Evening star., 1933-10-09
BUY NOW APPEAL
/. GIVEN HOUSEWIVES
johnson, Opening Drive, Tells
! Consumers That Better
Times Are Here.
pv the Associated Press.

.1y the Associated Press.
N. r. AS buy now campaign to-
day was up to the American housewife.
To her, spender of IS per cent OF
the family income. Hugh S. johnson
especially addressed his appeal to buy
mot only to save money, but also be-
cause every dollar spent now Is help
ing to keep the wage Garner In her
family on pay roll
For her too. as she made up Mon
days shopping list, store windows were
refurbished and advertising lntenslfled
In a Joint effort with the Government
to stimulate consumer demand into
buying wave that will boost the entire
recovery program.
Noting today's opening of the long
planned buying drive, johnson asked
the country's support.
Industry and trade. cooperating
with the Government, under codes OF
fair competition or agreements with
the President. have done and are doing
their part Hundreds of thousands Of
men. long idle have gone back to work
and millions Of dollars have been added
to pay rolls.
Better Times Declared Here.
These pay rolls cannot be main
tanned and new jobs for other hun
dreds of thousands of workers cannot
be made unless every consumer in the
land does his or her part now.
For four years the American con-
sumner has been skimping-putting off
buying more than bare necessities un-
til better times. Better times are
here. Better times always
mean higher prices. Now is the time
to buy for purely selfish reasons.
Prices are going up. Buying now is
an investment
As the big drive gathered momentum.
other N. R. A. activities progressed
along routine channels. Aside from the
buying campaign. greatest interest CEN
tered on the ultimate form of the re-
tail trades code with its provision to
stabilize prices by prohibiting sales at
less than wholesale cost plus 10 per
cent.
johnson was expected to send this
master charter to President Roosevelt
tomorrow Today the Farm Admins
tration opened hearings on a grocery
store code with similar price-regu-
lating provision. But while Johnson
favors such price regulation. Farm Ad-
ministrators have declared their opposi-
ton.
Thousands Pledge Aid.
Pledges of cooperation in the buying
campaign and promises to maintain fair
prices poured in upon Johnson from
thousands of manufacturers and mer-
chants as their contribution to the ef-
fort to put the consumer dollar to work
against the depression.
The administrator was cheered by
these letters and kilograms from busi-
ness in behalf of the buying campaign,
to which officials look in a large meas
ure for the stimulus to make the
N R. A program a success. The buy
ing drive was scheduled originally to
start weeks ago, but was held up while
industrial and retail code difficulties
were ironed out.
Some of the letters. recovery officials
said. disclosed new or improved prod
ucts would be offered to the public as a
lure while others reported greatly in
creased advertising budgets as evidence
OF faith in the upturn.
Excerpts From Messages
Excerpts from several of the messages
we're made public by the N R A.
withholding the identity of the send
ers The president of a retail drug
organization said
Beyond the mere fact of adjusting
hours and wages. we are carrying out
your other suggestion of making an
extra effort to give the public up-to
date, fairly priced merchandise, and
have increased our advertising expendi-
ture over anything we have spent i'll
the past three years"
The treasurer Of one of the largest
textile manufacturing concerns ad-
vised johnson:
We agree with you that business
Is strongly on the upturn. The pay
rolls of this company were up 126 per
cent in August. 1888. as against the
same month last year, and our produc-
tion was up 1922 per cent.
Figures Compared.
"In September the increase in pro-
duction was 25 per cent and in pay
rolls 84l2 per cent. For August and
September there was an increase in
production of 54i2 per cent and in pay
rolls 1lzl2 per cent
Every one in our organization is
most enthusiastic over the results CT
the N R. A. movement and will bend
every effort to make it even more sue
cessful"
A cigar house reported an increased
advertising appropriation and said that
since coming under code its pay roll
had increased SO per cent and its en-
ployes 81 per cent and added that
"since August l the average weekly
sales of our most actively pushed
brands of cigars have increased so per
cent"