Evening star., 1943-07-10
BY JAMES MARROW,

surrey OF the 1000 sttudtton.J
BY JAMES MARLOW,
Associated Press STAFF Correspondent.
Americans after a year and hall
of war are backed up against wal
on the home front while big bae
boy who is getting bigger-the cost
OF living-nimbly picks their pockets
Americans still are divided among
themselves on how to trip the Hooli.
gan; prices still are rising; blacl
markets still do fat business; per.
sonalities tangle up the chase; Con-
gress is critical on the sidelines anG
the solution is not IN sight.
The Office of Price Administra-
tion has been brickbatted, several
times stumbled, sometimes has had
to start off in another direction.
q Per Cent Higher Than 1889.
| This much Is inescapable
American living costs started up
ward in the American business boom
| that followed Hitler's invasion OF
Poland in the summer of 1899. They
are 27 per cent higher now than
then, according to the Bureau OF
Labor Statistics.
OPA officials say the general OBJ
servance of rationing and price
ceilings has been good. Here is evil
dence of where it has not been good
BY July OPA had filed 4,707 en-
forcement suits against 5,546 per-
sons, including criminal prosecu-
tions, injunction suits and triple
damage suits which so far have
netted the Treasury about $4,000, ,000
from violators.
These were in addition to 1000
suspension order proceedings by
OPA.
Attorneys in charge of OPA food
enforcement said the majority OF
those actions were for violations OF
the food regulations.
$500 Paid Investigators.
The agency has $500 paid investi-
| gators checking observance of ra-
tioning and price regulations not
only among wholesalers, Gamers
and millers but also among retailers
including 100000 retail food stores
and 100000 restaurants.
In addition to these paid investi-
gators, of course, are the local ra.
ton and price boards, all on a vol
untary basis, which check on neigh
borhood stores.
Toughest black market of them
all is in poultry because it is the
hardest to police-since farmers over
the Nation raise poultry.
But the black market in meat
OPA officials say, is still bad
Much tracking down has to be done
mitted under the law to make cash
purchases themselves to obtain evil
| dence.
! There is a strong black market
in fresh vegetables, too, with truck
ers from northern areas like Chi
cago and Detroit ''raiding" States
as remote as Texas and the Caro-
| linas.
In the spring of 1912 the Govern
ment made its first big breakdown
on rising prices when the OPA i'm
posed it's general maximum price
regulations. Remember them? They
are practically dead now, supplanted
within a year by other regulations
Wits soon dubbed GMPR General
Max" The regulations were to gov
ern most of the things Americans
bought. General Max meant:
Prices henceforth-this was in the
spring of 1942-were to be no higher
than the highest prices charged In
March, 1912. The screaming started
right there, when businessmen yelled
they were being squeezed
This is an example of a squeeze:
When General Max went into ef-
feet, Wholesaler Jones sold at his
highest March price the goods he
had bought the previous fall from
Producer Smith.
But meantime-between the fall
of 1941 and March of 1942-Pro-
ducer Smith had had to raise the
price of his goods because of in
creased labor and materials costs
Thus his March price was higher
Llldtl lllS VI iSC Oi Vic lCNlOuS ldli
Jones didn't know that until he
went back to Smith for new sup
ply of goods. Then he found the
price up. Therefore the cost to him
was more But, because of General
Max, Jones could not increase the
price of the goods when he in turn
! sold it.
| Thus he was caught in the middle
between Smiths increased price and
| the stationary price imposed on him
Jones, by General Max
Price Stretch Starts.
| But right there General Max be-
gan to take on a rubbery look as
OPA allowed some prices to be
/ stretched upward in order to relieve
hardshlps. Like this: OPA allowed
producers, wholesalers and retailers
| to add to their March ceilings-in
dollars and cents-their increased
costs.
Now, more than year later. OPA
has issued more than 300 regulations
in many fields to relieve squeezes
This was done by taking particular
commodities out from under General
Max and establishing specific prices
and ceilings for them.
OPA also permitted specific mark
ups on prices to assure a specified
margin of profit.
Then OPA further crumpled Gen.
eral Max.
Under GMPR all prices were
frozen at the highest price charged
in March, 1912. But since varying
cost factors have arisen, such as
transportation and labor.
So, abolishing General Max in all
except handful of items, OPA
has established community ceilings
The price in New York for a pound