THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 187 



to be one of its principal contributions. That contract was largely the 

 work of the legal division. 



At its peak the personnel of the legal division consisted of seven attor- 

 neys with the usual supporting personnel. A large part of the legal work 

 was necessarily devoted to the negotiation and interpretation of contracts; 

 and a special unit was established for contract drafting when that func- 

 tion was taken over from the contract section in October 18, 1943. In addi- 

 tion, however, the General Counsel participated actively in such matters 

 as the organization of the penicillin and malaria programs of CMR, the 

 preparatory work behind the report Science — The Endless Frontier, the 

 discussions leading to the adoption of the OSRD publication policy, and 

 the lengthy negotiations on bills to establish a successor for OSRD and 

 for the broader purpose of promotion of postwar research. 



Division of Personnel Operations and Management 



OSRD established its own personnel office in April 1943 upon the 

 liquidation of Central Administrative Services (CAS) of the Office for 

 Emergency Management. Prior to that date, CAS had performed most 

 of the personnel functions in accordance with the provisions of the execu- 

 tive order creating OSRD. Glenn Wilbur was the first OSRD personnel 

 officer and he returned to the post after a tour of duty in the Navy. Mrs. 

 Jean B, May was head of the office while Wilbur was in the Navy. 



The general procedure of appointment contemplated that (i) whenever 

 a vacancy was to be filled, the facilities of the Civil Service Commission 

 would be used. If a qualified person appeared on the register of the Com- 

 mission, he would be selected. If a qualified person could not be produced 

 by the Commission within a short period, a person without a Civil Service 

 rating could be employed if the Commission regarded his qualifications as 

 satisfactory. (2) For every person appointed from other than Civil Service 

 rolls, a complete personal history record would be filed with the Civil 

 Service Commission to establish the qualifications of the persons appointed. 

 The appointment would not carry Civil Service status. (3) Salaries would 

 be established in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923. 



At the request of NDRC, the Civil Service Commission early established 

 a series of OSRD technical positions in the professional series with the title 

 "Technical Aide." The individuals proposed for appointment were to be 

 outstanding specialists in such fields as chemistry, armor, ordnance, trans- 

 portation, etc. 



Exemption from the provisions of the Civil Service and Classification 

 Acts would have saved OSRD much work, although eventually it obtained 

 Commission approval for nearly everyone whom it wished to employ. The 

 Commission had no specific standards to apply to Technical Aide posi- 



