Evening star., 1943-06-24
Opal Plans Price
Checkup Here
By Volunteers
Panel Organization
In Rotion Areas
Neors Completion
By JOHN T. LUTER,

HcAI CWO WcckS ny VOluuCccI
workers now being recruited, an
official of the District ONCE of
Price Administration disclosed
today. Purpose of the survey
will be to learn where items are
being sold for more than ceiling
prices.
Meanwhile. gradually taking shape
in the District are the neighbor-
hood organiza tions through which
the OPA hopes to keep retailers
informed OF price ceiling regula-
tions and to bring into line" any
who do not comply.
Price panels, the three-member
boards which are to be set up in
the IS local rationing areas. will be
almost completely organized by the
middle Of next week. District OPA
officials predicted. Paid clerks are
being assigned, one to each panel,
to handle the routine work.
To Begin Work Now.
The volunteer price assistants, who
are serving under the price panels
to distribute regulations to the stores
and check up on prices, will begin
work Immediately, so that full
report on price ceiling observance
by the 1900 retail food stores here
can be made to the national OPA
by July 7.
Fifteen captains and IS leaders
have been tentatively chosen to di-
rect the volunteer assistants. These
30 will meet tomorrow and Satur-
day in Room G of the Chamber of
Commerce Building to be trained
in their duties by OPA off1cials. To-
morrow's meeting will be at PM;
the Saturday session at 1890 am.
Captains and leaders. in turn.
will train about $50 other volunteers
who are to join them in the price
control work.
The volunteer price assistants are
being recruited prematurely, before
the price panels have been organ
lied, because of the urgency of the
forthcoming price survey, an OPA
spokesman pointed out.
Volunteers who prove themselves
capable in the first survey and who
wish to continue serving will form
the nucleus for permanent group
of about 400 price assistants.
The Is price panels will begin to
function as soon as the OPA finds
As representative citizens who are
willing to serve as members, officials
said.
Director Robert K Thompson of
the District OPA already has sent
letters of invitation to As persons
whose names were recommended by
local retail groups, labor unions. or
the District Bar Association. and
were approved by the local defense
council.
Three Glasses in Panels.
Replies to these invitations are
expected by the middle of next week
One.third Of those asked to be-
come price panel members are per-
sons with business experience, most
of them drawn from the retail food
restaurant and hotel businesses. An,
other third are consumer represen-
tatives, who have either had spe-
cial consumer training or whose
names were suggested by labor
unions and other consumer groups.
The remaining third of the pros
pective panel members were chosen
at large, principally from among
Government employees and profess
sional groups.
Promise "No Shopping"
AS soon as the new machinery for
price control begins operations, here
is the way, as District OPA spokes-
man explained it today, that the
system will work
Each of the approximately 400
price assistants will be assigned
about five stores.
If Mrs. Smith. for example. is a
price assistant. she will go to each
store assigned and introduce herself
to the storekeeper. There will be no
shopping"
She will give the dealer any in
formation he does not already have
about price regulations. Then. she
will look to see that he has posted
ceiling prices and is observing them.
To Allow for Errors.
If she finds prices that are out of
line, she will point out the error to
the storekeeper. If he says it is an
oversight, nothing more will be said
about it, But Mrs. Smith probably
will check up at some later date, and
if she finds the overcharge has not
been corrected, report will be
made to the price panel of the area.
In cases where the storekeeper
fatty refuses to cooperate with the
price assistant or to observe ceiling
prices, the volunteer worker will not
be required to argue with him. In
these cases, too, a report will be
made to the price panel.
Members of the panels, receiving
complaints from price assistants,
will either telephone the retailer.
send him a warning note. or ask
him to come over and talk the mat
ter over. At the outset of the new
program, the third method will be
most generally used.
To Discuss Complaints.
BY neighborly discussion with the
retailer, District OPA officials say,
a price panel that is doing it's job
will be able to clear up about 80
per cent of the complaints.
Should the storekeeper remain
unco-operative, however, the case
will be referred to the District OPA,
where it will be turned over to the
enforcement division. Cases re-
ferred from price panels will have
an Al priority over all other work
before the enforcement division, the
officials said.
All price panel members and most
OF the price assistants will serve in
their own neighborhoods under the
District OPA's present plans. Store
assignments to the price assistants
probably will be rotated periodically
kAsee ul %Il