Department of Commerce

Fourteenth Street between Constitution Avenue and E Street NW.
DIstrict 2200, Branch 576

Officials
Secretary of Commerce		Henry A. Wallace
Under Secretary of Commerce		Wayne C. Taylor
Assistant Secretary of Commerce		William A.M. Burden
Administrative Assistant to the Secretary		Malcolm Kerlin
Solicitor		South Trimble, Jr.
Assistant Solicitor		E.T. Quigley
Assistant to the Secretary		Norman W. Baxter
Assistant to the Secretary		James William Bryan
Assistant to the Secretary		Howard H. McClure
Chairman, Business Advisory Council		Thomas B. McCabe
Assistant to Chairman, Business Advisory Council		Walter White
Chief, Division of Current Information		Clarence G. Marshall
Director of Personnel		Oliver C. Short
Chief Clerk and Superintendent		Gerald Ryan
Chief, Division of Budget and Accounts		R.A. Spencer
Chief, Division of Publications		G. Richard Koonce
Chief, Division of Purchases and Sales		Walter S. Erwin
Librarian		Charlotte L. Carmody
Administrator of Civil Aeronautics		Theodore P. Wright
Director of the Census		James C. Capt
Direct, Coast and Geodetic Survey		Leo Otis Colbert
Director, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce		Amos E. Taylor
Chairman of the Board and President, Inland Waterways Corporation		John S. Powell, Acting
Director, National Bureau of Standards		Lyman J. Briggs
Commissioner of Patents		Conway P. Coe
Chief, Weather Bureau		Francis W. Reichelderfer
Civil Aeronautics Board
Chairman		L. Welch Pogue
Vice Chairman		Edward Warner
Member		Harllee Branch
Member		Oswald Ryan
Member		Josh Lee
General Counsel		George C. Neal
Secretary		Fred A. Toombs
Director, Economic Bureau		Irston R. Barnes
Director, Safety Bureau		Jesse W. Lankford
Chief Examiner		C. Edward Leasure
National Inventors Council
Chairman		Charles F. Kettering
Secretary		Lawrence Langner
Members:
	George Baekeland	Maj. Gen. W.H. Tshappat
	Rear Admiral Harold G. Bowen	Orville Wright
	Conway P. Coe	Fred Zeder
	William D. Coolidge	George Codrington
	Watson Davis	Rear Admiral J.D. Beuret
	Frederick M. Feiker	Dr. George W. Lewis
	Webster N. Jones	Rear Admiral J.A. Furer
	Maj. Gen. Walter A. Wood, Jr.

Head Engineer	John C. Green
Administrative Assistant	Jerome E. Burke
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
Chairman (Secretary of Commerce)	Henry A. Wallace
Member (Secretary of the Treasury)	Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Member (Secretary of War)	Henry L. Stimson
Executive Secretary	Thomas E. Lyons
Textile Foundation, Inc.
Chairman of the Board	Franklin W. Hobbs
Member of the Board and Treasurer	Frank D. Cheney
Member of the Board	Donald Comer
Member of the Board (Secretary of Commerce)	Henry A. Wallace
Member of the Board (Secretary of Agriculture)	Claude R. Wickard
Secretary and Assistant Treasurer	Edward T. Pickard

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Creation and Authority.--The Department of Commerce was created by the act of February 14, 1903 (32 Stat. 826; 5 U.S.C. 591), as the Department of Commerce and Labor. It originally consisted of the following services, the majority of which previously existed in other Government department or as independent agencies: Bureau of Lighthouses, Steamboat Inspection Service, Bureau of Navigation, Bureau of Standards, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Fisheries, Bureau of Labor, Bureau of Manufactures, and Bureau of Corporations.

The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce was established by the act of August 23, 1912 (37 Stat. 407; 5 U.S.C. 597), by the consolidation of the Bureau of Manufactures and the Bureau of Statistics. The Children's Bureau was also established in 1912.

By the act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 736; 5 U.S.C. 611), the Bureau of Immigration, the Children's Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor were transferred to the newly established Department of Labor, and the Department of Commerce and Labor was designated as the Department of Commerce.

In 1914, with the establishment of the independent Federal Trade Commission, the Bureau of Corporations was abolished.

In 1925 the Patent Office, by Executive order dated March 17, 1925, and the Bureau of Mines, by Executive order dated June 4, 1925, were transferred form the Department of the Interior to the Department of Commerce.

To carry out the provisions of the Air Commerce Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 568; 49 U.S.C. 171), an agency was established in the Department, first designated as the Aeronautics Branch and later known as the Bureau of Air Commerce, to aid in the promotion and development of civil aeronautics. These activities were continued under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce until August 22, 1938, at which time, under the provisions of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 973; 49 U.S.C. 401), they were transferred to the newly established Civil Aeronautics Authority.

In 1927 the Radio Division, which since 1910 had functioned as a part of the Bureau of Navigation, was made a separate agency in the

Department and on July 20, 1932, was transferred to the Federal Radio Commission (now Federal Communications Commission) by Executive order issued pursuant to the act of June 30, 1932 (47 Stat. 417).

By Executive Order 6166, issued June 10, 1933, pursuant to the act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1517), the Office of the Solicitor, formerly under the Department of Justice, was transferred to the Department of Commerce.

By Executive Order 6623, issued March 1, 1934, pursuant to the act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1517), the functions of the Federal Employment Stabilization Board were transferred to the Department of Commerce to be administered by the Federal Employment Stabilization Office. This Office became inactive, as far as the Department was concerned, on June 30, 1935, and on July 1, 1939, the functions of the Office were transferred to the National Resources Planning Board by Reorganization Plan I, issued pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939, approved April 3, 1939 (53 Stat. 561; 5 U.S.C. 133).

By Executive Order 6611, issued February 22, 1934, pursuant to the act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1517), the Bureau of Mines was transferred from the Department of Commerce to the Department of the Interior.

By Executive Order 6166, issued June 10, 1933, pursuant to the act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1517), the functions of the United States Shipping Board, including those over and in respect to the United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation, were transferred to the Department of Commerce. By the terms of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 (49 Stat. 1935), the United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation was abolished, and the United States Shipping Board Bureau was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission, effective October 26, 1936.

By the act of June 30, 1932 (47 Stat. 415), the Bureau of Navigation and the Steamboat Inspection Service were consolidated and the agency was designated as the Bureau of marine Inspection and Navigation.

Effective July 1, 1939, under Reorganization Plan II, issued pursuant to the act of April 3, 1939 (53 Stat. 561; 5 U.S.C. 133), the Bureau of Lighthouses was transferred to and consolidated with the Coast Guard in the Department of the Treasury, the Bureau of Fisheries was transferred to the Department of the Interior, the Foreign Commerce Service was transferred to the Department of State, and the Inland Waterways Corporation was transferred from the War Department to the Department of Commerce.

Effective June 30, 1940,under Reorganization Plan IV issued pursuant to the act of April 3, 1939 (53 Stat. 561; 5 U.S.C. 133), the Civil Aeronautics Authority was reorganized. The economic, safety, and regulatory features were established in the Civil Aeronautics Board, which became in independent agency, but submits its reports to the President and to Congress through the Secretary of Commerce. The remaining functions were vested in the Department of Commerce under the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Under the same Reorganization Plan, the Weather Bureau was transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Commerce.

Effective March 1, 1942, by Executive Order 9083, dated February 28, 1942, issued under the authority of the First War Powers Act, 1941, the functions of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation were transferred to the Bureau of Customs (Treasury) and the United States Coast Guard (Navy).

Effective February 24, 1942, by Executive Order 9071, issued pursuant to the First War Powers Act, 1941, the functions, powers and duties of the Federal Loan Agency and of the Federal Loan Administrator relating to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Electric Home and Farm Authority, The RFC Mortgage Company, Federal National Mortgage Association, Disaster Loan Corporation, Export-Import Bank of Washington (now under Foreign Economic Administration), Defense Plant Corporation, Rubber Reserve Company, Metals Reserve Company, Defense Supplies Corporation, and War Insurance Corporation, together with all other functions, powers, and duties not transferred by the Executive order establishing the National Housing Agency, were transferred to the Department of Commerce, to be administered under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of Commerce.

