
the Department to continue the expansion of its Field Service. Em
phasis was placed on providing direct assistance to business in utiliz
ing the factual resources of the Government to cope with postwar pro
duction and marketing problems.
During the war the field staff consisted of less than 150 people in 26
offices throughout the United States. After assuming certain func
tions and responsibilities transferred to the Department upon the
liquidation of the Smaller War Plants Corporation, and to provide for
specialized services to small businessmen in particular, the staff was
increased to 401 people in 51 offices by June 30, 1946. In carrying
out our expansion program during the fiscal year 1947, 26 new offices
were established, bringing our total to 77 and our field personnel to
766 at the end of the fiscal year. No effort was spared to provide
the best possible service at the lowest possible cost. Great care was
used in the recruitment, appointment, and training of personnel, and
considerable attention was given to the development of field programs
to meet the needs of a postwar economy. Rent-free space was ob
tained whenever available, and travel and communication expenses
were closely controlled. Although the sum of $4,750,000 was appro
priated for the maintenance of the Field Service, economical opera
tion of the service resulted in expenditure of less than 80 percent of
that amount.
The field offices constitute the Nation-wide service organization of
the primary units of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
They are the liaison between businessmen and the Office of Business
Economics, Office of Domestic Commerce, Office of International
Trade, and Office of Small Business, as well as the Office of Technical
Services attached to the Secretary’s office. Likewise, they are the
channel through which the factual data developed by the Bureau of the
Census are made available to businessmen on a local basis. They are
also the medium through which information gathered by the American
Foreign Service is made of practical value to that segment of the bus
iness public engaged in international trade.
As the local representatives of the primary units indicated, field
offices are called upon to maintain close working relationships with
individual businessmen, trade associations, chambers of commerce,
financial institutions, and advertising and research groups, in the fields
of both foreign trade and domestic commerce.
166
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Many changes took place in our trade with foreign countries during
the year and field offices were constantly called upon to provide the
latest available data on market prospects, tariff revisions, changes in
the controls exercised both here and abroad, information on the de
velopment of new manufacturing industries in line with the postwar
industrialization taking place in many countries, and current reports
on the development of new sources of raw materials required by cur
industries. During the year, the field offices strengthened their in
formational facilities and, through close cooperation between the De
partment of Commerce and the American Foreign Service, a steady
flow of essential data was brought to the attention of international
traders.
In the domestic field, there was a constant demand for up-to-date in
formation on the economic facts and trends which have an important
bearing on the production and distribution of goods. Particularly
value b7e were the reports published by the Bureau of the Census on
population shifts and trends, retail sales, and production data on a
wide range of products; the studies made by the Office of Business
Economics on national income and national product; the additions to
the Establishing and Operating series of publications dealing with
specific types of businesses; the suggestions contained in the releases
distributed in the Small Business Aids series; and the Industrial Reports. Utilizing experienced personnel, field offices provided practical
assistance to business in making effective use of material from govern
mental and private sources. The response of businessmen to this
service is shown by the volume of inouiries handled. The total reached
1,353,000, an all-time high for the Field Service.
OFFICE OF MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION
The Office of Materials Distribution was established within the
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce on May 4,1947, following
transfer to the Secretary of Commerce, by Execrdive Order No. 9841,
of most of the functions previous!}' vested in the Director of the Office
of Temporary Controls. These functions had been carried out through
the Civilian Production Administration.
The Secretary of Commerce appointed the Director of the Office of
Domestic Commerce to head the new group. A staff composed largely
of former CPA officials was selected to administer the relatively few
controls over scarce materials, continuance of which had been author
ized by the First Decontrol Act of 1947 passed by Congress in March;
the Joint Resolution of Congress providing for maintenance of an
adequate domestic svnthetic rubber producing industry; and the Stra
tegic and Critical Materials Stockpiling Act.
Other functions having to do with the liquidation activities of CPA
were vested in the Secretary of Commerce bv the President’s order
and delegated by him to the Director of OMD, but were transferred
to the Division of Liquidation in the Office of the Secretary at the
beginning of the 1948 fiscal year.
Because CPA had brought its orders and regulations into conformity
with the terms of the First Decontrol Act before issuance of the Presi
dential order, no significant operational changes were made by OMD
during the remaining 2 months of the fiscal year.
Patent Office
Reorganization of the Patent Office, begun in 1945, was advanced
within the past year. As reorganized, the Patent Office comprises the
Office of the Commissioner of Patents, which includes the Board of
Appeals and the Office of the Solicitor, and three major operating
components. These are the Patent Examining Operation, the TradeMark Examining Operation, and the Executive Office. Each is as
signed a major function of the Patent Office activities under the direc
tion of a single administrator who reports to, and is responsible to,
the Commissioner.
The Patent Examining Operation, under the direction of an Execu
tive Primary Examiner, comprises the Classification Group, five Patent
Examining Groups, and the Patent Interference Division. The Clas
sification Group is headed by the Supervisory Classification Examiner
and is composed of an Administrative Branch and five Examining
Divisions. Each Patent Examining Group is under the direction of
a Supervisory Patent Examiner in charge of a plurality of examining
divisions determined on the basis of the arts assigned. The Patent
Interference Division, in which the Board of Interference Examiners
predominates, is included within this organization area for adminis
trative purposes only.
A comparable pattern of organization and operating relationships
in the Trade-Mark Examining Operation is under the direction of an
executive examiner. Administrative and judicative functions in trade
mark practice in the Office were divorced by vesting the operating
responsibilities in the executive examiner and reserving to the Office
of the Commissioner the responsibility for adjudicating appeals in
trade-mark cases.
The executive office encompasses the auxiliary patent services and
the general administrative or business functions of the Patent Office.
Organized on the basis of specializations recognized in such activities,
it consists of five divisions—Administrative Services, Patent Services,
Financial, Personnel, and Administrative Management and Budget—
the heads of which report direct to the executive officer.
PERSONNEL
The employment program for the year was aimed at augmenting
the patent examining staff by 524 positions and the other services by
35 positions to attain a personnel level of 2,000 employees. At the end
of the year 1,826 positions were filled, an increase of 366 positions over
the previous year; 203 positions remained vacant. The employment
167
168
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
gain made during the year accrued entirely to the examining opera
tions, which were further increased by a shift of 21 positions from the
nonexamining divisions. The distribution of this gain was as follows :
Patent examining, 192 professional and 72 clerical positions; classifica
tion, 34 professional and 28 clerical; and trade-mark examining, 44
professional and 17 clerical. Staffing of the Trade-Mark Examining
Operation was accelerated to increase its total personnel to provide
sufficient help to administer the new Trade-Mark Act.
A program of training new professional employees, both patent and
trade-mark examiners, was developed and put into operation. All new
employees were given an intensive course covering the legislative basis
of the trade-mark and patent systems ; the organization and functions
of the Patent Office; and instructions covering the duties to be per
formed, office practices, work methods, and other related matters. The
course was conceived and developed in response to the need for short
ening the learning period, and 247 employees have received this instruc
tion. Advanced training has been given to 213 professional employees.
This training, consisting of lectures and discussions, has covered patent
and trade-mark statutes, Rules of Practice, office procedure, and spe
cial or unusual prosecution of patent and trade-mark applications. It
also includes decisions of the courts, the board of appeals, and the
Commissioner’s decisions in applying and interpreting the statutes and
rules. I t is designed to produce greater accuracy, greater uniformity
of practice, and a reduction of the time spent in supervisory review.
A job study program was developed to insure proper wage adminis
tration. As a result, 750 jobs were rewritten and action was taken
to insure adequate salaries. Special emphasis was placed on recruiting
the right man for the right job in order to avoid excessive turn-over
due to inferior placements of personnel.
VOLUME AND CONDITION OF PROFESSIONAL WORK
On June 30,1947, there were 216,098 patent applications pending in
the Office. Of these, 148,221, including 9,105 design patent applica
tions, were awaiting action by the examiners ; 4,534 were involved in
appeals and interference proceedings ; and the remaining 63,343 were
under rejection pending response by applicants. This inventory was
43,646 cases greater than last year, with the examiners’ backlog up
by 32,353 applications. During the year, 86,749 new applications were
received in the examining divisions and 109,070 applications were
brought up for action by amendment. Enlargement of the examining
staff should, within the coming year, effect a substantial increase in the
output of the Office and a corresponding reduction in backlog.
In the Trade-Mark Examining Operation, 13,143 applications for
registration and renewal of registrations were pending before the ex
aminers on J une 30,1947, while 12,752 awaited response by applicants.
The Board of Interference Examiners, increased by three examiners
during the year, and the Board of Appeals, augmented by primary
examiners serving as pro tern members under the provisions of Public
Law 620, Seventy-ninth Congress, materially reduced their respective
backlog of cases.
japun aoijOBiq jo sajng; jo jas Avau ajajduioo b jojaiaqj uotjBiBdaid
UI '¿f6T '9 Àqnp »Alfredo auiBoaq cpgj jo jo y qiBpj-apBix aqjp
9t6i 5 0 x o v y s y i y a c n x i x
•/ouapuad sq Suiinp uorpoqddB aqj jsuibSb
pajio saouaiajai oqj qjpw pajuiiduii avou si panssi sb juajBCÌ qoBg
■s.iap.io
paqqun jo SopqoBq ott si aiaqj pire opmbapB aiB saiqqoBj uoqonpoidajj
•siapio juauno Àq pajsnnqxa sjuajBd Avaj Aioa oj paonpai m.ou si
‘Qf 6 l ui 000*03 pspaooxa qoiqAv ‘ju iid jo quo sju ap d jo xaquinu aqx
•paqsrainj uaaq avou
9ABq sanssi qoBq aqj jo qjinoj-auo jnoqy •suoiqpuoo jbav jo asnnoaq
eSuBqoxa uiojj ppqqjiAV sanssi qoi;q aqj puB sanssi juapd juaiino
jo saidoo SuiAtaoai avou 9.ib puB jsq aSireqoxa aqj oj paiojsai aiaAi gpgl
oj jo iid saidoo po.o treqoxa sapqg paqujq aqj raoqAV qjiAV saujunoo
aqj jo / jtjoCbui y •sjuai.uaaiSB aSuBqoxa .lopun saiijunoo uSiaioj oj
paqsiumj o.ioav ZOl‘lfZ ‘l ‘pajnqujsip os saidoo gO^zèi/l 3d'i JO ‘JT;9^
snoiAaid aqj ui unqj aS.reqo jnoqjiAv pajnqiijsip aiaAV sjuapd jo saidoo
ajoui uoqqui j Àq.reou ‘puBq xaqjo aqj u() •9J-6I ‘Q /pop papa equi
juaAV qoiqAV saidoo juapd joj asu aoud aqj jo oripii a Àq 0(5X11X38$
pasnaioui uioijaiaqj sjdiaoai aqj ‘ararqoA s,.reaÀ! jsb[ liioij 88S‘0Gg;I 50
sbav sq.reui-apii.ij puB sjuajBd jo saidoo pajutid jo ap;s aqj aqijM
s a i x o o a a x N i a a x o N o i x n a r a x s i a a x y htivs
•sjapplured asaqj ui pajsq o.ib suopnoipap jqSiijno aiB pire asn oj
uoijBoqddB [nui.ioj ou aimbai qoiqAV sjuajnd asoqj / p i o -oqqnd aqj
oj pajBoipap /p B aip asoqj jo jsq aqj oj sjuapsd ggj pappB ‘Zpiq pus
ZiBnuBp ui ÀqBUuuBiuias paqsqqnd ‘sjuauiajddns asaqx ‘panssi ojoav
sjuajBj pajBoipaQ jo uoipjoqqnd {buiSuo aqj oj sjuauia{ddns oavx
•saainjoBjnuBui pajsaoajui uiojj sai [da.i apq Buoq aAtaoaJ jajstóaj
stqj uo paoBjd sjuajBd jo sjauAvo aqj jo juaojad gì uuqj ajoui jBqj
ajBoipui qoiqAV sàoajus jo sposai aqj ui jsajiuBut si 0ippici aqj oj puB
ÀÀqsnpur oj aoiAias siqj jo aiqBA aqp -oqqnd aqj oj aqiqiBAB apuui
puB paiBdaid aiaAV spjaq papaps ui sjuajiid pajBoipap puB paiajsiSai
jjB Suiquosap sainqooiq piiaAas puB ‘amjoBjnuBui jo suiaji aAisuad
-xaui À'[aA[jB|a.i jo jaquinu b Sur.iaAOO asoqj jo uoijBpduioo ajoiBdas b
‘lajsiSai aqj uo sjuajBd [p jo jsaScp poiuqoajuou ‘aAisuaqaidiuoo y
■suoi!
-BoqddB {BiJBpraijuB sji qjiAv uopoauuoo ui juauijiBdaQ .nqy aqj jo
jsonlia.i aqj jb apBui sbav jaqjo aqj i oipBi jó p[aq aqj ui suoijBoqddB
juapiid jo jaquinu aSinq b jo asBO aqj ui sbav ouq 'paApiAin jsaiajui
oqqnd aqj jo uoijBiapisuoo oj Sui avo saouBjsui oavj ui apuui sbav ‘suoli
-BoqddB uiojj paqsinSuijsip sb ‘/ juo sjuajBd SuuajsiSaj jo Zoqod aqj
uiojj ajtq.recToQ -sisBq asuaoq aajj b uo sjuapd asn sji jo qu oqqnd
aqj oj pauado SBq uiaqj jo auo puB utnipaui siqj qgno.iqj o[C}B[ibab
sjuapd Jiaqj qB apBui aABq asaqj jo jBiaAas I suoipiodioo ¿8 apnpui
sjuBjjsiSoq una/ jsnd aqj ui paiajsiSaj os uaaq Suiabij uiaqj jo 000‘i
‘ajBg jo asuaoiq joj oppqreAy sjuajBj jo jajsiSaq aqj uo paoBjd uaaq
aABq sjuajBd 000‘8T «Bqj ajoui ‘cpgx À'iijq ui juauiqsqqBjsa sq aouig
sx K ax v x a a x v o ia a a qkv a a a a x s io a a
691
5 I 0 I .I . I 0
X N 3X V J
170
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
the new law was drawn and submitted for public comment and sug
gestions before promulgation. The former Trade-Mark Division was
reorganized into the Trade-Mark Examining Operation, and provi
sion was made for specialization among the Trade-Mark Examiners
along the lines of the various types of marks registerable under the
law. The clerical staff was expanded and additional examiners were
recruited. A training program to facilitate their induction into pro
ductive work was instituted. New forms suited to public and office
use under the new rules and operating requirements were drawn.
Expansion and improvement in office facilities were provided and
new methods and procedures to meet new needs were devised.
PATENT CLASSIFICATION
Clerical processing of the reclassified patents in the residual sub
classes of class 83, Mills, was completed during the past year and this
class was abolished. The 2,058 original and 453 cross-referenced pat
ents involved were placed for the most part in 64 new subclasses in
class 146, Vegetable and Meat Cutters and Comminutors, and 6 new
subclasses in class 18, Plastics.
Two new classes (318, Electricity, Motive Power Systems, com
prising 558 subclasses; 322, Electricity, Single Generator System,
comprising 100 subclasses) were established, involving in all 8,732
original and 29,318 cross-referenced patents taken for the most part
from class 171, Electricity, Generation, and class 172, Electricity,
Motive Power.
In addition, 21 subclasses, involving 2,087 original and 1,047 crossreferenced patents, were established in existing classes. Miscellaneous
original patents, numbering 2,191, and 566 cross-references were trans
ferred between various existing classes and 2,905 new cross-references
were made and placed in various classes to facilitate searching.
Written decisions relative to requirements of divisions were made in
respect to 2,040 cases. Disposition was made of 786 cases without
written decision.
Decisions relative to assignments of applications for examination,
when the propriety of original assignment was contested by two or
more primary examiners, were written in 743 cases, and 3,862 oral
decisions, satisfactory to those examiners involved, were given. In
addition, examiners and attorneys were accorded 3,831 interviews;
4,985 letters of inquiry relative to proper fields of search were an
swered; and 458 orders for patent lists, involving the preparation of
12,831 sheets, were filled. The classification of all patents issued
during the year was checked and 24,521 cross-references of such pat
ents were made.
Newer methods entailing the use of mechanical equipment were
introduced as a means of compiling, editing, and publishing the alpha
betical index to classification and the Manual of Classification. The
revised means will enable examiners and the public to maintain these
important publications current. Plans were formulated to use
punched cards, in lieu of manual operations, for the maintenance
and development of the entire body of class lists, both originals and
cross-references.
171
PATENT OFFICE
BILLS AND ACTS—80TH CONGRESS
A large number of bills relating to patents and other matters of
particular interest to persons practicing before the Patent Office were
introduced in the Eightieth Congress. Two of these measures were
enacted, one as Public Law 220 and the other as Public Law 380. The
former provides for the extension of certain provisions of the Boykin
Act to a date not later than February 29, 1948. The other carries
into effect terms relating to patents contained in the treaties of peace
with Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania ratified by the Senate
on June 5, 1947. Public Law 239, which terminates the war with,
respect to certain joint resolutions, proclamations, and temporary acts,
is significant in its omission of wartime acts affecting patents, such as
the Secrecy Act and the Royalty Adjustment Act.
FINANCIAL CONDITION
Net receipts exceeded those of the preceding year by $312,977.30,
but higher operating costs, attributed principally to expansion of the
staff and increased salaries, more than offset this gain to result in a
deficit increase of $1,035,186.87. Net receipts were $4,815,260.47 as
against $4,502,283.17 for the fiscal year 1946, while obligations incurred
under all Patent Office appropriations amounted to $7,262,472.27 as
compared with $5,914,470.40 for the preceding year. Further detail
respecting the financial condition is set forth in the financial state
ments of the statistical section of this report.
STATISTICS
The following statistics present information respecting the business
activities of the Patent Office for the fiscal year 1947 and their condi
tion as of June 30,1947.
Patent applications received, allowed, and patented during fiscal year 191fl
Received
Allowed
Patents
granted
Application for—
Total________________________ _____ ____________ ____
76,729
969
8,856
81
114
20,148
487
1,907
50
128
19,709
428
1,889
38
125
86,749
22,720
22,189
1Applications filed under the act of Mar. 3,1883,22 Stat. 625 as amended by the act of Apr. 30, 1928, 45
Stat. 487 (U. S. C., title 35, sec. 45).
Status of allowed applications, June 30, 191)1
Applications allowed awaiting payment of final fees____________________ 7,162
Applications in which issue of patent has been deferred 1________________
475
Applications in process of issue______________________________________ 1 , 633
Total allowed applications awaiting issue________________________ 9 , 270
1 D eferred u n d er th e provisions of sec. 4885 R. S.
Note.— D u rin g th e fiscal year le tte r s p a te n t w ere w ithheld from issuance in the case of
877 allow ed a p p licatio n s ow ing to th e n onpaym ent of final fees.
172
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Status of patent applications pending June SO, 1947
A w a i t i n g a c t i o n b y t h e e x a m i n e r s 1-------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 4 8 , 2 2 1
A w a i t i n g r e s p o n s e b y a p p l i c a n t s 2---------------------- ------------------------------------------------ 6 3 , 3 4 3
B e f o r e t h e B o a r d o f A p p e a l s ______________________________________________________ 3 , 2 9 6
B e f o r e t h e B o a r d o f I n t e r f e r e n c e E x a m i n e r s -------------------------------------- -----------1, 2 3 8
T o t a l p e n d i n g --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 1 6 , 0 9 8
'Includes 9,105 design patent applications.
2Includes 3,840 design patent applications.
Trade-mark applications received, published, and registered during fiscal
year 1941
R ec eiv ed
P u b lis h e d
20,403
6,578
7,769
18,833
4,880
26,981
7,769
13,713
A p p lic a tio n for—
T o t a l . . . .......................................... .............- ............................. - ..........—
R eg istered
1 In c lu d e s 2,179 ap p lic a tio n s reg istered u n d e r th e a c t of 1920.
Status of trade-mark applications pending June SO, 1947
A w a i t i n g a c t i o n b y t h e e x a m i n e r s _______________________________________________ 1 3 , 1 ^ 3
A w a i t i n g r e s p o n s e b y a p p l i c a n t s ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 , 1 5 2
B e f o r e t h e E x a m i n e r o f I n t e r f e r e n c e s ----------------------------------------------------------------1 , 0 !2
B e f o r e t h e C o m m i s s i o n e r o n a p p e a l ---------------------------------------------------------------------110
T o t a l p e n d i n g _______________________________________________________________ 2 7 ,0 3 7
Summary of Patent Office services furnished for fees or without charge>to the
public or other Government agencies
P u b lic a tio n or ite m or serv ice p ro v id e d
T o ta l p re
p a re d or
su p p lie d
F u rn is h e d to
o th e r
G o v e rn m e n t
d e p a rtm e n ts
F o r u se in
P a te n t Office
Photoprints...................................
Photostatic copies of:
Assignments______ _______
D isclaimers....... .................
M anuscript.............................
Patents, etc...................... —
42,440
16,614
81.775
127
728, 494
282,625
21,371
39,872
81,775
127
61, 243
N u m b e r for
w h ic h a
ch a rg e w as
m ade
25,826
22, 597
707,123
220,156
104, 449
927, 279
Total......................... ......... .
1, 093,021
Certificates:
Manuscript orders________
Patents and drawings............
Trade-marks ................. ...
Certificate of filing________
Other.....................................
28, 523
1,810
12,054
4, 549
165
T otal.....................................
47,101
136
46, 965
M anuscript words:
W ritten at 10 cents per 100...
W ritten at 75 cents per 100...
Compared at 10 cents per 100.
928,900
97, 000
207,000
13,800
915,100
97,000
207,000
T otal....................................
Abstracts of title.............. .............
Title searches and reports______
Instrum ents recorded_________
1, 232.900
4,807
32, 302
51.847
13,800
18
1,219,100
4,789
1,019
48,150
Printed copies of:
Patents and trade-marks___
Foreign exchange...................
Library subscriptions.........
3, 789,938
1,247,702
454,858
103,419
1, 247,702
T o ta l................... ................
Drawings and corrections______
5,492, 498
10,958
28, 402
1,805
12,044
4, 549
165
3, 697
436,282
3, 250, 237
""’454,'858
436, 282
2 , 211
3,705.095
8,747
173
PATENT OFFICE
A pplications for patent filed , fiscal years
Year
1928.
1929.
1930.
1931.
1932.
1933.
1934.
1935.
1936.
1937.
Inven
tions
De
signs
88, 589
87, 231
91,651
84, 273
73,801
59, 761
56,413
57, 078
60,140
64,161
4,725
4, 548
4, 363
4,147
3,854
4,395
3,811
5, 069
6,127
6, 617
Re
issue
385
442
434
463
474
441
462
515
404
444
Total
93,699
92, 221
96,448
88,883
78,129
64, 597
60,686
62,662
66,671
71,222
Year
1938...............
1939....... ........... .
1940...................
1941__________
1942................... .
1943...................
1944__________
1945....................
1946......... ...........
1947................... .
Inven
tions
De
signs
66, 536
66, 561
61,809
57,121
48,439
43,655
50, 273
59, 661
77,940
77,779
8,014
7, 603
7, 579
8,462
5, 568
3, 202
3,711
6,203
10,800
8,856
Re
issue
423
387
385
318
278
215
181
173
165
114
Total
74,973
74, 551
69,773
65,901
54, 315
47,072
54,165
66,037
88,905
86, 749
Applications for trade-mark registrations, fiscal years
Year
1928.
1929.
1930.
1931.
1932.
1933.
1934.
1935.
1936.
1937.
For regis
tration
17, 714
17, 559
16,865
13, 636
11,965
11,038
14,106
13,516
13, 958
14,484
For re
newal
Total
19,851
19,512
18, 617
15,144
13,615
12, 701
16,317
15,617
15, 840
16,032
2,137
1,953
1,752
1,508
1,650
1,663
2, 211
2,101
1,882
1,548
For regis
tration
Year
1938............... .
1939...................
1940___ _____
1941..................
1942...................
1943................. .
1944_________
1945.___ _____
1946....... ...........
1947...................
13,372
13,170
12,435
11,465
8, 997
7,846
10,102
13, 569
19,780
20,403
For re
newal
Total
1,229
1,151
2,408
2,837
3,106
3, 938
4,301
5,054
6,436
6, 578
14,601
14,321
14,843
14,302
12,103
11, 784
14,403
18, 623
23,216
26, 981
Patents granted, fiscal years
In v e n tio n s
Y ear
1928
1929
.................. - ..................................
..................................................
1932
............................. ......... .............
1933
...................................... ..............
1934
_______ _______ ______________
1935
.
_____ ____ ________________
.............................. ............. .........
1936
1937............. ............. ............................. - .................
1938
........................................ - ...............
1939
_ ........................................ .............
1940 . . ............................................ ......... ...........
1942
........................................ .............
1945
............................ .................. .........
41,067
43,617
49. 599
44,317
52, 572
50, 766
48, 523
41,621
39, 978
39,412
36,672
41, 908
41,708
41.335
40,613
35,068
29, 714
27,310
24,045
20,137
P la n t
D esig n
17
52
30
28
61
65
28
52
73
71
52
63
39
26
43
38
2,698
3, 201
2, 598
3,089
2,728
2,934
2,419
3,437
4,174
4,939
5,142
5,154
5, 779
6, 695
4,980
2, 966
2,270
3, 552
3,384
1,889
R eissu e
349
329
374
400
392
375
343
400
400
405
343
359
364
348
281
212
169
145
115
125
T o ta l
p a te n ts
44,114
47,147
52, 571
47,806
55,727
54, 111
51,386
45, 419
44,627
44,885
42,136
47,473
47,924
48,449
45, 926
38,309
32,192
31,033
27, 587
22,189
Trade-marks registered, fiscal years
Year
Marks reg
istered
14,219
14,391
13,897
12,437
10.901
8,909
10,139
11,109
10, 777
11,329
Year
1938.......................................................
