244 ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR WAR 



policies established by the Surplus Property Administration (later War 

 Assets Corporation), OP A Maximum Price Regulations for different com- 

 modities, depreciation schedules, condition of the equipment, technical 

 advice regarding a particularly critical piece of equipment, and the cost of 

 disposition if packing, crating and shipping were required; and to all of 

 these was added the exercise of common sense. 



Disposition of Improvements 



Disposition of improvements to real property was a troublesome matter. 

 Initially there was an effort to determine at the time building construction 

 was authorized the disposition which would be made of the construction at 

 the end of the contract. From the standpoint of good business operations 

 this was a desirable procedure, but from the standpoint of OSRD operations 

 in general, it was simply unworkable. Construction was authorized because 

 it was needed to speed research; to postpone construction until arrangements 

 could be completed for its later disposition would have greatly hampered 

 research programs. It would have been impossible for OSRD to have staffed 

 itself with enough construction experts to enter into such negotiations with- 

 out weeks of delay. Moreover, in the case of academic institutions, the 

 changes were frequently of a kind which the institution would never have 

 made because they were not needed in the course of its normal operations. 

 Whether they might have some residual usefulness would depend upon the 

 state of the academic program upon the termination of the contract. Flexi- 

 bility in determination was therefore indicated; but, in adopting Article 3(b) 

 of the contract form which provided that flexibility, it was recognized that 

 the Government would be at some disadvantage when the time came for 

 the ultimate determination. 



In accordance with the terms of Article 3(b) of the contract, the con- 

 tractor could elect either to retain improvements and return a negotiated 

 sum to the Government or to have his premises restored to substantially 

 their original condition at the cost of the Government. The disposition of 

 improvements offered no serious problem when the contractor needed to 

 retain them for use under a Service contract for continuing the work. It 

 was usually possible to transfer the OSRD right and interest in the improve- 

 ments to the interested Service, with the assumption by the Service of the 

 OSRD responsibility for their disposition. In the few cases where substan- 

 tial structures were retained by the contractor, he returned a sum usually 

 equal to 50 per cent of the original cost of the work. 



Minor alterations, which the contractor would not have made under 

 normal circumstances and which often resulted in no permanent benefit, 

 presented many problems. In many cases, sums varying from 10 to 50 per 

 cent of the original cost were returned by contractors for the retention of 

 improvements. In others, particularly on leased premises, it seemed advisable 



