Evening star., 1938-05-21
CONSUMERS MAP
FIGHT T0PREVENT
|. EXCESSIVE PRICES
Donald Montgomery, A. A. A.
Official, Urges D. C. Vote
as Help to Buyers.
ID BODIES REPRESENTED;
PALMISANO BILL is HIT
District Has Highest Living Costs
of SO Cities in U. S., Organization
Meeting Is Told.

The first step in organizing united
front of Washington consumers with
strength enough to prevent fixing Of
excessive prices was taken this morn
ing at meeting at Wesley Hall,
Seventeenth and K streets NV, where
Donald E. Montgomery, Consumers
Counsel of the Agricultural Adjust
ment Administration, urged enfran-
chlsement of the District as a safe
guard for. buyers.
Mr.. Montgomery warned the mon
and women at the meeting, attended
by representatives of ID organizations,
against the pending Palmisano bill,
which would set the prices at which
traoemarked articles could be sold in
Washington. The bill. reported out by
the House District Committee. is on
the House calendar for next District
day.
Only small group of retail drug
gusts In the Capital want the legisla-
ton, Mr.. Montgomery said. adding
that spokesmen for the Farm Bureau
IN Maryland and Virginia and WASH
lngton consumers groups had no op-
portunlty to speak against it in COM
m!ttee, although they have gone on
record in opposition TO the measure.
Highest Living Costs of 50 Cities.
Mr.. Montgomery offered this pro-
cedure as good example Of Whv the
Capital should have the vote and
voice in its own affairs. He urged
that all District residents be vigilant
IN their endeavor to prevent the price
fixing bill from passing.
Mrs. Eimly Newell Blair former
chairman of the Consumers Advisory
Board Of the n. r. A. opened the
| meeting with the explanation that
since the District cost OF living in
1885 was highest of SO cities surveyed
by the w P A.. the Women's Trade
! Union League, the District Cooper
ative League and the League of
Women Shoppers felt the time for
action had come.
The purpose Of today's conference,
Mrs. Blair said. was to launch an in
tenslve campaign which would be car-
rled on through the summer to get a
large meeting together in the fall for
the purpose Of initiating a broad
scale program for consumers protec-
ton.
Big Meeting in Fall.
The temporary name. and probably
the permanent name. of the Washing
ton organization is the District Con-
sumner Federation. Similar organiza-
tons already are in existence in Phila-
delphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston,
Detroit and New York DR.. Ruth
Ayres, who was Mrs. Blairs assistant
at N R. A.. spoke this morning on the
work Of the New York Federation.
A series of resolutions on various
practices which might be harmful to
| consumers were passed among the
delegates at the conference to be voted
on in writing and debated this after
noon. On the reaction to these reso-
/ lutions the campaign leading up to
the big meeting in the fall will be
4 based.
/ The organizations represented in
! cluded
| American Institute of Architects,
Washington Chapter; American ASso-
| citation Of University Women. WASH
| ington branch; Committee on Fair
| Taxation, Council OF Jewish Women,
| District Cooperative League. League
/ of Women Voters. League of Women
Shoppers, National Economic and So
! cial Planning Association. New Negro
Alliance, Inc; Konsunl. Inc: United
Federal Workers, Local 70, Agriculture
Department. Washington League for
Cooperative Medical Service, Wonl-
ems Trade Union League and Young
! Mems Christian Association.