Congressional Serial Set

Basic to successful industrial mobilization planning for another emergency is a continuous industrial census which would provide the required information on location, labor, management, engineering, and financial status as well as tooling and capacity of small plants. This information would enable small plants to be included in allocation plans, production pools, and subcontracting from large producers.

If such a procedure is set up for the inclusion of small plants in industrial mobilization plans, it would seem unnecessary to have Congress again apply legislative compulsion and special machinery for that purpose.

Small concerns can accelerate this program by listing themselves with the Armed Services and supplying full information on products made, plant lay-out and equipment and financial standing.

It is obvious that a working cooperation between the Government agencies involved in such planning is essential. A step in this direction is the creation of an Interagency Small Business Committee comprised of representatives of National Security Resources Board, Munitions Board, Federal Trade Commission, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Department of Justice, Department of Commerce, and the Senate and House Small Business Committees. The Interagency Committee is currently studying the problems involved in providing the framework for including small concerns in present Government procurement and in mobilization plans for a future emergency. Such questions as whether a regional pattern of organization for military purchasing is practical and would avoid the injudicious concentration of production in some areas and the possible emergence of ghost towns and industrial distress in others; how best to provide for a wide dispersion of orders; what financing, management services, and price differentials may be needed to insure operations by needed marginal producers; these and many more problems are being studied in order to prepare the economy for another emergency.

APPENDIX

Hon. KENNETH S. WHERRY,

ECONOMIC COOPERATION ADMINISTRATION,
Washington 25, D. C., November 24, 1948.

Chairman, Special Committee To Study Problems

of American Small Business,

United States Senate, Washington 25, D. C.

MY DEAR SENATOR WHERRY: I should like to give your com nittee a further report concerning efforts of the Economic Cooperation Administration to aid American businessmen who desire to participate in business financed under the European recovery program.

My letter of August 27, 1948, to your committee outlined steps that were being taken at that time. These included daily release of procurement authorizations issued by ECA through the medum of the press field offices of the Department of Commerce, and mailing lists of interested persons. The value of such information was somewhat limited, however, by the fact that many of the authorizations released covered transactions already completed or transactions so nearly completed that opportunity for participation was most doubtful. Since that time, a great deal of consideration has been given to means of overcoming these handicaps.

Firstly, new programing procedures have been developed, which, when fully effective on January 1, 1949, will require that contracts may not be executed for ECA-financed purchases prior to the issuance of the covering procurement authorization. This will assure that at the time information is available to the smallbusiness man through ECA releases, he will still have an opportunity to seek a market for his goods. As I pointed out in my previous letter, however, American businessmen will have to make their own contacts with the European purchasers since ECA itself does no buying and, except for a very few items which are purchased through the facilities of the existing United States procuring agencies and foreign purchasing missions, purchases are effected through private channels of trade. ECA does not, normally, have the names of the foreign purchasers until after the transaction has been completed and is, therefore, unable to help in this regard. When the purchase is to be made by a United States agency or a foreign purchasing mission, however, we shall try to include this information in our releases. For your further information I am enclosing a press release which describes the other features of the new procedures.

Additional information given in our releases will include (1) the name of the recipient country, (2) a broad commodity description, (3) the name of the country or area of source, (4) the dollar value authorized, and (5) the quarter in which delivery is to be made. It will not be possible, as the usual thing, to give a detailed description, the specifications or the quantity of the items to be purchased, but such information will be furnished to the extent that it is available As a supplemental source of information, however, interested businessmen may find the lists of accredited importers and commercial agents in foreign countries maintained by the Office of International Trade of the Department of Commerce helpful, since, from these, some indication of the identity of the prospective purchasers may be obtained.

Further consideration is being given to developing ways and means of rendering maximum assistance to small-business men. We have, for example, initiated a survey of the various foreign purchasing missions to determine the extent to which their continued activities are justified in place of private purchasing. are also encouraging the foreign missions, where their continued operation appears necessary, to facilitate participation through more competitive and open bidding. Lastly, we are exploring the possibility of obtaining the names of licensed purchasers from the participating countries for informational purposes prior to contracting, though at the moment this appears to be impracticable.

In conclusion, I wish to repeat my previous assurance given your committee that I will continue to make every effort to give practical assistance to the smallbusiness men of this country.

Sincerely yours.

PAUL G. HOFFMAN, Administrator.

81ST CONGRESS) 1st Session

SMALL BUSINESS FINANCE AND TAXATION

FINAL REPORT

OF THE

SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO STUDY PROBLEMS
OF AMERICAN SMALL BUSINESS

UNITED STATES SENATE

EIGHTIETH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

PURSUANT TO

S. Res. 20