1939.......................... ...... .....................
1910.._____ ________ ___________
1941.................................... ..................
1942........................ .............................
1943.....................................................
1941..................... .................................
1915._______ ______________ _____
1946.____ _____________________
1947........................... ..........................
Marks reg
istered
10. 529
10,591
10.254
9,439
7,763
5,883
5, 719
6,987
7,185
8,833
174
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Patent applications pending on June SO of year indicated'
*-•
Year : x-
1928___ _______________
1929________ __________
1930____ ______________
1931____ ______________
Ì932.....................................
1933.................... .............. 1934.____ _____________
1935....................... ............
1936.................... ................
1937.....................................
Total
pending
112. 576
106,335
104, 095
109, 735
Awaiting
action by
examiner
106,575
103.236
119, 597
92,203
76, 723
49,050
39,226
31, 920
33, 540
38,121
Year
Total
pending
1938............. ...... ............. .
1939................................ .
1940...................................
1941__________________
1942................. ..................
1943____ _____ ____ ___
1944.............. ...................
1945................. ..................
1946...................................
1947____ _________ ____
116,041
113,277
110, 743
104, 957
95,265
91,429
99,157
116. 981
157,861
202,923
Awaiting
action by
examiner
45, 723
42,215
44,902
42,112
46,239
39,052
46,208
61,875
110,386
139,116
1 D o es n o t in c lu d e allow ed ap p licatio n s a n d d esig n ap p licatio n s.
LITIGA TED CASES
Before the Examiners of Interferences:
Patent cases
Interferences pending, July 1, 1946:
In interlocutory stage_____ ___________________ __________
Finally heard, awaiting decision----------------------------------------
650
128
Total____ __________________________________________________
Interferences declared, July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947____________________
778
398
Total interferences pending, fiscal year 1947______________ __________
Interferences disposed of, July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947:
Before final hearing-------------------------------------------------------341
After final hearing_______________________________________
191
1,176
Total, disposals____ ________________________________________
Interferences pending June 30, 1947:
In interlocutory stage____________________________________
Finally heard, awaiting decision ________________________
532
594
50
Total, pending —______ ;_____________________________________
644
Trade-mark cases
Interferences, oppositions, and cancellations pending July 1,
1946:
In interlocutory stage----------------------------------------------------Finally heard, awaiting decision________________________
715
99
Total—-_____ „_____ —______________________________________
New cases received, July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947:
Interferences declared___________________________________
141
Oppositions instituted____________________________________ 1, 066
247
Cancellations instituted_______________________ :__________
814
Total, new cases--------------------------------------------------------------------
1, 454
Total interferences pending, fiscal year 1947_________________________
Interferences, oppositions, and cancellations disposed of, July 1,
1946-June 30, 1947:
Before final hearing___________________ _____ _____ ______
891
After final hearing_______________________________________
229
2,268
T otal, d is p o sa ls________________ _______________________________
1,120-
175
PATENT OFFICE
litigated cases — c o n tin u e d
Trade-mark cases—¡-Continued
Interferences, oppositions, and cancellations pending June 30,
1947:
In interlocutory stage— - ----------------------•_ Finally heard, awaiting decision----------------------------------------
915
233
.
Total, pending----- ------------------------------------------r— -------------- —
Before the Commissioner of Patents :
1.148
Appeals to the Commissioner
Appeals pending July 1,1946-------------- •-------------- —----------------- ------- —
Appeals received, July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947 :
Trade-mark interferences-------- ----------------------------------------2
Trade-mark oppositions------------59
Trade-mark cancellations-------------------------------------------------20
In ex parte trade-mark cases-------------—------------------- —------60
Interlocutory appeals-— -------1
Petitions for rehearing----------- ■
-------------------------------- .-------20
Total_________________________________________________ ____
39
162
Total appeals pending during fiscal year 1947—_----------------------- -----Appeals disposed of July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947:
Trade-mark interferences---------------------------------------------—
1
Trade-mark oppositions — ----------- --------- —--------------------:—
44
Trade-mark cancellations--------— — ------------------ --------------13
In ex parte trade-mark cases---------------------------------50
Interlocutory appeals---------------------------- —■---------------- ------1
Petitions for rehearing— —— ----- '--------------------— ----------20
201
Total, disposals-------------■----------------------------------------------- -------
129
Appeals pending before the Commissioner, June 30, 1947---------------------
72
Petitions to the Commissioner
Petitions pending July 1, 1946---------------------------------------------------------Petitions received, July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947:
Ex parte---------------------------------------••------------------------------ — 360
Inter partes-------------------------------------------------------------------36
To make special—----------------------------------------------------------293
To revive_______________________________________________
352
Renewed petitions to revive---------------------------------------------97
Delayed payment of final fees-------------------------------------------111
Renewed petitions for delayed fees----------------------------------10
Under Rule 78-------------------------------------------------- --------------- 2, 631
3 ,8 9 6
T o ta l re c e iv e d d u r in g y e a r.
T o t a l p e titio n s p e n d in g d u r in g fis c a l y e a r 1947—
P e t i t i o n s d is p o s e d o f J u l y 1, 1 9 4 6 - J u n e 30, 1 9 4 7 :
E x p a r t e _________________________________________
I n t e r p a r i e s -------------------------------------------------------T o m a k e s p e c i a l -----------------------------------------------T o r e v i v e -------------------------------------------------------------R e n e w e d p e t i t i o n s t o r e v i v e ---------------------------D e l a y e d p a y m e n t f o r f i n a l f e e s . : -----------------R e n e w e d p e t i t i o n s f o r d e l a y e d f e e s ------------U n d e r R u l e 7 8 ----------------------------------------------------
Total, disposals
7 6 6 1 8 8 — 4 7 — — 14
123
4 ,0 1 9
360
36
293
318
95
105
9
2, 614
3, 8 3 0
176
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
litiga ted cases —Continued
Petitions to the Commissioner—Continued
Petitions pending before the Commissioner June 30,1947_____ _________
189
Appeals and petitions pending before the Commissioner June 30, 1947__
261
Before the Board of Appeals:
Appeals pending July 1, 1946______________________________________
Appeals received, July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947:
Ex parte cases__________________________________________ 3.310
Interference cases, priority_______________________________
2
Total appeals during year___________________________________
Total appeals pending during fiscal year 1947________________________
Cases decided, July 1 , 1946-June 30, 1947:
Ex parte appeals________________________________________ 4 ; 221
Interference cases, priorities_____________________________ ’ 6
Total cases decided_________________________________________
5, 4 3 2
3 ,3 1 2
8,
744
4 , 227
Appeals awaiting action June 30, 1947:
Ex parte cases__________________________________________ 4 , 5 1 5
Interference cases, priorities_____________________________
2
Total appeals pending_______________________________________
Cases in the Supreme Court of the United S tates:
Petitions for writ of certiorari:
Pending July 1, 1946_____________________________________
Denied during fiscal year 1947________________________ ;____
4,517
1
1
Pending June 30, 1947_______________________________________
0
Cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia:
Cases pending July 1, 1916______________________ :_____________
5
Appeals taken from July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947_________________ 15
Total pending, fiscal year 1947________________________________
Cases disposed of:
Patent Office affirmed______________________________________
4
Patent Oflice reversed_____________________________________
1
20
Total disposals, fiscal year 1947______________________________
5
Cases pending June 30, 1947_________________________________
15
Cases in the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals:
Notices of Appeal filed in Patent Office, July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947____
197
Cases pending July 1, 1946______________________________________ 152
Cases docketed July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947_______________________ 159
Total pending, fiscal year 1947________________________________
Cases disposed of July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947:
Ex parte cases:
Patent Office affirmed______________________________
64
Patent Office affirmed in part______________________________
7
Patent Office reversed_____________________________________
4
Remanded to the Patent Oflice_____________________________
1
Appeal dismissed__________________________________________ 1 3
311
177
PATENT OFFICE
litiga ted cases —continued
Petitions to the Commissioner—Continued
Cases disposed of July 1 , 1946-June 30, 1947—Continued
Inter partes cases:
Patent Office affirmed--------------- ------------------------Patent Office reversed----------------------------------------Appeal dismissed________________________________
31
6
10
Total disposals, fiscal year 1947----------------------------------------------
130
Cases pending June 30, 1947------------------------------------------------------------
175
Cases in the District Court of the United States for the District of
Columbia:
Cases pending July 1, 1946-----------------------------------------------------Cases filed July 1, 1946-June 30, 1947—-------------------------------------
58
58
____
Total pending, fiscal year 1947_____
Cases disposed o f :
Patent Office affirmed_______________
Patent Office affirmed in part------------Patent Office reversed_______________
Dismissed by stipulation-----------------Dismissed on motion of Commissioner.
Dismissed on plaintiff’s motion---------
116
11
1
1
21
7
1
Total_______________________________________________________
42
Cases pending June 30, 1947------------------------------------------------------------
74
Cases in the District Court of the United States for the Eastern
District of Virginia:
Cases pending July 1, 1946____________________________________
Cases disposed o f :
Dismissed on motion of Commissioner-------------------------------------
1
1
Cases pending June 30,1947_______ '________________________________
0
Statem ent of receipts and earnings for the fiscal year 19^7
Unearned receipts as of July 1, 1946___________________________
Receipts July 1 , 1946-June 30, 1947______________ $4,841,927.90
L ess: Refundments________________________
26, 667.43
$425, 090. 80
Net receipts______________________________________
4, 815, 260.47
Total receipts_________________________________________
Earnings:
Application filing fees:
Inventions, 1st fee_______ $2; 298, 780. 00
Extra claims__________
33, 746. CO
R e issu e s_______________
3. 5t0. 00
Designs_________________
96. 975. 00
Design extensions_______
16,150. CO
Trade-marks____________
404, 955. 00
5, 240,351.27
Total_____
Issuance fees :
Final fees—
Extra claims.
Disclaimers—
Total
2,854,176. 00
577, 800. 00
4,984. 00
1 , 100. 00
583, 884. 00
178
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Statem ent of receipts and earrings for the. fiscal year l!Ht7—Continued
Earnings—Continued
Publication and copy sales:
Printed copies
_
Photoprints
Photostats
Manuscripts
Certified printed copies___
Classification lists
770, 325. 20
8 , 322. 05
37, 585. 85
160, 740. 25
20, 092. 05
2, 051. 90
Total
Recording fees:
Abstracts and assignmentsArticles of Incorporation—
156, 529. 40
3, 372. 00
Total
____
Other:
Drawings and correctionsAppeals
Revivals_
Oppositions _ _
Court costs refundment__
Registration of attorneys-
999,117.30
159, 901. 40
25, 619.10
49, 800. 00
3, 790. 00
10, 960. 00
1,188.06
1,005. 00
Total____ ______________ ____ _______
:
92, 362.16
Total earnings__________
4, 689, 440. 86
Unearned receipts as of June 30, 1947.
550,910. 41
Comparison of income and cost of operation for the fiscal year 19J/7
Gross receipts July 1 , 1946-June 30, 1947_________ $4, 841,927.90
Less : Refundments___ _______*________ _____
26, 667.43
Net receipts_______________ _________
Cost of operation :
Salaries __________________________ - _______
Miscellaneous expenses :
Equipment____________ — $42,106. 48
Supplies------------------------------ 24,143. 94
Repairs and alterations_____ 17, 723. 97
Technical books, periodicals,
e t c ______________________ 15, 622. 49
Postage and communications- 13,204. 07
Travel_______ _____________
7,135. 63
Other miscellaneous expenses- 7,846. 90
Total_______________________________
Photolithography :
Reproduction, black & white_ 258, 336.15
Reproduction, color_________
85. 00
Current issue, black & white— 43, 206.00
Current issue, color____ _____ 11, 586. 00
Photoprinting______________ 22, 562. 40
Supplies___________ !_______ 6 6 , 824.13
T o ta l
$4, 815, 260. 47
6 , 045,
626. 08
127, 783. 48
400, 599. 6 8
179
PATENT OFFICE
Comparison of income and cost of operation for the fiscal year 19JfT—Continued
Cost of operation—Continued
Printing and binding:
Specifications---------------------- 513, 853.87
Official Gazette and Index----- 97, 919. 57
Miscellaneous______________ 74, 689. 59
Total_______________________________
686, 463. 03
Total cost of operation--------------------------------------------
7,262, 472. 27
Deficit______________________________________________________
2,447,211.80
Comparison of obligations under separate appropriations
A p p ro p ria tio n
P r i n t i n g a n d b i n d i n g . --------- ------------ -------------------------------------------- ----------------------P h o t o l i t h o g r a p h y -------- ------------ -------------------------------- - - -----------------------------------------
194G
1947
$ 4 ,4 1 9 , 2 3 2 .5 3
7 0 9 ,9 0 4 . 70
6 7 2 ,1 3 8 .6 8
1 1 3 ,1 9 5 .1 3
$ 6 ,0 4 5 ,6 2 6 .0 8
6 8 6 ,4 6 3 .0 3
4 0 2 ,5 9 9 .6 8
1 2 7 ,7 8 3 .4 8
5 ,9 1 4 ,4 7 0 . 04
7, 2 6 2 ,4 7 2 . 27
National Bureau of Standards
GENERAL REVIEW
The National Bureau of Standards is the principal agency of the
Federal Government for research in physics, mathematics, chemistry,
and engineering. It acts as custodian of the Nation’s basic scientific
standards, conducts research leading to improved measurement meth
ods, determines physical constants and properties of materials, under
takes major research and development programs, develops specifica
tions for Federal supplies, and serves Government and industry in an
advisory capacity on many scientific and technical matters in the
physical sciences.
The Bureau’s direct appropriations for the fiscal year 1947 totaled
approximately $6,800,000, which were supplemented by approximately
$10,800,000 in funds transferred by the Army, Navy, the National Ad
visory Committee for Aeronautics, the Office of the Secretary of Com
merce, the Bureau of the Census, and other Federal agencies.
The staff of the Bureau totaled approximately 2,500 at the end of
the year, including 934 professional scientists and engineers and 566
subprofessional technicians and aides. An additional 73 research as
sociates and 21 guest workers were stationed at the Bureau’s
laboratories.
The bulk of the Bureau’s work was conducted at its laboratories in
Washington. Six materials testing stations, chiefly concerned with
cement analysis, were maintained in Allentown, Pa., San Jose, Calif.,
Seattle, Wash., Riverside, Calif., Denver, Colo., and San Francisco,
-Calif. Two proving grounds were in use during the year—one in Mary
land, the other in New Jersey. A railway test weight car station is
maintained in Clearing, 111. Radio propagation activities involved the
maintenance of field stations at Sterling, Va., Adak, Alaska, Puunene,
Maui, T. H., Palmyra Island, Guam Island, Trinidad, British West
Indies, and Las Cruces, White Sands Proving Ground, N. Mex. Eleven
other radio propagation field stations were under contract to the Bu
reau. In addition, a transmitting station (WWV) was operated at
Beltsville, Md.
The activities of the Bureau during the fiscal year can be classified
into four groups: (1) Research and development; (2) testing, calibra
tion, and standard samples; (3) advisory services; and (4) coopera
tive activities involving participation in technical and scientific organi
zations and committees.
The research and development work of the Bureau is primarily of
two kinds. These are, first, the basic research necessarily associated
181
182
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
with fundamental measurements in the physical sciences, the develop
ment and maintenance of such standards (ranging all the way from
10,000-pound master track-scale weights, through the standard meter
and kilogram, to such minute quantities as the momenta of electrons),
and the development of instruments of measurement and measure
ment techniques; and, second, major research projects, like the atomic
energy project, the radio proximity fuze, the instrument landing sys
tem, the radiosonde, and automatic electronic computing machines,
undertaken under Congressional authorization and for other Govern
ment agencies.
Testing and calibration services represent another phase of the
Bureau’s activity. The testing activities of the Bureau are primarily
those for other Federal agencies, and involve materials, products, and
processes throughout the fields of physics, chemistry, and engineering.
Test services for industry or private laboratories do not fall within
the scope of the Bureau’s work, except where fundamental scientific
standards are involved or where the Bureau is requested to act as a
scientific referee on a question of broad significance. Calibration
services, however, are offered to industry, universities, and private
laboratories, as well as Government agencies, for the custody of the
national standards is one of the functions of the Bureau.
Finally, the Bureau renders scientific advisory services and engages
in various cooperative activities. These two phases arise inevitably
from the Bureau’s role of research in the physical sciences. The
former activity is largely concerned with services to other Govern
ment agencies, although extensive consultations are carried on with
industry and private laboratories on new developments at the Bureau.
The latter activity stems chiefly from the work of the Bureau in funda
mental scientific standards, in the field of measurements, and the prop
erties of materials; at the same time, the Government, as the largest
single purchaser in the world, has a natural interest in commodity
standards and codes and specifications. Not only are these activities
of importance to industry, private laboratories, and other agencies
of the Federal Government, but also to the Bureau, for in such par
ticipation the Bureau keeps in close touch with problems and develop
ments outside of its own laboratories. Duplication of activities is
avoided and, at the same time, advances in science originating in other
laboratories are brought to the Bureau’s attention.
Although the Bureau has resumed the bulk of its peacetime activi
ties in physics, chemistry, and engineering, a considerable portion of
its research and development work is still concerned with the national
defense. Classified projects of this nature were conducted in 1947
primarily for the War Department, the Navy Department, and the
Atomic Energy Commission.
During the war the National Bureau of Standards was engaged in
the development of guided missiles for the Navy Bureau of Ordnance.
Out of this work came the famous missile BÂT, which comprises a
glider, released from aircraft, with a self-contained radar targetseeking intelligence and associated servo-mechanisms so that the mis
sile automatically seeks and follows the target to the point of collision.
Current work, started in the 1946^7 fiscal year, is centered on a guided
missile program known generically as Kingfisher.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
183
Another large program of the war period undertaken by the Bureau
was the proximity or VT fuze. At the time the Bureau acted as the
sole research and development agency for Division 4 of the National
Defense Research Committee. The Bureau’s research activities re
sulted in the invention of the basic radio fuze and in the development
and engineering of such fuzes for bombs, rockets, and mortar shells.
For the last 2 years, the Bureau has been serving as the sole research
and development agency for the Army Ordnance Department. Con
siderable work on advanced and specialized types of proximity fuzes
is under way so as to insure availability of fuze designs for current and
future Army and Navy smoothbore (guided missiles, rockets, bombs,
mortar shells, etc.) projectiles. The services of industrial and uni
versity laboratories are utilized where needed in the program.
Work in the field of atomic energy continued durintr the year under
the auspices of the Atomic Energy Commission. The background
for this activity extends to the early years of this century, for in this
field as in others of the physical sciences the Bureau has had the
responsibility for basic research associated with the scientific stand
ards, the physical constants and properties of substances, and methods
of measurement and instrumentation. The atomic-bomb project itself
originated in the Bureau in 1939, when the President turned to the
director of the Bureau for its initiation, and work in atomic energy
has continued uninterrupted.
Considerable work for the Atomic Energy Commission was per
formed during the year. Properties of certain substances were in
vestigated. Research aimed at the development of methods of analysis
for impurities in certain elements was carried on. Methods of analysis
for small amounts of certain metals in ores were developed. More
than 2,000 tests and analyses were made on various elements. Other
work in the field of analytical chemistry was also in progress.
In addition to the above-named three broad programs, many other
projects were undertaken for various branches of the Army and
Navy. These included basic studies of the properties of electromag
netic radiation in connection with communication and radar activi
ties, the development of related instrumentation, and radio propaga
tion research; special work in batteries, research in jet fuels; the
design and construction of new types of optical range finders; in
vestigations aimed at retarding gun erosion; and fundamental research
in optics for the Navy Department.
Work in many fields that had been curtailed during the war was
resumed, and the bulk of the projects undertaken during the year
were of a peacetime type, related to the needs of Government and the
Nation at large. A review of the Bureau’s activities, with representa
tive illustrations of the types of projects carried on, constitutes the
remainder of this report. The broad scope of activities in physics,
mathematics, chemistry, and engineering leads to a large variety of
projects, each independent in general of the others, and an integration
of these activities is impossible except under general headings—re
search and development; commodity standards and codes and specifi
cations ; testing, calibration, and standard samples; advisory services;
and cooperative activities.
184
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The scientific activities of the Bureau during the fiscal year 1917
were carried out through 12 scientific divisions, concerned with elec
tronics, applied mathematics, radio propagation, mechanics and sound,
electricity, optics, heat and power, metrology, chemistry, organic and
fibrous materials, mineral products, and metallurgy.
E l ec tr o n ic s
The chief programs in electronics were (1) electron-tube research,
development, and standardization; (2) physical electronics research;
(3) electronic instrumentation; (4) electronic circuits and controls;
and (5) electronic computers.
The electron-tube laboratory made considerable progress during the
fiscal year in the installation and testing of basic tube-fabricating
equipment for experimental work. This made possible the initiation of
development projects on several special electronic tubes and applied re
search on three problems of general importance—effect of impurities
on cathode emission, factors affecting the disappearance of gases
in gaseous-type tubes, and measurement and analysis of effects of
vibration on tubes.
Basic physical electronics research was expanded. The principal
subjects of investigation during 1947 were thermionic and secondary
emission, electron microscopy, and radioactive tracers using electronic
techniques. Work was continued on further development of ultra
small electronic circuits; and information on war developments of
miniaturizing techniques, such as printed circuits, use of subminiature
tubes, and circuit design, was disseminated as an aid to postwar com
mercial development.
The electronic computers laboratory began work on components for
electronic digital calculating machines, as requested by the Army
Ordnance Department, and cooperated in the engineering phases of
the Bureau’s work on procurement of computing machines for the
Office of Naval Research and the Bureau of the Census. A survey was
made of long-range research needs for electronic computers, and de
velopments were carried out in support of current projects of the Army
Ordnance Department at other laboratories.
E L E C T R O N IC M IC R O M E TE R S
Two types of electronic micrometers were developed. The first in
strument was designed to meet the need for a rapid method of measure
ment of the thickness of ceramic coatings. The instrument makes use
of the variation of inductance of a coil as its distance from a con
ducting surface is varied. The completed instrument is suitable for
coating thickness up to about one-tenth inch with precision of about
0.0005 inch.
Another electronic micrometer of greater accuracy was developed
for measuring bearing clearances in turbines for use by the Navy
Bureau of Ships. A method involving the effect of displacement from
a metal surface on mutual inductance between two coils rather than on
the inductance of a single coil was devised. This proved to be a new
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
185
and very versatile principle of operation, suitable for a wide variety
of applications.
E LE C T R O N IC PO W ER S U P P L Y
A new electronic power supply suitable for selective electrolysis in
analytic chemistry was developed. This device met unusually exact
ing requirements as to high-current capacity combined with very close
regulation of voltages. I t is of considerable importance in analytic
chemistry because it renders selective electrolysis in many cases a more
convenient and simple method of separation than precipitation or
other purely chemical methods.
TRACER M IC R O G R A PH Y
Experiments have been successfully carried out on a new method of
locating and tracing the positions of radioactive atoms. In “tracer”
experiments radioactive isotopes of elements are introduced into a sub
stance in order to determine the behavior of individual atoms. The
radioactive atoms behave chemically in the same way as their nonradioactive isotopes, but emit radiation which permits locating their
positions. Tracers, possible as a result of the availability of new
isotopes from the Atomic Energy Commission, are becoming an in
creasingly important method of research in chemistry, biology, medi
cine, and other fields.
A standard technique for locating the radioactive atoms is to place
a photographic film in contact with the substance under study. In the
new electronic method, electrons emitted by radioactive atoms are
focused by an electron lens similar to that used in the electron micro
scope, and the resulting electronic image is photographed. This new
method permits higher resolution in observing the tracer atoms. Dis
tinct patterns showing the locations of the tracers have been obtained
in cases where the results with.contact photography are quite blurred.
It is expected that the technique will develop during the coming year
into a reliable research tool.
P R IN T E D ELEC TR O N IC C IR C U IT S
As a result of the Bureau’s wartime work on proximity fuzes, meth
ods were developed for mass production of electronic circuits by use of
printing techniques. These methods are expected to have wide post
war commercial applications. As part of the Bureau’s program of
technological research to aid business, a program of fact-finding re
search to provide full engineering data on printed circuits is in prog
ress. Considerable laboratory research has been completed and work
is continuing on the characteristics of each electrical component which
can be fabricated by a printing technique. These are resistors, con
ductors, condensers, and inductance coils. Complete technical data
on methods of printing and measurements of characteristics are being
compiled, and it is expected that a comprehensive handbook will be
issued during the coming year.
T R A N SC R IB E R S FOR E L E C T R O N IC C O M PU T E R S
Devices are needed for transcribing data and instructions into the
form required for electronic computing machines. Accordingly, an
186
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
active engineering program is in progress on such devices. The re
quired input and output devices consists of a system of electric type
writers, magnetic recording devices, and electronic circuits. In the
input devices information is typed on electric typewriters and con
verted to a series of electrical pulses which are recorded on a magnetic
recording wire. The magnetic wire serves as the medium for entering
the calculating machine. The output devices reverse the procedure,
i. e., a magnetic recording wire from the calculating machine actuates a
typewriter. Considerable progress has been made on techniques for
recording pulses on magnetic wire.
