PRIORITIES AND PROPERTY 235 



latter then forwarded the forms with covering letters explaining the cir- 

 cumstances and stating the urgency of the research project to the priorities 

 division of OPM. Ratings were assigned to the certificates which were 

 returned to the Administrative Office and thence to the contractor for 

 transmission to the supplier. This procedure, while cumbersome because of 

 the number of hands through which the papers had to pass, was adequate 

 since the number of requests processed was small. A minor change in the 

 procedure occurred in March 1941, when the old form was replaced by a 

 new one in two parts (Form PDi and PDiA). The method was the same 

 except that the second form was sent to the supplier for additional infor- 

 mation and then sent on to OPM. 



In the late spring of 1941 materials became more scarce and the procedure 

 began to break down because of the increased number of cases sent in for 

 processing. Conferences between OSRD and OPM in June 1941, resulted in 

 an OPM decision that war research projects of the NDRC could be placed 

 in the highest priority category for entire programs (A-i-a). OPM also au- 

 thorized the Secretary of NDRC to issue and sign A-i-a priorities for specific 

 materials after the projects had been established with the OPM at that 

 rating. The only rating higher than an A-i-a at this time was an AA which 

 was not assigned to any program but was reserved for issuance in emer- 

 gencies for bottleneck items, where, for example, a whole production line 

 was about to close through the lack of a single item. 



Under the new procedure as soon as the NDRC voted money for a con- 

 tract, a prime priority certificate was made out and sent to the OPM for 

 authentication. Along with this certificate went a generalized description of 

 the research to be conducted. After OPM had authenticated the prime cer- 

 tificate, it was sent to the contractor together with short application forms 

 which he could make out for specific items and send to the Administrative 

 Office. The procedures within the Administrative Office were such that the 

 certificates were usually issued within twenty-four hours after the applica- 

 tions were received. 



With NDRC research established in the highest category possible in the 

 priorities framework, contractors had relatively little difficulty in obtaining 

 the materials and equipment they required. 



This procedure continued without change until March 15, 1942, when 

 WPB Priorities Regulation No. 3 became effective. That regulation pro- 

 vided that a contractor holding a prime project rating could extend that 

 rating merely by a certification on his purchase orders, thereby eliminating 

 the mass of paper work required in the issuance of priority certificates cover- 

 ing the items included on purchase orders and saving the time previously 

 lost in sending applications to Washington. One qualification was that 

 extensions of prime ratings could not be made for capital equipment, facili- 

 ties and repair, maintenance and operating supplies. It was at this time that 