Pursuant to Public Law 4 (79th Cong., 1st sess.), approved February 24, 1945, the functions, powers, and duties of the lending agencies transferred to the Department of Commerce by Executive Order 9071 were returned to the Federal Loan Agency to be administered under the direction and supervision of the Federal Loan Administrator.

Purpose.--The statutory functions of the Department are to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce, the mining, manufacturing, shipping, and fishing industries, and the transportation facilities of the United States.

Organization.--The activities of the Department are directed by the Secretary of Commerce, assisted by the Under Secretary, who supervises the activities of the Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Patent Office, National Bureau of Standards, and the Inland Waterways Corporation; the Assistant Secretary, who has in his charge the Civil Aeronautics Administration, Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Weather Bureau; the Solicitor; the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary; the Chief Clerk; and other assistants who handle special assignments by the Secretary. The administrative divisions are responsible for such matters as personnel supervision, accounting, purchasing, publications, and other administrative matters.

The Department of Commerce as at present constituted, with the Office of Secretary, includes the--

Bureau of the Census Civil Aeronautics Administration Coast and Geodetic Survey Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce

Inland Waterways Corporation Patent Office National Bureau of Standards Weather Bureau

The administrative work of the Department and its bureaus and agencies is supervised and coordinated by the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary, who is also the Budget Officer.

The Secretary of Commerce in Incorporator and Governor, Inland Waterways Corporation; Chairman of the Foreign-Trade Zones

Board; ex officio General Chairman of the Business Advisory Council; and Chairman of the Federal War Agencies Committee. He is a member of the Council of National Defense, Aeronautical Advisory Council, Committee on Economic Security, Federal Advisory Board for Vocational Education, Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, Foreign Service Buildings Commission, National Munitions Control Board, Textile Foundation, National Archives Council, Smithsonian Institution, Commodity Exchange Commission, and Committee on Cooperation with the American Republics.

Activities

The activities of the Department include population, agricultural and other censuses; collection, analysis, and dissemination of commercial statistics; promotion of foreign and domestic commerce; coastal and geodetic surveys; establishment of commodity weights, measures, and standards; supervision of the issuance of patents and the registration of trade-marks; the establishment and maintenance of aids to air navigation, the certification of airmen, the inspection and registration of aircraft, and the enforcement of rules and regulations issued pursuant to the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 973; 49 U.S.C. 401); supervision of the issuance of weather forecasts and warnings for the benefit of agriculture, commerce, and navigation including weather service for aviation, and the publication of climatic statistics; development of inland waterway transportation; and supervision of the operation of Government-owned barge lines, and numerous other functions concerning these activities and related subjects.

The Solicitor

The Solicitor is the chief law officer of the Department of Commerce and his duties are to act as legal adviser to the Secretary of Commerce, the Under Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, and the chiefs of the various bureaus. He also serves as Chairman of the Committee of Alternates, Foreign-Trade Zones Board.

The Administrative Assistant to the Secretary

As the chief executive officer of the Department, the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary has the responsibility for all matters of administration, including personnel and budget matters, and for coordinating the functions of the various bureaus of the Department. He has supervision of the Division of Personnel Supervision and Management, and the Office of the Chief Clerk, including the Division of Publications, the Division of Purchases and Sales, and the Division of Budget and Accounts.

Division of Personnel Supervision and Management

This Division is charged with the administration of the personnel program of the Department, including recruitment, placement and appointments, classification of positions, promotion of employees, initiation

and supervision of personnel training programs, maintenance of service ratings, direction of programs of personnel relations, hearing of grievances, and counseling of employees, reviewing of recommendations for disciplinary actions and dismissals, promotion and supervision of safety and health programs, and other functions relating to the supervision and management of the personnel of this Department.

Chief Clerk

As the administration head of the divisions of the Office of the Secretary, the Chief Clerk has supervision over the clerks and other employees of the Department, enforces the general regulations of the Department, and has administrative supervision of the buildings occupied by the Department. He has general supervision of expenditures from the appropriations for contingent expenses; the care of all vehicles under the Office of the Secretary; the receipt, distribution, and transmission of the mail; the custody of the Department's seal and the records and files of the Secretary's office; the answering of calls from Congress and elsewhere for copies of papers and records; and the discharge of all business of the Secretary's office not otherwise assigned. During the temporary absence of the Secretary, the Under Secretary, and the Assistant Secretary, he may be designated by the Secretary to sign official routine papers and documents.

Division of Budget and Accounts.--Conducts all departmental business with the Bureau of the Budget, the Treasury Department, and the General Accounting office. It performs an administrative examination of all papers, reports, and other documents prior to their transmittal to such agencies. It receives and deposits collections; maintains ledgers for departmental receipts and Treasury cash and, for the Office of the Secretary, allotment accounts and accounts of disbursing officers. The Division issues regulations and instructions relative to budget and fiscal procedures.

The Chief of the Division, the assistant budget officer of the Department, consults with and, when necessary, renders assistance on the preparation of annual and supplemental estimates of appropriation; coordinates, reviews, and makes recommendations on estimates of appropriation to the budget officer. He attends hearings before the Bureau of the Budget and Congress, and in the absence of the budget officer represents him at such hearings.

Division of Publications.--The Chief of this Division supervises the printing and binding and processing of the Department. This includes the editing and preparation of copy, illustrating and binding, the distribution of publications, the maintenance of mailing lists, and the conduct of all business the Department transacts with the Government Printing Office. In addition, the daily Congressional Record is digested for the information of the officials of the Department, and a complete file is maintained of all current congressional material. The advertising done by the department is in his charge. He also certifies all vouchers in payment of obligations incurred for work performed, keeps a record of these obligations and expenditures in connection therewith, and conducts the correspondence it entails.

Division of Purchases and Sales.--Under the direction of the Chief Clerk, this Division supervises all work incident to the purchase and distribution of departmental supplies and all details in connection with surplus property and property returns. It also supervises the auditing of vouchers, the work of the Department's Typewriter Repair Ship, and the traffic work, and has charge of reporting and accounting for transportation requests.

Business Advisory Council

This Council was organized by the Secretary of Commerce in June 1933, under the organic act authorizing the Department of Commerce "to foster, promote, and develop foreign and domestic commerce."

The Council consists of a representative group of businessmen who are invited to serve without compensation for 1-year terms. It devotes itself to questions referred to it by the President and by the Secretary of Commerce, and also acts as a clearing house for industrial views on governmental matters which affect business.

Bureau of the Census

The Bureau of the Census is a major fact-finding and statistical service agency for the Federal Government. Through its basic program, critically needed benchmark and current data are furnished to Government, to business, to research groups, and to individuals. Census taking was established by the Constitution for the primary purpose of determining the population basis for apportioning Representatives and direct taxes among the States. A population census, broadened to include other subjects since 1810, has been taken decennially, beginning in 1790. Sine 1902 the Bureau has functioned as a permanent agency for the collection of general statistical information.

The reports of the Sixteenth Decennial Census, taken in 1940, include the results of broad inquiries into the economic and social resources of the Nation, and provide basic data for nearly every phase of planning for total war and peace. The collection of current data, at monthly, quarterly, or annual intervals, provides a means of projecting this base material to the present. Additional inquiries have been inaugurated, as required, to meet new problems faced by Government agencies, and by private business, industry, and research interests.

Statistical Service to Other Agencies.--The Bureau collects and tabulates data for other agencies in addition to the statistical material provided in the course of its regular work, and the technical staff of the Bureau acts in an advisory capacity for war agencies, assisting them in the full use of Census data and facilities. Services in the solution of technical problems and for handling overflow jobs more efficiently than could be achieved by the creation of temporary staffs, are rendered on a reimbursable basis, especially in the field of machine tabulation and in designing sample surveys. The latter function has been greatly facilitated by the recent acquisition of a complete set of up-to-date detailed maps of urban areas.