C A TH O D E M E T A L IM P U R I T IE S
In cooperation with the American Society for Testing Materials,
the tube laboratory has begun work on the effect of very small quanti
ties of impurities in cathode materials on cathode performance. One
of the types of cathode in very common use is nickel covered with a
thin coating of certain oxides. The theory of the oxide-coating be
havior is under investigation as a separate project. The constitution
of the base metal is an interrelated problem because both the base
metal and the coating affect the electron emission characteristics of
the cathode.
It is thought that some impurities in cathodes may improve perform
ance, while others are detrimental. The impurity ratios involved may
be exceedingly small. The experimental program thus far has in
volved the development of techniques for accurate control of impurity
ratios and for standardization of the method of testing cathode per
formance in order to provide a means for accurate comparison of
cathodes with different impurity contents.
E L E C T R O N IC SU R F A C E R E A C T IO N S
A program of fundamental research on electron emission and other
surface effects is in progress on a continuing basis. During the past
year a laboratory for this work was equipped and a number of experi
ments carried out. The experiments thus far have been directed
largely toward the establishment of experimental techniques and the
realization of required experimental conditions.
A number of methods have been tried for production of negative
ions. Very little information is available on the effect of impact of
negative ions on surfaces. I t is believed that such experiments will
yield data of considerable importance in explaining phenomena pres
ent in various electronic tubes and may provide a new basis for ex
ploration of the theory of surface phenomena.
Random variations in the output of a tube caused by vibration are
termed microphonics. Standardization of methods of measurement
and determination of causes of rnicrophonics is of importance for all
electronic applications, particularly those where vibration is especially
severe, as in moving vehicles, on machinery, and in projectiles. A
basic investigation of this problem has been carried out and is now
essentially complete. Fundamental methods of measurement of
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
187
microphonics, taking into account the frequency and amplitude char
acteristics of the source of vibration, mechanical resonance response
of individual elements in a tube, and effect on electrical output, have
been devised and applied to tubes of immediate interest.
A pplied M athematics
A major program of research, development, and design was begun
on electronic computing machines of the automatically sequenced,
digital type. These machines will be capable of solving complex
mathematical problems in a few hours which cannot now be solved
except by simplifying assumptions and thousands of man-days of
work. Problems in atomic energy, ballistics, and aerodynamics, for
example, can be solved by such devices, and these machines will make
unnecessary many present experimental and costly analyses of such
problems. The handling, classification, and analysis of data is also
a field in which electronic computers are important.
This program represents a combined activity of the Bureau, the
Office of Naval Research, the Bureau of the Census, Department of
the Army, and the Air Forces. The Office of Naval Research and the
Bureau of the Census have contracted with the Bureau for the con
struction of two machines. Research and development on components
was under way at the Bureau in addition to investigations of the
mathematical requirements involved. A major portion of the over
all designs was completed in the fiscal year (this phase involved in
dustry and university groups—in particular, the Electronic Control
Co., Ratheon Manufacturing Co., the Massachusetts Institute of Tech
nology, and Tufts College). The initial research and development
phase and the designs will be completed in the fall of 1947 and con
struction will follow in 1948.
The preparation of certain highly specialized mathematical tables
was continued during the year. Difficult to describe in nonmathematical terms, these complex tables are of a type essential in the solution of
problems in atomic energy, aerodynamics, radio and radar navigation,
and military ordnance. In fact, most of these projects were under
taken for and under the sponsorship of the Navy, the Office of Scientific
Research and Development, and the War Department; and the section
itself was largely supported by funds transferred by the Navy De
partment.
The tables, equations, and formulae studied and completed included
tables of spherical scattering functions for complex arguments (Naval
Research Laboratories), computations related to the hydraulic analogy
of shock-wave intersections (Navy Bureau of Ordnance), estimation
of parameters of distribution of maximum wind velocities at various
stations (Weather Bureau), various sets of loran tables (Navy Hydro
graphic Office), tables of spherical Bessel Functions (vol. II ) , tables
of the exponential integral for both complex and real values of the
parameter, tables of circumferences and areas of circles to six decimal
places (Navy Bureau of Ordnance), tables of altitude and azimuth
for selected groups of six stars (Navy Hydrographic Office), tables of
Ihe confluent hypergeometric functions, formulae for the percentage
188
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF. COMMERCE
points of the distribution of the arithmetic mean in random samples
from certain symmetrical universes, tables of the Bessel functions
J v(x) for fractional values of v, tables of the operating characteristics
of certain double sampling plans, tables of conversion angles for con
verting a rhumb line course into a great circle course (Navy Hydrographic Office), and tables of intensity functions for complex indices
of refraction.
In addition, tables in the forthcoming O. S. It. D. volume, entitled
“Selected Techniques of Statistical Analysis,” were checked; solutions
• were derived for the equation of the “human centrifuge” (Office of
Naval Research); and a number of reports in the field of statistical
mathematics were completed and released.
An important part of the applied mathematics program was the es
tablishment of a statistical engineering section, 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. The section has already prepared a
number of commercial sampling plans for inclusion in Federal Speci
fications and Commodity Standards and has assisted in the planning of
various physical and engineering experiments and tests.
Some 12 additional mathematical tables were in progress during the
year; an applied mathematics series for manuals, expository treatises,
and tables was inaugurated; conferences, seminars, and courses were
held on a variety of statistical and mathematical topics; and plans
for centralized Federal activities in applied mathematics were estab
lished with the Office of Naval Research, the Army, the Air Forces,
the Bureau of the Census, and other Government agencies.
R adio P ropagation
The Central Radio Propagation Laboratory was established as a
division of the Bureau in the fiscal year 1946. The laboratory serves
as a centralizing and coordinating agency for basic ionospheric and
radio propagation work in the United States and was established in
cooperation with the Army, Navy, Federal Communications Commis
sion, and other Government agencies as well as industry groups having
a vital interest in this field. It is also responsible for the custody and
development of national primary standards for all electrical quanti
ties at frequencies above 10 kilocycles.
During the year two new sections were activated—basic microwave
research and frequency utilization research. The functions of the
former are to perform basic research on radio wave propagation at fre
quencies higher than those affected by the ionosphere. This subject
has received much attention during and after the war in connection
with the enormous expansion of the radio spectrum stimulated by
wartime radar and communication needs. The Bureau is undertaking
to continue the coordinating activities of the Committee on Propaga
tion of the National Defense Research Committee, and to coordinate
and disseminate information on VHF and microwave propagation
research between Government, commercial, and university workers.
The frequency utilization research section is conducting investiga
tions on the uses of various portions of the radio-frequency spectrum
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
189
and advises and consults with other agencies on the best portion of
the rarlio-frequency spectrum for specific applications. For example,
analyses were made to assist technical groups preparing for the Inter
national Telecommunications Conference on the allocation of radio
frequencies.
Considerable work was done on the preparation of an ionospheric
radio propagation manual giving the theory of and practical methods
for utilizing radio propagation via reflections from the ionosphere.
Subjects covered in the book include the theory of radio-wave propa
gation, the theory of the basic nature of the ionosphere, and methods,
which were developed at the Bureau for predicting best usable fre
quencies for radio transmissions over specific paths.
An important part of the work during the year was undertaken
at the request of the Armed Forces and other Government agencies.
The Army Air Forces, in conjunction with the Signal Corps and the
Office of Naval Research, sponsored 15 projects designed to elucidate
some military problems of radio propagation over the entire frequency
spectrum. In addition, the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories
requested a study of the behavior of high-frequency direction finders.
At the request of the Navy Bureau of Ships, the work on low-level
sounding and on development and improvement of radiosondes, which
had been begun previously, was carried on, together with some other
projects. A project was also undertaken at the request of the Weather
Bureau for the development of battery-operated receivers and trans
mitters for automatic recording of weather data.
One of the important, continuing projects of the laboratory is the
compiling, correlation, and analysis of ionospheric data leading to
predictions of the best frequencies to use for communication between
any two places in the world at any time. In a sense, this prediction
service is analogous in the communications field to the weather serv
ice of the Weather Bureau in those fields where weather is a crucial
factor. Much of the work of the laboratory is essentially of a con
tinuing, long-range nature. The ionosphere, for example, undergoes
changes with periodicities of 11 years or more, and ionospheric propa
gation investigations, necessary for prediction purposes, must follow
this pattern. For these studies, stations are maintained in the United
States and abroad; still others are under contract to the Bureau; and
additional data are acquired from foreign laboratories.
R ADIO S K Y -W A V E PR O PA G A TIO N
Virtual heights and critical frequencies for the various layers of
the ionosphere were studied, and critical frequency charts were con
structed for all three layers for typical solstitial and equinoctial sea
sons. The F2-layer critical frequency chart was constructed for times
when the sun was over the 69° west meridian and 111° east meridian
in order to show effects of the geomagnetic field on the critical fre
quencies. These charts delineate very well the geographical distri
bution of ionization in the ionosphere.
The variation of absorption of radio waves transmitted from station
WWV at Beltsville, Md., to the Sterling, Va., field station was exam
ined to determine the relation with the cosine of the sun’s zenith
190
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
angle. An approximately linear relationship was found to hold,
which implies that the major absorption was taking place in a region
where free electrons are being removed by attachment to neutral
molecules.
A study of the variation in the ionospheric absorption index with
solar activity, as exhibited by the WWV emissions, showed the exist
ence of a linear relationship with sunspot number, an increase of about
TOpercent in the absorption index corresponding to an increase in the
annual sunspot number from 0 to 100. A variation of approximately
the same magnitude was observed in the daily ranges in the magnetic
declination at Cheltenham, Md., from the period 1903 through 1930
and in the daily ranges of magnetic declination at Huancayo, Peru,
from 1922 to 1939. These similar results indicate that the two phe
nomena are similarly related to solar activity, both presumably being
dependent on electron density in the short free-path region' of the
ionosphere.
A method for predicting sunspot numbers approximately 1 year in
advance, based upon simple autocorrelation between adjacent annual
mean values, was developed for use by the predictions group in fore
casting maximum usable frequencies.
A study of correlation between solar coronal and geomagnetic ac
tivity for the years 1941—16 was conducted to determine if effects
observed during sunspot minimum were evident during the rising part
of the sunspot cycle. Results indicated that the effects reported for
the sunspot minimum do not apply during the rising part of the cycle.
A method was devised for reducing the coronal observations ob
tained at Wendelstein, Germany, and Pic-du-Midi, France, to the scale
of the observations at Climax, Colo. By this means, a more complete
record of coronal activity is supplied than would be available from
the Climax data alone.
A comparison was made between observed intensity of atmospheric
radio noise at a world-wide network of stations and the presently
adopted charts of noise, which are based largely upon theoretical con
siderations. During the night hours, agreement between the charted
and observed values were within approximately 10 db in almost all
cases. Comparisons were not made for daylight hours because the
measuring instruments used were too insensitive to record the low
daytime noise levels.
ST A N D A R D S A N D M E A S U R E M E N T M ET H O D S
Work on the theory and on all equipment for field-intensity stand
ardization and calibrations up to 19 megacycles was completed and
the equipment was set up for use in the regular calibration of fieldintensity meters. Similarly, equipment for use in field-intensity
standardization in the FM-television range from 40 to 160 megacycles
was completed and set up for regular use.
PR O JE C T S I N PROGRESS
Much of the work of the laboratory is of a continuing nature.
For example, the greater part of the high-frequency standards work
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
191
is to extend the frequency range and accuracy of primary reference
standards and calibration services. Almost every year sees the intro
duction of new problems in measurement, new types of r-f measuring
instruments, and extensions of their range of usefulness.
Developments and investigations under way included research in
ionospheric trends, field intensity analysis, radio traffic analysis, radio
propagation disturbances, atmospheric radio noise, atmospheric di
electric constant, standard refraction, microwave attenuation statis
tics, long-range navigation systems, radio cartography, ionospheric
recorders, high-power pulse transmitters, antennas for radio propa
gation measurements, vertical angle measurements, effect of meteors
on radio propagation, cosmic radio noise, VHF radio relay equip
ment, radiosonde research, primary frequency standards, impedance
standards, attenuation standards, piezoelectric research, and others.
M E C H A N IC S A N D SO U N D
A variety of problems in engineering mechanics, sound, mechanical
and aeronautical instrumentation, aerodynamics, and hydraulics were
investigated during the year. Projects completed included thermalnoise thermometers, measurement of small capacitances, measurement
of hearing-aid gain, the effect of screens on wide-angle diffusers, effects
of combined stresses on stress-strain curve, effect of stress concentra
tion on axial fatigue strength of aluminum-alloy sheet, method of
determining stress-strain curves in shear of sheet material, effect of
mean stress on fatigue life, and developments in aeronautical instru
mentation of various kinds. These and other projects were concluded
during the year, and approximately four times as many were in
progress.
H E A R IN G A ID S
The Veterans’ Administration has assumed the responsibility of
supplying hearing aids to the more than 40,000 veterans who have a
hearing disability and who can be helped by an aid. Measurement of
the electroacoustic performance of hearing aids has been facilitated
by the development of a “cavity” technique for measurement of
hearing-aid gain. The cavity method has the advantage over the freeheld method in that it does not require the use of a specially designed
dead room.
O SC IL LA T IO N OF Q U ARTZ PL A T E S
The modes of oscillation of piezoelectric quartz plates are of consid
erable technological interest because of the large amount of quartz
used annually in the communications-equipment industry. Experi
mental observations of the vibration of quartz Y-plates indicate that
an important mode of vibration is that representing coupling between
a second harmonic flexure mode and a shear mode. To include these
modes in the calculations it is necessary to know the shape of the
unperturbed flexure mode and the unperturbed shear mode. Attempts
are being made to treat this problem mathematically.
7G6188— 47----- ID
192
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
SO U N D IN S U L A T IO N I N
B U IL D IN G ST R U C T U R E S
The transmission of sound through building structures is still imper
fectly understood. The problem of preventing such transmission is of
great importance to the building industry, since about 20 percent of the
nonfarm dwelling units of this country are of the multiple-family
type.
Experiments have been made to compare the effect of inserting a
sound-absorbent blanket in the airspace of a double partition with
that obtained by inserting a nonabsorbent honeycomb structure which
eliminates the propagation of “transverse” waves in the airspace. The
sound-absorbent blanket resulted in larger attenuation of sound,
showing that part of its effect was due to absorption of other than
“transverse” waves. The best panel devised by the Bureau so far had
faces of 1-inch-thick gypsum board with a 3-inch-thick fiberglas
blanket in the airspace, and had a measured average sound transmis
sion loss of 58.5 db. The equivalent simple stud and staggered stud
partitions would have transmission losses of 40 and 45 db, respectively.
L IQ U ID O X Y G E N FOR A IR C R A FT
Oxygen for breathing use in high-altitude aviation is usually carried
as compressed gas in steel cylinders. In liquid form, the same amount
of oxygen can be carried in a much smaller and lighter container.
Design work on evaporating equipment for the Navy Bureau of Aero
nautics during the last several years led to the construction of a
prototype liquid oxygen converter in which operating pressure is
attained rapidly and maintained automatically, and which will evap
orate the liquid and supply it to the user at or near ambient tempera
ture entirely by atmospheric heat. Several commercial models made
of this and other designs have been procured by the Bureau of Aero
nautics. Performance tests have been made on these converters and
reports issued.
T U R B U L E N T B O U N D A R Y L A Y E R IN V E S T IG A T IO N
For several years an investigation has been under way involving
measurements of the properties of turbulence in a turbulent boundary
layer. The aim of such an investigation is to learn as much as pos
sible about the dynamic structure of turbulent boundary layers so that
eventually the theory may be put on a firm basis and there will be
a rational explanation of such phenomena as skin friction, effects pro
duced by pressure gradient, and separation of the flow from a surface.
During the course of the investigation, techniques of measurement
were worked out using hot-wire anemometers sufficiently small to
make possible the measurement of turbulent intensities and turbulent
shearing stress, and to determine correlations between the components
of the turbulent velocities in various parts of the boundary layer and
find the variation of these quantities from point to point. The elec
trical apparatus which comprises an essential part of the measuring
equipment has undergone development at the Bureau over a period
of many years.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
193
In 1947 attention was turned to the measurement of correlations de
termined by the linear scale of the turbulence. I t has been found, for
example, that turbulence is not something that involves independent
and unrelated motions in small regions of the boundary layer, but
motions in which most of the flow in any one section of the layer
participates. The investigations have thrown new light on the turbu
lent processes in boundary layers and have opened new lines of investi
gation, which are being pursued.
T U R B U L E N C E -M E A S U R IN G A P P A R A T U S
One of the continuing activities in aerodynamics has been the de
velopment of hot-wire apparatus for measuring turbulence. Hot-wire
anemometers using very fine wires have been developed, as well as
vacuum tube amplifiers with special circuits to amplify the hot-wire
signal and compensate for lag of the wire. In 1947 the performance
of hot-wire anemometers at a speed of 1.72 times the velocity of sound
was studied in the supersonic wind tunnel of the Ballistics Research
Laboratory at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. I t was demonstrated
that suitably designed anemometers would perform satisfactorily and
that turbulence measurements could be made at supersonic speeds and
at pressures up to the highest attainable, which was about 25 centi
meters Hg absolute. The hot-wire elements were of tungsten wire,
0.00031 inch in diameter and 0.17 inch long. I t appears that tungsten
wire has ample strength to withstand such speeds provided the wire is
not struck by particles of dirt in the air stream.
C A L IB R A T IN G L O A D -T E ST IN G M A C H IN E S
At present no satisfactory methods of calibrating testing machines
for loads exceeding 100,000 pounds in tension and 2,000,000 pounds
in compression are available. To provide portable elastic calibration
devices for calibrating up to 10,000,000 pounds—the maximum
capacity in the United States—several compression dynamometers are
being built. A 1,000,000-pound capacity compression dynamometer
having attached wire strain gages has been built and calibrated by
means of several calibrated proving rings. Three additional 1,000,000pound capacity dynamometers and four 3,000,000-pound dynamom
eters are being made. The 3,000,000-pound dynamometers will be
calibrated by means of the calibrated 1,000,000-pound dynamometers.
As many as four 3,000,000-pound dynamometers will be used in
parallel to measure loads up to 10,000,000 pounds in compression.
Fixtures for the calibration of the Bureau’s largest capacity tension
machine by means of compression dynamometers have been designed.
FLOOD W A V E S
The importance of predicting the rate of travel and height of flood
waves as they pass down rivers has grown in recent years. However,
a comprehensive presentation of the mathematical theory of such
waves is lacking. There is a real need for a systematic treatment of
the different methods which have been devised for attacking this
194
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
problem and for their presentation in a simplified form which can be
used for actual computation. For this reason, at the suggestion of the
United States Weather Bureau and with the active and growing
interest of the Water Resources Branch of the United States Geo
logical Survey, the Bureau has undertaken the preparation of a series
of reports dealing with the mathematical theory of flood waves and
other waves of translation.
EiJECTRICITY
Basic research and development in the field of electricity, set aside
almost completely during the war, was brought as nearly to normal
as the shortage of trained technical personnel permitted. Projects in
the field of resistance, inductance, and capacitance; in magnetic meas
urements ; in the development of instruments for the measurement of
electrical quantities; in electrochemistry as applied to standard cells,
batteries, dry cells, and other primary cells; and in underground
corrosion studies were initiated or resumed.
These projects included, specifically the development of standards
of direct capacitance of very small magnitude; fundamental measure
ment of resistance in terms of inductance and time, thus providing
values that can be checked in terms of purely mechanical measure
ments; the design and construction of shunts and mutual inductors
for use in the measurement of electrical surges; field-corrosion studies;
cathodic protection of underground pipes by sacrificial anodes; a
number of research and developmental investigations on batteries and
battery materials; measurement of gel-strength and collection of data
on starch gels; tests of aircraft storage batteries; development of
special dry cells for unusual conditions of operation; setting up new
apparatus for rapid precision rate-testing of watt-hour meters; the
synchronizing of cathode-ray oscillographs with surge generators;
magnetic measurements and magnetochemistry; measurements of
dielectric properties of materials; and construction of a Pellat current
balance for measurement of the absolute ampere.
SM A L L D IR EC T C A P A C IT A N C E ST A N D A R D S
The establishment of standards and equipment for testing and cer
tifying small fixed three-terminal standards of capacitance, ranging
in value from 100 /x/xf (micromicrofarads) down to 0.0007 /x/xf, was
undertaken at the request of the Joint Army-Navy Committee and
several Government laboratories. In particular new standards and
tools were needed and developed for units below 5 /x/xf. Units of 5,
2, 1, and 0.1 /x/xf have been completed and measured, with measured
and computed values agreeing to better than 0.1 percent.
Below 0.1 /x/xf, the regular guard-ring type of capacitor is not prac
tical because some of the dimensions are too small to be measured
accurately, and there is also a possibility of errors due to “fringing”
at the edges of the small guarded electrode. A new design for this
range of values and a formula for computing the capacitance of an
instrument of this new type were developed. In addition to the
absolute standards, several fixed secondary standards, a two-range
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
195
variable air capacitor, and a decade aid capacitor of novel design
were built as tools in measuring small capacitances.
E LE C T R IC A L SUR G E M E A S U R E M E N T S
The satisfactory measurement of surge currents, such as are en
countered in lightning discharges, presents peculiar difficulties be
cause of the high values of impulse current attained in a matter of
millionths of a second. For instance, in the course of a laboratory
investigation of lightning hazards to aircraft, it was found necessary
to deal with currents as high as 200,000 amperes, containing in their
wave forms components with frequencies of the order of a million
cycles per second. A study was made which resulted in the satisfac
tory design and construction of shunts and inductors having a coaxial
arrangement of conductors such that valid computations can be made
of inductance and distributed capacitance which are necessary for
determining the frequency limitations of both devices. The shunts
serve to determine the values of the high currents and their wave
form, whereas the inductors serve to determine the rate of change
of the currents and to show more clearly the high-frequency compo
nents which may be present in the surge.
S Y N C H R O N IZ IN G C A T H O D E -R A Y O SC ILLO G RA PH S
Experimental studies showed that the use of hydrogen thyratrons,
a wartime development, in place of sphere spark gaps in the synchro
nizing circuits of the surge generators resulted in market improvement
in synchronization of the cathode-ray oscillograph sweep with the
surge generator discharge. The incorporation of this type of thyratron and several circuit changes make this equipment more useful in.
studies of surge-wave fronts of very short duration (order of onetenth microsecond). There is considerable current interest in such
“front-of-wave” measurements in connection with lightning studies,
standards for lightning arrester performance, and surge testing.
U N D E R G R O U N D CORROSION
The importance of underground corrosion of metallic structures
such as pipes and tanks is not generally realized. Yet the economic
losses attending such deterioration have been estimated at $100,000,000 annually, and the Bureau has been active for many years in
the investigation of this problem. Two significant phases of the
over-all program were completed during the year.
In a preliminary report, entitled “Corrosion of Wrought Ferrous
Alloys Underground,” corrosion data on specimens of approximately
25 varieties of wrought ferrous metals are given, and the effect of
additions of alloying elements on the corrosion resistance of these
materials is discussed. The corrosion data in this report consist of
measurements of loss of weight and depth of the deepest pits on
specimens removed from 15 test sites after 5 periods of exposure,
the maximum duration of exposure being 14 years. In general, addi
196
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
tions of nickel and chromium in relatively small amounts caused a
reduction in loss of weight and depth of pitting, while additions of
these elements in relatively high concentration, of the order of 18
percent of chromium and 8 percent of nickel, prevented corrosion
entirely, even in soils which are severely corrosive to ordinary irons
and steels. Similar data have been obtained for cast materials cover
ing a wide range of composition—copper and copper alloys, lead,
zinc, metallic and nonmetallic protective coatings, and cement-asbes
tos pipe—and reports of the behavior of these materials are in prep
aration.
An effective and widely used means of protecting underground
pipe lines from the corrosive action of soils is the practice of cathodic
protection, whereby an electric current is caused to flow from an ex
ternal source through the soil to the pipe line, the return circuit being
completed by a. wire or cable. I f electric power is available, the
application of cathodic protection is readily accomplished; but pipe
lines transporting oil, gasoline, and natural gas over vast distancesoften traverse remote areas of corrosive soils in which the cost of
installing electric power together with the necessary transformers
and rectifiers would be very great. In these locations cathodic pro
tection can be economically provided by burying rods or bars of zinc,
magnesium, or aluminum at appropriate distances from the pipe line
and connecting the rods to one another and also to the pipe line.
To obtain information on the factors which affect the behavior
of zinc as a galvanic anode and the area of zinc required to protect
a given area of iron or steel under different environmental conditions,
groups of experimental zinc-iron couples were installed at eight test
sites representing a wide range of soil conditions. Recently the re
moval of these test installations after approximately 6 years of opera
tion was completed. The units of the installations were returned
to the Bureau, where the extent of protection provided the various
steel cathodes by the corrosion of the zinc anodes is being determined.
On the basis of incomplete data it appears that pipe lines can be
protected by relatively small areas of zinc except in poorly conducting
soils and in soils containing sodium carbonate. Both of these unfavor
able conditions can probably be counteracted by surrounding the zinc
anodes with salts which increase the conductivity of the soil and which
prevent the formation of insoluble films or deposits on the surface
of the zinc.
