The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1917-08-09
OUR ALLIES ALSO.
MUST FIX PRICES
Administration to Insist Upon
Reciprocal Guarantees Con-
cerning Supplies.
Special Desratch 10 THE sus.

WASH NGroN, Aug. S.--Judge Lovett
Of the War Industries Board issued
statement to-day regarding the course
of the board in the matter of price con-
troI
According to the statement, two inn
portant limitations are to affect the
policy Of reasonable prices to this Gov
ernment and its allies, First the Allies
must put into effect the same principle
in dealing with this Government and
each other, and secondly the arrange
ment must be limited to war materials in
order that the raw products Cf this
country may not be shipped abroad and
returned here in manufactured form to
compete with the product CT American
industry.
The statement follows:
1T is the purpose of the War Indus
tries Board to carry out the policy re-
Gently announced by the President, and
with which the members OF the board
are in complete accord, that In the pur-
chase OF war materials in this country
our allies shall be charged no more than
our own Government has to pay Guns
and ammunition employed against our
enemy are for our benefit rs much when
used by our allies as when used by our
own men, and It is obviously unjust to
battle to pay our own people more than
our own Government pays for the mate
riais necessary to carry on the war A
mere statement of the proposition seems
enough, and We are confident that our
manufacturers who have so patriutlcally
responded thus far to the calls of our
Government in this emergency will read
lily accept this policy.
Policy Must lie Reciprocal.
but this policy has two important
| limitations. First il is to be reciprocal.
! Tho Allies must henceforth apply the
same principle in dealing with their own
/ producers and in selling to us and in
| selling to each other. Second, the ar
rangement must be limited to war ma
( terials in order to protect our own in
! dustry We must not allow raw mate
! rails sold by our producers at prices
! patriotically conceded to our Govern
ment and its allies for war purposes to
! be diverted TO industry and trade
! abroad which may come In competition
with our own manufacturers and pro-
! ducers, Measures will be taken by the
! board Tor the best possible assuranc
! that materials sold at the concession in
| prices for war purposes shall be applied
only to war purposes.
I'm fixing the prices TO be paid by
! the Governments we shall allow a rea.
sonable profit. but shall deny the extor.
! tion now exacted for many commodities
OF prime necessity, We shall pay the
just price so admirably defined by the
, President in his public statement Of
July IL as follows: by Just price
mean a price which will sustain the in,
dustries concerned in a high state OF
efficiency, provide a living for those who
wages and make possible expansions ol
their enterprises which from time tc
time will become necessary as the stu
pendous undertakings of this great wal
develop
Prices Ont of Proportion.
THE War Industries Board has no
yet had and may not have occasion tt
deal with the question of prices to b
charged the public, but It seems prone
in this connection to direct attentio,
again to the following from the state
ment OF the President on that subject.
1--WE must make the prices to tn
public the same as the prices to tn
Government Prices mean the sam
thing everywhere now; they mean tn
efficiency Of the nation whether It Is tn
Government that pays them or moi
They mean victory or defeat
The war makes enormous draft
upon many raw materials absoluteI
necessary to the Industrial life Of tn
nation and to the ordinary existence O
the people, This has resulted in the bid
ding up Of prices for what is left o
many materials OF prime necessity 1
manufacture to point obviously out @
all relation to the cost of production an
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