Special Surveys.--A staff is available to conduct current and periodic inquiries, including the collection of information from the general public, through the use of scientific sampling techniques. This impartial fact-finding service is available on a cost basis to any Federal agency. Priority in the service of this unit is given to urgent war work. Types of data collected include the monthly survey of the labor force, which covers employment, unemployment, hours of work, etc., surveys of housing vacancy and occupancy, transportation, small manufacturing plants, consumer requirements, food purchases, and other subjects.

Population.--The number, location, and personal and family characteristics of the population, such as age, sex, race, place of birth, citizenship, work status, occupation, education, migration, and income, were included in the decennial census of 1940. Estimates of population for post-censual dates, as well as estimates of the labor force on a monthly basis, are also prepared, and special censuses of local areas are taken when requested.

Statistics on marriages, prisoners, crime, and patients in mental hospitals are published currently.

Housing.--The first complete inventory of the housing facilities of the Nation was taken in 1940 in conjunction with the census of population. The information gathered includes data on vacancies, facilities and equipment, number of rooms, values and rentals, and mortgages. This information is augmented by special current sample surveys of housing vacancy and occupancy.

Agriculture.--The census of agriculture, which is taken quinquennially, collects and complies information on the characteristics of farms and farm operators, farm income, data on the acreage, production, and value of crops, and livestock and livestock products. Decennial censuses of irrigation and drainage are also taken.

Statistics on cotton, cottonseed, cottonseed products, and vegetable and animal fats and oils are collected, compiled, and published on a current basis.

Industry.--The industry statistics program of the Bureau is concerned mainly at present with furnishing current production, inventory, and other data needed for the administration of the War Program to the War Production Board and other war agencies. These statistics, which are compiled on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, are being published in the Current Statistical Service and "Facts for Industry" series, as soon as security conditions permit. The Biennial Census of Manufactures was last taken in 1939 and was suspended for 1941 and 1943 under the authority of the Second War Powers Act, 1942, in order to make available the Bureau's facilities for statistical information specifically related to the immediate needs of the war agencies.

A program has bene largely developed for providing current industrial information needed by Government and industry during the reconversion period. Plants are also prepared for the resumption of the Census of Manufactures as soon as possible.

Business.--Reports on retail trade, wholesale trade, sales finance companies, and other topics are issued currently. The 1939 Census of Business included reports on retail trade, wholesale trade, service

establishments, construction establishments, and distribution of manufacturers' sales.

Foreign Trade.--Tabulations of data on the United States foreign trade, lend-lease exports, trade with the Territories and possessions, and ocean shipping are continuing on an expanded scale to meet war needs, although detailed publication of the results of these tabulations has been discontinued for the duration of the war. Revised security regulations now permit the publication of selected data on a 6- and 12-month delay basis.

Vital Statistics.--The Bureau promotes the adoption of uniform and improved standards for registering births and deaths by the various States, and compiles data so collected in annual, monthly, weekly and special reports. A special Nation-wide sample survey of mortality is made monthly in order to provide current information on wartime mortality conditions.

Governments.--The publications of the Bureau in the field of governmental information fall into three categories: (1) annual series of reports on State finances, city finances, country finances, Government employment, and elections; (2) decennial reports from the Census of Governments covering all governmental units and their financing, taken for the years ending in "2"; and (3) special studies on current problems in State and local government. At present the Bureau of the Census is the nearest thing to a national center for information on State and local government organization, activities, and finances, and also for interlevel aggregates (Federal, State, and local), as, for example, total governmental debt, total public employment, total taxes, etc.

A Municipal Reference Service is maintained for assistance in replying to inquiries relating to State and local governmental subjects from Federal and other public officials, as well as businessmen and other citizens.

Other Statistical Services.--The Bureau of the Census also makes special surveys or tabulations for private individuals and organizations at the cost of providing such services. In addition, searches are made of earlier census records and of 1917-18 World War draft registration cards now on file in the Bureau; and the data reported on these records are certified so that age, citizenship, or nativity of individuals can be established.

Coast and Geodetic Survey

A survey of the coast of the United States was authorized by act of Congress of February 10, 1807 (2 Stat. 413; 33 U.S.C. 881-82). The act of March 3, 1871 (16 Stat. 508), provided for the extension of geodetic work across the country, and the act of June 20, 1878 (20 Stat. 205, 215), changed the name of this agency from Coast Survey to Coast and Geodetic Survey. The act of January 31, 1925 (43 Stat. 802; 33 U.S.C. 866), charged the agency with investigations and reports on earthquakes, an activity previously conducted by the United States Weather Bureau.

Surveys and Compilation of Information.--The functions of the Coast and Geodetic Survey include (1) surveying and charting the coasts of the United States and its possessions, to insure the safe

navigation of coastal and intracoastal waters; (2) the determination of geographical positions and elevations along the coasts and in the interior of the country, to coordinate the coastal surveys and provide a framework for mapping and other engineering work; (3) the study of tides and currents, to furnish datum planes to engineers and tide and current tables to mariners; (4) the compilation of aeronautical charts, to meets the needs of the pilots of aircraft; (5) observations of the earth's magnetism in all parts of the country, to furnish magnetic information essential to the mariner, aviator, land surveyor, radio engineer, and others; (6) seismological observations and investigations, to supply data required in designing structures to reduce the earthquake hazard; and (7) gravitational and astronomical observations, to provide fundamental data for geodetic surveys and for scientific investigations of the crust of the earth.

Field Stations and Observatories.--Besides the main office of the Survey at Washington, there are field stations in charge of district supervisors at Boston, New York, Norfolk, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Honolulu; latitude observatories at Gaithersburg, Md., and Ukiah, Calif.; magnetic and seismological observatories at Cheltenham, Md., San Juan, P.R., Tucson, Ariz., Sitka, Alaska, and Honolulu, T.H.; a number of primary tide stations along the coasts, and numerous stations maintained for various purposes by the Survey in cooperation with other Federal and private agencies. The field stations carry on duties assigned by the Washington office, including the collection of data for the correction of local charts, and cooperate with field parties and Survey ships in their areas, as well as with local engineers and organizations engaged in operations requiring specialized data.

Dissemination of Information.--The results of surveys and studies are analyzed in the Washington office and are issued in various forms, including nautical and aeronautical charts, annual tables of predicted tides and currents, charts showing magnetic declination, results of observations at magnetic observatories, annual lists of United States earthquakes, publications of geographic positions and elevations, annual and special publications (including comprehensive manuals), and Coast Pilots.

The Coast Pilots, a series of 13 volumes, supplement the nautical charts, furnishing such information as descriptions of the coasts, recommended sailing directions, port, harbor, and anchorage information, and emphasizing any conditions that may be hazardous to water-borne traffic.

War Activities.--The products and services of the Coast and Geodetic Survey are essential for war purposes, and all operations of the Survey are now being carried on to meet such needs. Present activities include a great expansion in the production of nautical charts for use by the Navy and the merchant marine, and of aeronautical charts for air navigation and pilot training; the construction of a considerable number of special nautical and aeronautical charts; expansion of geodetic surveys to provide control for topographic mapping of strategic land areas and for other purposes; acceleration of field surveys in various strategic water areas; and the accomplishment of numerous special field projects. Since February 1942, by Executive order, certain vessels of the Coast and Geodetic Survey have been transferred

to the Navy Department, and certain personnel to the War and the Navy Departments, to constitute a part of the active military or naval forces of the United States during the national emergency.

Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce

The Bureau of Foreign and DOmestic Commerce was established by an act approved August 23, 1912 (37 Stat. 407; 5 U.S.C. 597). In it are consolidated analytical and statistical functions which originated in the Treasury Department's Division of Commerce and Navigation, established by act of February 10, 1820 (3 Stat. 541; 15 U.S.C. 173, 184). These have been broadened and enlarged by acts of Congress from time to time to keep pace with the economic growth of the Nation.

