Evening star., 1943-05-23
Soft Cheeses 10 Go
On 0PA Ration List
Early Next Month
Prentiss Brown Appeals
To Housewives in War
On Black Markets

10 housewives In war
On Black Markets
Soft cheeses will be added to the
list of rationed foods early next
month as a further move to conserve
short supplies of milk, the War Food
Administration said last night.
Exempt from the new rationing
order will be cottage, bakers and pot
cheese, but such perishables as
cream, neufchatel, camembert, lied
erkrantz, brie and blue cheese will
be included. Ali hard cheese have
been rationed since March %.
A note Of optimism was injected
into the rationing picture, however,
by an accompanying announcement
by the food administration that no
further reduction in the consump-
tion of sugar will be necessary on
the basis of prospective 1943 supplies.
Meanwhile, the Office of Price Ad-
ministration, in an effort to avert a
buying rush on the Saturday before
Memorial Day, announced that red
ration stamps lettered 81" will re-
main good throughout June instead
of expiring on the previously sched-
uled date of May 81. The 81"
stamps become good today for is
points worth of rationed meats and
fats.
Validity Time Extended.
The OPA also announced that four
new series of red stamps, worth a
total of 81 points, will become good
at weekly intervals beginning May
80 and will remain valid for meat
and fats purchases through June 80.
The TX" stamps will become good
next Sunday, 81" stamps on June
6, IN" June 13, and "N' June 20.
The extension of the validity date
of 81" stamps leaves stamps e."
'F," &C." and II" expiring May 81.
In another move on the food and
rationing front, the District OPA
released its third list of community
ceiling prices, establishing the max
imum prices which retailers in the
Washington Marketing Area may
legally charge for approximately 400
food items. 1t is published elsewhere
in The Star.
Brown Appeals to Wives.
The Nations price administrator,
Prentiss Brown, appealed anew to
housewives to help OPA enforce
the community ceilings by refusing
to pay more than the legal ceiling
price.
"a consumer who pays above the
ceiling price Is encouraging the
black market and impeding the war
effort" Mr.. Brown said.
The new list of community cell
ings for this area, corresponding to
lists issued in approximately 100
other metropolitan areas, will be
followed by other lists, until almost
everything in the housewives market
basket, except perishable fruits and
vegetables, will be under uniform,
published prices.
War Ration Book 3 Ready.
The uniform price ceilings are de-
signed to make it easy for the
housewife to know exactly how
much she should pay for a given
article In any store and to permit
what Mr.. Brown described as "air
tight enforcement.
Meanwhile. the OPA and it's Dis
trict Office were developing symp-
toms Of flrstclass headache over
the colossal project of distributing
war ration book No. by mail.
The local OPA Office was con-
cerned because many District resi-
dents, sent application forms through
the mail. were not following the
simple directions for returning the
completed applications.
Explains Correct Method.
The correct method is simply to
place stamp on the filled-out ap-
plication and drop it in the mail,
a local official pointed out. The
correct address is printed on the
reverse side of the form.
But incorrectly. a number of local
residents are placing the completed
applications in envelopes and ad-
dressing them to the national, in
stead of the District, OPA, it was
reported.
The National OPA was harvesting
q bumper crop of troubles from the
preliminary steps taken to distribute
the new ration books.
For one thing, hundreds of speci-
men blanks carried by newspapers
have been mailed into the National
OPA Office, filled out by families
thinking they'd get their ration
books that way. The newspaper
blanks won't do at all. officials
pointed out last night. They were
published only for the informa-
ton and guidance of readers.
Some Mail Goes Astray.
Some bundles of application
blanks have come bouncing back to
Washington. because post offices to
which they were sent for distribu-
ton no longer existed.
Complaints also have poured in
from servicemen, reused by the
statement on the application form
that persons in the armed services.
along with those in institutions of
involuntary confinement could not
apply for the new ration books,
whether or not they were fed in Or
ganized messes.
One official here said he was ION
the phone for "a hours straight"
answering complaints. Newspaper
and press association offices here
also have been getting their share