The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-07-25

derson, the profit level reached it' peak in March, and from here or small profits can be anticipated bJ business as whole.
 There is no real shortage of goodt on the shelves now, as merchants are selling for inventory. But within five or six months shortages will be general. Some Is additional items probably will be under rationing. If the necessary anti Limitation meas ures are taken, wages may be under control, though not necessarily frozen. And small business will in creasingly be up against it, right to the point of being forced out of business.
 5-1O STORE
 STUFF
 The effect of the various limita- ton orders issued by the War Pro- duction Board have been felt prin- cipally by manufacturers, and many of them have been able to get war orders or to keep going somehow. So far, all the worrying has been done about the 185,000 manufacturers, 169,0o0 of them are usually consid- cred small. The two principal metal limitations orders, the second issued only few days ago. cut of raw materials for the manufacture of some 500 items Included in this sec- ond list were such insignificant items as perfume atomizers, book ends, cigaret lighters, compacts, doro stops, finger bowls, jelly molds, letter openers, match boxes, mop wringers, necktie racks, pen holders, and wastebaskets. The wa.' .5 getting down to the 5 and 10 cent store level.
 Gradually, therefore, the wars effects will be trickling down be- low the manufacturing level, and when they do the real small busi- nesses will begin to feel it some thing awful. Small business isn't only these 619,00O manufacturers, but in addition 72,0o0 wholesalers, 1,614,000 retailers, 638,000 service organizations like laundries and dry cleaning establishments, 200,- 900 building construction com- panies, 10000 places of amusement and 25,000 hotels - total of some two and three-quarterS million business which normally employ over eight million people. What happens to them?
 HIT
 AND HURT
 Many won't be hurt-food whole salers and retailers, for instance, and the amusement spots and ho- tels. All will be hit eventually by la- bor and transportation shortages and the rationing programs. But by and large they'll get by. Where the pinch will hit hardest Is on the specially stores - dealers who have built up a clientele in one principal item. For instance. the 33,000 auto dealers and the 228,0O0 filling sta tions. For them, this war is any thing but fun, and the service estab- lishments will take 1t on the chin.
 The question is whether all these little businesses should be ndfCuj Ol ollOulQ UC pCIIIllLJCQ tU go down the drain pipe as casual ties of war. MT. Henderson still leans to the Canadian theory that the deserving cases should be saved by some sort of subsidy.
 Not every small business need be saved by subsidy, even If sub sidy is adopted. Over 450,0oC business enterprises fail anyhow during the course of an average year, and the shaky firms, the lit- tie businesses that would fall any way must somehow be separated as chafT. The important thing Is that the subsidy idea isn't dead and congressman may listen to this subsidy siren song for a pro- gram of business boondoggling that will beat anything done by WPA in its best leaf-rakinp days