Evening star., 1943-06-14
Rush for Shoes
Before Dedd|ine
Continues Here
Long Lines Wait at
Downtown Stores
For Doors to Open

Shoe statesmen braced themselves.
flung open the doors and stepped
quickly out of the way this morning
as hordes OF shoppers, out to cash
in their No. II coupons before they
expire tomorrow night, poured into
the stores.
Long lines were waiting at most
downtown stores long before they
opened at $50 am. Managers of
shoe stores and shoe departments
said they expected the rush today
and tomorrow to De as great as that
of Saturday. Stocks are rapidly
being depleted, it was reported,
especially in summer shoes.
Patrons waiting to be shod before
the deadline express very little in
terest in price. shoe merchants said.
Most people come in and want
the best" one shoe man said If
they can't get their size. they'll take
cheaper shoes. And those who come
for cheap shoes will buy the most
expensive kind without protest if
they can't find something that fits
them in other price fields"
Women Are Chief BUYERS.
Most of the pressure. the mer-
chants reported. was coming from
women, many of whom brought
children to be fitted.
The men haven't been too bad
one manager said. But as far as
the ladies are concerned, that's an
other question
Few OF the shoppers INDUCED in
the normal practice of going from
store to store to find the best DOS
slble buy. If they got into any
store they considered themselves
fortunate, and they were willing to
buy whatever the shop had to offer
so long as it fitted.
BY tomorrow. the shoe merchants
SAID, their stocks would be pretty
well picked over. Most of them be-
lleved they would have enough shoes
on hand to tide them over. but
choice OF patterns and sizes would
become limited.
Pressure Slackens.
Department stores said there were
large crowds on hand again this
morning when the doors We're
opened but the pressure was not as
bad as On Saturday.
You never saw anything like the
time we had here on Saturday" one
shoe department manager said. He
predicted. however. that the demand
would gain momentum throughout
the day and that before the old
stamps expire tomorrow night the
crowds will approach those of Sat-
urday.
At some shoe stores the crowds
Jammed doorwavs waiting to crush
their way into the store as soon as
it was opened. Other stores lined
up the waiting shoppers and al
lowed them to filter into the store
in groups. At one place on F street
the line went from near the middle
Of the block to somewhere around
the corner Statesmen opened the
door to only as many people as
would fill the chairs.
No Extension Planned.
Meanwhile the Office of Price Ad-
ministration said there was no pos
sibility that the time period for
the validity of No. II coupons would
be extended. No. 18 coupons will
become good on Wednesday. as
scheduled, and will remain valid
through October 81.
The OPA also warned shoe mer-
chants not to accept coupons that
have been detached from the No.
rationing book. 1t was pointed out
that the only time the shoe coupons
may be detached is when they are
to be mailed away for the purchase
of shoes. The No. II coupon, if
mailed. will be valid so long as the
letter is postmarked before midnight
tomorrow, even if the shoes are not
delivered for several weeks
In Richmond. Va. according to an
Associated Press report, OPA in
vestigators found that shoes were
being sold freely for detached cou-
pons. The State OPA Office warned
that this is illegal and asked mer-
chants to cooperate.
The investigators visited eight
Richmond stores. In only one of
them was any question raised be-
cause the stamp presented had been
torn out of the book, it was re-
ported.