234 ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR WAR 



Munitions Board, this interpretation was constantly subject to attack. It 

 was upheld, however, although not without some minor setbacks and 

 continuous struggle. 



Formulation and administration of a priorities program for NDRC and 

 OSRD was one of the functions of the Executive Secretary. The small unit 

 in the Administrative Office handling priorities was reconstituted as the 

 priorities and property control section in the spring of 1942, when the in- 

 crease in volume of OSRD activities occurred simultaneously with a tight- 

 ening of the materials situation. Marvin L. Paris was the first head of 

 the section. When he left to join the Navy in October 1943, he was suc- 

 ceeded by Roy C. Bowker. By July 1942, the section had a staff of fifteen, 

 of whom eleven were working on priorities. Property control activities con- 

 sisted largely of diverting property from terminated contracts to those active 

 contracts in which it was most needed. 



NDRC contractors early ran into difficulty in procuring necessary equip- 

 ment and materials. The Administrative Office accepted the responsibility 

 for seeing that they were available. The guiding principle in OSRD pri- 

 ority operations was that the scientist should have what he wanted, when 

 he wanted it and with a minimum diversion of his time from research 

 activities. This meant that the priorities section acted as an intermediary 

 between the contractor and WPB and, upon occasion, between the con- 

 tractor and the supplier. It also meant that OSRD carried the brunt of 

 the case whenever WPB issued, or considered issuance of, an order the 

 effect of which was an undue restraint on research activities. An effort 

 was made to keep OSRD contractors informed of all WPB actions affect- 

 ing the supply of materials and equipment and to help them with all 

 possible short cuts. 



The first procurement difficulties occurred late in 1940 when a few 

 contractors found that delivery of a machine tool or a bit of aluminum 

 would not be immediately forthcoming. In such cases the Administrative 

 Office asked for and received copies of purchase orders which were for- 

 warded to the Priorities Committee of the Army and Navy Munitions 

 Board (ANMB) and the Office for Production Management with covering 

 letters reciting the circumstances. Priority ratings were not always necessary 

 where the items were small; and release was often effected by a telephone 

 call from a person officially connected with the OPM. In other cases almost 

 any priority was sufficient to provide for an early release of the material. 

 It was not until early in 1941 that the need for a more precise procedure 

 became evident. 



Discussions with OPM officials resulted in the establishment of a proce- 

 dure which was communicated under date of February 11, 1941, to OSRD 

 contractors. It provided for the submission of an application (OPM Form 

 PBS) through NDRC Technical Aides to the Administrative Office. The 