Since its establishment the Bureau has adhered closely to its statutory function--"to foster, promote and develop the foreign and domestic commerce of the United States." In carrying out these functions, the Bureau has gained and continues to maintain an intimate knowledge of business at home and abroad. Thus it is ideally equipped to represent American business to Government and Government to business. To make its knowledge of maximum usefulness the Bureau's operations are divided under these two classificiaton: (1) broad trends and developments in the national economy; (2) specific and practical plans to help solve business problems.

During the war, a major share of the Bureau's activities are being directed toward providing quick service to the various war agencies. Comprehensive reports on commodities and industries are furnished on request. Because of its consistent practice of gathering facts and analyzing them, the Bureau is able to give authentic and up-to-the-minute information. Examples of its services are regular and special reports on foreign and domestic commercial and economic problems prepared for the Army, Navy, and other war agencies.

In addition, the Bureau makes investigations and analyses of civilian requirements, sources of supply, production capacity, procurement, rehabilitation requirements, conservation, and substitutes. It maintains contact with trade organizations and their memberships for quick cooperation on war measures. Through its field offices, it reports on situations developing in the business world with the view to avoiding bottlenecks in supply and production. It also analyzes the effect of the War Program on the economy of the Nation.

Structure.--The Bureau functions through six divisions--Research and Statistics, Industrial Economy, Small Business, International Economy, Distribution, and Commercial and Economic Information.

Foreign Commerce.--One of the main activities of the Bureau is the swift and accurate collection, analysis, and dissemination of current information regarding the rapidly changing tariffs, regulations, and restrictions on trade and finance adopted by the other nations of the world. It watches, measures, and reports the dislocations of established trade, transportation, and foreign exchange. It recommends to American businessmen suitable agents abroad to distribute their products and to replace agents having Axis affiliations.

The Bureau also studies and reports on the short-range results and probable long-range implications of the increasing control of foreign

governments over their international business and internal economy. In this way, a valuable storehouse of economic and commercial facts is being gathered as a basis for commercial relations now and in the future.

A considerable percentage of the Bureau's activities and personnel experienced in international commerce is now devoting full time to economic warfare problems presented by the Foreign Economic Administration and other war agencies. Thus the Bureau's reservoir of information and the services of its trained organization are made available to agencies directly prosecuting the war.

Domestic Commerce.--While the major interests of the Bureau are centered on furthering the war effort in every way possible, its i giving much emphasis to aiding business, particularly that large segment known as small business. In addition to providing the Army, Navy, and various war agencies with necessary information, the Bureau aids individual firms to make their facilities available for war production, and to adjust their operations to wartime conditions. it also measures the effects of the War Program upon the entire national economy and upon significant segments as a guide to Government and business both for short-range operations and long-range planning. Management assistance in solving operating problems is given by reporting for the benefit of all firms the efficient methods developed by the more progressive firms. Of particular interest to small business are facilities for answering specific inquiries concerning war and post-war operating problems, a program of cooperation with business in smaller cities and towns, and research on business stabilization. Studies already published in line with the Bureau's small business program include Community Action for Post-War jobs and Profits, which has already been adopted for use in nearly 1,350 communities; Wartime Guide for Retail Druggists; Wartime Guide for Retail Grocers; Delivery Pooling for Retail Stores; Wartime Dealer-Aid Programs; Regional Shifts in Population, Production, and Markets, 1939-43; Distribution of Scarce Goods; Estimates of Business Births and Deaths; Check List for Establishing a Retail Business; Check List for Introduction fo New Consumer Products; Furniture Retailing; Record Keeping for Small Stores; Post-War Problems of Wholesalers; Markets After the War; Market Prospects After the War; An Outline for Making Commercial and Industrial Surveys; and Business Lease-Hold Obligations. Other studies helpful to small manufacturers, distributors, and service operators are in progress.

Another function of the Bureau is that of carrying on long-term programs of useful analyses to provide a sound basis for policies which must be developed when peace comes.

The Bureau is also carrying out a plan by which the research projects of the university schools of business, departments of economics, and bureaus of business research are classified for the better use of businessmen and others interested in advancing the science of business management.

Publications.--The Bureau makes its findings available to business and Government through periodicals and special monographs on current phases of economic, commercial, and industrial developments in the domestic and foreign fields. The periodicals covering these fields are Foreign Commerce Weekly, Domestic Commerce, and the

Survey of Current Business. Currently each features the developments affecting the functioning of our commerce under war conditions.

Field Service.--Twenty-six offices are maintained by the Bureau at strategic business centers through the United States. They are staffed by trained and experienced personnel, who not only serve business but also gather information for the Department of Commerce in Washington, Since the outbreak of the war, the field offices are playing a highly important role in international trade.This includes: (1) facilitating the movement of goods by providing information on the many and complicated regulations of foreign countries; (2) advising as to the standing of foreign firms; (3) acting as liaison between the American Foreign Service and businessmen in the United States.

The Field Service acts as the official representative of the Foreign Economic Administration in all cities except New York in disseminating information on export control, and gathers data for the use of other war agencies. in the domestic field trained personnel, thoroughly familiar with the use of census data, assist businessmen in solving their distribution problems. It guides businessmen to the appropriate agency or official administering a regulation affecting a particular business. This service is of particular value to thousands of small businessmen. Business consultants, stationed in the field, prepare regular and special reports on business conditions within their regions, primarily for the use of business executives.

The Department of Commerce field offices in which the Bureau participates are located as follows:

FIeld Service--Department of Commerce
Office	Address
Atlanta 3, Ga.	603 Rhodes Building
Boston 9, Mass.	1800 Customhouse
Buffalo 3, N.Y.	242 Federal Building
Charleston 3, S.C.	Chamber of Commerce Building
Chicago 4, Ill.	357 U.S. Courthouse
Cincinnati 2, Ohio	Chamber of Commerce Building
Cleveland 14, Ohio	750 Union Commerce Building
Dallas 2, Tex.	Chamber of Commerce Building
Denver 2, Colo.	566 Customhouse
Detroit 26, Mich.	1018 New Federal Building
Houston 14, Tex.	603 Federal Office Building
Jacksonville 1, Fla.	425 Federal Building
Kansas City 6, Mo.	724 Dwight Building
Los Angeles 12, Calif.	1540 U.S. Post Office and Courthouse Bldg.
Memphis 3, Tenn.	229 Federal Building
Minneapolis 1, Minn.	201 Federal Office Building
New Orleans 12, La.	408 Maritime Building
Philadelphia 2, Pa.	1510 Chestnut Street
Pittsburgh 19, Pa.	1013 New Federal Building
Portland 4, Oreg.	Room 313, 520 SW. Morrison Street
Richmond 19, Va.	801 E. Broad Street
St. Louis 1, Mo.	107 New Federal Building
San Francisco 11, Calif.	307 Customhouse
Savannah, Ga.	403 U.S. Post Office and Courthouse Bldg.
Seattle 4, Wash.	809 Federal Office Building

War Activities.--Members of the Bureau serve on many interdepartmental committees set up to centralize factual resources of the Government for effective prosecution of the war. The Secretary of Commerce is Chairman, and the Foreign Law Adviser of the Bureau is Executive Secretary, of the Federal War Agencies Committee appointed by the President on May 16, 1942. The Secretary of Commerce is a co-issuer of the Proclaimed List of Certain Blocked Nationals. The Chief and various members of the staff of the Division of Industrial Economy serve on many interdepartmental committees devoted wholly to wartime activities, among them being the numerous Technical Committees on Standard Classified List of Commodities, Minerals and Metals Advisory Committee of the War Production Board, etc. Other interdepartmental committees on which members of the Bureau serve are: Committee for the Acquisition of FOreign Publications; Great Lakes Priorities Advisory Committee; Inter-Coastal Priorities Committee; Interstate Trade Barriers Committee; Operating Committees of Combined Production and Resources Board and Combined Raw Material Board; and Interdepartmental Shipping Priorities Advisory Committee.

