The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-08-18
CAN'T FIX PRICES
FOR The PUBLIC
! SAYS WAR BOARD
Members Find Powers of
Regulation Outside
Their Scope.

washington, Aug. f18-Neither reg.
ulation of prices for the general pub.
llc nor for the Allies comes within
the present scope of the work an6
authority of the War Industries
Board. in the opinion of members OF
that organization, 1t was learned or
the highest authority today. @
The board has been created as an
organization for the prosecution OF
the war. Its members feel that the
successful accomplishment of that
work will exhaust their entire ener-
gies and that matters which do not
directly bear on the expansion of the
nations production to the point
where it will successfully. sustain the
demands made by Government agen-
cies are matters which must be left
In other hands than theirs.
Briefly summarized the view of the
members of the, board as to the work
which they have undertaken is:
Price regulation for the general
public is outside the boards province.
Purchases for the Allies constitute a
problem which will probably be solv-
ed through the creation of another
agency.
Price regulation, so far as it applies
to government purchase, must be fix
ed with other matters in mind than
production costs. 6E
Opinion among the members Of the
board strongly leans to the view that
the prices which the public will have
to pay during the war will be regulat-
ed in part by public knowledge of
costs of production and in part by a
lessened demand.
Whether the information gained by
the government as result of the in
curry of the Federal Trade Commits
sion will be- made public cannot yet
be forecast but there are strong in
unations that something of the sort
will be done. The public will then
be expected to educate itself suffici-
emily to be able to Judge of the rea.-
sonableness of prevailing prices
Purchases for the Allies constitute
one of the most difficult problems be-
fore the board. All such purchases
are being held in allegiance as much
as possible until some method for
dealing; with them has been worked
out. 1t is probable that this Will take
the form of an Allies purchasing COM
mittee, which will place its require
ments before the War Industries
Board for consideration in the same
way that the War and Navy depart
ments are doing at the present time.
Negotiations for the formation OF
such committee are now underway.
Prices to be paid for government
orders will be fixed on a basis which
will insure not only reasonable
profit to producers but will also slim
ulate the industry to 100 per cent.
production, and in some cases pro-
vide for large expansion. It can be
announced emphatically that the
board as it is at present constituted
is in favor of taking a very broad
view of the price question, with the
primary thought that prices, no mat
ter how important they may be- are a
secondary matter compared to win
ming the war as soon as possible.
1t must be remembered, however,
that the War Industries Board is
merely an advisory body. It connot
spend one penny OF public money by
its own action. Whether its recon-
mendation will be accepted by the
heads of departments on whom the
actual responsibility for expenditures
rests is another question.
The board is in the strong position
Of having been created by the action
'of the Council OF National Defence,
which is composed of members of the
cabinet, and being assigned by them
to this work. Refusal to accept
recommendations therefore will place
the department heads in the position
of upsetting the efforts of part Of
their organization