The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1933-11-23
TOOTHBRUSHES, PINK AND
OTHERWISE

The New York Herald Tribune, in
it's issue Of October 80, devoted some
space to a radio address by Col. Louis
N. Howe, secretary to the President,
on the subject of retail price goug-
ers." Colonel Howe, according to the
newspaper, told how the public could
institute an inquiry into price goug-
ing and quoted the law to the effect
that "No retailer shall increase the
price of any merchandise sold after
the effective date of this code over the
prices existing June /, 1888, by more
than is made necessary by the amount
of increase in production, operating
replacement or invoice costs of mer-
chandise or by taxes or other costs re-
sulting from action taken pursuant
to the national industrial recovery
act since June l, 1888, and in setting
such price increases retailers shall
give full weight to probable increases
in sales volume. 1t is provided, how
ever, that if any price on June l.,
1888, was distress price, an equita-
BILE adjustment may be made"
This, the Colonel is quoted as say
ing, means that if a customer feels
that he is being charged too much for
an article in the store he can file a
complaint and find out about it. Mr..
Howe believes that in most cases it
probably will be found that the price
rise is beyond the retailers control,
and he assumes that if the customer,
after investigation, finds he had not
been gouged, the investigation will
work to the advantage of the retailer.
In the filing of a complaint, Col
onel Howe is quoted as making this
explanation:
This is what you do. You feel that
you are charged ten cents too much
for toothbrush as compared to what
you paid before. You march down to
the postoffice and say: Give me a
blank They give you a blank, and
you merely write on it something like
this: 4 went into the such-and-such
store yesterday. They charged me
sixty cents for a toothbrush which
last week cost only fifty cents. Please
have this investigated You then
march yourself back to the postoffice
hand in the complaint and the machin-
cry starts to move automatically and
will never stop until it has run down
the reason for this prjce increase. ii
it has to go clear up to the manufac-
turer himself before i finds the
answer"
All of which is decidedly interesting
and opens many possibilities. OF
course if this practice of filing COM
plants is INDUCED in to any great eX-
tent it will mean great deal more
investigation work for the government
to do, and this in turn ought to re-
suit in employment for many thous-
and additional hungry political la
borers who up to this time have not
been properly recognized.
And as nearly every community we
know has at least one person who
makes a hobby of complaining at re-
tail prices, comparing them with the
prices in surrounding communities
and in the mail order catalogues, just
think how much fun these folks are
going to have in using the postofficC
pens, filling out the blanks and watch
ing the wheels of the government
grinding in an effort to chastise MIR
A or Mr.. B for asking price on q
bottle of olives OF a cake of soap.
We can see only one additional steT
necessary. If we are overchargec
ten cents for a toothbrush and get the
dime back, that is one thing. But sup
pose the price is all right but the
bristles fall out of the brush even be-
fore they have a chance to turn pink
What is the government going to dc
about that, and where do we send oul
I