Inland Waterways Corporation

(1330 Boatmen's Bank Building, St. Louis, Mo.)

The Inland Waterways Corporation was incorporated under the act of Congress approved June 3, 1924 (43 Stat. 360; 49 U.S.C. 151). The original legislation was amended by act of February 28, 1927 (44 Stat. 1261; 49 U.S.C. 154), and by act of May 29, 1928 (45 Stat. 78; 49 U.S.C. 152, 153). Reorganization Plan II, issued pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 561; 5 U.S.C. 133t), transferred the Corporation from the War Department to the Department of Commerce. The Corporation is charged with the duties incident to the development of national inland waterway transportation as delegated to the Secretary of War under the Transportation Act of 1920 (41 Stat. 499; 49 U.S.C. 142), and the act of June 3, 1924 (43 Stat. 360), as amended by the Denison Act of May 29, 1928 (45 Stat. 978; 49 U.S.C. 152-53), and the act of June 16, 1934 (48 Stat. 968; 49 U.S.C. 153).

Organized to further the policies affecting inland waterway transportation as set forth in the Transportation Act, which were "to promote, encourage, and develop water transportation, service, and facilities in connection with the commerce of the United States, and to foster and preserve in full vigor both rail and water transportation," the Corporation was created primarily to carry out sections 201 and 500 of the Transportation Act and for other purposes, to make possible the coordination of rail and water transportation in the United States.

Organization.--The Inland Waterways Corporation is organized along the lines of a trunk-line railroad, with its own executive heads, traffic, engineering, purchasing, operating, accounting, and solicitation department. Through joint rates with the railroads, it serves the people in 42 of the 48 States. The Corporation does not receive annual appropriations by Congress; it functions entirely on funds derived from operations.

The Corporation operates barge lines on several important water routes. These routes include St. Louis to Minneapolis, Kansas City, Chicago, and New Orleans; New Orleans to Mobile; Mobile to Birmingport, Ala.; and a short rail line, the Warrior River Terminal Company, between Birmingport and Ensley, Ala.

The Warrior River Terminal Company (formerly the Ensley Southern R.R.) connects with other railroads at Ensley, Ala., and thence, via the Birmingham and Southern Railroad with Birmingham proper. The railroad is 18.12 miles long. The capital stock of the company is owned by the Inland Waterways Corporation, in the amount of $1,250,000.

Sales and Lease of Government Transportation Facilities.--The Corporation is authorized to sell and lease, under specified terms and conditions, certain of its transportation facilities to private management.

Water Terminals and Floating Equipment.--The Corporation is charged with investigating types offloading and terminal equipment suitable for various waterways, and with locating and erecting water terminals.

Investigation of Matters Affecting Waterway Traffic.--The Corporation investigates tariff and interchange arrangements between rail and water carriers and other matters which tend to promote and encourage waterway traffic, and otherwise functions generally as the official Government inland waterways transportation agency.

National Bureau of Standards

(Connecticut Avenue at Van Ness Street NW.; WOodley 1720)

The National Bureau of Standards was established by act of Congress approved March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1449; 15 U.S.C. 271).

In addition to the plant in Washington, small branch laboratories for testing cement and miscellaneous materials are maintained at Allentown, Pa., Denver, Colo., Permanent, Riverside, and San Francisco, Calif., Houston, Tex., and Seattle, Wash. A master railroad track scale is located at Clearing, near Chicago.

The Bureau acts as one of the principal research and testing laboratories of the Government, and a large part of its work is conducted at the request of, or in cooperation with, governmental agencies.

War Work.--The requirements of the war agencies have brought about many changes in the organization of the Bureau and in the character of the work which it is performing for the Government. Problems in great variety--from the development of camouflage cloth and paints to the grinding of quartz crystals for radio oscillators, as well as many secret and confidential projects--are occupying fully 9 percent of the Bureau facilities. This work comes from the War and Navy Department, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the Office of Scientific Research and Development, the War Production Board, the Office of Price Administration, the Office of Civilian Defense, and many other agencies. To meet these demands it has been necessary for the Bureau to abandon temporarily many of its normal activities, but even after all possible reduction in nonwar activities it has been necessary to increase th staff to over 2,300 employees and

to provide additional laboratory facilities. The following paragraphs refer to the normal functions of the Bureau.

Maintenance of Working Standards.--The Bureau develops, constructs, and has the custody and maintenance of the reference and working standards of measurement, quality, performance, and practice used in science, engineering, industry, and commerce, and conducts the necessary tests and investigations in this connection.

Electrical Measurements and Service.--It maintains standards for electrical measurements, including radio, calibrates electrical instruments for industrial and scientific uses, makes specifications for electrical materials, and furnishes development and consulting services to the Government.

Standards of Weights and Measures.--The Bureau has custody of the national standards of length and mass, and conducts research and testing necessary to the scientific, industrial, and commercial use of weights and measures. A Nation-wide railroad-master-scale testing service is maintained with headquarters at Clearing, near Chicago. The testing of precision gages for machine parts is an important function.

Temperature Standards, Building Materials, and Automotive Power Plants.--Standards are maintained for heat and temperature measurements, for thermal properties of materials, heat transmission, and fire resistance, and researches are conducted on the performance of internal-combustion engines, and fuels and lubricants for motor vehicles and aircraft. Conditions of actual use, including operation at high altitudes, can be duplicated.

Development of Radiation Standards.--The Bureau develops instruments, methods, and standards for the measurement and application of radiation, covering infrared, visible (including color), ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray radiation. It uses standard wave lengths in producing line and end standards of extreme accuracy. It develops spectroscopic and polarimetric methods of analysis.

Chemical Tests.--The Bureau makes chemical tests and investigations of petroleum and its products, paint, varnish, roofing materials, soap, cement, rubber, balloon fabrics, office supplies, steel, nonferrous alloys, the platinum metals, electroplating, electrotyping, gas and gas appliances, and establishes pH or active acidity standards. Standard samples of metals, alloys, and pure hydrocarbons are made available to assist commercial laboratories in checking chemical and physical test methods.

Testing of Instruments, Appliances, and Structures.--It tests aeronautic and engineering instruments, mechanical appliances, the strength of large fabricated structures of steel and other building materials, such as brick and concrete, determines wind loads on building, and measures acoustical properties of building materials. In its hydraulics laboratory it studies the laws of flowing water and related questions. New types of aeronautic instruments are developed and sample instruments are constructed for the Navy Department.

Standards for Organic materials.--It investigates the composition, properties, production, and utilization of such organic materials as rubber, both natural and synthetic, leather, textiles, paper, and plastics, and develops test methods, quality standards, and specifications

for them. Semi-commercial plants are available for experimental production of paper, for vulcanizing rubber, and for the tanning of leather.

Metallurgical Service.--The Bureau furnishes testing service and renders authoritative opinions on metals, makes studies of metallurgical problems with a view to their proper industrial application, and develops alloys for new and unusual conditions. Special attention is given to alloys for service at very high temperatures and for aircraft construction, particularly as regards resistance to impact, vibration, and corrosion.

Tests of China, Porcelain, and Building Materials.--It tests and investigates such materials as porcelain, earthenware, china, glass, brick, clay tile, refractories, enamelware, cement, concrete, lime, gypsum, building stone, and marble. A special plant is provided for making the highest grades of optical glass for the use of the Army and the Navy.

Scientific Instruments and Gages.--The Bureau constructs and assists in designing instruments of high precision, laboratory apparatus, and equipment required for scientific, engineering, and technological investigations.

Aid to the Building Industry.--The Bureau cooperates not only with governmental agencies but also with business and professional groups in furthering construction activities by modernizing building codes, encouraging improved standards for building construction, and developing technical information on the engineering properties of building materials as incorporated in the structural elements and equipment of a house, with particular reference to low-cost housing, and including new materials, equipment, and methods of construction as well as those already in use. In view of the limitation placed on certain materials commonly employed in building structures and equipment, special emphasis is being placed on safety and related items in reconsidering the economic and satisfactory utilization of available materials of construction.

