The Wilmington morning star., 1943-09-29
Cafeteria Owner Replies
T0OPA Officers CHARGE
Richard Kostka Implies
Black Market Pur-
chases OF Food

In weekly mimeographed bull
letin, issued by the district OPA
office in Raleigh for local price
panel member and received here
Tuesday, Richard Kostka, senior
price officer of the state office,
devoted considerable space to an
answer to statements made re-
Gently by Paddison Pretlow, op-
orator Of the Friendly restaurant
and cafeteria here.
Mr.. Kostka's statement, as re-
printed from the bulletin:
"Restaurateur Censures OPA Cell
ing Schedule is the headline noted
in the Wilmington Morning Star.
Bad, very bad. Despite the admit
ted freedom of speech and press
(Which fortunately works both
ways) it's not so good to sass I'm
Gle Sam during wartime. We feel
certain that if the item was
brought to the attention of Mr.
WhiSkers, who these days is very
busy gentlemen, he'd rar' back and
shout in reply, Look here Bud,
where do you buy your fresh vege-
tables-on the black market? Don't
you know that ceiling prices are
established for certain vegetables?
Don't you know that if you feel
you're being charged too much
you can send your wholesalers in
voices to OPA in Raleigh to be
checked for you?
Don't you realize, Mr.. Restaur-
ateur of Wilmington, that maxi
mum price of SIS a bushel for beans
(snap beans has been established
and that beans have been selling
in this state for So and $3.75 bus
hel for months? If you pay Sc and
ST you are not only foolish but
you're violating the law. Don't you
know that a bushel of tomatoes,
which you state sold for $1.25 a
bushel in the fall of 1912, actually
cost more then than they do today?
The high price for tomatoes in the
fall of AZ was the very reason
cealing prices were established for
tomatoes. Prices for tomatoes to-
day are not 81 and S., but rather
from $3.50 to So per bushel. Where
do you buy your tomatoes?
why do you pay above ceiling
prices and thereby apparently spon-
sor illicit sources and if so violate
the law? Don't you know that OPA
has not as yet been permitted to
establish ceiling prices for black
eyed peas and lima beans? That
these two commodities will con-
tinue to soar in cost just so long
as people continue to buy them at
exorbitant prices. You don't have
to serve black eyed peas and lima
beans.
eff you and others would refuse
to buy uncontrolled food items
which are high priced (because
OPA has been unable to control
them then the price would drop, or
the supply would rot. More prob
ably the former. If fresh veGe-
tables are Extremely hard to buy
on Wilmington markets do you
think that your locality is any
worse off than other areas? Still
chain stores operating at the beach
es there this summer were much
better stocked with fresh produce
than in this section. Our recent
survey of Wilmington stores did
not reflect any greater shortages
of these commodities than else
where.
eyes, Mr.. Restaurateur, Is cents
dish for vegetables is high, much
too high. There never was a dish
of vegetables worth more than III
cents even served on gold platters'
and in restaurants parading a
Grade A sanitary rating. What is
your sanitary rating at present
and how long has it been that low!
How long has it been since you had
Grade A sanitary rating?
price ceilings were established
last May ID, 1912. Because some
food items were not controlled
nearly one year elapsed before res
taurants were frozen to their April
40, 1913 prices. For nearly one
wear restaurants could charge just
as much as they pleased for any
food they served, except milk. And
most of them rode up with the
market on the very crest OF 1ne
wave. The, public cannot expect 10
receive the same sort of service
thew did in pre-war time. They
must realize that restaurants have
a severe personnel problem. Meth
err can restaurant owners expect 70
do business at the old stand our
ing wartime with all the things
they enjoyed during peace.
In March, male and female
sandhill cranes congregate IN
c1eorinos and hold nuptial dances.