B A T T E R IE S A N D DRY CELLS
Research projects of a continuing nature in progress during the
war and on which further work was carried on throughout the year
for the Bureau of Aeronautics included work on aircraft storage
batteries, effect of different charging methods on battery life, tests
on special types of batteries for flying missiles, performance charac
teristics and structural features of especially constructed batteries
for use in jet planes, and investigation of various methods of treating
storage batteries prior to prolonged storage, showing the effect of
these methods on the performance and life of the battery.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
197
Experimental work on dry cells for the Bureau of Ships was con
tinued. This included the production of several types suitable for
low-temperature operation and another type suitable as a source of
constant potential over a long period of time, investigations of the
internal resistance of dry cells at low temperatures with attempts to
improve the electrolyte for such cells, and investigations of sealing
materials for dry cells. These latter investigations were under
taken with a view to improving the seals so that when cells are sub
jected alternately to high and low temperatures the sealing material
remains intact and does not crack away from the zinc, thus shortening
the shelf-life of such cells.
O p t ic s
The division’s work was concerned with spectroscopy, interferome
try, radiometry, photometry, colorimetry, optical instruments, polarimetry, and photographic technology. In addition, a considerable por
tion of the Bureau’s research in the field of atomic physics was done
in this division, chiefly in the atomic physics, radioactivity, and X-ray
sections. Projects completed during the year and those in progress
totaled approximately 100. Representative ones are mentioned below.
A P R IM A R Y ST A N D A R D OF L E N G T H
A droplet of mercury estimated to weigh 60 milligrams was distilled
from proof gold exposed to neutrons in a chain-reacting pile. This
experiment demonstrates the feasibility of producing sufficient H g 198
to construct mercury vapor lamps capable of emitting spectral lines of
greater hemogensity than any obtainable from natural elements. Pre
liminary experiments with an electrodeless glass tube containing a
small amount of artificial H g 198, excited to luminosity by high-fre
quency electric fields, demonstrated that the spectral lines are single,
and the wavelengths are being measured to the first approximation.
Experiments are being made to determine the minimum amount of
mercury required to produce a satisfactory light source with reference
to monochromaticity, reproducibility, intensity, and life and con
venience of operation. I t is estimated that suitable lamps and preci
sion wavelengths of H g 198will be available in 1948.
C O M P IL A T IO N OF A T O M IC E N E R G Y LEVELS
Information regarding the structure of atomic spectra is scattered
in thousands of reports in the world’s scientific literature. The in
formation available in 1932 for 231 spectra of 69 elements was pub
lished by Bacher and Goudsmit as a volume entitled “Atomic Energy
States.” Data are now available for 460 spectra of 84 elements and
many of the earlier analyses have been revised or greatly extended.
These data are now being critically compiled and made available in
a series of pamphlets entitled “Atomic Energy Levels.” Data for the
first pamphlet describing 40 spectra characteristic of hydrogen, helium,
lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and fluourine
were sent to press at the close of the fiscal year.
198
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
T K A N SM ISS O M E T E R FOR CONTRO L OF A P P R O A C H L IG H T S
The purpose of this project is to develop and construct transmissometer equipment for use in operation and tests of approach-light
systems. At the request of the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics, existing
transmissometer equipment was modified and sufficient new equipment
was constructed so that five transmissometers could be provided for
use at the Joint Landing Aids Experiment Station at Areata, Calif.,
in the extensive tests of airport approach lights and fog-dispersal
equipment being conducted there. This equipment was installed and
is being maintained at Areata under the supervision of this Bureau.
To meet the special needs of the station, two types of automatic sensi
tivity controls for transmissometers were designed and three units
constructed. One transmissometer installation was modified so that
the signal could be brought to a central control station by means of
radio.
Two additional transmissometers are now being constructed for the
Bureau of Aeronautics. A system for automatically controlling the
intensity of approach lights has been designed and reported. Con
struction of the automatic control equipment will be started as soon
as some of the transmissometer components now being used at Areata
can be made available.
TELESCOPE P O IN T IN G
As a part of a program sponsored by Army Ordnance, a fundamental
study has been made of the extent to which different factors affect the
precision of judgment of an observer in pointing a telescope. This
work has a direct bearing upon the design of a telescopic sight and
upon the ultimate precision obtainable with an optical rangefinder.
The imprecision of judgment resulting from the heterogeneities in the
atmospheric path traversed by light and the variation of precision
with magnification have been studied and the results presented in a
series of three reports.
PRODUCTION A N D CALIBRATION OF E N D STANDARDS
For the past 30 years, end length standards and precision gage blocks
have been calibrated relative to light waves, using interference methods
developed in the laboratory. To test the ultimate accuracy of these
methods, 15 end standards of fused quartz of one-decimeter length
were made, having the end surfaces plane and parallel and the correct
distance apart within about 0.0000002 inch. These were carefully
measured and intercompared, and a pair was sent to each of the
French, British, and German laboratories, where they were tested by
interference methods. The results demonstrated that an accuracy of
0.0000002 inch had been attained.
RADIOA C TIV ITY
Beta ray (RaD + E) standards have been developed, calibrated, and
a sufficient number prepared to meet immediate demands. These
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
199
standards consist of a deposit of lead, in the form of P b 0 3, containing
a known amount of RaD on palladium-clad silver disks.
Pulverized ore standards, consisting of natural uranium and thorium
diluted in dunite to certain percentages, were also prepared.
Microgram radium gamma ray standards were prepared, consisting
of 5 milliliters of radium solution sealed in glass ampoules containing
0.1,0.2,0.5,1.0,2.0,5.0,10.0,20.0, 50.0, and 100.0 micrograms of radium.
Five hundred of each size have been prepared for distribution.
Development of Co60 standards is in progress. Solutions contain
ing approximately 1.5 X10® and 1.5 X 10s disintegrations per second
per 5 ml have been prepared and sealed in glass ampoules. Each am
poule of the two series is identical within close tolerances±5 percent.
Preliminary calibration by coincidence methods show these to have
1.59 X105 and 1.59 X 10® disintegrations per second. As soon as cali
brations are completed, 1,000 of each size will be available for
distribution.
Disintegration schemes and nuclear energy levels are being investi
gated. Using an electron spectrometer, the beta and gamma ray
energies of scandium, antimony, and cobalt have been measured and
preliminary disintegration schemes suggested. These will be fol
lowed immediately by Na22 and Cs137. This work will be continued
on available radioactive isotopes for which data of this kind are
lacking or uncertain.
R A D IA T IO N H A ZA RD S
Special photographic films worn in badges by atomic energy per
sonnel are used for determining whether or not they have been ex
posed to dangerous radiations. Since the density of the film varies
with the quality of the radiation, it is necessary to determine the
relationship between these two factors in order to permit proper
evaluation of the radiation exposure from the film blackening. All
the film monitoring by the Atomic Energy Commission has been based
on film calibration by radium sources. While this has been adequate
for many purposes, it has not given proper emphasis to the lower
energy radiations. A study was carried out to determine the rela
tionship of film blackening to radiation quality at different exposure
levels in order to provide this information. It is now possible to eval
uate personnel radiation exposures much more reliably. This work
is completed and a joint publication with Oak Ridge is in the course
of preparation.
'
X -R A Y PR O T E C TIO N BARR IER S
Concrete is used as a standard protective medium for radiations
generated above 400 kv. Since weight and cost considerations in
crease rapidly with increasing voltages, it is essential to determine the
protective value of concrete with some accuracy. Without exact
knowledge of this sort, there is a wise tendency to overprotect even
though at great expense. All of the absorption information for
concrete in the past has been based on measurements made with narrow
beams. These have been found to be inapplicable under many condi
tions, the error being in the dangerous direction. We have, accord
200
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
ingly, undertaken an extensive program to determine the absorption
and scattering characteristics of concrete for broad X-ray beams up
to iy 2 million volts. This has necessitated the construction of rather
extensive facilities, including remote operation, control, and detec
tion of all qualities.
Preliminary results have indicated that the divergence between
broad and narrow beam results are less in some cases than thought
and in other cases substantially greater. Experimental work on this
project has been under way the entire year and it is expected to be
complete in about 2 or 3 months.
BIOLOGICAL R A D IA T IO N
In an attempt to understand better the fundamental action of pene
trating radiation on biological material, it is desirable to approach
this question through the use of protons on bacteria and insects.
Through a cooperative program with the Carnegie Institution, and
making use of their cyclotron, such a study has been under way for
about 8 months. New electronic equipment had to be constructed for
this purpose to permit the individual measurement of protons falling
on the biological media. The electrical apparatus has been largely
completed and tested but the program has been generally retarded
through our inability to obtain and hold the necessary personnel. I t
is estimated that usable results will be obtained from these experi
ments in about 6 months.
H
eat and
P
o w er
Projects in three broad fields of activity were undertaken by the
Heat and Power Division: First, basic research in thermodynamics, in
cluding cyrogenics and temperature measurement; second, work in
automotive and aircraft engines and associated lubricants and fuels;
and third, studies in heat transfer and fire resistance, much of which
concerned building technology. Close to a hundred projects were
carried on during the year, of which the following are representative.
A N A L Y S IS OF R ECY C LE ST Y R E N E
The styrene which is charged to the reactors in the manufacture of
GR-S synthetic rubber is a blend of fresh styrene with impure mate
rial recovered at the end of the reaction. The control of product
quality, and the gathering of data necessary for calculation of plant
inventories and plant efficiencies, depends in part on the routine labora
tory tests for purity of the recycle, blended and fresh styrene. The
double freezing-point method for recycle and blended styrene, which
makes the use of freezing points determined before and after removal
of volatile impurities, was developed at the National Bureau of Stand
ards for the Office of Rubber Reserve and provisionally adopted for
use in the Government-controlled synthetic rubber plants, in the pre
vious year. The 1946-47 year saw extensive improvement of the
method by means of experiments on synthetic impure styrene solutions,
as well as tests of other proposed methods.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
201
H I G H T E M P E R A T U R E S P E C IF IC H E A T S
Construction of apparatus for the measurement of heat capacities up
to 1,000° C. (about 1,800° F.) was completed and used with a number
of materials as requested by other Government agencies. With this
apparatus, consisting of a special electric furnace in combination with
an improved Bunsen ice calorimeter, it was possible to attain a higher
accuracy than had previously been obtained in comparable heat meas
urements. Heat-capacity determinations were made on six solid ma
terials (uranium metal, uranium trichloride, uranium tetrachloride,
nitroglycerine, chlorinated paraffin, and bone char) and two liquids
(para xylene and isopropyl alcohol).
In recent years, there lias been a great increase in the need for accu
rate high-temperature, heat-capacity data. Such data are useful in
calculations of equilibrium constants of chemical reactions, calcula
tions of heats of reaction, and in the fundamental study of the be
havior of crystals at high temperatures. A number of high-tempera
ture calorimeters have been constructed recently, but the accuracy
obtainable with them is not as high as with the calorimeter used here.
In view of this, the Bureau proposes to issue standard samples of some
material whose heat capacity has been accurately investigated. Pure
crystalline aluminum oxide (corundum) has been chosen for this
material and its heat capacity has been measured from 0° to 900° C.
(about 1,600° F.)
A V IA T IO N G A SO L IN E H Y D R O C A R BO N S
A basic research on hydrocarbons of superior value as components
of military aviation gasoline completed its tenth year under sponsor
ship of the military air services and the NACA. Synthetic work was
in progress on 16 complex branched hydrocarbons. Over 10 gallons
of highly purified hydrocarbons and more than a pound of the solid
octane, hexamethylethane, were completed.
Preparation of isopropanol of superior purity was undertaken at
the request of industry. Material of exceptional purity was obtained
at a subfinal step in the work, and still higher purity is expected of the
final product. Physical properties needed in industrial work will be
determined on the isopropanol and its aqueous solutions. As the first
of a series of such operations, a sample of vinyl cyclohexane was puri
fied for evaluation of thermodynamic properties.
I N D E N T A T I O N M E T H O D FOR M E A S U R IN G W E A R
An indentation method for measuring accurately the wear which
takes place on the bearing surfaces of machinery was developed. The
method consists of making minute indentations in the wearing sur
face by means of a specially shaped diamond point. As material is
worn from the surface, the dimensions of the marks change with the
amount of metal removed. Measurements of the dimensions of these
marks before and after wear provide a means for determining the
amount of wear that has taken place. Apparatus was built for using
this method for the measurement of wear occuring in the cylinders of
202
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
aircraft engines. The results of engine tests indicate that the method
is practicable. The chief advantages of the method over the usual
methods are (1) accuracy is greater, (2) a precise indication is shown
as to where wear occurs, and (3) the measurements are not affected by
growth, shrinkage, or distortion of the machine element under test.
IN V E S T IG A T IO N OF H I G H -A L T IT U D E B R U S H W EAR
A wartime remedy for the excessive wear of aircraft generator
brushes encountered at high altitudes was the adoption of chemically
treated brushes. Further studies of brush wear under simulated alti
tude conditions have shown that rapid wear can be produced or pre
vented by changing the pressure and humidity of the ambient air on
the commutator and brushes. The dependence of the critical commu
tator temperature on the condition of the ambient air is being in
vestigated. Tests in a nitrogen atmosphere are being made to deter
mine the effects of moisture content and commutator temperature in
the absence of oxygen. Work is in progress to ascertain the effects on
brush wear (1) of introducing organic vapors as contaminants in the
ambient atmosphere and (2) of applying various substances to the
commutator by means of an auxiliary brush.
J E T B O R IN G TOOLS
Issuance on October 22, 1946, of United States Patent 2,409,616 on
a Unitary Boring and Countersinking Tool marked the completion of
a cooperative project with the Bureau of Aeronautics on the develop
ment of means whereby fuel metering jets for all existing Stromberg
aircraft carburetors could be produced in Navy overhaul shops. With
these special tools, an unskilled mechanic can bore a blank or an un
dersized jet to flow within 1 percent of the value stamped on the tool
approximately 9 times out of 10.
P Y R O M E T E R S FOR GAS T U R B IN E S
Thermocouple pyrometers developed previously for gas turbines
have been improved for greater mechanical strength without sacrifice
of accuracy or rate of response. The range of the instrument has
been increased to 2,000° F. by the use of platinum radiation shields.
Tables and charts for evaluating the small remaining correction for
radiation have been derived up to 1,500° F., the limit for present test
equipment. Twenty-five pyrometers have been built, calibrated, and
furnished to others for service tests in operating gas turbines. Besults
of these tests will guide future development, and new compressors and
combustion systems will permit work at higher temperatures and gas
velocities in Í948. This work is of a continuing nature.
C O N V E N T IO N A L H E A T IN G D E V IC E S
To assist in formulating standards of satisfactory heating, the per
formances of several conventional heating devices were observed in
the test bungalow. This bungalow is essentially a conventional house,
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
203
approximately 25 feet square with an 8-foot ceiling. By means of
the data gathered, the quality of heating attained with an oil-burning
warm-air furnace, a jacketed gas-fired space heater, a jacketed oil-fired
space heater, a single gas-burning gravity floor furnace, with forced
circulation, an oil-burning gravity floor furnace, and a gravity hotwater heating system can be compared with each other and with other
conventional systems.
Temperature gradients within the house were correlated with out
door temperature for each system.
W A R M -A IR P A N E L H E A T IN G
Tests were made by request of the National Housing Agency on four
ceiling warm-air panel heating systems of different designs. None
were entirely satisfactory in performance but all functioned as well
as some other heating means now in ordinary use. The common de
fects were excessive fuel consumption owing to air leakage and insuf
ficient insulation in the plenum chambers, steel structural members
extending through the plenum chambers to cold spaces, and excessive
temperature differences between rooms of the houses'. Modifications
were recommended to the manufacturer and to the NHA in each case.
T H E R M A L C O N D U C T IV IT Y A T H I G H T E M P E R A T U R E
Apparatus was developed for measurements of the thermal conduc
tivities of refractory or ceramic materials at temperatures up to
2,000° F. The essentials of the apparatus are a heat source, usually a
Selas gas burner, and a calorimeter whereby heat flow can be estab
lished in a specimen. The specimen is a disk approximately 6 inches
in diameter and 1 inch thick. I t is tested with the flat surfaces
horizontal and with the calorimeter on top and the heater beneath.
Heat is transferred chiefly by radiation from the upper surface of
the specimen to the bottom of the calorimeter. An optical pyrometer
is used to measure the temperature of the bottom of the specimen
and a thermocouple that of the top. The calorimeter is divided into
two parts—an outer guard section and an inner measuring section.
Water boils in both sections, owing to the heat received from the speci
men, and separate vrater-cooled condensers are provided to condense
the steam and return the water to the calorimeter. A means is pro
vided for periodically catching and measuring the condensate from
the measuring section, and this is taken as a measure of the heat pass
ing through an equal area of the specimen. The heat flow rate to
gether with the temperature difference, obtained with the thermocouple
and the pyrometer, determine the thermal conductivity.
SE L E -IG N IT T O N T E M P E R A T U R E OE L IQ U ID S
The development of equipment and method for determination of
the self-ignition temperature of liquids was completed, together with
determinations made in air at atmospheric pressure with a representa
tive range of combustible liquids. The self-ignition temperature is
the lowest initial temperature from which a combustible mixture, in
204
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
this case the vaporized liquid and air, will self-heat under given conditionSj until ignition occurs as evidenced by flame or explosion. The
conditions introduced are governed by the size and insulation of the
ignition flask—into which, as heated to a constant temperature, the
charge of liquid to be tested is dropped—and by the optimum ratio of
charge to flask volume. The latter is determined experimentally by
varying the amount of the charge until the lowest self-ignition tem
perature is obtained, as defined by the lowest initial temperature of
gaseous contents of the flask, that will ignite after a period of self
heating. Ignition flasks from 200- to 12,000-milliliter volume were
used, and while there was some decrease in self-ignition temperature
with the increase in volume of reacting gas mixture, this was not very
large. A 1,000-milliliter volume was ind'cated as the most practical
and as consistently giving reproducible results.
The self-ignition temperature for liquids, of which determinations
were made, ranged from 110° C. for carbon disulphide and 171°
C. for diethyl ether, through an intermediate range represented by
223° and 210° for kerosene and motor gasoline, 405° C. for ethyl and
446° for methyl alcohol, with coal-tar products, toluene, and benzene,
in the high range 529° and 567° C. There has been much divergence
in values of ignition temperature reported by different investigators
because of differences in concepts of the property and the methods for
its determination. The present method based on self-heating from
an initial temperature that can be readily and accurately determined,
and a definite criterion of ignition as flame or explosion, should go
far in clarifying the confusion in concepts, methods, and reported
values that has been notable in this field.
Other projects of the division included heat capacity of certain
gases; specific heat of uranyl fluoride; heat of polymerization of sty
rene, and alphamethylstyrene; the vapor pressure and critical tem
perature of cxygen; helium liquefier; a reference aviation fuel system
and rating scale; analysis of 19,000 octane and cetane number deter
minations on 500 fuels; lubrication of plain journal bearings; the
effect of sulfur in motor fuels on engine corrosion; engine detergents;
aircraft spark plugs, electrical equipment, and fuel pumps; oil filters;
all-purpose grease investigations; and absolute viscosity of water.
In addition, a large number of projects were conducted in heat trans
fer and fire resistance.
M etrology
Basic length, mass, time and capacity, and density measurement in
strumentation, and standards problems constituted the bulk of the
activity of this division. Other activities included weights and meas
ures work in the more familiar sense of the terms; gas-measuring in
struments; fluid flow through pipes and metering devices; research
on the thermal expansivity of metals, alloys, glass, plastics, and other
solids; and work on master and limit gages, gage blocks, gaging
methods, precision screws, screw threads, and surface finish.
Projects in these fields included the intercomparison of the nine
meter bars of the Bureau, the precision ruling of circles for theodilites, an electronic method of counting the mesh of sieves, the develop
ment of new secondary standards of mass, the construction of elec
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
205
tronic timing equipment, studies of flow nozzles, measurement of
gaseous samples directed at the improvement of methods of calibrat
ing laboratory wet gas meters used in calorimetric measurements of
fuel gases, studies of thermal expansion of SAE steels and some cop
per alloys, plain ring gages having high precision cylindrically, pre
cision angle gage blocks, and rotary tool joint gages.
Considerable work was done in the field of dental materials in co
operation with the American Dental Association. Projects included
an investigation of tinfoil substitutes in the processing of acrylic
resins, polymerization studies of acrylic denture resins, and methods
of graphing the contour.of the mucosal surface of plaster molds.
Work on hygroscopic expansion of investment materials, aging of
zinc phosphate cements, and dental abrasive instruments was in prog
ress. A technical sound and color film on silicate cement was preared for the dental profession in cooperation with the American
!ental Association.
E
L I N E ST A N D A R D S OF L E N G T H
The nine meter bars of the Bureau were intercompared. Besides the
United States national prototype No. 27 and the three other platinumiridium bars owned by the Bureau, four nickel-steel laboratory stand
ards and a stainless steel one were included. Results of the intercom
parison showed that (1) the four platinum-iridium bars have not
changed in their relative lengths during the period from 1941 to 1947,
(2) the three nickel-steel meter bars are continuing to elongate, and
(3) a bar of “stable invar” has continued to shorten as it has shortened
ever since it was received in 1931 (similar experience has been recorded
in Canada).
N E W SE C O N D A R Y ST A N D A R D S OF M A SS
New mass standards of an alloy of approximately 80 percent chro
mium and 20 percent nickel were constructed—two of 1 kilogram and
a series ranging from 500 grams to 1 gram. These weights are expected
to be more constant in value than the more familiar brass, gold-plated
weights.
P R E C IS IO N P L A I N R IN G GAGES
Industrial need has developed for plain ring gages cylindrically ac
curate within 0.000005 inch for use as standards for pneumatic gages.
To eliminate as many sources of error in the measurements as possi
ble, the elastic deformation, occuring at the point of contact between
the contacts of the measuring device and the ring gage in one case and
the gage block in the other, was determined. Measurements of the
elastic deformations of the steel of the ring gages, the fused quartz of
the gage block end pieces, and the diamond contacts of the measuring
devices were under way. The solution of the problem of supplying
requisite standard rings depends on the progress made in manufactur
ing them to required tolerances.
P R E C IS IO N A N G L E GAGE B LO CK S
Such blocks, of considerable industrial value in making high-preci
sion angle measurements, are now being produced commercially.
206
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Methods of accurately measuring the angle of these standards have
been under investigation. Direct measurements by optical interference
methods have been found feasible for differences up to 3 minutes. For
larger angles, blocks of the same nominal angle can be compared either
by interference methods or by the use of an autocollimator. By suit
able combinations of blocks and the application of comparison
methods, it is expected that all sizes can be evaluated to the required
degree of accuracy.
SU R F A C E S T R A IN I N P L A ST IC D E N T U R E S
Strains left in plastic dentures through the use of tinfoil substitutes
for lining the gypsum mold in which they are formed can lead to
crazing. Investigations of substitutes like calcium alginate, nylon,
rubber dam, and other film-forming materials, used during the period
of war shortage of tinfoil, have shown that they are inferior as a pro
tecting medium as well as the cause of surface strain. This study is
important because most artificial dentures are now made of acrylic
resins which have a lifelike appearance; it also has application where
plastics are formed in plaster molds, such as the manufacture of arti
ficial eyes and items where dental techniques are employed.
C h e m ist r y
A wide range of work in organic, analytical, and physical chemistry
is investigated by this division, with special units devoted to gas chem
istry ; thermochemistry and hydrocarbons; uranium and related mate
rials; electro-deposition; reagents and platinum metals; paints,
varnishes, and lacquers; and bituminous, detergent, and miscellaneous
materials.
P H Y S IC A L C H E M IS T R Y
Salt effects of potassium nitrate, sodium sulfate, and trisodium cit
rate on the activity coefficients of ^-phenolsulfonate buffers were meas
ured. A method has been recommended for the purification of sodium
chloride and potassium chloride for use in electrochemical work and
for the determination of small amounts of bromide. Dipole moments
and resonance of certain benzein indicators and related compounds
have been determined. Conductimetric titrations of acids and bases
in benzene and dioxane were made. A cyclic falling-film molecular
still was developed. The effect of a reaction between mercury and
oxygen upon polarographic waves of certain metals at small concen
trations was determined. An examination of absolute and comparative
methods of polarographic analysis was reported.
C A R BO N M O N O X ID E IN D IC A T O R S
During the war more than 500,000 carbon monoxide NBS indicating
tubes were made, and most of them were used in testing aircraft in
experimental development, in production, and in actual service. The
tubes were also used in testing tanks, flame throwers, gun pits and
turrets, PT boats, landing barges, automotive equipment and firing;
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
207
tunnels, and various atmospheres associated with military equipment
and procedures. They were even used as a substitute for blood tests
to determine the degree of carbon monoxide poisoning in personnel.
The Secretary of Commerce has licensed two commercial firms to pro
duce this material. The tubes and kits will probably reach the market
late in 1947. Meanwhile, the Bureau has furnished the tubes in lim
ited amounts from its surplus stock to important research groups and
associates in industry, and particularly to the health departments of
the State governments for the examination of various atmospheres,
busses, garages, etc. It is expected that the NBS indicating tubes will
contribute to safety and public health.
T H E R M O C H E M IS T R Y
Thermochemical laboratory.—Measurements were made of the heat
of formation of 1,2-butadiene and its heat of isomerization to 1,3-buta
diene, the heat of combustion and formation of cyclooctatetraene and
its heat of isomerization of six nonanes and of the eight CTI,6 alkylcyclohexanes, and the heats of formation and isomerization of the
eight CsHic alkylcyclohexanes in the liquid and gaseous states.