Aid to Governmental Agencies and the Public.--The Bureau cooperates with Federal, State, and municipal officials in the preparation and utilization of safety standards. it also cooperates with governmental purchasing agencies and organized consumer groups in making their purchasing methods more effective. it compiles and distributes to tax-supported agencies lists of manufacturers willing to certify to compliance with selected Federal specifications and commercial standards. The attention of every willing-to-certify manufacturer is called to emergency alternate specifications promptly upon their release, in recognition of the inability of manufacturers to obtain certain critical and strategic materials. By means of the labeling plan, it assists over-the-counter buyers in making a better selection of goods by encouraging manufacturers to place on their commodities self-identifying, quality-guaranteeing labels. it prepares and keeps up to date directories of national recognized standards and specifications and commercial testing and college research laboratories.

Simplified Practice and Commercial Standards.--It aids Federal Agencies and business and user groups in eliminating unnecessary sizes and varieties of widely used manufactured products, and in the

establishment of grade, quality, and other standards as a national basis for purchasing, testing, marketing, and certification of manufactured commodities other than food and drugs. Special attention is given to the preparation of specifications for emergency purchases, admitting suitable substitutes for scarce materials.

Patent Office

The Patent Office was established to administer the patent laws enacted by Congress in accordance with Article I, section 8, of the Constitution. The first of these laws was enacted April 10, 1790 (1 Stat. 318), but the Patent Office as a distinct bureau in the Department of State dates from the year 1802, when an official who became known as the Superintendent of Patents was placed in charge. The general revision of the patent laws enacted July 4, 1936 (5 Stat. 117), reorganized the Patent Office and designated the official in charge as Commissioner of Patents. Another general revision of the patent laws, was made in 1870, and since that date numerous acts of Congress relating to patents have been passed (16 Stat. 198; R.S. secs. 475-496, 4883-4926; 35 U.S.C. 1-88). The Patent Office was transferred from the Department of the Interior, in which Department it had been since 1849, to the Department of Commerce by Executive order on April 1, 1925, in accordance with the authority contained in the act of February 14, 1903 (32 Stat. 830). Part of the Patent Office, mainly the examining and associated divisions, is temporarily located in Richmond, Va. Organization.--The Commissioner of Patents has both administrative and judicial functions. He exercises general supervision over all functions of the Office; formulates, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce, rules of practice governing Office procedure and the recognition of attorneys and agents; decides questions affecting the rules; and decides various appeals and petitions. The Commissioner is aided by three assistant commissioners; a solicitor, who acts as attorney for the Commissioner in the court work involved in executing the patent laws; four law examiners; a board of supervisory examiners who assist the Commissioner in unifying the practice throughout the Office; an administrative assistant; and a chief clerk.

Examining Patent Applications.--The chief legal and technical function of the paten Office consists in the examination of applications for patents to determine whether the invention described and claimed can be patented according to the law. This work is performed by 65 examining divisions (including the Design Division), each having jurisdiction over certain assigned fields of invention. Each division is in charge of a principal examiner and contains an average of 8 or 9 assistant examiners; these are all technically trained, and most of them are also legally trained. A board of 3 examiners of interferences, after considering testimony and arguments, decides the question of priority of invention when there are rival claimants for patents.

Appeals.--Nine examiners-in-chief, together with the Commissioner and the assistant commissioners, constitute a Board of Appeals to hear and decide appeals from adverse decisions of the examiners

on applications for patent. Each appeal is hard by three members of the Board. From an adverse decision of the Board of Appeals, and from decisions of the Board of Interference Examiners, the law provides an appeal to the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, or, alternatively, a review by bill in equity in a United States District Court.

Classification.--For the use of examiners in searching, and also for the public in looking up inventions in particular fields, all the patents which have been granted are grouped into classes and subclasses. A Classification Division maintains the classification current, revising unclassified and obsolete classes to keep abreast of the advance in the arts, and continually improving the classification.

Publications.--When patents are granted, printed copies of the specifications and drawings are prepared and published. Copies of over two and one-third million patents granted since 1790 are kept in stock for distribution and sale to the public. Trade-marks registered are similarly published. The Patent Office also publishes an Official Gazette which appears weekly, annual indexes of patents and trade-marks, annual volumes of decisions in patent and trade-mark suits, a manual of classification, biennial classification bulletins, rules of practice, compilations of patent laws, trade-mark laws and rules, and pamphlets of general information.

Scientific Library and Search Room.--A scientific library containing over 37,000 scientific and technical books, over 44,000 bound volumes of periodicals devoted to science and technology, the official journals of foreign patent offices, and over 6,000,000 copies of patents issued by foreign countries, is maintained in the Patent Office for the use of the examiners and the public. A public search room, containing numerical and classified sets of patents, is maintained for the use of the public in searching and examining United States patents and their records. Service Divisions.--In addition to the various divisions indicated above, the Patent Office comprises the Application Division for receiving, indexing, and forwarding to the examining divisions applications for patent; the Draftsmen's Division for inspecting, correcting, and preparing drawings; the Issue and Gazette Division for preparing and supervising the printing of patents and other publications; the Docket Division, which has custody of various records; the Assignment Division for receiving and recording transfers of property rights, and for making title searches; the Financial Division; the Mail and Files Division; the Manuscript Division for furnishing the public copies of Patent Office records and other papers; and the Publication Division for the storage and sale of Patent Office publications.

Trade-Marks.--In addition to the patent laws, the Patent Office administers the Federal trade-mark laws, the present statutes being the act of February 20, 1903 (33 Stat. 533; 15 U.S.C. 81-109), the act of March 19, 1920 (41 Stat. 533; 15 U.S.C. 85, 121-28), and acts supplementary thereto. The Trade-Mark Division examines applications for registration of trade-marks and performs the legal work required under the trade-mark laws. Interferences are handled by an examiner of trade-mark interferences. Appeals may be taken to the Commissioner of Patents, and from him to the courts. Service

functions in connection with trade-marks are performed by the corresponding divisions handling patent matters.

War Activities.--The Patent Office War Division initiates searches for applications for inventions in categories deemed of importance by Government war agencies. It has submitted to it by the principal examiners those cases the publication of which might be detrimental to the war effort and, in collaboration with advisory organizations of Government war agencies, determines the cases in which secrecy orders shall be issued. Authorization for this Division is found in the act approved July 1, 1940 (54 Stat. 710; 35 U.S.C. 42), the act approved August 21, 1941 (55 Stat. 657; 35 U.S.C. 42 a-f), and the act approved June 16, 1942 (56 Stat. 370; 35 U.S.C. 42 note, 42s note). Members of the War Division include, in Washington, H.H. Jacobs (Chief), J.A. Brearley, and Mark Taylor; in Richmond, W.M. Adams, E.W. Geniesse, B.H. Carpenter, and L.P. McCann.

The Licensing Section of the War Division considers petitions for licenses to file patent applications abroad, under the act of August 21, 1941, requiring that such license must be obtained before any application for patent can be filed in a foreign country for any invention originating in the United States. The purpose of this act is to prevent knowledge of war inventions from reaching unauthorized persons through the means of an application for patent in a foreign country. This Section also cooperates with the Foreign Economic Administration.

Weather Bureau

(M. Street between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Streets NW.; MIchigan 3200)

The Weather Bureau was organized as a civil agency under the Department of Agriculture by the act of October 1, 1890 (26 Stat. 653; 15 U.S.C. 311). Its functions have been amplified by subsequent Executive orders and enactments, including the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 973; 15 U.S.C. 21, 43; 39 U.S.C. 481-88; 46 U.S.C. 891y; 49 U.S.C. 401-681; 50 U.S.C. 151). By the President Reorganization Plan IV, the Bureau was transferred to the Department of Commerce, effective June 03, 1940. Under Executive Order 8991 of December 26, 1941, the Bureau became a war agency directed primarily toward serving military meteorological needs.

