The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1942-01-23

warehouses and investigate rule
breaking. Violations of price sched-
ules have been few, with public CT
tation of profiteering heels num-
bering only four.
In the line Of petty rackets, the
country has behaved even better.
Philadelphia developed a case of
trying TO sell rotten rubber gas
masks left over from the other war
TO the gullible infirm and aged.
New York experienced a little boot
Logging of official civilian defense
arm bands, telephony AFRAID war
dens thus equipped using their
forged insignia to gain illegal entry
or to sell such questionable mer-
chandiSe as bomb-proof sand There
have been q few phony war chart
ties. BY and large, the American
public has been pretty well behaved
throughout the emergency, and that
speaks well for the national morale
The big test Is yet to come, when
rationing of automobiles and tires
and sugar and such stuff creates
greater demand and consequent
greater opportunities for bootlegging
and BLACK market" buying and
selling.
BUSINESS
BOBBY TRAPS
War or no war, the Federal Trade
Commission goes on protecting the
consuming public from the unscrup-
ulous, just as ETC has done since it
was first created in 1914 Some of
its recent charges, cease and de-
siSt' orders and consent DEGREES,
which don't get the publicity they
deserve, would surprise you:
A New York publishing house
agreed to quit advertising a volume
as the equal of complete, four
year high school education.
A New York mail order house was
charged with Misrepresentation in
offers of new silk dresses for 10
cents. 1t developed that the mer-
chandisc was second hand and only
part rayon.
A Chicago sc cret Service Sys-
tenn" represented that It's detective
school was the equal to years Of
actual experience and qualified It's
students as competent detectives.
A Chicago advertiser for a dog
food maker claimed its product
would prevent skin troubles in dogs.
Patent medicine makers claiming
their preparations will cure hay
fever, asthma, and everything from
colds to cancer are constantly ex-
posed.
A Minnesota school teacher was
ordered to cease and desist selling
courses on Training the Eyes to
See Correctly" which he claimed
would eliminate headaches and cor
rect sightedness and astigma-
tism without glasses.
Prize Of recent ETC investigation,
however, was the case of New
York greeting card dispenser who
fastened pieces of ordinary lime
stone on cards and sold them as "a
piece Of guaranteed genuine stone
from the original Barney Castle in
Dublin, Ireland"
MCLEAN
ESTATE
Washington sat up and rubbed its
eyes when its No. hostess, Mrs.
Evalyn Walsh Mclean, sold her IS
acre estate in the heart of Wash
ington's best residential district for
81 million, the U. S. government
buying the site for a community
housing project for government
workers. While the sale price looks
terrific, an examination of this deal
shows that crazy times these are,
anyway, and should dissuade all
ambitious people from ever wanting
to own million dollars worth of
real estate
On the District of Columbia tax
books, this property was appraised
at $l,32l,73 for the land and $53,-
300 for the house-a total Of $685.
536. District of Columbia real estate
taxes amounted to $l3 190 per
year. Since the property now passes
TO federal ownership it is tax free
and this sum Is now lost to the Dis
trict revenues
In determining the price, real es-
tate brokers ignored the value OF the
house and other Improvements as
sesscd at $4,000. 1t was simply
great white elephant OF place, no
good TO anybody except as an insti-
tuition. The only value was In the
land Lots so x ITS feet In Washing
ton sell for from $4,000 to $1,000.
That's almost exactly a fifth OF an
acre, so the price OF undeveloped
real estate In the District Is from
$l2,500 TO $4,000 an acre. Divide the
81 million sale price by rs, the num-
and you get $13 1888 per acre.
AS Iowa farm land, the estate
wouldn't bring possibly $3.50 an acre.