Distillation laboratory.—Distilling operations of high-efficiency and
high-reflux ratio were conducted continuously 24 hours per day every
day in the year, in the amount of 5,000 “still-days,” on 165 different
charges of material, involving the fractionation and analysis of hydro
carbons in petroleum and of hydrocarbons in synthetic rubber, the
preparation of standard samples of hydrocarbons, and the purification
of API-NBS hydrocarbons. The design, assembly, and testing of a
rotary concentric-tube distilling column were carried out.
Adsorption colunms.—A battery of six stainless steely (52-foot)
adsorption columns for the fractionation and analysis of hydrocarbons
was assembled and tested, and separations and purifications of hydro
carbons by adsorption were made. The work also included the meas
urement of boiling points and vapor pressures, densities, and refractive
indices of highly purified API-NBS hydrocarbons; the purification
and the determination of purity of 27 new API-Standard and APINBS hydrocarbons by measurement of freezing points; the sealing in
vacuum and packaging of 25 new NBS standard samples of hydro
carbons; the determination of purity by measurement of freezing
points of compounds involved in the production of synthetic rubber
including analyses of “recycle” 1,3-butadiene, “recycle” styrene, and
“polyethylbenzene” ; the collection, analysis, calculation, and compila
tion of data on the physical and thermodynamic properties of hydro
carbons; the collection and distribution of infrared and ultraviolet
spectral data; and the collection, analysis, calculation, and compilation
of data on chemical thermodynamic properties.
B E N Z O IC A C ID T H E R M O M E T R IC ST A N D A R D
This device, which consists of a glass cell filled with specially purified
benzoic acid and provided with a thermometer well, is designed to
serve as a substitute for the boiling point of water in the calibration
of platinum resistance thermometers or other precise thermometric
7 6 6 1 8 8 — 47------16
208
REPORT OP T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
instruments. Since the fixed temperature depends upon an equilibrium
between solid and liquid rather than liquid and vapor, it is virtually
independent of changes in barometric pressure. The temperature
within a given cell is reproducible from day to day within a maximum
range of 0.002° C. and is constant within the necessary period of
observation to within a few ten-thousandths of a degree. Because of
limitations in the accuracy with which a temperature can be deter
mined at regions of the temperature scale somewhat removed from
the points of definition, it has been found advisable to assign an un
certainty of ±0.003° to the certified freezing temperature.
E LE C T R O D EPO SITIO N
Methods, of depositing alloys of tungsten with iron, cobalt, or nickel
have been developed. Among their important properties is the in
crease in hardness on heat treatment. Methods have been developed
for depositing coatings of nickel and cobalt by chemical reduction with
hypophosphite. A magnetic instrument has been devised for measur
ing the thickness and composition of composite coatings of copper and
nickel on steel, such as are extensively applied on automobiles. The
physical properties of chromium electrodeposited under different con
ditions have been measured. A brief study was made of the resistance
of various black finishes on steel against abrasion and corrosion. The
effects of humidity and surface condition upon the rates of corrosion
of steel and zinc were studied with special reference to storage.
B U IL D IN G M A T E R IA L S
Paints for exterior masonry walls.—In a Building Materials and
Structures Report BMS-110 (in press) results are reported on a series
of tests in which four classes of masonry paints—cement-water, resin
emulsion, oil-base, and synthetic rubber—were applied to test walls
of porous masonry. The wall specimens were constructed of new and
used common brick, cast concrete, stone-, cinder-, and light-weight
aggregate block, and cement-asbestos shingles. These were exposed
to atmospheric conditions in Washington, D. C., for approximately
3 years.
Weathering qualities of asphalts.—An apparatus capable of pro
ducing uniform asphalt films approximating 0.005 inch thick was
developed. Films of this type will assist materially in studies of the
weathering qualities of asphalts. A method for the separation of
asphalts into their component parts has been perfected. This method
permits the separation of sufficient quantities of the components for
detailed examinations of their constituents and provides a separation
of resins from the oily constituents.
D E T E R M IN A T IO N OP O X Y G E N I N O R G A N IC C O M PO U N D S
A method was developed for the chemical analysis of organic com
pounds containing 3 percent oxygen or less, by which it is now pos
sible to make accurate routine determinations of small percentages of
oxygen such as commonly occur in synthetic rubbers and in plastics
prepared from hydrocarbons.
NATIONAL BUREAU OE STANDARDS
209
PURE SUBSTANCES
The work on pure substances can be divided into two main head
ings: (1) Reagent chemicals or pure substances for general purposes
and (2) pure substances for specialized use in the standardization
of instruments and procedures.
The work on chemical reagents is a continuing project which was
begun many years ago. Its purpose is to develop standards of quality
for reagent chemicals together with methods of testing necessary to
insure conformity to accepted standards. In conjunction with the
development of specifications for reagents, all chemicals of reagent
quality purchased by the Bureau are examined for conformity to the
established standards of quality. This work serves both to protect
the analytical laboratories of the Bureau from faulty results and loss
of time caused by inferior reagents and to add to the general knowl
edge of reagents.
The other division of the work on pure substances has to do with
(1) substances used specifically as standards in thermometry and (2)
substances used in various ways for standardizing instruments and
procedures. During the fiscal year work on thermometric standards
was limited to the benzoic acid cell described above, except for pre
liminary consideration of substances which may be used at higher
temperatures, specifically tin, zinc, and antimony. The work on pure
substances other than those specifically intended for thermometry was
begun during the year.
.
, . ,
As examples of the work in preparing pure substances can be cited
a quantity of cobalt oxide which is to be used in connection with a
standard of artificial radioactivity, and the preparation of some 900
pounds of pure mercury for use in Bureau laboratories and certain
other Government agencies.
O r g a n ic
and
F
ib r o u s
M a t e r ia l s
The organic materials investigated by the division—rubbers, plas
tics textiles, leathers, and papers—all consist of chainlike molecules
of very laro-e size. A study of the molecular properties of these sys
tems, essential for an understanding of their behavior and applica
tions, constitutes the field of science known as high polymers. I he
work of the division during the fiscal year included basic research m
this field as well as many particular projects within the subdivisions
n°Hio-hbpolymer research included studies of the viscosities of dilute
solutions of high polymers in solvent-precipitant mixtures, effect qf
concentration on the viscosity of dilute solutions, shape of long chain
molecules, copolymerization reactions, determination of molecular
weights and shapes by means of thermodynamic, optical, and rate
measurements in solution, and the interaction between polymers and
liquids. Some representative activities in the specific fields of natural
and synthetic rubber, plastics, textiles, leathers, and paper are
outlined on following pages.
210
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
S Y N T H E T IC RUBBER A ND RELATED M A TERIALS
In the field of synthetic rubber, a study of the different methods
of test for outgrowth was completed. The rapid growth of cuts in
synthetic-rubber tires has been one of their chief weaknesses. Thermal
measurements on styrene (one of the two major ingredients of GR-S
synthetic rubber) and polystyrene (an important plastic) included
heats of combustion and solution of liquid styrene and solid poly
styrene and the heat of polymerization of styrene.
These measurements will enable accurate calculations of heat loads
to be made in the design of polymerization equipment for the manu
facture of GR-S of polystyrene.
P R O P E R T IE S OF R U B B E R
Laboratory tests of the physical and chemical properties were made
on most types of wild and plantation rubbers, and a summary of the
results was published. Theoretical studies on the extension of a cyl
inder of rubber subjected to torsion were made and confirmed by
experiment.
C ELL U L O SE A N D C E L L U L O SE D E R IV A TIV ES
A spectrophotometric study of cellulose and cellulose derivatives
was started with the hope of identifying the atomic groups involved
in some of the chemical changes these materials undergo and meas
uring the magnitude of the changes. This information will contribute
to a better understanding of the deteriorative action of such agents
as light, heat, and oxidizers (bleaches) on 'the durability of cotton
and rayon textiles, paper, and cellulosic plastics in processing and
use. Marked changes were found in some of the infrared absorption
bands of cellulose which could be correlated with changes in the
hydroxyl, carboxyl, and carbonyl groups. The work is continuing.
W A T E R -R E P E L L E N T FA B R IC S
Clothing which sheds rain by virtue of a continuous coating of
rubber or other waterproof material may be uncomfortable because
it does not permit escape of the moisture given off by the skin of the
wearer. The problem of the manufacturer is to provide a treatment
for the surface of the fabric which prevents penetration of water
without sealing the pores. Treatments of this type are called “water
repellent.” Widespread interest in water repellency brought numerous
requests for information by Government agencies and the public at
large. To supply this information, the basis of water repellency of
fabrics was investigated and the influence of fabric structure and
kind of fiber on repellency was determined.
ST A N D A R D S FOR A N A L Y T IC A L F IL T E R P A P E R S
Standards of quality for analytical filter papers, previously non
existent for this important item in chemical research and analysis,
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
211
have been developed through a critical evaluation of all currently avail
able brands. These standards are based on improved testing methods
perfected at the Bureau, together with estalished procedures for cer
tain fundamental determinations, and they should provide a ready
means of determining the suitability of a particular paper for its in
tended use. Requirements are included for the three classes of gen
eral analytical work involving coarse, medium, and fine precipitates.
An important finding is that the domestic quantitative papers, the
manufacture of which is a comparatively recent development, are fully
equal in quality to the foreign products.
A D SO R PT IO N OF W A T E R VAPOR B Y H ID E A N D L E A T H E R
Adsorption of water vapor by untanned hide and various tannages
of leather was determined at relative humidities ranging from 0 to
96 percent at 100° F. Untanned hide and chrome-tanned leather
adsorb the most water vapor except at relative humidities above 75
percent, at which sole leather adsorbs more. The behavior of the sole
leather in this region is ascribed to the presence of deliquescent
materials used in the finishing process. The data may be applicable
to practical processes, such as fatliquoring and tanning and the
impregnation of leather with plastics.
A new dynamic water-penetration test shows that leather possesses
a low resistance to penetration by water unless large quantities of
grease are incorporated into the leather. Experiments showed that
the water penetrated the grain layer, which represented the principal
water barrier, by means of the hair follicles.
T R O PIC A L D E TE R IO R A T IO N OF L E A T H E R
A treatment has been developed which will prevent the growth of
mildew on leather under tropical conditions. The formula recom
mended consists of 10 percent neat’s-foot oil, 10 percent mineral oil,
10 percent cyclohexanone, 66 percent perchloroethylene, 2 percent
pentachlorophenol, and 2 percent paranitrophenol. This formula is
being included in Government specifications.
A study of the behavior of different types of leathers under tropical
conditions has also been completed. Results of this investigation in
dicate that the resistance of leathers to deterioration in the tropics may
be improved in three ways: (1) By treating the leather with mineral
011 instead of fatty oils, ‘(2) by treating with a fungicide, and (3) by
finishing the leather at a pH value of 4 to 5 rather than 3 to 4.
ST R E N G T H OF R E S IN -B O N D E D PL Y W W O O D
The increased use of resin-bonded plywood for structural parts of
aircraft has made it necessary to determine the effect of various chem
ical properties of the resins on the strength properties of the resin
bonds. The action of catalysts used to cure the resinous adhesives on
the strength properties of plywood was investigated, particularly with
regard to the degree of acidity developed by the catalysts in the resin
212
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
film and in the wood. The flexural, impact, and shear strengths,
both initially and after aging, of birch plywood bonded with ureaformaldehyde and phenol-formaldehyde resins definitely decrease as
the acidity of the plywood increases.
PROPERTIES OF L A M IN A T E S
A knowledge of the effect of temperature on the strength properties
of plastics is of considerable importance in application of the ma
terials for aircraft structural purposes. The tensile, compressive, and
flexural properties and Izod impact strengths of several types of
plastic laminates were determined at —70°, 77°, and 200° F. The
materials investigated were unsaturated polyester laminates rein
forced with glass fabric and phenolic laminates reinforced with as
bestos fabric, high-strength paper, rayon fabric, and cotton fabric.
P E R M A N E N C E OF PL A ST IC S
Information regarding the effects of weathering and various condi
tions of temperature and humidity conditions on the properties of
laminated plastics is needed to evaluate these materials for use on air
craft and to prepare specifications for the materials that are found to
be suitable for this purpose. An investigation was undertaken involv
ing exposure of nine representative laminates to various combinations
of moisture, heat, and ultraviolet light. Changes in weight, dimen
sions, and flexural properties were determined. None of the labora
tory aging tests correlated with outdoor weathering with respect to
all properties and all materials. Selection of a suitable accelerated test
must take into consideration the material to be tested, the property to
be investigated, and the service conditions which are to be simulated.
M in e r a l P
roducts
Applied and fundamental research was conducted in such fields as
porcelain, pottery, glass, refractories, enameled metals, concreting ma
terials, masonry and reinforced concrete, lime and gypsum, and build
ing stone. In addition, research in the methods of analysis of mineral
products by X-ray and electron diffraction and studies of the consti
tution, synthesis, and phase relations at high temperatures of mineral
products were carried on. The following projects are typical of the
diversified activities of the fiscal year.
C ERA M IC COATINGS
A new type of ceramic coating, useful for the protection of the
metal exhaust systems of certain aircraft and other vehicles against
oxidation and highly resistant to thermal shock, was developed. Al
though this type of coating was developed for and used by the Army
and Navy, there are many possible applications for domestic stove
parts, industrial furnace parts, parts for heat interchangers and other
industrial products.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
213
CONCRETES C O N T A IN IN G A D M IX T U R E S
A study of the durability of concretes containing admixtures, prin
cipally of the air-entraining type, was completed. The results show
that, up to the limit of 12 percent—which was the largest amount of
air obtained—the air content, if larger than 5 percent, caused the dura
bility to be greatly increased. This was true even though increase in
air content was accompanied by a marked decrease in strength. It
was also found that, for the same air content, concretes were equally
durable irrespective of the agent used to incorporate the air.
W A T E R L E A K A G E T H R O U G H B R IC K -M A S O N R Y W A L L S
It was found that brick-masonry specimens made with bricks hav
ing large rates of water absorption leaked readily, regardless of the
kind of mortar used, and that the amount of leakage tended to be
greatest with bricks having the highest rates of absorption. Speci
mens made with bricks which were prewetted to reduce their rates
of absorption, however, usually showed a satisfactory resistance to
leakage. Exposure of the masonry specimens to the weather appeared
to have no deleterious effects, provided the bricks and the mortar in
dividually had satisfactory resistance to weathering.
C O N C R ETE R E IN F O R C IN G BA RS
The fellowship of the American Iron and Steel Institute completed
an investigation to determine which of 17 different types of deformed
reinforcing bars for concrete offered the most resistance to slip when
embedded in concrete and subjected to tensile loads. This study was
in the nature of a preliminary survey to obtain information that would
indicate which patterns of deformations were deserving of further
study. The results of the investigation showed that most of the bars
were not efficient in resisting slip.
As the result of this preliminary study, the members of the Ameri
can Iron and Steel Institute, who are the producers of reinforcing
bars, discarded all but 5 of the 17 types of bars for further study.
The data also provide useful information on other factors, such as
variations in the depth of the concrete below horizontal bars, that have
a marked influence on bond. The bond strengths were found to be
much greater when the depth of concrete under the bar was 2 inches
than when it was 15 inches.
E X P O SU R E OF CONCRETE
One of the factors contributing to the disintegration of concrete
exposed to the weather is to volume change occurring when the con
crete is frozen and thawed. To determine the extent of these volume
changes, measurements were made by means of a mercury-displace
ment dilatometer of the volumes of small concrete cylinders as the
temperature was lowered below the freezing point. Tests were made
of volume changes of both plain concrete containing air-entraining
agents and with different amounts of water in the concrete specimens.
214
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
The volume changes of the dry specimens appear to be linear and inde
pendent of the rate of temperature change. However, when moisture
was present there was a departure from the linear relation, which may
be attributed to the freezing of the water or thawing of the ice within
the capillary structure of the cementitious material.
The quantity of moisture in the concrete appears to be the most im
portant factor in determining the ability of the concrete to withstand
repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. The results of tests made
with the dilatometer will be of great help, not only in explaining the
disintegration of concrete by freezing and thawing but also in design
ing laboratory tests for rapid testing of concrete for resistance to frost
action.
L IG H T W E IG H T AGGREGATE A N D C O N C R ETES
A growing need for reliable engineering data on the properties of
lightweight aggregate and of concrete made from them, because of
their rapidly increasing use in prefabricated building construction,
prompted transfer of funds from the National Housing Agency to
speed progress in an investigation already under way. Kepresentative aggregates of each type which seems to show promise of com
mercial usefulness were tested to obtain information that would
indicate their fields of usefulness. Concrete specimens are being
made with aggregates appearing to have unusual promise for use in
obtaining engineering design data.
The results of the tests of the concrete specimens indicate that a
number of the lightweight aggregates are well suited for use in struc
tural concrete having compressive strengths ranging between 1,500
and 4,000 pounds per square inch, without the use of what ordinarily
would be considered excessive amounts of cement. Except for the
concretes which were very rich in cement, the use of an air-entraining
agent, which would cause the entrapment of air in the form of
minute bubbles, appeared to be advantageous because of the improve
ment in the workability of the concrete, the reduction of its weight,
and the increase in the thermal insulation value. The investigation,
which is still under way, will provide not only engineering data on
the compressive strengths and weights of concretes made with a
number of types of lightweight aggregates but also design data on
such properties as shrinkage, water absorption and permeability,
capillarity, and thermal insulation.
D E V E L O P M E N T OF N E W
O PTIC A L GLASSES
Considerable progress was made in the development of new optical
glasses for the Navy. A fundamental study was made of the effects
of the oxides of beryllium, calcium, lithium, lanthanum, thorium,
zirconium, and boron on the optical and other physical properties of
dense barium crown glasses. The study has been confined to glasses
having a high index of refraction and a low chromatic dispersion.
Investigations in this field have been very profitable. Several of the
glasses developed have found use in newly designed aerial camera
lenses and new naval instruments. Additional glasses with desirable
optical properties, such as liquidus and viscosity, can be altered so that
usable glasses can be made.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
215
W OOL F IB E R S
The electron microscope was used to investigate wool fibers, in co
operation with the textile section. As a part of a study on causes
of textile wear, the exteriors of wool fibers, both raw and after
various treatments, were examined. Various methods of producing
replicas of the wool fiber surfaces were tried out and a method found,
using polystyrene, which gives satisfactory results. This is an ex
tensive investigation on the structure of textile fiber which will
require several years to complete. Some study has also been made
with the electron microscope of the morphology of films resulting
from precipitating action of nonsolvents on a solution of chlorinated
synthetic rubber and of the surf ace of glasses which have been etched
with solutions of various acidities.
M etallurgy
Projects during the fiscal year included studies of the influence of
boron on steels for armor plate, the repair of porous castings, the
preparation of magnesium castings, resistance to corrosion of light
metals for aircraft, the stabilization of chromium-nickel steels, the
effect of artificial aging on the tensile properties and resistance to
corrosion of an aluminum alloy, stress-corrosion cracking of mag
nesium-base alloys, copper-silicon alloys as substitutes for tin bronzes,
pure iron, durability of commercial ferrous piping materials, calibra
tion of salt-spray corrosion tests, basic principles of powder metal
lurgy, vacuum and controlled atmosphere melting techniques, prop
erties of and test methods for molding sand, properties of metals at
high and low temperatures, X-ray metallography, and studies of
gases in metals.
N O NFERRO US M ETALLURGY
Under this heading are grouped several projects concerned prin
cipally with the resistance to corrosion of light metals for aircraft
use. Two projects comprise exposure tests of aluminum and mag
nesium alloys, respectively, to marine and Washington, D. C., atmos
pheres and to tidewater immersion, with and without surface treat
ment, protective coatings, cold work, welding, and riveting. Speci
mens for exposure tests range from small panels to complete wings
or other assembled parts of airplanes. These are continuing projects,
started about 20 years ago; approximately 8,000 specimens are being
prepared, or exposed, or examined after exposure. During 1947, 9
progress reports were submitted to the sponsors (Bureau of Aero
nautics, Navy Department; National Advisory Committee for Aero
nautics; Army Air Forces).
The inflammability and extreme reactivity of molten magnesium
introduce problems different from those encountered in foundry oper
ations with aluminum and other metals. Techniques developed in
large-scale production operations were successfully adapted for oper
ation in an experimental foundry which had no previous experience
with magnesium castings. In the course of this work, a simplified
method for the production of fine-grained castings, through the use
216
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
of lump magnesite, was developed and described in a paper, Observa
tions on the Control of Grain Size in Magnesium Casting Alloys, for
publication in the Journal of Research.
FE R R O U S M E T A L L U R G Y
To investigate the mechanism of the effect of a few thousandths of
1 percent of boron in promoting hardenability of steel, studies are
being made of the microstructure, grain size, critical cooling rate,
and heat treatment of boron-treated high-purity iron carbon alloys.
Some results for publication should be available in fiscal 1948.
The preparation of iron of the utmost possible purity, for the direct
determination of the properties and behavior of the pure metal, has
been resumed. Prewar efforts produced iron of 99.99 percent purity,
the major impurities were nonmetallic and the only metallic impurity
was a trace of copper. Techniques have been developed which should
reduce the content of all the impurities and improve the structure.
Another project is concerned with stabilization of steels of the
18-percent chromium, 8-percent nickel type, which become susceptible
to intergranular corrosion under certain conditions of use, for ex
ample, in aircraft-engine exhaust manifolds. Heat treatment and
composition requirements of certain Navy specifications were revised
on the basis of results obtained in this work. Three progress reports
were issued to the sponsor (Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy) during
fiscal 1947 and another report is being prepared for publication.
COMMODITY STANDARDS AND CODES AND
SPECIFICATIONS
Two divisions of the Bureau are concerned with commodity stand
ards—Simplified Practice and Trade Standards. Both divisions act
essentially as secretariats for industry and trade groups desiring
quantitative or qualitative standards. Upon request from such groups,
the two divisions gather and analyze data and prepare the standards
which are voluntary in nature.
Another division-—Codes and Specifications—provides a central
source of information to which Federal, State, and municipal authori
ties, as well as industrial and trade groups, can turn when dealing with
problems of safety or with building codes.
S im p l if ie d P r a c tic e
Six new titles were added in the fiscal year to the list of effective
Simplified Practice Recommendations. Twenty-one recommendations
were revised and reissued. Six were recommendations found on review
to require no changes. Four effective recommendations were re
printed. These recommendations covered a wide range of commodities,
several in the building field. The industrial demand ranged up to
15,000 copies.
The new recommendations cover nails and staples, hypodermic
needles, asphalt tile, standard-grade galvanized wear, plumbing fix
ture fittings, and trim for housing, and pallets for the handling of
groceries and packaged merchandise.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
217
T rade S tandards
Nineteen commercial standards were issued during the fiscal year,
12 of which were in printed form and 7 were in process of printing at
the close of the year. The establishment of 12 commercial standards
was announced, all of which were made available in mimeographed
form pending release of printed editions. The following printed
standards were issued: Hardware cloth; industrial mineral wool prod
ucts; pipe nipples, brass, copper, steel, and wrought iron (second
edition); woven wire netting; men’s pajama sizes (third edition);
men’s shirt sizes (exclusive of work shirts); warm air furnaces
equipped with vaporizing pot-type oil burners (second edition)/;
blankets for hospitals (wool, and wool and cotton); standard stock
ponderosa pine doors (second edition); size measurements for men’s
and boy’s shorts (woven fabrics); insect wire screening; and work
gloves. The seven standards in press are: Power cranes and shovels
(export classifications); hardwood plywood (third edition); sine bars,
blocks, plates and fixtures; testing and rating convectors; material
for safety wearing apparel; diamond core drill fittings (fourth edi
tion) ; staple vitreous china plumbing fixtures (fourth edition).
C odes
and
S p e c if ic a t io n s
The results of the large amount of research and testing carried on
at the Bureau have been available in the development of technical
requirements designed to assure safe working and living conditions.
Through membership on numerous committees of national standardiz
ing bodies, it has been able to put the results of this laboratory research
before qualified persons for interpretation and practical use. Simi
larly, the Bureau has participated in the development of numerous
national standards and specifications that are universally used as a
basis for intelligent purchase of commodities.
Publications for which manuscripts were completed indicate the
scope of activities in this broad field. They include a supplement
to the National Directory of Commodity Specifications; a revision
of the Directory of Commercial and College Laboratories; a revision
of the widely used publication, Safety in the Household; a reprinting
in combined form of separate publications comprising the National
Electrical Safety Code; and a revision of the publication, Building
Code Requirements for New Dwelling Construction, which was under
taken cooperatively with the National Housing Agency.
In connection with problems affecting industry and the general
public, work has continued on electrical wiring and equipment, ele
vators, protection against lightning, protection from hazards incident
to the use of power presses, bakery equipment, and conveyors. In the
building and plumbing code field, technical studies have been carried
on and administrative guidance has been furnished a large number
of representative committees engaged in developing basic standards.
Attention has also been given to questions of good building practice,
such as coordination of sizes of building materials so that they will
fit together without unnecessary labor and waste.
The same principle of putting technical results to practical use and
of cooperating with qualified experts in the development of generally
218
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
acceptable safety requirements has been applied in the case of building
code and plumbing code standards. Here, the aim has been to base
recommendations on scientific fact rather than on opinion, but to give
due recognition to experience and judgment.
TESTING, CALIBRATION, AND STANDARD SAMPLES
In fiscal 1947, 147,765 tests and calibrations were made for other
governmental agencies and the public; during the same time 20,500
standard samples, having a value of $65,000, were sold by the Bureau.