The Weather Bureau operates the basic national (synoptic) system of meteorological observations for the United States, collects and analyzes these observations, and prepares weather forecasts and warnings, bulletins, and climatological summaries for the use of other branches of the Government, including the military and naval services, and for the benefit of air transport, agriculture, business, commerce, industry, shipping, and other national interests.

Observations.--The Bureau makes weather observations at about 420 airports and city offices, has 5,500 substations for observing weather conditions for the benefit of airways, river and flood, crop-weather, fruit-frost, and other miscellaneous services, and about 6,200 cooperative climatological stations. The airways weather

stations make observations and telegraph reports at scheduled times through the day; others make observations daily and report as required. Collective synoptic reports are exchanged with the meteorological centers of other nations. observations comprise all surface weather conditions, river and flood stages, and upper air conditions. These data are the basis for all weather maps of the United States and its Territories.

Forecasts and Warnings.--Daily weather forecasts give to the public information of usual meteorological conditions and special warnings of storms, hurricanes, cold waves, frost, forest fires, and floods. Specialized daily forecasts are issued for aeronautics, agriculture, engineering, and navigation. Weather Bureau forecasters assigned to the Air Traffic Control centers of the Civil Aeronautics Authority provide continuous meteorological advice for the protection of aircraft in flight. Other specialized local forecasts are extended to various fields of public activity as rapidly as the facilities of the Bureau permit. Forecasts are distributed by radio, through the press, by regular telephone, by automatic telephone transmitter, and by weather maps and bulletins published by the Bureau. (For military reasons the distribution of weather information for areas outside the continental United States is restricted for the duration of the war.)

Current Bulletins and Climatological Summaries.--Daily bulletins of current weather conditions throughout the country are published in the press and in many Bureau periodicals. Climatological summaries in various forms for the benefit of agriculture, engineering, and other national interests are published from the 43 climatological section centers monthly and annually. These publications present climatic data for the entire United States, a record of much importance in connection with national economic planning.

Meteorological Research.--Because of the vital influence of weather and climate upon the national welfare, the Weather Bureau is charged with research in atmospheric phenomena, including upper air observations, ozone distribution, solar radiation, and other factors which may influence weather conditions. it conducts investigations directed toward fuller knowledge of atmospheric circulation and basic weather sources. Special studies are devoted to improvement in methods of forecasting and to development of longer term forecasts. Studies are also directed toward advancement in air mass analysis and adequate climatological data for the country.

War Activities.--To some extent, weather conditions influence practically all major military activities, particularly aviation training and transport, convoy protection, aerial reconnaissance and bombing, tactical coordination, munitions manufacture, and naval operations. To turn this influence as fully as possible to the advantage of our armed forces and the supporting agencies of production, transportation, and supply, the facilities of the Weather Bureau have been adjusted and expanded to meet a great variety of wartime needs. Special forecasting services have been instituted to facilitate artillery and aircraft tests and to serve Army posts, construction projects, munitions plants, and the Air Transport Command; the number of upper-air observations has been greatly increased to aid military aviation;

communication networks have been extended to serve Army establishments wherever necessary; the Alaskan and Caribbean weather services have been reorganized and improved to meet the special military needs of those areas; skilled personnel have been assigned to full-time service details with the armed forces; and a staff of expert meteorological statisticians is now producing significant analyses of the weather and climates of foreign areas of actual or potential military interest to United Nations forces.

To coordinate these operations and obtain maximum effectiveness in meteorological activities of the civilian and military services, close liaison is maintained between the Weather Bureau and the Army and Navy through a Joint Meteorological Committee and other facilities in Washington. By Executive Order 8991 of December 26, 1941, the Chief of the Weather Bureau acts as liaison officer between the Secretaries of Commerce, War, and Navy, to coordinate civil meteorological facilities to meet the requirements of the Army and the Navy.

Civil Aeronautics Authority

Creation and Authority.--Under the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 973; 15 U.S.C. 21, 45; 39 U.S.C. 481-88; 46 U.S.C. 891y; 49 U.S.C. 401-681; 50 U.S.C. 151), the Civil Aeronautics Authority was established as an independent agency composed of the Civil Aeronautics Authority of five members, the Administrator, and the Air Safety Board of three members.

By Reorganization Plans III and IV, effective June 30l, 1940, issued pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 561; 5 U.S.C. 133), the name of the five-member Board was changed to the Civil Aeronautics Board and certain of its functions were transferred to the Administrator. The offices of the members of the Air Safety Board were abolished and the functions of the Air Safety Board were transferred to the Civil Aeronautics Board. The Civil Aeronautics Board and the Administrator were transferred to the Department of Commerce, the Board exercising its functions of rule-making (including the prescription of rules, regulations, and standards), adjudication, and investigation, independently of the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administrator exercising his functions under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of Commerce. The plans further provided that the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics and the Civil Aeronautics Board constitute the Civil Aeronautics Authority. However, the Civil Aeronautics Authority as such performs no functions; all its responsibilities are discharged by the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Civil Aeronautics Board.

Civil Aeronautics Administration

The Administrator of Civil Aeronautics encourages and fosters the development of civil aeronautics and air commerce; encourages the establishment of civil airways, landing areas, and other air navigation aids and facilities; designates Federal airways and acquires, establishes, operates, and maintains air navigation facilities along such civil

airways and at landing areas; makes provision for the control and protection of air traffic moving in air commerce; undertakes or supervises technical developmental work in the field of aeronautics; plans for the development of aeronautical facilities; and maintains and operates the Washington National Airport.

The Administrator also enforces the civil air regulations (excepting the prescribing of safety standards, rules and regulations and the suspension and revocation of certificates after hearing), including (a) effectuation of safety standards, rules, and regulations, (b) examination, inspection, or rating of airmen, aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, appliances, air carriers, air navigation facilities, and air agencies, (c) issuance of various types of safety certificates, (d) issuance of emergency suspension of safety certificates, and (e) compromise of civil penalities; provides for aircraft registration and recordation of title; recommends to the Civil Aeronautics Board proposed standards, rules, and regulations designed to promote air safety; and requires notice and issues orders with respect to hazards to air commerce.

Development of Landing Areas.--The locations for the construction or improvement of airports under this program are selected on the basis of their importance to national defense and to future civil aviation by a board consisting of the Secretaries of War, Navy, and Commerce.

Development does not include buildings, but is limited to work on the landing areas proper, such as grading and drainage, paving, and lighting. Local government sponsor the projects and are required to provide the land and to construct any buildings necessary. They must also agree to maintain and operate the completed airport as a public facility.

Under this program airports which are essential to meet military requirements are established by joint Federal and local participation, and will become available for use by civil aviation after the war.

Air Navigation.--Vital contributions to national defense are also made by the Federal Airways System and by the development work of the CAA.

The Federal Airways System, which has been extended throughout Alaska, is being further expanded and improved to provide the type of dependable communications service and air navigation facilities required for the successful conduct of military operations in that area. Installations in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, as well as in the Caribbean area, are now proving their military value. The Federal Airways System now comprises a network of more than 40,00 miles of "highways of the air."

At the request of the Army and Navy, engineers and communications experts of the Federal Airways Service are supervising the establishment of air navigation facilities and aeronautical communications services throughout the world and in combat zones.

Development work is proceeding in the fields of very high frequency communication and directional guidance facilities; monitoring equipment; flutter and vibration of aircraft components; engine nacelle fires; airport design and construction; soil testing and stabilization;

airport lighting; obstruction marking by radio; traffic control; instrument landing systems; and aeronautical charts.

