Frequently a direct method of solving a problem can be extended to direct generalizations of the problem. By a direct method we mean one in which the basic specifications of the problem are used directly in solving the problem with- out replacing them, in whole or in part, with auxiliary theorems or criteria and without using the circuitous approach of transforming an initial feasible solution to an optimal one. In minimization (maximization) combinatorial problems such as the transportation problem, the purest direct method consists in writing out all possible feasible solutions which satisfy (1) and selecting those which satisfy (2). This method gives a general answer to the problem, in a sense that a cir- cuitous method does not, and since it is direct it is applicable to many direct generalizations of the problem which may result from additional specifications which are similar in form to those of (1). Generally the more direct methods are subject to more immediate direct generalization since direct methods do not depend on theorems or criteria which, while they are the complete equivalent of the conditions of the original problem, are commonly inapplicable to the more complex ones. Other things being equal, we seek methods which are direct if they are to be applicable to direct generalizations of the original problem. But other things are not always equal! The pure direct method of writing out all possible feasible solutions-those which satisfy (1)-is simply not practical in most problems. In practice we must resort to methods which are, in part at least, indirect. The important point is that, if we wish to have methods which are applicable to direct generalizations of the problem, we should attempt to use a minimum of equivalence theorems and adixiliary criteria as substitutes for the stated conditions of the problem. In considering the nature of many desirable generalizations of the problem, the minimization condition (2) is usually not fundamentally changed but the specification conditions (1) are generalized and/or expanded. It appears then that a proper first step in the order of indirection is in providing an alternative to the use of (2) while leaving the specifications (1) intact.