The total fee value of standard samples sold and of the testing and
calibration services for the public was $163,391. The value of these
services to Government agencies, for which no fees were collected, was
approximately $741,000.
The Bureau’s testing and calibration activities spring from its cus
tody of the Nation’s basic physical standards. In many cases master
standards used in industry and research must be checked periodically
against these national standards. The Bureau is also responsible for
testing many of the materials purchased by the Bureau of Federal
Supply, Treasury Department, and other Federal agencies. In the
course of this test, calibration, and standard samples work, the Bureau
develops new methods of measurement, new instruments, and much
technical data on the properties of materials.
The testing of lamps is typical of one type of test performed by the
Bureau for the Federal Government. In the lamp-testing laboratory,
2,596 light bulbs, a sampling of 2,736,466 purchased by the Govern
ment this year, were life-tested. Although it is not generally recog
nized, the most important attribute of a light bulb is not its length of
life but the power it consumes in producing a given amount of light.
Power consumption per unit of light produced is the controlling fac
tor, of course, because bulb-replacement c.ost is less than the electric
bill for a lamp that uses too much power.
One of the largest testing projects is the cement-testing program.
This past fiscal year the Bureau sample-tested 3 million barrels of
cement purchased by the Government. These tests included chemical
analysis and physical tests, such as strength tests and heat hydration.
While the cement-testing work during the past year involved the
largest amount of material, the largest number of individual tests
made of a single product covered 22,872 clinical thermometers. The
tests were made not only for major users in the Government, such as
the Veterans’ Administration, but for a number of manufacturers as
well. The clinical thermometer is perhaps the most widely used sci
entific instrument in American homes and Bureau testing plays its
part, though often indirectly, in the continued maintenance of the
excellence of these instruments.
During the year, the railway track-scale testing program was in
tensified with the addition of a second test weight car, which had been
out of service throughout the war years. Through agreement with
the Association of American Railroads, the Bureau each year checks
the 19 master track scales of the Nation’s railroads and as many of
the secondary scales as can be fitted into the program. The railroads
themselves weigh and adjust their standard test cars on the master
NATIONAL BUREAU OP STANDARDS
219
track scales and then move these test cars to the more than 6,500 com
mercial scales all over the country. The precision maintained for
scales is illustrated by the fact that commercial scales (other than
grain-weighing scales which must be kept within 2 pounds in a ton)
must be maintained within an accuracy of 4 pounds in a ton.
The radioactivity section has, for a number of years, measured all
radium that changes hands commercially. Because of the large value
of this substance as well as the hazards involved in its use, absolute
accuracy as to quantity is essential in its handling. An allied activity
has been the measurement of the amount of radium in the breath of
persons working with it either in factories or in mines. This year 811
breath samples were submitted for test. One of the major users of
the service, a mining company, sends the samples by air from a mine
almost in the Arctic Circle in the northwestern part of Canada.
E
l e c t r ic it y
The testing of standard instruments of the electrical industry con
tinued at an abnormally high rate during the year. The devices tested
included resistors, precision resistance apparatus, standard wire sam
ples, capacitors, ammeters, voltmeters, wattmeters, current and voltage
transformers, watt-hour meters, tape, wire, insulating materials, elec
trocardiographs, magnetic materials, standard cells, and batteries.
M etrology
This division tested bne standards, scales, meter invar base-line
tapes, steel tapes, spring balances, haemacytometers, sieves, level rods,
theodolite circles, saccharimeter scales, precision circles, standard
weights, balances, watches, stop watches, parking meters, _marine
chronometers, burettes, flasks, pipettes, hydrometers, capacity and
density standards, gas meters, dental materials, railway track scales,
and gages of various types, and determined the thermal expansivity or
various solids. In 1947 two standards, one of 1 kilogram and the other
of 100 grams, were calibrated and certified to 1 part in 5 million for the
Australian National Standards Laboratory. Drop tests of wrist
watches were conducted in order to obtain information relating to
claims of shockproof qualities, and 1,200 gill net gages were tested.
The gill net gages are used for checking the mesh size of gill nets used
in fishing on the Great Lakes. Control of net size is part of the Great
Lakes fish conservation program.
H
ea t and
P
ow er
Tests were made on optical pyrometers, thermocouples and thermo
couple materials, platinum resistance thermometers, clinical thermom
eters ; heats of combustion of a number of fuels, thermal conductivity,
compressors, ice refrigerators, oil burners, chimney furnaces, heat
characteristics of precast concrete buildings, German w^alk-in refrig
erators, ice cream freezers, baseboard heating systems, warm-air fur
naces and electric hot-water heaters. The fire-resistance qualities of
walls, partitions, deck coverings, oils, paints, and textiles were tested.
220
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
More than 80 aviation, motor, and Diesel fuels were tested, as were
lubricating oil, lubricating greases, and automotive spark plugs. Many
of the tests require a number of separate determinations. For ex
ample, in the tests on lubricating greases determinations were made of
consistency (penetration), corrosive tendency, and percentages of oil
soap, free alkali, free acid, ash, water, flash point, and fire point.
O ptics
Tests included those involving spectrochemical analysis, spectrographic analysis, bone char, sugar testing, glass and double refraction,
incandescent lamps, glass standards for photometric or wave-length
scales, glass standards for check oil colorimeters, fluorescent lamps,
Lovibond glass, tiles, mirrors, retroreflectors, light bulbs, cameras,
lenses, and refractive index of materials.
Important activities were the maintenance and issuance of standards
of thermal radiant energy in the form of carbon-filament incandescent
lamps for calibrating thermopiles or similar detectors of radiant en
ergy. Calibrations were determined of special types of standards of
radiant energy, including high-wattage projection lamps and other
incandescent-filament sources, also standards in the form of mercury
vapor lamps for inter-comparing the output of special sources of ultra
violet energy such as germicidal and therapeutic lamps. Also calibra
tion of various detectors of radiant energy, including ultraviolet meters,
particularly for public health officials and lamp manufacturers, also
radiation thermopiles, pyreliometers, and similar detectors.
During the past year an extensive series of measurements was made
and is still in progress on the transmission characteristics of sample
lenses of various types in current production. These measurements
will be used as the basis of a revision of the Bureau’s Circular on EyeProtective Glasses. Sensitivity tests were made of a number of photo
graphic papers; standard optical planes were produced and tested;
radium preparations were measured, and X-ray equipment tested.
In 40 tests made in the X-ray section, $15,000 worth of equipment
checked represented instruments on which an industry of $50,000,000
is dependent.
C h e m is t r y
In 1947 approximately 26,737 tests were made on some 4,790 samples.
The fee value of these tests was approximately $101,000. While the
majority of the samples were tested for the various Government de
partments, such as the Federal Bureau of Supply and the Veterans’
Administration, to determine compliance with purchase specifications,
a number of tests were made for the Federal Trade Commission to
determine the truth or falsity of advertising claims, and for the
Chief Inspector, Post Office Department, in connection with suspected
cases of fraudulent use of the mails. Examples of materials tested
for the Federal Trade Commission were gasoline additives, cleaning
compounds, laundry soap, creosote oil, automobile polish, granulated
soap, valve tube desiccant, fire-extinguishing liquid, and a so-called
brine conditioner. Examples of materials tested for the Chief In
spector, Post Office Department, were cancer preventive and cure,
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
221
cleaning powder, battery additive, commutator paste, laundry soap,
soap powder, asphalt plastic cement, and asphalt roof coating.
Approximately 900 samples of ferrous and nonferrous metals were
analyzed for various Federal agencies for conformance to specifica
tions, or the establishment of composition in connection with research
projects.
Paint and paint materials totaling 512 samples were tested for
various departments of the Government, including the Panama Canal,
War Department, District of Columbia, Federal Trade Commission,
and the United States Maritime Commission. In addition, 224 sam
ples of varnish and similar materials were tested by the varnish lab
oratory. About two-thirds of these samples were metal conditioning
compounds, representing thousands of gallons of the material used,
by the Maritime Commission in its program of preserving the laid-up
fleet.
Two hundred and eleven magne-gages, an instrument developed by
the Bureau for measuring the thickness of plated coatings, were cali
brated, with a total of 1,169 calibrations. Twenty-one samples of
plated products were tested for the Veterans’ Administration and
other Government agencies.
The division was called upon for various specialized services to
Government agencies and sometimes to the public that are related to
its interest in platinum-metal analysis and the detection and deter
mination of minor constituents in pure substances. A chemical analy
sis of the ammonium nitrate involved in the Texas City disaster is an
example of this work.
The microchemical laboratory analyzed some 90 samples of mate
rials, covering engine and spark-plug deposits, bone charcoals for
sugar purifications, Diesel fuels for the Navy Department, hydro
carbons and organics for NACA, and cellulose materials for the
Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University.
Chemical microscopy and other optical techniques were applied to
the examination of products of corrosion, paint vehicles, and thinners,
detergents, the number of coats on painted surfaces, chronometer
jewels, and miscellaneous items. About 150 samples were tested. In
addition, products incidental to or the result of research were ex
amined for many sections of the Bureau.
Standard samples were purchased by Government agencies, by in
dustry, and by scientific laboratories to check methods of test, to con
trol manufacturing operations, to settle disputes between producers
and consumers, and to serve as standards for physical measurements.
The Bureau now issues some 400 samples of such diverse materials as
pure hydrocarbons, pH standards, metals, ores, phosphate rock, stand
ard hardware finishes, and colored pigments. Approximately 20,500
individual samples, valued at $65,000 were sold during the fiscal year.
New standards prepared during the year included a silver-bearing
steel, a nickel-silver alloy, and three high-purity organic chemicals for
use as microanalytical standards for determinations of chlorine, iodine,
and phosphorus.
Through a cooperative undertaking between the American Petro
leum Institute and the National Bureau of Standards, 25 additional
standard samples of hydrocarbons have been prepared for calibrating
222
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
spectrometers and other analytical instruments and apparatus in the
research, development, and analytical laboratories of the petroleum,
rubber, chemical, and allied industries. All of the 119 compounds
now available are certified as to purity. Some are also certified as to
density, refractive index, and calorimetric heat of combustion, the last
primarily for calibrating apparatus for determining the heating value
of gasoline and other liquid fuels.
M e c h a n ic s
This division tested water current meters ; master beer meters ; fire
extinguishing equipment; hearing aids; tuning forks; microphones;
audiometers ; phonograph needles ; postage metering and stamp vend
ing machines; miscellaneous sound, mechanical, and noise testing in
struments; aircraft instruments; flight test instruments; meteoro
logical instruments ; oxygen apparatus ; and laboratory apparatus. It
also conducted calibrations of engineering instruments; tensilestrength tests ; and compression, bend, and torsion tests. The principal
aerodynamic instruments tested were anemometers which were cali
brated over a range of wind speeds from 1 to 100 miles per hours for
the Weather Bureau, Bureau of Mines, Geological Survey, and Bureau
of Ships. The instruments used to make the international records in
aircraft speed and altitude tests were examined for the National Aero
nautical Association. The performance of the instruments is checked
and then the equipment is certified to the national association as to the
reliability of the record obtained.
In this division during the year tests were made at the request of the
Interstate Commerce Commission of the probable force a bus passenger
entrapped in a bus might be capable of exerting in an attempt to push
out a window on the bus. Tests were made of windows with the bus
upright, and with the bus lying on its top or sides. Forty Bureau
employees volunteered as subjects for these tests. The master beer
meters calibrated are used by the Bureau of Internal Revenue for
checking beer meters at breweries upon which Federal tax is based.
Meters inaccurate by just a fraction of 1 percent would mean either
unjust tax to the brewer (if registering high) or loss of revenue to
the Government if the meter registered low .
O r g a n ic
and
F
ib r o u s
M a t e r ia l s
This j ear 28,2'03 tests were made on rubber, plastic, textiles, paper,
and leather. A large part of the testing for other Government agen
cies comprised chemical, physical, thermal, microscopical, and mycological examination of materials for determining compliance of Gov
ernment purchases with specifications and to aid in the development or
improvement of specifications.
Typical of the diversified applications which were the subjects of
conferences and laboratory examination for Government agencies were
the following : Slipperiness of floor surfaces in hospitals, plastic arti
ficial limbs, and military shoes and materials for waterproofing leather
(War Department) ; dessicant bags, fairing compounds, airplane fab
rics, nylon rope, and nylon flannel (Navy Department) ; electric cable,
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
223
drippers’ goggles, and linoleum (Panama Canal) ; flags, hospital sup
plies, and stump socks (Veterans’ Administration) ; office supplies,
leather, conveyor belting, and auto brake lining (Post Office Depart
ment) ; fire hose, rubber tubing, germination paper, and egg containers
(Department of Agriculture) ; automobile tires, electricians’ gloves,
and rubber cement (Treasury Department); wire, linoleum, rubber
floor tile, and X-ray gloves (Federal Spec'fications Board); and
brushes and bristles, wearing apparel, and blankets (Federal Trade
Commission).
M et a l l u r g y
Tests were conducted on metal articles for conformance to purchase
specifications for a number of Government agencies. More than 100
X-ray and metallographic examinations were made for the United
States Coast and Geodetic Survey and the United States Naval Observ
atory. Special castings were also constructed for these agencies.
Heat-treatment tests, salt-spray tests, and miscellaneous examinations
(such as hardness and thickness tests) were carried out. Other activi
ties included the working of metals (forging, rolling, swaging, wire
drawing) ; micrographs; and making of special metals and alloys, vac
uum fusion analyses, and the preparation of special crucibles.
M in e r a l P roducts
During the year test work involved glass refractories, cement (both
chemical and physical tests), concrete and concrete materials, struc
tural materials, lime and gypsum, soils, waterproofings, and a number
of miscellaneous materials. The Cement Reference Laboratory, jointly
supported by the Government and the American Society for Testing
Materials, continued its work of inspecting cement-testing laboratories.
Forty such laboratories were inspected during the year. In addition to
demonstrations and inspections in test methods, the field work of the
laboratory included the inspection of cement-testing apparatus, such as
balances, compressive and tensile strength testing machines, and auto
claves.
R adio P ropa g a tio n
As a result of last year’s work the Bureau can now certify the ac
curacy of practically all radio measuring instruments and components
at frequencies up to 30 megacycles. Attenuators and voltmeters of
usual design and range can be standardized up to 100 megacycles.
Frequency meters or cavity resonators can be standardized up to
20,000 megacycles.
The continuous radio broadcast of technical services by Station
WWV was continued as scheduled in the announcements of April 1,
1946, and January 2, 1947. Standard frequencies and standard time
intervals were broadcast during the year. The announced accuracy
of the standard frequencies since January 1,1947, has been 2 parts in
100 million. Time signals broadcast during the year had a maximum
change of 0.001 second per 24 hours and a maximum deviation of 0.031
second from corrected Naval Observatory time; deviations were less
than 0.009 second for 5 percent of the time. These services were ex7 601S8— 47------ 17
224
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
paneled during the year by the addition of continuous broadcasts on
20,25,30, and 35 megacycles.
ADVISORY SERVICE
As the principal agency of the Federal Government for research in
physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering, the Bureau serves
other branches of the Government in a consulting and advisory ca
pacity on scientific and technical matters. A large part of the Bureau’s
budget consists of funds transferred from other agencies to support
special programs of research undertaken for these agencies. Many
other research projects originate in requests from industrial groups
and are carried on cooperatively with the organizations primarily in
terested under the Research Associate Plan. Members of the Bureau
staff also hold office or membership in, and serve on committees of,
many technical societies and associations and official commissions.
Again, since other branches of the Government as well as industry
rely on the Bureau for extensive calibration and test work, the Bureau
has taken a leading part in the development of improved methods
for testing materials and equipment, in determining the physical prop
erties and physical constants of an immense variety of materials, and
in the study of technical processes.
During 1947 services of an advisory or consulting nature were per
formed for numerous agencies of the Federal Government, as well as
for representatives of State and local governments, universities, and
industry. Among the organizations served were the Labor Depart
ment, the Navy Department, the War Department, the State Depart
ment, the Post Office Department, the Department of Agriculture,
the Department of Justice, the Civil Aeronautics Authority, the Fed
eral Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission,
the National Housing Agency, the National Institute of Health, the
Veterans’ Administration, the W ar Assets Administration, the Rural
Electrification Administration, the Library of Congress, the Maritime
Commission, the Office of Rubber Reserve, the Geological Survey, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Public Health Service, the Fed
eral Food and Drug Administration, the Weather Bureau, the Pro
curement Division of the Treasury Department, the Census Bureau,
the Bureau of Mines, the Narcotics Division, the Byrd and the Ronne
Antarctic Expeditions, and the Government of the District of Colum
bia. A few samples of the types of problems on which the Bureau
is consulted are listed below.
S t a t ic E l e c t r ic it y H
azard
The Bureau was consulted frequently in connection with the hazard
of explosion arising from static electricity in operating rooms. Sev
eral large samples of tile and terrazzo flooring cemented with graphite
bearing cement were submitted by the Public Health Service and are
undergoing tests to determine the value of similar construction in
the flooring of hospital rooms in order to reduce the hazard from
static electricity. These samples are designed to have relatively high
reflection of light to insure easy inspection of the floor for cleanliness.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
225
Hospitals object to the low reflection from dark rubber tile in wliich
sufficient carbon black is incorporated to insure adequate conductivity
and thus reduce the hazard of explosion due to discharges of static
electricity.
R e f l e c t iv e I n s u l a t io n s
Upon request of the National Housing Agency, a test method was
devised and described for inclusion in a Federal specification covering
thermal insulation of a reflective type. The test apparatus consists
essentially of a means of heating the back surface of a specimen of
reflective insulation to the same temperature as a virtual black body
and permitting the radiation from the test specimen and from the vir
tual black body to call upon a thermopile. The radiation from the
specimen and from the virtual black body are thus compared.
F ir e R e s is t a n c e
and
F
ir e
H
azards
Fires in storage warehouses were investigated at the request of the
War Department and the Department of Agriculture. The National
Cotton Council was given assistance in preparing recommended re
quirements for flameproofing of mattresses. Parts of the proposed
building code of the Building Officials Conference of America were
reviewed from the standpoint of fire-resistance requirements. Infor
mation was also given a number of representatives of domestic and
foreign organizations and institutions on equipment and methods of
conducting fire resistance and fire-hazard tests.
I n v e st ig a t io n
of
G a so l in e L ea k a g e
On discovery that gasoline was leaking into local wells, Arlington
County, Va., requested assistance of the Bureau. From tests of
samples, the probable source was indicated, and it was stated that
the underground pool of gasoline was large. A t that time, less than
a thousand gallons had been removed, but the total proved to be more
than 10,000 gallons. Pressure tests of the suspect tanks and core
drilling to define the contaminated area, advised by the Bureau, later
proved the correctness of the indicated source. Precautions to be
taken against fire and health hazards were recommended.
R a d ia t io n M e a s u r e m e n t
Much consulting work for other departments and agencies con
cerned the measurement of ultraviolet radiant energy in the germicidal
and erythemal bands. The United States Public Health Service
sought the Bureau’s assistance in the calibration of metering devices.
The Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administra
tion have been concerned with the control of the sale of radiant-energy
emitters to the public. The latter institution has also been aided in
constructing infrared equipment for chemical analysis. On numer
ous occasions, the Weather Bureau has been furnished with informa
tion in regard to problems connected with the measurement of solar
and sky radiant energy and the absorption of ozone.
226
REPORT OF TH E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
M olds
fo r
A r t if ic ia l H
ands and
G loves
The electrodeposition section cooperated with the Medical Corps,.
United States Army, in developing methods for electroforming molds
for artificial hands and gloves. A small plant has since been installed
at Walter Reed Hospital to produce these molds. The section also
conferred with the War and Navy Departments regarding methods of
electroforming molds for making plastic relief maps, and with the
Geological Survey in a study of an electrolytic method for altering
engraved copper map plates.
G as C h e m is t r y
Advice was rendered to the Army and Navy Air Services, various^
educational institutions, the health departments of all the States, sev
eral municipalities, industrial concerns, and private individuals re
garding the determination of toxic amounts of carbon monoxide in air,
and on many general and some highly special problems in gas analysis
by chemical and physical methods. Recommendations concerning the
safe and efficient utilization of fuel gases in domestic burners and in
stallations were given to industrial concerns, municipal governments,
public utilities groups, and private individuals. Information regard
ing the determination of water vapor in breathing oxygen and other
compressed gases was furnished to the air services, research groups,,
and industrial concerns.
X - ra y E q u ip m e n t
The X-ray section has been consulted to an increasing extent by the
Army, Navy, Veterans’ Administration, and Public Health Service
regarding programs of X-ray-equipment purchase, inspection, and
certification. Members of the Bureau staff have acted as major scien
tific consultants to the War Department in the investigation and design
of new army field X-ray equipment, and the War Department is under
taking in the coming year a $250,000 development program of this
kind of apparatus. This involves redesign of transformers, tube
heads, tables, photographic processing equipment, etc., with the idea
of increasing the radiation output and at the same time making the
unit compact and light enough to permit its use in air-borne operations.
The Bureau rendered considerable assistance to the Veterans’ Admin
istration in the preparation of specifications for standard hospital
X-ray equipment. On the basis of the Bureau’s recommendations,
the Veterans’ Administration is now undertaking a large procure
ment program, and in the coming year the X-ray laboratory has under
taken to type test all essential components of this equipment.
B u il d in g M a ter ia ls
The Bureau is continually called upon by Government Departments
for advice concerning such problems as roofing, waterproofing, and
floor treatments. Assistance was given the Office of the Chief of
Engineers, War Department, by several field inspections and the recom
mendations for the maintenance and repair of roofs. For example,.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
227
at the Memphis General Depot, where estimates immediately follow
ing a hailstorm in 1942 called for the replacement of all roofs at a
cost of $300,000, the Bureau recommended that a small portion of the
roofs be replaced and the remainder be repaired at a total cost of less
than $50,000. I t was recently estimated that the repaired roofs will
render at least 20 years of total service if recoated about once every
5 years. Assistance was also given the Office of the Chief of Engineers
in drawing up an experimental program for repairing and replacing
the waterproofing membranes on concrete ammunition magazines, igloo
type, and in preparing its March 12,1947, issue of Ad Interim Recom
mended Practice for Corps of Engineers Construction, Painting.
A coustics of G overnment B uildings
Members of the sound section gave advice on the proper acoustic
treatment of various governmental auditoria, office rooms, and labora
tories. Examples are the acoustic analysis of a junior high school
auditorium, the analysis of the waiting room of the District Maternity
Clinic, recommendations on painting large acoustic plaster installa
tions in the Department of the Interior Building, advice and measure
ments on the design of a dead room to be used by the Naval Engineer
ing Experiment Station at Annapolis, advice on phonograph systems
to be used by the Talking Book Division of the Library of Congress,
measurements on the acoustics of airplane engine testing cells at the
Marine Air Corps base at Cherry Point, N. C., noise-level measure
ments for the National Gallery of Art, noise-level survey at the Nevius
site for the Veterans’ Administration Hospital, and advice on the
elimination of vibrations in the Treasury Building.
H ydraulics of S pillway T u n n els
In response to an inquiry from the Rural Electrification Adminis
tration, the hydraulics of the spillway tunnels for a proposed hydro
electric power station were studied. Recommendations were made
regarding provisions for aeration and for possible changes in design
to eliminate excessive pressure reductions and to increase the capacity.
The REA was informed that quantitative results could be obtained
only by making model tests.
B one P lates and S crews
The Bureau assisted the Office of the Surgeon General, War De
partment, in drawing up tentative revised Army-Navy specifications
for bone plates, screws, and drills. Plates, screws, and drills meeting
these specifications were used successfully in Army and other hospitals
during the year.
Consultations were held with the Committee on Fractures and Other
Traumas of the American College of Surgeons with a view to revising
Commercial Standard CS37-31, Steel Bone Plates and Screws, em
bodying the essential provisions of these Army-Navy tentative speci
fications. It is hoped that agreement can be reached on the revision
during the 1947-48 fiscal year.
228
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
A ir p l a n e A c c id e n t s
For many years the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Navy Depart
ment and the Civil Aeronautics Board have requested this Bureau to
assist them in determining the causes of airplane accidents. This in
volves a detailed study of the fractures and deformations of parts of
the wreckage as well as the materials themselves. An example is the
investigation of the tail surfaces of the C54B, NC88814 airplane
which crashed near Bainbridge, Maine, May 30, 1947. Consultations
were held with members of the staff of the Civil Aeronautics Board,
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the Eastern Air
Lines, the Martin Aircraft Co., and the Douglas Aircraft Co. I t was
possible to determine the main sequence of events in the failure of the
tail surfaces, but no adequate explanation of the start of the accident
was found in the wreckage submitted.
During 1947 the Metallurgy Division made metallurgical exami
nations and participated in the investigations of several spectacular
and highly publicized crashes of airplanes, including the Constella
tion plane which caught fire, crashed, and burned near Reading, Pa.,
in July 1946, the DC—4 plane which crashed recently at Port Deposit,
Md., one helicopter failure in Seattle, Wash., and one in Providence,
R. I., and the failure of an engine from a Constellation in Syria.
The origin of the fire that caused the crash of the Constellation at
Reading, Pa., was found to be in metal studs which conducted elec
tric current through the fuselage wall. Arcing in these studs pre
sumably ignited combustible materials in the sound proofing. Testi
mony to this effect was submitted at a 3-day hearing in Reading. In
the examination of engine parts from the Constellation failure in
Syria, a fatigue fracture was found in a rocker arm ; another part of
the engine had failed from excessive loads incident to the failure of
other parts. One helicopter failure was caused by damage to the con
trols and the other by failure of a pillow block from rough handling.
