America's biggest bargain counter closed down last week; the War Assets Administration officially expired. For the $25.2 billion worth of surplus property (original cost) which WAA sold in a little over three years, it got $4.2 billion.
Peddling war plants, fishhooks, girdles and bulldozers, WAA had a peak of 58,795 workers, more than 100 offices. WAA still has on its books $1.8 billion in property, mostly real estate. Like other Washington bureaus which have outlived their usefulness, WAA will not die completely. Most of its 2,550 employees will be transferred for close-out bookkeeping chores to the new General Services Administration.
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