Office Price Stabilization Announces Changes

The Office of Price Stabilization has made public additional details of its staff reduction and reorganization made necessary by drastic cuts in its appropriations made by Congress for the current fiscal year.

As previously announced, OPS cut its staff from about Iz,W to about 5,850 by September 1. This will leave a staff of about 4950 in the field and about 1,800 in the national office after September 1. Formerly, field employees numtiered 9,500 and national office workers totaled 2,500.

These personnel reductions necessitated reshuffling of the OPS field offices. Twelve district offices, located in cities where there remains a regional office, were abolished. In addition, 31 former distritt offices have been redesignated branch offices with a reduction of staffs and functions.

The small staffs available in the branch offices will ansr,r'er inquiries and make distribution of OPS material and will serve as contact points for businessmen and the public of the area. These curtailed branch offices,- however, will not, in most cases, be able to process filings of price charts, applications for adjustments in ceiling prices, etc. Such services will be provided by the district and regional offices. Some of the branch offices will report to district offices, others to regional offices.

As a result of this reorganization, the 14 OPS regional offices remain, the district offices are cut from 89 to 46 and 31 district offices have been redesignated branch offices.

The 13 distribution centers formerly located in each of the regional offices except Region 14 will be combined in 4 offices. These centers distribute all OPS documents including public forms, regulations, and press releases. The centers also reproduce many publications for distribution throughout their regions. In addition to the national Distribution Center in Washington, the 4 field distribution points will be 500 Spring Street, Atlanta, Ga.; 325 N. Wells St., Sth Floor, Chicago 10, Ill. ; 1200 Jackson Street, Dallas, Tex.; and 535 Folsom Street, San Francisco 5, Calif.

In the national office the following organizational changes have been effected:

In the Food and Restaurant Division the Poultry and Dairy Branches are being consolidated into a single unitthe Dairy and Poultry Branch. The Livestock Branch is being merged with the Livestock and Meat Distribution Branch but the Meat and Fish Bran,ch'remains a separate branch. The Fats and Oils Branch and the Grain. Feeds. Seeds and Bakery Branch have become the Grain and Related Products Branch. The Fruit and Vegetable Branch is being eliminated because fruits and vegetables have been decontrolled under the amended Defense Production Act. Products formerly under the jurisdiction of this Branch which are still subject to controls will be handled in the Grocery Products Branch.

The former Consumer Goods Distribution, Textile, and Apparel Division and Consumer Durable Goods Division have been combined to form the Consumer Goods Division. The old Textile Branch, Apparel Branch, and Hide, Leather and Shoe Branch will form the Textiles and Apparel Branch. The Appliance, Commercial, and Professional Equipment

Branch, Home Furnishings Branch and Housewares and Accessories Branch will form the Consumer Durable Goods Branch. The functions of the Retail Branch and the Wholesale and Central Price Branch have been combined in the new Distribution Branch.

The Public Utilities Branch of the Transportation, Public Utilities and Fuel Division has been abolished. The remaining branches of the division have been transferred to the Services, Transportation and Foreign Trade Division and the Rubber, Chemicals, Drugs and Fuels Division.

The former Services, Export-Import Division will become the Services, Transportation, and Foreign Trade Division and will include the Transportation. Branch. The name of the Export-Import Branch has been changed to the Foreign Trade' Branch.

The Rubber, Chemicals, and Drugs Division will become the Rubber, Chemicals, Drugs and Fuels Division with the addition of the Petroleum Branch and the Solid Fuels Branch.

There are no'changes in the organizational structure of the following Industrial Materials and Manufactured Goods Division and the Forest Products Division.

Since September t, the Western OPS field ofifices are as follows:

REGION XI

Regional Office:

19th and Stout Streets. Room 350.

District Offices: Denver 2, Colorado

142 North Monroe Street, Albuquerque, New Mexico

1509 Bent Avenue, Cheyenne, Wyoming

722 South West Temple, Room 115, Salt Lake City, Utah

REGION XII

Regional Office:

870 Market Street, Room 585, San Francisco 2, Calif.ornia

District Offices:

108 West Sixth Street, Los Angeles 14, Cali{ornia

313 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona

1475 Wells Avenue, Reno, Nevada

Branch Offices:

1550 Van Ness Avenue, Fresno, California

921 Tenth Street, Sacramento, California

1215 Seventh Avenue, Room 408, San Diego, California

Regional Office:

506 Second Avenue. Seattle 4, Washington

District Offices:.

Seventh and Bannock Sts., P.O. Box 1337, Boise, Idaho

208 S.W. Fifth Avenue, Portland, Oregon

Branch Offices:

714 Welch Building, Spokane, Washington

Bcrrstow Ncrmed Criticcl

Barstow, California, has been named a critical defense area. The area consists of Barstow and Yermo Townships and that part of Belleville Township bounded on the East by the eastern limit of Range 5 East; and on the South by the southern limit of Township 8 North; and on the West and North by the Belleville Township line; all in California.

West Goast Foresl Products