A rctic Communications
Arctic communications were the concern of many officers in the Navy
and Coast Guard. Information was given to the Byrd and the Ronne
Antarctic Expeditions regarding techniques of recording, scaling, and
tabulation sheets and scaling glasses for use with manual ionospheric
records. A brief memorandum on ionospheric conditions which might
be expected, copies of pertinent Bureau publications, and reports and
photostat copies of data from Fairbanks, Alaska, for July and August
1946 were furnished the expeditions.
Information was given to the Division of Naval Communications
concerning conditions in the auroral zone, with a discussion of skywave transmission difficulties in Canada and the quality of transmis
sion obtained by the stations of the Weather Bureau’s network in
northern Greenland and vicinity. Naval Communications was also
given information on best hours of transmission by means of sporadic
E, together with suggested optimum working frequencies, for the Navy
circuit between Washington and Melville Bay, Greenland. Advice was
given to the Coast Guard on communications for operation Nanook.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
229
L ow-T emperature F lashlight C ells
Several hundred flashlight cells of the low-temperature type were
made at the Bureau and delivered to both the Byrd and the Bonne
Antarctic Expeditions, and a smaller number to the Signal Corps for
use in the Arctic. Also, batteries of the reserve type using fluoboric
acid, suitable for use in the Arctic, were furnished to the Army Air
Force, W right Field, for use in connection with development work
carried out at that laboratory.
COOPEBATIVE ACTIVITIES
New advances in science, in addition to the revival of research pro
grams postponed during the war, have brought about a pronounced
increase in the activities of technical societies and trade and industrial
associations in all fields of science and technology. In keeping with
its primary research functions, the Bureau has continued to keep in
constant touch with, and to contribute to, scientific, technical, and
industrial developments through participation in hundreds of tech
nical committees of such societies, associations, and official commis
sions. The Bureau, in cooperation with these agencies, plays a vital
part in standardization of materials and products and in the industrial
application of scientific discoveries.
Besides its large membership on committees of the Federal Specifi
cations Board, which is responsible for development of specifications
for purchase of Government supplies, the Bureau takes an active part
in developing and improving specifications and standards and in other
projects of such national societies and technical groups as the Ameri
can Society for Testing Materials, American Standards Association,
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, National Besearch
Council, Society of Automotive Engineers, American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, American Society of Heating and Ventilating
Engineers, American Society of Befrigeration Engineers, Horological
Institute of America, Coordinating Besearch Committee, American
Institute of Electrical Engineers, American Geophysical Union, Amer
ican Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, Technical Associa
tion of the Pulp and Paper Industry, American Leather Chemists As
sociation, Textile Foundation, Bubber Beserve Committee, American
Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical S°"
cietv, American Physical Society, American Ceramic Society, Ameri
can Concrete Institute, Highway Besearch Board, Porcelain Enamel
Institute, and Institute of Badio Engineers.
The Bureau provides an important consulting and advisory service
to the Army and Navy through chairmanship and representation on
the technical committees of the Joint Besearch and Development
Board, the Joint Aeronautical Board, Joint Battery Advisory Com
mittee, the Army Signal Association, Joint Chiefs of Staff Guided
Missiles Committee, and the Army Air Forces Scientific Advisory
Board. International technical society representations by Bureau
members include the International Union of Chemistry, International
Telecommunications Conference, International Committee for Badiological Units, International Committee for Badiation Protection,
230
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
International Commission on Illumination, and International Com
mission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis.
The American Society for Testing Materials is an outstanding ex
ample of the extent of the Bureau’s participation and cooperation in
technical committees and conferences. Of the 63 technical committees
of this society, the Bureau is represented in 52, with total Bureau
membership of more than 100. The American Standards Association
represents another association to which the Bureau has contributed
extensively. It has membership on more than 115 ASA committees
and is the managing agency for 17 ASA projects. Drs. E. U. Condon
and E. C. Crittenden, Director and Associate Director of the Bureau,
respectively, are members of the ASA Board of Directors, while the
latter is also chairman of the ASA Standards Council. Dr. Condon
is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Brookhaven
National Laboratory, operated by Associated Universities, Inc., under
contract with the Atomic Energy Commission.
F ederal S pecifications
A large part of the work of the Bureau is concerned with the devel
opment of specifications for the purchase of supplies (other than foods
and drugs) for the Federal Government. The Federal Specifications
Board, under the chairmanship of the Director of the National Bureau
of Standards and in cooperation with the Bureau of Federal Supply,
discharges this function through 72 Federal Specifications Committees,
which include over 100 members of the staff of the Bureau. Federal
specifications are also generally recognized as dependable guides by
many large organizations and purchasing agencies in achieving pur
chasing economy. More than 1,750 specifications and approximately
20 emergency alternate specifications, designed to conserve strategic
materials, are currently effective.
R esearch A ssociates
The research associate program is an arrangement by which private
industry, trade associations, consumer organizations, and, in some
cases, private individuals can cooperate with the Bureau in research
on problems of mutual interest. The supporting organizations reach
an agreement with the Bureau on the nature of the studies and on the
associates that the supporting group will hire to carry on the investi
gations. The Bureau’s contribution includes the laboratory facilities,
consultation services, and direction of the project if this is thought
desirable.
Rules governing the research associate projects concern the nature
of the investigations and the reporting of results. Investigations must
not only be of interest and value to all groups concerned in the par
ticular field and to the Federal Government but must also be important
from the standpoint of the Nation’s sum total of technologic knowl
edge. The results of the research are made available to the Nation by
the Bureau.
The research associate plan was established in 1920. Since that
time more than 175 organizations and individuals have supported
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
231
cooperative research at the Bureau. There are extremely few sub
fields in the area of physics, chemistry, and engineering which have
not been the subject of investigation under the plan at one time or
another. Many of the projects have been extremely specific and there
fore of relatively short duration. Others, such as that supported by
xhe Portland Cement Association, have been directed toward funda
mental research in the field ; this particular project has been continu
ously active since 1924. The project sponsored by the American Den
tal Association has been in existence since 1930, and that sponsored by
the Cast Iron Pipe Research Association since 1928.
At the close of the year 14 groups were supporting 72 research as
sociates at the Bureau. Cooperative projects on dental materials,
structural materials, fuels, porcelain, chinaware, hydrocarbons, and
bone char were under way, sponsored by the following groups : Ameri
can Dental Association, American Iron & Steel Institute, American
Petroleum Institute, American Society for Testing Materials, Asphalt
Roofing Industrial Bureau, Calcium Chloride Association, Cast Iron
Pipe Research Association, Coordinating Research Council, National
Lime Association, Porcelain Enamel Institute, Portland Cement As
sociation, Structural Clay Products Institute, U. S. Cane Sugar Re
finers and Bone Char Manufacturers of the United States and Great
Britain, and the Vitrified China Association.
N a t io n a l C o n f e r e n c e
on
W
e ig h t s a n d
M e a su r e s
The Thirty-Second National Conference on Weights and Measures,
the first meeting of this conference since 1941, was held in Washing
ton, D. C., on September 26 to 28, 1946, under the sponsorship of the
National Bureau of Standards. Registration totaled 242, including
official representation from 29 States and the District of Columbia.
Dr. E. U. Condon, Director of the Bureau, was elected president of
the conference, and R. W. Smith, Assistant Executive Officer of the
Bureau, secretary.
Emphasis at the conference was placed on reports of committees
and representatives of weights and measures jurisdictions, together
with reports and proposals from trade associations, organizations in
related fields, and Government agencies. Among these were the As
sociation of Food and Drug Officials of the United States; National
Scale Men’s Association; American Petroleum Institute; Gasoline
Pump Manufacturers Association; Tissue Association; National As
sociation of Scale Manufacturers, Inc. ; Glass Container Manufactur
ers Institute, Inc.; the Joint ASME-ÂPI Committee on Oil Meter
Research ; United States Department of Agriculture ; and the Federal
Food and Drug Administration.
C onference of the S tate U tility C ommission E ngineers
The Twenty-Fifth Annual Conference of the State Utility Com
mission Engineers was held at Madison, Wis., June 10 to 12, 1947,
with John W. Kushing of the Michigan Public Service Commission,
vice chairman of the conference, presiding. R. L. Lloyd, of the Bu
reau’s Codes and Specifications Division, served as secretary of the
232
REPORT OP T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
conference, an office normally held by a member of the Bureau staff.
Fifty-one engineers attended as representatives of 20 States, the
Province of Ontario, the National Association of Railroad and Utility
Commissioners, and the Federal Government. Technical reports were
presented on the production and use of propane gas, Government
power projects and taxes, the history of the telephone industry, the
mobile telephone problem, electric rates, water rates, measurement
of natural gases, precision testing of watt-hour meter, and other
problems of current importance to utility engineers.
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS FOR APPLIED MECHANICS
The Sixth International Congress for Applied Mechanics was held
in Paris at the Sorbonne, September 22-29, 1946, bringing together
for the first time since the war those scientists interested in theoretical
and experimental work on the elastic and plastic properties of mate
rials and structures, fluid mechanics, vibration, sound, friction and
lubrication, thermodynamics, combustion, and heat transfer. At the
Congress, Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, Associate Director of the Bureau, was
elected to the International Committee as the fourth United States
representative; H. U. Sverdrup and R. von Mises, who now reside in
the United States, were elected individual members. The Interna
tional Committee, consisting of outstanding scientists from member
nations in the field of applied mechanics, is the managing body of the
Congress, which is concerned with international cooperation in, and
advancement and standardization of, the sciences of applied mechanics.
I nternational C ommittee on W eights and M easures
The International Committee on Weights and Measures met in
Sevres and Paris, October 22 to 29, 1946, for its first official session
since 1937. Out of 15 members, 11 took part in the session. These
were Louis de Broglie of France; G. Cassinis, Italy: M. Chatelainr
U. S. S. R .; E. C. Crittenden, Associate Director of the National Bu
reau of Standards, U. S. A.; M. Dehalu, Belgium; W. J. deHaas,
Netherlands; E. S. Johansen, Denmark; W. Kosters, Germany; Z.
Rauszer, Poland; M. Ros, Switzerland; J. E. Sears, Great Britain;
and, in addition, Albert Perard, Director of the International Bureau
of Weights and Measures. Technical problems considered by the com
mittee included the practicability of adopting the wave length of some
spectral line as the primary standard of length, the definition of units
of heat, and the revision of the international scale of temperature.
Definite decisions were made to proceed with the adjustments of the
units of electricity and of light which had been planned for 1940, and
to introduce the new units into practice as of January 1,1948.
I nternational C ommission for U niform M ethods of S ugar
A nalysis
The International Commission, composed of representatives from
the various countries engaged in the production and refining of sugar,
lias been fn existence for more than 50 years. The last meeting was
held in London in 1936, at which time representatives from 23 coun
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
233
tries were in attendance. The Commission is to be reconvened in
Prague, August 9-14, 1948, and the Bureau was instrumental in the
fiscal year in the preparation of comprehensive agenda, together with
the committee assignments. Copies of the agenda have been trans
mitted to all referees and associate referees. Two members of the
Bureau staff serve as general referees and four other members serve
as associate referees. The Bureau is now looked upon throughout the
sugar world as the leader in optical rotation measurements and the
most authentic source of information on polariscopic standards.
F uel R esearch
Since the initiation of the Coordinating Fuel Research Committee
in 1922 to further the mutual adaptation of engines and fuels, the Bu
reau’s automotive section has been an active participant in this develop
mental research. This work is chiefly responsible for the outstanding
excellence of our present fuels and motor vehicles. The Bureau holds
membership on the Aviation, Motor, Diesel, and Non-Petroleum Fuels
Divisions, as well as on the main committee and on many panels and
groups.
A udiometry and H earing A ids
In July 1947, the audiometry and hearing aids subcommittee (Bu
reau representative, chairman) of American Standards Association
Committee Z24 had practically completed a specification for the per
formance of audiometers which are used to diagnose defects in hearing.
The impetus for this standardization came in large part from the
Veterans’ Administration, which during the fiscal year 1947-48 will
probably purchase about 250 such audiometers. Within the past 10
years as many as 14 different specifications for audiometers were
promulgated.
By obtaining the cooperation of industry representatives, Govern
ment procurement agency representatives, testing agencies, and physi
cians who use audiometers for diagnostic purposes, it is hoped that
the specification for audiometers will supersede almost all others in
existence in this country. This specification will very likely be used
by the Veterans’ Administration, and by the Council on Physical
Medicine of the American Medical Association. A t a recent meeting
of the council, the consultants on audiometers and hearing aids to the
council indicated that they would be willing to incorporate into their
specification all of the basic acoustic requirements contained in the
ASA specifications.
Weather Bureau
During the second postwar year the trend of demands for weather
service continued upward. The foremost problem facing the Weather
Bureau was to meet these demands within the limits of available appro
priations.
Small additions to staff and facilities were made at a few field units.
These provided more highly specialized services to industry, commerce,
and agriculture, within designated State areas, and general meteoro
logical information and local forecasts were supplied to many commu
nities heretofore lacking such weather service. To effect a greater
utilization of the large quantity of meteorological data on file, the
climatological program was modified so as to assist in planning agri
cultural operations and business enterprises.
The expansion of international aviation brought further new
demands upon the Bureau for service and facilities. Many of these
new requirements had official recognition in international agreements.
Demobilization of military weather units abroad placed on the
Weather Bureau the responsibility to staff and operate weather sta
tions in a number of locations beyond our shores, to support air oper
ations on international routes. Some of these activities were located
on foreign soil, pending the rehabilitation of foreign weather services.
In line with this policy the Weather Bureau undertook, with the co
operation of the State Department, to assist the Republic of the
Philippines in organizing and establishing its own meteorological
service.
Accepting the commercial radio as one of the most effective means
of communicating weather forecasts and advices to the public, the
Weather Bureau yielded to new requests for cooperation, and by the
end of the year 157 commercial radio stations were broadcasting
weather information direct from Weather Bureau offices, without cost
to the Government.
Du ring the fiscal year, there was additional improvement in river
forecasting services, including the development of water supply fore
casts in western areas. The restoration of weather reporting service
from ships at sea was also undertaken during the year, with great
success.
Exhaustive investigations of the causes and mechanisms of thunder
storms were begun in Florida; analysis of the results of these first
investigations was started in 1947 and the field project was reorganized
to undertake similar investigations in Ohio during the warm season
of 1947.
The beginning of the fiscal year 1947 saw realization of the plans
made previously to establish weather reporting stations in the Arctic.
.Early m the year a station was established in northern Greenland, and
235
236
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
before the close of the year another station was established at Eureka
Sound, in far northern Canada.
The necessity for close international cooperation in meteorological
work was emphasized by the Allied military operations during the war,
and remains more important than ever before as the world is restored
to more normal peacetime pursuits. Numerous international confer
ences, at which the Weather Bureau was represented, have devoted
their attention to the problems of international weather exchanges
and standardization of practice.
Several of these conferences were directed to making preliminary
arrangements for the International Conference of Directors, to be
held in the fall of 1947 at Washington, D. C.; this body normally
meets every 4 years, and is scheduled for the first time in its history
to meet outside of Europe.
Several new instruments were developed and put into experimental
operation. Statistical and theoretical research concerning problems
of forecasting the weather was continued and techniques for local
forecasting were improved.
More detailed discussion of activities and developments in the
Weather Bureau during the fiscal year 1947 is given below:
G eneral W eather S ervice
Extensive weather service to the general public continued during
the year. In addition, arrangements were made for preparation and
distribution of weather forecasts for a number of localities that have
no direct contact with a Weather Bureau office. In most cases of this
nature, forecasts were made available to the local radio stations for
periodic broadcasts. Expansion was made in the programs of news
paper weather maps, radio broadcasts direct from our offices, and
the dissemination of all warnings of severe weather. The program
was designed, principally, for the individual having no particular
meteorological background but who, nevertheless, has a genuine need
for weather information. Automatic telephone service was continued
in six of the large cities with the number of calls monthly averaging
close to 1 million. Sampling of service contacts with the general
public during representative weeks at the various seasons of the year
yielded figures ranging from 109,000 contacts in July to 214,000
contacts in January.
The basic network of weather stations was decreased by 14. Twentynine field offices were closed and 15 new stations were opened at
locations where demand for weather service was greatest.
Weather analysis center.—The weather analysis center of the
Weather Bureau prepared complete daily analyses of weather over the
United States and adjacent ocean and land areas for distribution to
the meteorological offices of the Weather Bureau, Army, Navy, and
commercial air lines. This distribution, which included weather
prognostic charts, aided field offices in rendering service to the public
by providing the basic meteorological information in an analyzed
form. Before the close of the year plans were completed for the
establishment of a joint Weather Bureau, Army, and Navy Analysis
W EA TH ER BUREAU
237
Center. This will be a consolidation of the analysis centers of the
three agencies.
Communications.—The United States international weather teletype
system, known as Service O, was expanded so that all Weather Bureau
forecast offices are connected to the system and receive reports from
the entire Northern Hemisphere. This expansion has made possible
the elimination of foreign reports from the domestic teletype sys
tem, Service C. This latter system is now carrying all reports, fore
casts, analyses, etc., required by the average Weather Bureau office
to provide the basis for a broad program of public, aviation, and
special service to the surrounding community. At forecast offices
where a more comprehensive picture of the synoptic situation is re
quired, the Service O system supplements on a world-wide basis the
reports received on Service C.
The Weather Bureau established a communications and bulletin
unit in connection with the office at LaGuardia Field, New York. This
unit prepares bulletins for the trans-Atlantic meteorological exchange
over the WSY radioteletype network. The unit also edits bulletins
received from Europe and Africa before transmission is made on the
United States teletype system. This exchange of meteorological in
formation was established to meet the requirements prescribed by
the ICAO North Atlantic Regional Conferences.
Radio broadcasts.—The number of microphones installed in Weather
Bureau offices by commercial radio stations was still further increased,
bringing the total to 157 now broadcasting more than 300 programs
daily direct from Weather Bureau offices. The large listener group
reached through this medium assures widespread dissemination of all
warnings of impending severe weather, which are emphasized in these
broadcasts when appropriate.
In response to an increasing demand from aviation interests, a
number of Weather Bureau offices expanded the content of these di
rect broadcasts to include some information of special interest to
pilots. In many cases aviation weather data are broadcast in quan
tity and of suitable quality to enable the private pilot to plan his
flights with some degree of safety even though he may be operating
from a field located at a considerable distance from the nearest
Weather Bureau office.
Newspaper weather maps.—The Weather Bureau continued its
policy of providing, insofar as facilities permit, sketch maps which
make possible the publication of weather maps by the press. In addi
tion to the considerable number of weather maps published by news
papers through cooperation of individual local offices, the Weather
Bureau also collaborated in the preparation of the wire-photo maps
distributed through established wire-photo press services. One of the
charts regularly distributed represents a departure from the usual
type of weather map in that it portrays predicted conditions rather
than current weather.
A viation- W eather S ervices
Domestic aviation.—The rapid postwar expansion of all phases of
civil aviation resulted in a corresponding increase in the requirements
238
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
for aviation weather service. In some localities these demands ex
ceeded the ability of the Bureau’s facilities to meet them satisfactorily.
As a consequence, 90 cooperative airway weather reporting stations
were established to provide the reports required for scheduled aircarrier operation. The additional forecast load was assumed by the
existing forecast centers without augmenting staffs.
Regional airway forecasts, prepared by 16 airway forecast centers,
covered the entire area of the continental United States, while 3 cen
ters forecast for the Alaskan area. Terminal forecasts by 21 fore
cast centers provided specific information concerning expected weather
conditions at the major terminals throughout the country, including
Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands.
The Flight Advisory Weather Service units, located m 26 airway
traffic control centers throughout the United States, continued to pro
vide a specialized type of weather service to controllers for the pro
tection of aircraft in flight. Insofar as communication facilities per
mitted, the advices from these units were also relayed direct to the
pilots of the aircraft.
. .
International aviation.—In May 1947 the Provisional International
Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO) became a permanent organi
zation, ICAO. Since the United States is a member of IC AO, the
Weather Bureau became directly concerned with and responsible for
ICAO matters pertaining to meteorology.
During the fiscal year i947 the Weather Bureau made preparations
for and took part in the second session of the ICAO Meteorological
Division, which convened in Montreal, Canada, and participated in
three ICAO Regional Air Navigation Meetings: The Caribbean Re
gional Meeting held in Washington, D. C.; the Middle East Regional
Meeting in Cairo, Egypt; and the South Pacific Regional Meeting m
Melbourne, Australia. Preparations were also completed for the
South American and South Atlantic ICAO Regional Air h avigation
Meetings. The purpose of Weather Bureau participation m these
meetings was to help develop a program for the establishment ox
meteorological facilities and services that would meet the needs ox
international aviation operations and provide for necessary stand
ardization.
. .. . T 1
The Weather Bureau participated m a conference held m London
to develop a program for the establishment of an adequate number of
weather ships to be strategically located in the North Atlantic to
provide weather information for international airways. The confer
ence aoreed that thirteen weather ship stations should be established
in the'North Atlantic, the cost of seven and one-half to be assumed
by the United States. Action to implement this agreement is still
* To meet the needs of increased international air traffic, main meteor
ological offices (independent international aviation forecast centers)
were established at Honolulu and San Juan, and additional personnel
were provided at San Francisco and New York.
On November 1, 1946, ICAO procedures were put into effect at all
Weather Bureau stations serving international air routes in the North
Atlantic Region, in accordance with agreements under PICAO.
W EATH ER BUREAU
239
In accordance with an agreement completed early in the fiscal year
1947 between the Air Transport Command and the Weather Bureau,
the latter assumed responsibility for staffing with observing and fore
casting personnel approximately 50 foreign stations in Central and
South America, Europe, North Africa, Asia, and numerous Pacific
Islands. Approximately 200 men were so assigned. Under the tech
nical direction of the Air Weather Service of the Army Air Forces,
they provided essential meteorological services for both military flights
and international commercial carriers.
Under authority of Executive Orders 9709 and 9797, the Weather
Bureau assumed the operation of a number of meteorological stations
formerly operated by the military services. Most of these stations
were in the Alaskan area, with a few widely scattered stations in the
Caribbean, North Atlantic, North African, and North Pacific areas.
The type of services provided at these stations varied widely—ranging
from outpost stations staffed with one or two weather observers to
large meteorological offices providing complete forecasting, pilot brief
ing, and observational services.
C limatological S ervices
Climatological reports and data.—Little change was made in the
basic network of climatological reporting points which, for the most
part, are located in small towns or at the homes of farmers throughout
the United States and Alaska. There are more than 5,700 such stations
manned primarily by unpaid cooperative observers who observe and
record rainfall, temperature, and weather each day. These data were
checked and tabulated in climatological section centers, most of which
are located at State capitals. The tabulated data were published
weekly, monthly, and annually in the climatological service bulletins
of the Weather Bureau.
Climatological statistics were also gathered and published monthly
and annually for all regular Weather Bureau stations manned by
full-time personnel. These stations are located in large cities or at
principal airports. The climatological information furnished by this
network is used extensively by business, industry, and aviation in post
evaluation of operations, in planning future operations, and in de
termining design values.
Machine tabulation of climatological data.—K pilot project involv
ing the processing of Weather Bureau records on tabulating Cards was
carried on during the year at New Orleans, La. This project involved
the machine tabulation of weather records from the States of Missis
sippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. The
project demonstrated the effectiveness, flexibility, and efficiency of the
machine methods of processing weather records. Because of the
success of this project, plans were made for its extension to other
regions.
Master punched-card library.—Organized and implemented through
the efforts of the Army, Navy, and Weather Bureau during early 1946,
the joint library of weather data on punched cards, located at New
Orleans, La., now contains 100,000,000 such cards. These represent
weather observations recorded in the United States and abroad. Also
766188— 47------ 18
240
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
in the joint library is maintained a repository for all original Army
and Navy weather records.
Special projects.—In addition to its routine climatological work,
the Weather Bureau conducted several special climatological projects.
The most noteworthy of these are:
1. Preparation of Wind Boses for the CAA: This project was un
dertaken at the Weather Bureau Tabulation Unit located at New
Orleans, La. The project is financed by funds transferred from CAA
to the Weather Bureau. The wind roses produced under this arrange
ment are used in planning the lay-out of runways for the Nation-wide
airport construction program. Low-visibility wind roses are used in
planning the installation of landing equipment.
2. The Navy Aerological Project: The Weather Bureau carried on
a continuing project of summarizing Navy aerological records by
punched-card methods. The project was financed by funds trans
ferred from the Navy Department to the Weather Bureau.
3. Wind Factors Project: A tabulation of Weather Bureau upper
air data, showing the net aiding and retarding effects of upper air
winds along principal United States routes, was completed.
4. The Weather Guide Project: There has been an increasing de
mand for climatological data presented in terms of probabilities and
frequency-of-occurrence tabulations for use as weather guides in the
solution of long-range planning problems. To make plans as to how
the Bureau may satisfy these demands, a pilot project, which trans
lated the mass of weather data for Washington, D. C., into terms of
frequencies and probabilities, was undertaken and completed during
the year.
Other special projects include studies of the relationship of weather
to various phases of business, industry, and agriculture, such as the
relationship between corn maturity and autumn frost.