Region	Office	Territory
1	New York 17, N.Y.	Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia
2	Atlanta 3, Ga.	Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana (east of the Mississippi River), Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
3	Chicago 5, Ill.	Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin
4	Fort Worth 4, Tex.	Arkansas, Louisiana (west of the Mississippi Rover), New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
5	Kansas City 6, Mo.	Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming
6	Los Angeles, Calif.	Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Pacific Islands
7	Seattle 14, Wash.	Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
8	Anchorage, Alaska	Alaska
9	Honolulu, T.H.	Hawaii and Pacific Ocean Area

Civil Aeronautics Board

Organization.--The Board is, in contrast with the Civil Aeronautics Administration, an independent agency composed of five members, appointed by the President with the confirmation of the Senate, one of whom is annually designated by the President as chairman and another as vice chairman. The members are appointed for a period of 6 years. Not more than three members may be of the same political party. The Board exercises legislative and judicial powers which Congress has delegated to it in the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 as modified by the President's Reorganization Plans III and IV. The reorganization places the Board within the framework of the Department of Commerce solely for "administrative housekeeping" purposes.

In general, the Board performs three chief functions: (1) regulation of economic aspects of air carrier operations; (2) promulgation of safety standards and civil air regulations; (3) investigation of aircraft accidents.

Economic Regulation.--The Board issues certificates of public convenience and necessity to air carriers and permits to foreign air carriers; regulates the filing of tariffs; regulates rates for the carriage of persons and property; prescribes rates of compensation for the carriage of mail; and regulates accounts, records, and reports, mergers, loans and financial aid, methods of competition, and interlocking relationships.

Safety Regulation.--The Board prescribes safety standards, rules, and regulations and has the power to suspend and revoke safety certificates after hearing (including the disposition of any petition for the reconsideration of the denial by the Administrator of an application for the issuance or renewal of an airman certificate under section 602 (b) of the act).

Accident Prevention.--The Board makes rules on notification and report of accidents involving aircraft; investigates such accidents and

reports the facts, circumstances, and probable causes; makes its reports and recommendations public in such manner as it deems to be in the public interest; investigates complaints and conducts special studies and investigations to reduce aircraft accidents and prevent their recurrence.

National Inventors Council

The National Inventors Council was created in August 1940, by the Secretary of Commerce with the concurrence of the President of the United States, to receive, evaluate, and pass on to appropriate branches of the armed services all inventions, inventive ideas, and new products and processes submitted by the public as a contribution to the war efforts. It works in very close collaboration with the Army and Navy. Existing Army regulations require that all inventions submitted by the general public through the War Department should be referred first to the Council.

The Council embraces in its membership noted inventors, industrialists (experienced in the development of inventions), and public officials, including representatives of the Army and Navy.

Evaluation of inventions is accomplished through a technical staff and a system of technical committees. up to the present, the Council has received and evaluated more than 200,000 suggestions.

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In addition to the agencies which are by law under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, two activities, because of similarity of functions, are being carried on under the jurisdiction of Department of Commerce officials--the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (of which the Secretary of Commerce is Chairman) and the Textile Foundation, Inc. (of which the Secretary of Commerce is a member of the Board of Directors).

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

The Foreign-Trade Zones Board was created by act of Congress approved June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 998, 1003; 19 U.S.C. 81a, 81s, 81t, 81u). The purpose of the Board, as set forth in the act, is to provide for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of foreign-trade zones in ports of entry of the United States to expedite and encourage foreign commerce and related activities.

The Board is authorized, subject to conditions and restrictions of the act, to grant to public and private corporations the privilege of establishing, operating, and maintaining foreign-trade zones in or adjacent to ports of entry under the jurisdiction of the United States. A foreign-trade zone is an isolated, enclosed, and policed area under the supervision of the Board, operated as a public utility by a corporation, in or adjacent to a port of entry, without resident population, furnished with the necessary facilities for lading and unlading, for storing goods, and for reshipping them by land and water--an

area into which goods may be brought, stored, and subjected to certain specified manipulation operations. if reshipped to foreign points, the goods may leave the restricted trade zone without payment of duties and without the intervention of customs officials, except under certain conditions. Such products cannot, of course, leave the trade zone for domestic use or consumption without full compliance with existing customs laws. Goods may not be manufactured or exhibited in such an area. The area is subject equally with adjacent regions to all the laws relating to public health, vessel inspection, postal service, and immigration, and to supervision of Federal agencies having jurisdiction in ports of entry, including customs to a limited extent.

When the Board has made grants to corporations for the establishment of foreign-trade zones, the activities of the Board become supervisory, and grantees must operates zones as public utilities in strict conformity with the act and the rules and regulations of the Board.

The Board, on its own initiative or when presentations are made by grantees or users of foreign-trade zones, determines procedure under the law and regulations. it may establish the definition of certain operations, manipulations, and processes. It may prohibit certain commodities from entry to a zone.

Organization.--The membership of the Board, as specified in the act, is composed of the Secretary of Commerce as Chairman, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the Treasury. The regulations provide that members appoint alternates to serve as an interdepartmental Committee of Alternates on Foreign-Trade Zones. This Committee reviews and prepares all matters for presentation to the Board, holds such hearings and rehearings as may be directed by the Chairman of the Board, and performs all other duties designated by the Board, except such as are specifically imposed by law on the Board.

Foreign-Trade Zones in Operation.--The Board has issued a grant to the City of New York to establish a foreign-trade zone at Stapleton, Staten Island. This zone was opened on February 1, 1937, and continued in operation until the property was acquired for military purposes by the War Department on February 7, 1942. Because of the importance of the zone in promoting foreign trade, especially in connection with our Latin American neighbors, the Board directed the transfer of zone operations to Piers 53, 72 73, and 74, and adjacent uplands, North River, Borough of Manhattan, where operations will be carried on during the period of the war.

Applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones at New Orleans and Houston are under consideration. Final action on the New Orleans application, delayed because of the shortage of labor and materials and because all existing facilities were needed for war purposes, is expected shortly. The Houston application for a foreign-trade zone has been held in abeyance due to the utilization of the proposed zone site for war industries. Two other applications of public corporations are on file with the Board, one for a zone at San Francisco and the other for a zone at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The site originally selected for the proposed San Francisco zone has been

taken over for military use, but San Francisco port officials have announced that they would proceed with the establishment of a foreign-trade zone at the earliest possible moment consistent with the war effort.

Textile Foundation, Inc.

The Textile Foundation, Inc., was created by the act of Congress approved June 10, 1930 (46 Stat. 539; 15 U.S.C. 501-03). The incorporation was effected with the first meeting of the board of directors on June 11, 1930. The corporation was organized for scientific and economic research for the benefit and development of the textile industry and its allied branches, including that of the production of raw materials. Organization.--The corporation is managed by a board of directors consisting of the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, and three persons familiar with the textile industry appointed by the President for a term of 4 years. The members serve without compensation except for reimbursement of actual expenses incurred by them in the performance of the functions vested in the board. Authorized projects are undertaken by selected individuals or organizations.

Reports to Congress and to the President.--On or before the first day of December each year, the corporation transmits to Congress and to the President a report of its proceedings and activities for the preceding calendar year, which includes a detailed statement of its receipts and expenditures. Such reports are not printed as public documents.

Economic Studies.--The following economic studies have been completed: commercial problems of the woolen and worsted industries; merchandising of cotton textiles; production and distribution of silk and rayon broad goods; training of men for the textile industry; flax production, preparation, and utilization; vertical integration in the textile industries; technical text material for the use of teachers in textile schools; inventory policies in the textile industries.

Research.--Sixteen research associates are working in the laboratories of the Textile Foundation at the National Bureau of Standards on problems related to the war effort. Three major projects have been assigned by the Quartermaster Corps of the War Department, one by the National Defense Research Committee, and one for the Navy through the National Research Council. These projects include investigations related to clothing for aviators; clothing for jungle troops; water repellency treatments for military fabrics; deterioration of military fabrics through exposure to the elements as well as to various types of chemicals; influence of different types of fibers on the warmth and serviceability of blankets, underwear, and clothing; and shrink proofing treatments for wool socks, underwear, etc.

Approved.

Henry A. Wallace
Secretary of Commerce

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