Evening star., 1942-01-29


ages a population as effectively
as bombing from the air. More
than As per cent Of the total cost
to the United States of World
War I resulted from imitation.
Should prices continue their
present upswing, they will add to
the war program more than the
total cost of the First World War.
Defense expenditures from July,
1910, to December, 1941, includ-
ing sums appropriated by Con-
gress, and loans by r. F. c.
corporations. and foreign orders
totaled 1874 billion dollars. OF
this, "a billion or 13 per cent,
represented excess cost due to
imitation.
Imitation Evident.
1nnationary signs are every
where apparent. Since the out
break Of war. In September, 1889,
wholesale prices have risen "a
per cent. Almost two-thirds Of
this increase has taken place
within the past nine months.
The cost of living, meaning the
prices paid by the housewife for
food, clothing and shelter, has
increased II per cent. Four
fifths of this increase has taken
place within the past nine
months. The cost of living Is
surging upwards at the rate of
IL per cent a month and, should
1t continue unabated, will have
risen Is per cent by March, 1912.
An increase Of IS per cent in
living costs means that the great
mass Of people will forfeit, to in
flation, one days wage out Of
every seven.
Not only must initiation be pre-
vented so that profiteering is pre-
vented and the burdens Of war
are distributed equitably: 1t
must be prevented also to avoid
social and economic prostration
after the war. The higher prices
are allowed to rise now, the
farther they must fall after the
war.
The Way Ceilings Work.
In the absence Of specific price,
control legislation, the Office OF
Price Administration has relied
on informal, persuasive means Of
control, supported by the emer-
gency powers of the President.
These controls have taken the
form of suggestions and warn
ings, letters freezing prices, lists
Of fair prices, voluntary agree
ments with individual producers
and more formal price ceilings.
Ceilings do not "fix" or freeze"
prices. Only an upper limit is
set, below which prices can
f1uctuate freely. AS Of December
20, 1941, 81 ceilings had been in
voked. In all, IS per cent of the
total value of wholesale goods
was under control.
The effectiveness of these CELL
ir1gs has been proved. Since the
beginning Of the war in Septem-
ber, 1899, uncontrolled prices
have risen one-third more than
controlled prices, although the
commodities selected for control
have been In greatest demand.
Almost half the field of metals
and metal products is covered by
price ceilings. These prices have
advanced only 10 per cent since
the beginning of the war. Steel
prices, controlled, have remained
virtually unchanged since Sep
tember, 1889 In the same num-
Der of months Of World War I,
the price of steel plates, uncon-
trolled, rose 210 per cent. Pig
iron prices, controlled, have risen
IS per cent. compared with SO
per cent during the first war.
Between July, 1914, and October,
1916, copper prices rose lib per
cent. Today, controlled, they
have risen is per cent. During
the last war chemical prices more
than doubled. Now they have
risen one-fifth.
Installment Buying frightened.
Imitation Is being fought along
a broad front. Regulations gov
erning installment buying have
been frightened to require larger
down payments and to shorten
the periods in which to pay. The