Evening star., 1923-05-08
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS

The Department Of Commerce is
planning to establish July a new
division to investigate the retail
is hoped to standardize retail prices.
Presumably the hrst step toward
such standardizing will be to stand
ardize grades Of all kinds OF goods.
Prices without q definite and law
controlled grade are meaningless.
Laws have long been under con-
sideration to make pure-Roods reg
ulations, so that, for example, when
cloth is sold as pure WOOL and is
found to contain cotton or shoddy
the seller will be subject to a penalty.
Until such law is perfected, not
only for dry goods. but for every
other kind Of merchandise. what do
fixed prices mean? Business defini-
tions will be fixed by law.
The term "shoddy' has been used
indefinitely, and some manufacture
ers have contended that "shoddy" is
really pure WOOL" while others, with
as pure wool" only virgin wool
which has never before been used.
X Il y
The law creating the bureau OF
commerce stated that it was for the
purpose of developing both foreign
and domestic trade, but up to the
present only the foreign commerce
has received attention.
The new division will first devote
its principle gathering data as tc
methods of buying and dealing with
economics peculiar to the retail
trade. 1t is safe to predict that one
Of the main features of the study Will
center in how to eliminate the end.
less variety of styles. weaves AND
Gently in "standardizing" paints.
When Mr.. Hoover gets US all stand
ardized. perhaps every man will wear
the uniform Of his trade or statlor
in life. 1t will he illegal to violate
the standards. Wives of fairly well
to-do bankers Will dress quite dli
ferent from the wives of plutocratit
newspaper men. There will be {
standard Easter hat. duly numbered
and cataloged. All stores will bt
conducted, upon standard methods
and there will be no longer an ex'
cuse for the ladies to go shopping,
When they get ready for hat No. .,
all they need to do will be to tele-
nhore the order and have it sent
C. o. D. mo. 9" is mo. 3" and II l:
nothing more.
There was a popular book of nc
ton published thirty or forty years
ago called Looking Backward
Probably Mr.. Hoover has been read
ing IL and gets his standardized ideas
from il. for it foretold exactly TINS
kind of merchandising.
* *
The voluntary sugar boycott has
demonstrated that this is govern
ment in which the people rule. ever
without the aid of its officials Wha
courts and the Department of Justice
failed to accomplish. the boycott
seems to be achieving, for sugar
prices are lowering. Just keep or
avoiding the purchase of white
sugar-that hits the alleged marke
manipulators. 1t is not so man!
wears ago when practically all sugar
used in the home, except for "specia
company" was light brown sugar. L
is sweeter than granulated sugar ant
Of good flavor.
y X X X
The president of the National Edu-
cation Association. DR.. William
Owen. in speaking before the asso.
citation, advocated a new bloc to in
huence the government. He says tna'
every teacher should join the asso'
citation, and If they did, they woulo
have an organization of 100000 mem
hers and the association could then
saw to Congress: How dare you re.
fuse 10 do for the schools of the DIS