Evening star., 1942-11-08
0PA Violations Laid
To 100000 Stores;
Wide Drive Planned
Number in D. G. Included
Threut to Price-ControI
Structure Seen
BY JAMES Y. NEWTON.

BY JAMES Y. NEWTON.
The Office of Price Administra-
ton is preparing to launch an
intensified Nation wide enforce
ment drive to maintain quality
and quantity of various COM
modities and stem leaks in CELL
ing prices which have appeared
for nearly every type of product
on the COST living list, it was
learned last night, as an official
estimated that 100000 stores over
the country have violated price
control regulations.
Wholesale violations of OPA
ceilings have threatened the ma
tional price control structure, 1t
was said, and affected the pocket
book of nearly every person in the
country.
Most of the violations and eva
sions are made possible by loop
holes in pricing methods and are
difficult to detect. For example,
q favorite trick Of those who cir
cumvent regulations is to switch
brand names, use OPA's formula
for pricing new product based
on present replacement costs and
thereby get more for the item from
the public than they were allowed
formerly.
Meanwhile, OPA announced they
had served license warning notices
on more than 1000 retailers in all
parts of the country, from 10 to
100 of whom are in the Washing
ton area, charging violation of the
general maximum price regula-
ton. In carrying out this enforce
ment drive, investigators checked
over 10000 retail outlets, mostly
groceries. An Official said the
sample" checked amounts to about
l per cent of all stores in the
country, and that it was safe to
assume that regulations have been
Violated in 100000 of the Nations
stores.
Some in This Area Accused.
A number of the Washington
area stores accused of violating
regulations are charged with price
infractions. A larger number are
charged with failure to post ceiling
prices as required by OPA. Most
of the stores are believed to have
violated regulations inaavertently.
These were warned that If any
further violations occur, OPA can
60 into court and ask suspension
of the retailers licenses to sell COM
modities under OPA regulation.
Violations were found in chain
stores and independents on about
the same proportion.
Many other stores where viola
tions were found to be obviously
villful were not included among
those sent warning notices. These
cases, including many instances OF
plain overcharging, selling goods OF
inferior quality and reduction OF
quantity of packaged goods, are
being reserved for more drastic
action. OPA said this must be
done to protect the vast majority
of stores which are complying to
the letter with regulations. More
than 1000 cases are reserved "tor
further action
While the four week drive just
completed was concerned largely
with food stores, the new intensl-
fed campaign will carry OPA in
vestigators into stores of all types.
Violations to be searched out care
fully include principally overpric-
ing, reduction of quantity, deterio-
ration of quality and brand
switches.
In switching brands many con-
Germs have taken advantage OF the
OPA ruling that different brands
are different commodities even
though the product is identical In
type and grade. A firm might take
sn article which had been sold as
x brand, paste Y brand label on
it and put it on the market as
new product.
Since Y brand was not on the
market in March, a pricing formula
can be used based on replacement
cost, rejecting increases in labor,
materials and fair profit. This ruse
generally is resorted to where a
firm is squeezed" by March prices
for the item. OPA has been able
TO combat this violation for many
products by taking them out OF the
general maximum price regulations
and applying special pricing reguia-
tions calling for specific markups,
based on grades.
Brand Switch Method.
The nd-switch method of vio-
lating price ceilings has been ap-
plied to some extent to almost
everything people buy, whether
food. clothing or accessories, 1t was
said. Special pricing methods is one
way of fighting it, but individual
means of pricing cannot be ap-
piled to the hundreds of things peo-
pie have to buy. Eventually, 1t is
expected. however, that vast ma
!ority of commodities will be re-
moved from the general maximum
price regulation, invoked last spring
as the first means employed by
OPA in controlling living costs.
This is the toughest enforcement
problem we have run into" an OPA
official remarked, but they are not
getting away with it as much as
they think they are. We will catch
plenty of them and they had better
watch out"
OPA realizes that it has a ire
mendous enforcement problem or
its hands even though vast ma
iority of manufacturers, distribu'
tors, wholesalers and retailers are
completely honest. One official saio
he could write book a half-incf
thick on how to get around price
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