5. Trust Fund Activities: During the year there was a marked
increase in the demand for special weather tabulations, the results of
which could be stated in specific operational terms and applied to
specific problems of business, industry, and agriculture. Since the
Weather Bureau does not regularly furnish such special tabulations at
public expense, arrangements were made whereby private individuals
or enterprises could pay for the cost of such special requests through
the use of trust funds, in accordance with the act of May 27,1935, title
15 U. S. Code 189A, Public Law No. 74. The largest special project
undertaken under this arrangement was a study involving the effect
of weather on the growth of pineapples and sugarcane in the Hawaiian
Islands. Other special projects carried out under the trust-fund ar
rangement were completed for the Glenn L. Martin Co., Pacific Mills
Corp., Pan American Airways, General Electric Co., Du Pont Corp.,
and others.
H ydrologic S ervices
Water-supply forecasts.—Forecasts of water supply were issued
for the Columbia, Colorado, Bio Grande, Platte, and Great Salt Lake
Basins. Those forecasts were issued monthly in bulletin form from
January through May to serve as a guide in planning water use for
irrigation, electric power, and other activities requiring advanced
W EATH ER BUREAU
241
knowledge of water supply. Procedures were developed for other
portions of the Great Basin.
River and flood forecasts.—Specialized river forecasting centers
were established at Kansas City, Mo., and Cincinnati, Ohio, to serve the
Lower Missouri and Ohio River Basins, respectively. These centers
prepare integrated river forecasts for key points and transmit them to
designated river district offices. The district offices are responsible for
the localization, interpretation, and dissemination of the forecasts.
Modern forecast procedures are being developed for all important
points within these areas. Heretofore, the district offices were responsi
ble for preparing the original forecast for one or more river basins
in their district.
Flood warnings.—One of the vital services performed by the
Weather Bureau is the flood-warning service. During the year, 45
major floods in the United States caused $150,000,000 in damage to
property. Reports covering the value of the flood warnings issued
indicate that at least $15,000,000 in damage was prevented by the
timely issuance of warnings. Detailed reports on the floods that
occurred are available in the pages of the Monthly Weather Review.
Hydrometeorological investigations.—Continuing its investigations
for and in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers, War Depart
ment, and supported by $103,000 of transferred flood-control funds,
the Weather Bureau provided hydrometeorological information essen
tial to proper design of flood-control structures.
Sixty-seven storm studies were completed during the year. From
such data, estimates of maximum possible rainfall were prepared for
30 river basins throughout the United States. In addition, an inten
sive study was made of the maximum possible precipitation, including
snowmelt contributions, over the Missouri River Basin between Garri
son and Fort Randall. Comparable studies were being continued for
the Osage and Meramec River Basins of Missouri. A similar investi
gation was approaching completion for the San Joaquin Basin, Calif.
The preparation of isohyetal maps covering the United States east of
the one hundred and fifth meridian was well advanced. These maps
represent maximum possible precipitation for areas of 10, 200, and
500 square miles. Also, an exhaustive report on the theory, statistics,
and hydrologic aspects of thunderstorm rainfall was nearing pub
lication.
In another cooperative project, studies were conducted under funds
transferred from the Bureau of Reclamation to determine from snow
fall and rainfall data the maximum possible flood-producing condi
tions in the upper Colorado, Gunnison, Little Colorado, Muddy, and
Mojave River Basins. These investigations provide information
needed for the design of irrigation dams, spillways, and other engi
neering works.
Cooperative flood-control activities.—For several years the Weather
Bureau has operated an extensive network of stations which make reg
ular measurements of precipitation and furnish reports of river stages.
These reports, together with synoptic weather observations and
weather forecasts, are relayed direct to offices of the Corps of En
gineers, War Department, and become the basis for the operation of
flood-control works. Precipitation data from 4,342 stations are pub
242
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
lished regularly in the monthly Hydrologic Bulletins, which serve a
basic need in connection with the planning of flood-control activities.
Another aid to flood control consists in the preparation of rainfall
forecasts, made 24 to 48 hours in advance, and giving day-to-day esti
mates of the amounts of precipitation that are to be anticipated. Dur
ing the year, the Bureau was strongly supported in the maintenance
of its hydroclimatic networks through the transfer of approximately
$421,000 from flood-control funds of the Corps of Engineers. In addi
tion, the Corps of Engineers provided about $46,000 to cover the
expenses of collection of current reports for flood-control operation.
S pecialized S ervices
Shippers'1 Temperature Bulletin.—To fill a need for temperature
indications on a Nation-wide basis, the Shippers’ Temperature Bulletin
was inaugurated November 1,1946. The Shippers’ Temperature Bul
letin consists of predictions of maximum and minimum temperatures
for representative areas surrounding more than 70 important cities
throughout the country. The bulletin is prepared in sections by the
12 district forecast centers and filed for Nation-wide transmission via
teletype at 0930 EST, each day. Temperature predictions in the bulle
tin include the highest expected for the current day, the predicted
maximum and minimum temperature for the second day, and, on occa
sion, predictions for the third day. The Shippers’ Temperature Bulle
tin is intended to furnish general guidance to local Weather Bureau
offices in preparing forecasts for long-distance shipments.
Specialized service centers.—To meet increased demands for weather
service from agriculture, industry, and the general public, special
public service centers were established at Albany, N. Y., Harrisburg,
Pa., St. Louis, Mo., Des Moines, Iowa, Houston, Tex., and Portland,
Oreg. These service centers are pilot projects to determine the most
economical method of providing forecasts designed for particular
interests.
Each service center was assigned responsibility for coordinating the
specialized service program for an entire State. The principal duties
were to adapt to specific activities and areas the general forecasts
issued by district forecast offices. Special emphasis was placed on
increased service to agriculture. Agricultural weather forecasts and
other information for the use of farmers were widely distributed by
direct broadcasts from Weather Bureau offices, on farm radio pro
grams conducted by Extension Service agents, and on commercial
radio farm programs. For special farm operations, such as spraying,
dusting, and harvesting various types of crops, special programs were
arranged in cooperation with the Extension Service and commercial
radio stations to furnish farmers with specialized weather informa
tion needed to plan these activities successfully.
The service centers also provided localized forecasts to many com
munities where there is no Weather Bureau office. These communi
ties formerly had available only the general forecasts applicable to
large areas, which are not sufficiently particular to meet the needs of
local interests and activities.
W EA TH ER BUREAU
243
Fire-weather service.—Specialized fire-weather forecasts for use of
Federal, State, county, and private fire-fighting organizations were m
increased demand. This was partly because forestry agencies were
embarking on continuous-crop (sustained-yield) programs in new
areas, which necessitated greater protection from nre. Another con
tributing factor was the increased cost of reforestation which resulted
in greater investment in future timber crops, making it more impera
tive than ever before to prevent destruction by fire. _ A third reason
was greater use of the forests by the public, resulting in increased
fire hazard. Although nearly 2,000 more fires occurred on national
forest land alone, as compared with last year, the total area burned
was 25,000 acres less than in 1946. P art of this creditable record
was attributed to the fire-weather service.
In addition to existing fire-weather offices, more intensive fireweather service was inaugurated in the New England States with the
assignment of a fire-weather specialist to the regular forecast center
at Boston, Mass. Also, two fire-weather subdistrict offices were estab
lished in the West, one at Olympia, Wash., and the other at Pendleton,
Oreg., to provide more detailed forecasts for smaller subdivisions.
Mobile-unit service was continued in the seven western districts.
These units permit temporary forecast offices to be set up at the scene
of large forest fires to assist in directing control. This mobile service
has become a vital adjunct to control techniques on large forest fires.
Three fire-weather forecasters were detailed to Idaho during May
and June to furnish weather data for the Tussock Moth Control
Project, sponsored by the United States Forest Service. Accurate
forecasts were required regarding anticipated periods suitable for
effective spraying and also of weather conditions affecting operation
of the airplanes engaged in the project, in which a total of 413,469
acres of forest were sprayed at an estimated saving of $60,000,000
in timber values.
Winter sports.—The winter of 1946-47 brought a large increase in
the demand for winter-sport weather reports and forecasts for recre
ational areas in the West, the Lake States, and the Central Atlantic
and North Atlantic States. The demand for this type of weather
information was greater than in any previous year. The weather
advices and data were needed not only by sports enthusiasts but also
by those planning for their safety and comfort, including railroads,
highway departments, hotels, lodges, rangers, and guides.
Eeports on depth and type of snow, skiing conditions, etc., were made
by voluntary observers serving without remuneration. The reports
were sent to Weather Bureau centers, where they were combined with
weather forecasts for the areas involved. The data were then distrib
uted in the form of bulletins and dispatches furnished to the press,
radio stations, auto clubs, chambers of commerce, ski clubs, and other
interested groups. Western Union also telegraphed the information to
clients who subscribed to that company’s service. This latter service
was an experimental program covering the area from Maine through
Pennsylvania.
Marine service.—In July 1946, reactivation of the merchant-ship
weather reporting program was begun following the removal of war
time restrictions on communications and the return of the merchant
244
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
fleet to private operators; and by year’s end the program was rapidly
approaching full operation, with more than 300 weather reports per
day being received by radio from cooperating vessels in Atlantic, Gulf,
and Pacific waters. In addition to the radio reporting vessels, several
hundred more ships furnished reports by mail for use in preparing
climatic and navigational charts.
The radio reports were used in providing weather service to ship
ping and maritime interests and to transoceanic aviation. In particu
lar, they were of importance in preparing forecasts for coastal areas
and in detecting and charting the progress of hurricanes and other
destructive storms which form at sea.
During the year more than 800 United States vessels were enrolled as
radio reporting ships, and in addition arrangements were made with
foreign meteorological services of maritime nations to have vessels of
their flag transmit weather reports to the United States from contigu
ous ocean areas. In return, arrangements were made to have United
States vessels send observations to those meteorological services of
other nations which have requested them—-Great Britain, France,
Brazil, Argentina, and the Philippines. Assistance is being given to
the Republic of the Philippines in setting up a marine program for the
western Pacific.
Because of the nature of the maritime service and the need for sus
taining interest in the program, marine liaison men were assigned to
the key port cities of New York, New Orleans, Houston, Seattle, Los
Angeles, and San Francisco to contact new vessels, check instrumental
equipment, and instruct and aid the observers with details of the work.
Weather Bureau officials at other port cities also assisted in marine
work.
Hurricane warning service.—The 1946 hurricane season in the
United States was noteworthy for the relatively small property dam
age, estimated at less than $101)00,000, and the fact that no loss of life
was reported. While this was due in part to a less than average num
ber and intensity of storms, it reflected also the increased efficiency of
the warning service. The partial resumption of the merchant-vessel
reporting program, including arrangements for collecting special re
ports from storm areas, and continuation of the military aircraft hur
ricane reconnaissance program were important factors.
The Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean area continued to be served from
forecast offices at Boston, Washington, Miami, New Orleans, and San
Juan, Avhile the forecast office at Los Angeles served the wTest coast.
Following the close of the 1946 season, plans for coordination with
the Army and Navy were reviewed and some modifications, based on
experience, were agreed upon for the 1947 season. In June 1947, the
hurricane forecast unit at Miami, which is the principle coordinating
center for joint Army-Navy-Weather Bureau hurricane warning serv
ice activities, was moved to larger quarters in that city to provide more
space for the increased program which was planned.
S pecial P rojects
Arctic weather stations.—As authorized by Public Law 296 (79th
Cong., 2d sess.) the first two of a network of Arctic stations were
W EA TH ER BUREAU
245
established—at Thule, Greenland, in cooperation with the Danish
authorities, in August 1946 and at Eureka Sound, in cooperation with
the Canadian authorities, in April 1947. The Eureka Sound station,
at slightly north of 80° north latitude, is the northern outpost of
weather stations in the Western Hemisphere. The Thule station began
regular transmission of surface and upper air observations by radio to
distribution circuits in September 1946. The Eureka Sound station
began a similar transmission in May 1947. By the end of the year
plans had been completed for the second phase of this project—the
establishment of three additional stations in western Canadian Arc
tic islands. Supplies and personnel were scheduled to leave for the
new base and for resupply of the first two stations during July 1947.
Thunderstorm project.—At the conclusion of the observation
season near Orlando, Fla., in 1946, personnel of the project were re
turned to Chicago to analyze the extensive data gathered in the
summer’s operations. Equipment and supplies were shipped to Pat
terson Field for reconditioning and storage preparatory to the
opening of the 1947 season.
During the 1946 season, which was terminated as of September 20,
179 thunderstorms occurred over the Florida network, 111 of which
produced rainfall at 10 or more of the surface stations in the micro
network, and 91 were selected for detailed analysis. During the
winter the analysis section in Chicago produced six preliminary re
ports on factors relating to the inception and activity of thunder
storms.
On April 1, 1947, operating personnel of the project reported to
Clinton County Army Air Field, Wilmington, Ohio, where a net
work was established consisting of 55 automatic recording surface
stations and 12 upper air sounding stations, one of which is being
operated by the Army, and 5 manned stations for complete visual
observations. Actual operations of tracking thunderstorms began
on May 1, 1947, with the continued cooperation of the Army, Navy,
and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
New items injected into the project consisted of a study of the in
tensity of radar echoes as an indication of rainfall quantities; use
of “kytoons” with a modified radiosonde for obtaining fixed low-level
free air data; rain temperature measurements by use of an instrument
specially designed by Weather Bureau thunderstorm personnel for
obtaining the temperature of raindrops; beginning and ending of
sunshine in its relation to the beginning and ending of rain; electro
static field measurements, aloft and on the ground, to determine elec
trical differences aloft and near the surface; cumulus cloud studies by
specially instrumented AT-6 planes and a specially equipped photo
plane for photographing cumulus clouds and thunderstorms; and
ground-water-level observations by the United States Geological Sur
vey, in relation to rainfall, and stream gaging in relation to rainfall
and runoff.
Philippine rehabilitation program.—The Weather Bureau was
authorized by Public Law 370 (79th Cong., 2d sess.) to aid the Repub
lic of the Philippines in the rehabilitation of its weather service. An
initial survey of weather service requirements in the Philippines was
made in July and August 1946, and employees were assigned to Manila
246
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
on January 1, 1947, to form the nucleus of the Weather Bureau Staif.
By June 30, 1947, the staff had increased to 25 employees (12 Ameri
cans and 13 citizens of the Philippines). One station was established
before the close of the year. Material and supplies were assembled
and working agreements with the Philippine Weather Bureau were
perfected for the establishment of 49 additional stations.
International Meteorological Organisation.—Preliminary plans
and preparations were made for the Conference of Directors of the
International Meteorological Organization to be held in Washington,
D. C., from September 22 to October 7,1947. Representatives of the
Weather Bureau attended numerous conferences with State Depart
ment, Commerce Department, Army, Navy, and Coast Guard officials
to make general arrangements for the Washington meeting and to
coordinate all phases with interested agencies.
R esearch A ctivities
Short-range forecasting.—New statistical techniques were devel
oped and successfully applied to the analysis of weather data for shortrange (24- to 48-hour) forecasting purposes. A systematic technique
was developed for use in the district forecast centers to forecast 24-hour
changes in the central barometric pressure of winter cyclones. This
technique can be of assistance to the forecasters in determining the
trend of development of stormy areas, and in anticipating the weather
conditions associated with those developments.
Specific statistical aids for the improvement of weather forecasts for
selected locations were found and put in use. These contributed, for
example, to more accurate forecasting of the following conditions:
Spring and summer thunderstorms at Washington, D. C., and New
York City; the occurrence of snow at New York City; visibility at
Washington National Airport; and quantity of precipitation during
the summer months in eastern Kansas and central Virginia.
Research forecasters were assigned to district forecast centers at
Boston and San Francisco, as part of a program to apply the results
of research to specific local forecast problems.
Extended and long-range forecasting.—Research in long-range and
extended forecasting was principally directed to the prognosis of the
general flow pattern in the atmosphere, which is the first step in the
preparation of long-range forecasts. This research entailed analysis
of past weather charts, for sea level and various levels above the surface
of the earth, to determine relationships between general circulation
patterns at higher levels and weather conditions observed on the
surface of the earth.
Preliminary findings from the statistical analysis of sea level pres
sure data, obtained from a long series of historical weather maps pro
duced during the war, show the existence of variations in the distribu
tion of the mass of air over the Northern Hemisphere, as observed
between 1889 and 1939. These variations may be indicative of longperiod fluctuations in the general atmospheric circulation, which, if
they exist, are necessarily associated with long-term climatic varia
tions.
W EA TH ER BUREAU
247
Solar radiation.—In cooperation with the Office of Naval Research
and the Army Air Forces, two pyrheliometers were mounted in a B-29
airplane to measure the radiation reaching the top of the airplane
from above, and the bottom of the airplane from below. From these
measurements, the reflectivity of the surface over which the airplane
is flying may be determined. Measurements were made under various
kinds of clouds and over different types of terrain.
Physical research.—A new division was established to plan, organize,
and direct fundamental research in the physical sciences through quan
titative studies looking to evaluation of basic weather processes of
importance for improvement in weather forecasting.
Cooperative research.—The Weather Bureau conducted studies of
special meteorological problems, in conjunction with several universi
ties. These joint studies include an investigation of relationships
between selected characteristics of surface and upper air weather
charts and the occurrences and the amount of rainfall at Los Angeles
during the winter months, conducted with the University of California
at Los Angeles; research to improve long-range forecasts, with the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and an investigation of
techniques for the computation of vertical motion in the atmosphere
and the application of vertical motion charts to weather forecasting,
with New York University (and in cooperation with the Army and
Navy).
The Weather Bureau has undertaken, in cooperation with the elec
tronic computer project at the Institute for Advanced Study, Prince
ton, N. J., to determine possible application of the computer to the
rapid solution of complex forecasting equations. In connection with
the V-2 rocket-firing program at White Sands, N. Mex., the Weather
Bureau advised staff scientists of that project as to the meteorological
problems involved, and participated in the study of meteorological
observations obtained by the rockets at very high altitudes. Also, the
Weather Bureau has cooperated with the Atomic Energy Commission
by assigning a meteorologist to assist in the study of atmospheric
environment at Brookhaven Laboratory.
Technical 'publications.—Printing costs continue too high to permit
publishing articles on meteorological and climatological research in the
Monthly Weather Review. Separates of the following papers were
published and distributed on a limited basis: Extended Forecasting
by Mean Circulation Methods, by J. Namias; Progress Report on
Objective Rainfall Forecasting Research Program for the Los Angeles
Area, by J. C. Thompson; Maximum Recorded United States Point
Rainfall, by A. L. Shands and D. Ammerman; and Pyrheliometers
and Pyrheliometric Measurements, by I. F. Hand.
.
Exchange of publications with foreign weather services, which was
discontinued at the beginning of World War II, was reestablished and
is being expanded as rapidly as facilities will permit.
I nstrumental D evelopment
Direct-reading wind speed and direction-measuring eguipment.—
Construction and tests were completed on one model of an anemometer
248
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
of the generator type and a wind vane utilizing motors of the Selsyn
type for transmitting the direction from the vane to the indicator.
Both the speed and direction transmitters are housed in one unit. A
contract was awarded for 40 transmitter units with indicators.
Tests were completed on several types of direct-reading wind equip
ment, and specifications embodying the most desirable features of
available equipment were developed. A contract was awarded for 50
cup-driven magneto speed transmitters with a similar number of Sel
syn type wind-direction transmitters, including speed and direction
indicators. Recorders may be used with this equipment.
Recording telepsychrometer.—Delivery was made of 20 recording
telepsychrometers. Each set consists ,of two units: (1) A special out
door shelter housing a ventilation motor, water supply, and two
thermohms; and (2) a micromax recorder which records the air tem
perature and depression of the wet bulb at alternate minute intervals.
Performance specifications for this equipment were developed in 1944.
Ceilometer recorders.—One hundred and forty ceilometer recorders
were installed. The installation of this equipment completed the pro
gram begun in the fiscal year 1946 to equip a selected number of sta
tions with automatic ceiling measuring and recording equipment.
Radiosonde equipment.—A new high-frequency (397 megacycles)
radiosonde with improved circuit characteristics was developed and a
supply contract awarded. Another improvement made was the de
sign ,of a dry-battery pack used with the radiosonde, which replaces a
wet-type battery. These improvements will make upper air sound
ings more efficient and useful.
A dministration
Personnel.—The number of former Weather Bureau employees re
turning from the armed forces fell off sharply during the year. Of
675 veterans placed on the rolls only 58 were former employees, less
than one-seventh the total for the previous period.
Employment of 440 nonveterans brought the total of new appoint
ments to 1,115. This was offset, however, by 985 separations. At the
end of the fiscal year 4,744 people were employed full time and 3,065
part time. Of the full-time employees, 2,521 were war-service and
temp.orary employees, 44 less than in the previous year. This paid
staff was supplemented by 7,746 cooperative observers serving without
compensation in limited observational activities.
Training.—Six employees were assigned to New York University
for one school year of training in advanced meteorological studies.
Another employee was selected by the Civil Service Commission for
participation in its fourth administrative intern program.
Within the Bureau itself two professional intern classes were con
ducted to indoctrinate 31 new employees, professionally trained in
meteorology but unfamiliar with Weather Bureau procedures. Re
W EA TH ER BUREAU
249
gional training centers instructed 60 new observers in preparation of
weather observations. A hurricane training conference held in Wash
ington during March and April 1947 was participated in by 22 em
ployees, and out of it grew the first draft of Notes for Hurricane Fore
caster Training. Because of the installation of new equipment for
cloud-height measurement, a ceilometer training program was inau
gurated in June 1947, and 50 observers were instructed in elementary
maintenance and record interpretation.
Organization of the Weather Bureau Field Service indicating types of stations
and activities performed, as of June 80, 1947
392
Weather Bureau offices manned by full-time personnel_________________
Functional activities:
Regional Offices____________________________________________
8
General Forecasting Centers________________________________
17
Airway Forecasting Centers________________________________
22
Climatological Section Centers______________________________
43
River District Centers_________ :____________________________
86
Hydroclimatic Computing Units_____________________________
7
Radiosonde Observation Stations_____________________
69
Pilot Balloon Observation Stations__________________________
165
Rawinsonde Observation Stations____________________________
33
Vessel Contact Stations_____________________________________
34
Number and type of substation reports (furnished by cooperative or parttime personnel) :
A. Activities under regular appropriations:
1. Aviation Weather Service_________________________
422
(Frequent weather observations reported for avia
tion.)
2. Climatological Service____________________________ 5 , 727
(Weather data furnished to determine the clima
tological characteristics of the United States.
These stations are for the most part manned by
unpaid observers.)
3. General Weather Service_______________________ .__
939
(Observations reported for the benefit of agricul
tural interests, and stations maintained to provide
warnings of approaching storms and hurricanes.)
4. River and Flood Service__________________ :_______ 2 ,225
(River stage and rainfall reports furnished for the
preparation of streamflow and flood forecasts.)
Total substation activities related to regular appro
priations-------------------------------------------------------------- 9,313
B. Activities under transfers from other appropriations:
1. Hydroclimatic Service___________________________________ 3 , 0 6 7
(Reports from recording rain gages giving precipitation
intensities for storm studies and flood control.)
Total substation activities (separate types of reports,
etc.)---------------------------------------- -------------------------12,380
Total reporting stations___________________________ 9,101
(Note.—The number of reporting stations is less
than the number of activities as some stations are
multiactivity stations.)
250
REPORT OF T H E SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Financial summary, fiscal year 1947
Obligations against direct appropriations :
Purpose
$1,394,444
1. Administration----------------------------------------- --------2. Direct aid to aviation :
(a) Terminal and route forecasting for domestic
airways________________________________ $573, 255
(b) Terminal and route forecasting for inter
national airways_______________________
429, 044
(c) Flight advisory weather service----------------808,990
(d) Localized airway weather services-------------- 1,763,323
Total, direct aid to aviation----------- ------------------------- 3, 574, 612
3. General weather forecasting service----------------- ------------------- 1, 565,257
4. Localized daily weather services for the general public (nonspecialized)------------------------------------------------------------------ S, 304,726
5. Specialized weather services for the general public :
(a) Hurricane and storm warningservices------455,694
(b) Fruit-frost service________________________
162,011
(c) Fire-weather service---------------------------------282,109
(d) Farm operational advices------------------------385,319
(e) Industrial and commercial weatheradvices—
569,057
6.
7.
8.
9.
Total, specialized weather services for the general
public_________________________________________ 1,854,190
Climatological and crop-weather services-------------------------- 2, 683, 708
Maintenance of stations serving both aviation and general pub
lic requirements------------------------------------------------------------ 4, 552, 784
598,867 ■
River and flood service— -------------------------------------------------500, 657
Research----------------------- !--------------------------------------------------
Grand total, obligations against direct appropriations-------- 20,029, 245
Obligations against funds transferred from other appropriations :
Source
Amount
Flood control, Army, general (reporting networks, hy
drologic studies)------------------------------------------------- $514, 346
Air Corps, Army (statistics, research, maintenance of
Army overseas’ meteorological stations)-------------- 635, 343
Aviation, Navy (statistics, research)-------------- --------- 121, 919
Reclamation fund, Interior (hydrometeorological
studies, hydroclimatic network)---------------------------- . 71,977
Civil Aeronautics Authority (statistical windrose
study)----------------------------------------——-------------------- 14, 873
Improvement and maintenance of river and harbor
797
works----------------------------------------------------------------303
Tennessee Valley Authority------------------------------------Total obligations against transferred funds.
Grand total obligations, all funds.
O
1, 359, 558
21,388, 803
@FedFRASER