Evening star., 1942-07-06
500 Housewives GET
Booklets 10 Distribute
To 6,000D. {. Stores
Victory Volunteers
To Aid Price Ceilings
In One Day Campaign

About 500 housewives met at the
Interdepartmental Auditorium this
morning to hear pep talks on the
significance of price control and to
receive kits of price ceiling book
let's which they will distribute to
5000 Washington stores on Wednes-
day.
The Office of Price Administra-
ton has taken this tactful way of
making sure that every retailer in
the District knows that he must
post the prices he charged for his
goods and services in March and
keep to these prices till price con-
troll is lifted.
The women. colored and white,
from girls in their teens to white
haired grandmothers, had to look
about the auditorium for the cards
bearing the names of their COM
munities to find their proper seats.
There they met their team captains,
each of whom has approximately
10 workers under her. The captains
will keep the kits of 20 booklets
each until Wednesday, when each
worker will see her for the kits and
names of the stores to be visited.
Each captain will remain in a CEN
trail place, such as a church or her
home, to get reports every hour
through the day on Wednesday on
the progress of the victory volun-
teers"
Two Booklets for Each Store.
One booklet gives the general
maximum price regulation; the sec
ond list types of commodities which
have ceiling prices and describes
best ways of posting prices. Each
retailer receives copy of both.
Number of stores to be visited here
was originally estimated at 1000,
according to Col. Lemuel Bolles,
local OCD administrator. Final
figures showed a 5000 total, however.
Not all the distributors were pres
ent this morning.
The meeting was opened by Con-
rad Van Hyning, District welfare
director. Mrs. Charlotte Warner,
consumer interests chairman of local
OCD, did most of the detailed ex-
planning
After emphasis on the seriousness
of their contribution by Col Bolles
and Civilian Defense Co-ordinator
John Russell Young, the housewives
heard Jonathan Daniels, national
civilian mobilization director, proph-
esy far more stringent and wide
spread rationing before the end of
the war.
Defense Reaches Into Kitchen.
useless and even silly contin-
gencies we're prepared for by OCD
before American entry into the war,
Mr.. Daniels declared Since the war,
he continued, the civilians have set
tied down to the rationing system, a
concrete form of war effort. Orig
inally, Mr.. Daniels contended, civil
ian defense was thought of as little
more than air-raid protection. Now
1t reaches into the kitchen, the liv
ing room and the clothes closet of
every home.
Even day nurseries become
weapon" Mr. Daniels concluded,
when women are needed to replace
manpower for the front"
A factual explanation of the dam
ger of imitation from rising prices
and the Government determina-
tion to curb it with price control was
given to the women by DR.. Merle
Fainsod, former professor of gov
ernment at Harvard University and
now director of retail trades and
services of the Office of Price Ad-
ministration.
Job Needs Doing Only Once.
Once the posting of prices is done,
he pointed out, the job will be fin
ished for the duration of the war
The posting of the prices is signifi-
cant, Dr.. Fainsod said, because it is
the only way to insure that the Gus
toner knows the varying ceilings
from store to store.
The housewives wearing OPA
badges will explain to each retailer
that she represents OPA, give him
two booklets 80 that you may know
just what is expected of your store
under wartime measures" and refer
him to his district rationing chief if
he is puzzled about any item.
Lists of stores visited will be kept
and turned into team captains, who
will give them to the squadron
leaders in charge of the IS rationing