The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-09-28
NO Inmedi0te Changes ~. "A" Gasoline Coupons State OPA Director Arpaia Describes PFspossd Amendments as Impractical = Assails
 Black Market Practices
 in Connecticut

problem right on the front deot. step. I've heard people who htag about getting gasoline without Elt@ ing up coupons for it, and you have too. I don't mean hardened crime inals now, but people who live ln your neighborhood and niina, They're minimizing people, cr sel@ fish people, or both, and they meNs up your and my chances for a little extra "A" gasoline, and they htlu a very unhealthy racket to four ish.
 Sometimes, by some well.tlnao comments, you can make these peo@ pie see the light. But often, it may need some well-tilned reporting.
 Our Local Boards and our Statn Office get numerous letters from people, telling us about aeighhora who have been buying gasoline in the Black Market, and investiga~ ton has shown that Q great many of these reports are exactly right. The people who have sent In these lcttrs are not squawkers .. they are honest citizens who have gotten little tired of playing the game according ot the rules theFn- selves, and seeing someone else get away with murder without any moral or legal right to itl
 There are some gangsters and criminals who have gotten into this thing, and who have made racket out of traffic in gasoline coupons, either counterfeited or stolen from AG you don't get to first base with these people by talking to them. Our Enforcement Division has been working on these people and one of these evenings, l will give you g complete report of this work, and you will find 1t 0 good report. Stiff penalties have been handed out to several of these criminals, both In fines and long Jail sentences. ' was checking over the record Q day or two ago, and I found that l03 Connecticut gasoline stations hays been closed for the duration because they were continued, willful viola- tors.
 However, let's not forget that this racket has It's roots in the fact that our people, some of them, have been. willing to cheat the regulations at the expense of the rest of Us.
 Book Changes
 But now, lot me 90 back to those "A" book changes. You've been ex- pecting to start using your Ala coupons beginning November eth. However, now those A.i2 coupons won't ever be used at all. They will never be validated. Instead, on November 9th, you1l begin to use new A book, beginning with A-l3 coupons.
 The counterfeiters about whom I've been talking have been busy getting a lot of A-i2 coupons printed up and ready for use after NoverEa- Der 9th. This charge will mean that they won't be able to use those coupons. I am sorry that we have had to announce the change ab- ruptly, but you can see that it was necessary to do this.
 Instead of the eight coupons you've been using for the three- month period each worth three gallons, the new books will have six four-gallon coupons for each three- e-month period. They're priElt- ed on special safety paper, and it doesn't look as though it will De easy ct all to counterfeit these new books.
 As I have said, you will begin to use A.lS coupons on November pshs On December 22nd, c A-i4 coupons will become valid over the whole country, 60 that all of Us are on the same time basis with our "A" books, instead of differing periods as we have been up to now. This means that, at the present "A" ailots ment you will need only three oE your A.i3 coupons between NcveEa- Der 9th and December 22nd.
 For that reason, when you set your new "A" book, you will find three of the A.i3 coupons printed out and voided. However, this does not mean any less "A" gasoline than you have been getting right along.
 Renewal Application
 We are making arrangements nov SO that applications for renewal oe your "A" book can be made amme- ulNbely u1VeE Jkle IlfbV VI OSVSagks can't tell you this evening exactly how your own Local Board Will handle this renewal, but this ati- nouncement will be made in . few days. Please listen and watch tor 1t, SO that your application M made promptly.
 We have not licked the gasoline Black Market yet, but we are nlak- ing headway. I have tried to show you here this evening ways In which you can help. The gasoline problem , has made heavy demands on our limited enforcement staff |. t. much heavier than I like to see made by this particular commodity. I think } we can really lick this gasoline Black Market if we do 1t individually. ' hope that we do 1t soon, SO that eii- forcement manpower can be devot. cd to the very pressing problem of , seeing to 1t that our cost of living Aoaa nok fry to rAueak ita peff0ffils