The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1944-05-18
DURELY
i Official
By BALLOT BOX

SSS$|'%'|"E"''s''SssS'sS'
I have heard many stories of how
business men have been befuddled
and befogged by the maze of red
tape that comes out of Washington
in a seemingly endless stream, but
here is one that truly is the daddy
of them all" and every word of it is
true.
A Maryland business man, who
runs business in three cities in
the State, gave me the information
and backed it up with documentary
proof.
This man, who has for some time
been getting gasoline for his trucks
from a branch of the ODT in one
of the three cities he operates in,
was told last week to bring in all
coupons to the ODT office. On ar
irving there he was told that as he
operated in three different towns in
the state, he must get his coupons
from the Washington office of the
ODT, and all his coupons were TAX
en- up.
Making a hurried trip to Wash
ington he was told that they had no
jurisdiction; that it was perfectly
in order for him to get his gasoline
requirements from the ODT branch
he had been dealing with and that
his papers were being returned to
that branch. He was also told that,
in the event that the branch still
refused him gasoline for his trucks,
he would have to take the matter
up with the regional office in Phil
adelphia.
Rushing back to the branch office
of the ODT, he finally succeeded in
getting his coupons back CATER his
trucks had been forced to lie idle
while the mess was being straight
ened out).
The next day, sitting in his main
office, he received a call from rep
resentative of the Interstate Com
merce Commission, who informed
him that he had broken the law by
transferring some of his equipment
to a public hauling company.
While this matter was being dis
cussed, the phone rang. Picking up
the receiver he heard a voice say,
this is branch of the OPA and
we want to know what your prices
were on October l, 1912, and we
want all your sales tickets for bus
mess done here in the month of
October, 1912
Hanging up, from that haymaker
and returning to his discussion with
the l. c. c. representative they had
hardly resumed their talk when the
phone rang again.
This time it was representative
from the Internal Revenue Depart
ment, calling from another town in
which this man did business and re-
questing that he bring all his rec
ords to that town Immediately.
The business man explained that,
at the specific request of the State
of Maryland Tax Department, all
his records for the three branches of
his business were kept at one cen
trail office, but the IRD representa-
tive said that unless he brought his
records in Immediately, he would be
fined $1,000 by the Federal Govern
ment.
Hanging up the receiver, he
called Annapolis for advice and
was told that if he removed his rec
ords from the central office, he
would be fined $1,000 by the State
of Maryland.
Hanging up the phone again, he
made another effort to straighten
out his difficulties with the I. C. c.
man, but the phone rang again.
By this time he was going nuts,
so, leaving the phone ringing and
the I. c. c. man sitting in his office,
he rushed to nearby sanatorium,
where he remained for the rest of
the day.
It sounds like fairy tale, doesn't
it? But it actually happened, right
here in the Free State of Maryland,
just week ago.