The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-06-05

II d III i hrlCy
! with old government orders, in
ability to keep up with new ones,
lack of information about where to
! go to get information, where to go
to make complaints, how to file APP
peals, difficulty In dealing with the
dodos without business experience
| who, in the general manpower
/ shortage, have Of necessity been
brought into government to en-
! force the maze Of wartime regula-
tions.
AS a sidelight on these complex
ties, there are the recent announce
ment that OPA Is now trying to boil
down its 81 volumes of orders into
| five, and a check-up on the number
Of war agency field Offices set up to
| explain the war program and try to
lend a helping hand to the small
business man.
AROUND 1900 OFFICES
There are 100 Smaller War Plants
Corporation offices, 10 War Pro-
duction Board Offices, 102 district
regional Office of Price Administra-
ton Offices (not counting the $500
ration boards), u regional War
Labor Boards, $50 Wage and Hour
law and Wage Sterilization offices,
IL regional, 48 state and 1T area
War ManpoWer Commission offices
plus 1900 U. S. Employment Serv-
ice offices, and 26 Department of
Commerce regional offices which
are supposed to be able to answer
all the questions about all the
others.
The mere personnel problem OF
getting good men for all these 500
or more principal and 1000 local
offices means qualifications go
down, even when enthusiasm and
intentions are the best.
In the demand for reports, appli-
cations and appeals for these agen-
cies, Quincy Adams finds that local
firms of accountants are doing a
land-office business. Instead of
bothering with the formidable forms
himself, the small businessman Is
inclined to turn the job over to
the accountants - for a fee, of
course.
Sometimes this results In mac
curate information furnished to the
government. Where specific an
Swer is difficult the accountants out
Of their knowledge and experience
of business conditions in the area,
will I'LL in an approximate answer
which satisfies the requirements Of
the form and keeps the government
agency happy, even If It's wrong.
HESITATE TO INFORM
ON WHOLESALERS
Reluctance to report known viola
lions of government orders causes
many small business men q lot of
self-imposed grief, Mr.. Adams re-
ports. Forced tie-in sales provide
the best example. It is against the
Emergency Price Control act for
wholesaler or distributor to force
retailer to accept goods he doesn't
want as condition to receiving
goods he does want, yet retailers
won't file formal protests for fear
they will be blacklisted by their
supply house.
Another source of confusion to
employers comes from innocent
violations of the wage sterilization
law. Not being too familiar with
this law, wanting to keep their en-
ployes employers are frequently
waking up to discover that they
have given some worker an unau-
thorized raise. Going to the Re-
gional War Labor Board and con-
Tossing all to an enforcement at
torney may lead to a penalty dis
allowance of payroll for income tax
purposes. Too many employers still
don't know about War Labor Board
Form 10, which permits the en-
ployer to file new or revised
schedule Of wages for government
approval under the wage stabiliza-
tion program. Yes, another form.