Evening star., 1945-11-13
'0PA Bars Boost
In Auto Prices;
Lobbyists Hit
Bowles Tells House
Group Pressure
Is Sign Of Times
By the Associated Press.

os tut hsSoCldteu PreSS.
Bitterly denouncing govern
ment by pressure" Price Admin
1strator Bowles told Congress
today he is rejecting demands of
automobile dealers for higher
retail prices on new cars. He
said OPA would announce the
prices Thursday.
Mr.. Bowles declared that govern
ment by lobby pressure "is an om-
lnous sign of Our times"
Appearing before the House Small
Business Committee, the OPA chief
estimated members of Congress have
received more than 5000 kilograms
protesting OPAs automobile price
plans.
Describing this as "the greatest
single pressure group operation
since OPA was established" Mr..
Bowles declared:
Two and one-haif years in WASH
lngton has made me something Of
an expert on pressure groups, lob
byist and pressure-group tactics.
have been alarmed at the tendency
on the part of some to feel that
Congress and governmental officials
should base their decisions, not on
the validity of particular issue,
but on the measure of pressure
which could be focused at any given
point.
Threat to Rights Seen.
This idea OF Government by pres
sure" is an omnious sign of our
times. 1t is threat to the demo-
cratic rights of all the inarticulate.
silent, little people of America"
| Mr.. Bowles told the committee, in
the presence of hundreds of auto
mobile dealers gathered in the
House caucus room, that under the
OPA price schedules for new cars
the dealers "are likely to have their
best profit year in 1916"
| Discussing the forthcoming price
announcement, Mr.. Bowles said:
Actually, cost absorption which
we will require of dealers in 1946
will not exceed or per cent We
cannot reveal the exact amount at
this time. At 4 per cent a dealer
will get realized profit of 20 per
cent, compared with his actually
realized profit of the prewar period
of lis per cent
Alternatives Listed.
| He gave an illustration in an eff
fort to prove that a dealer selling
$1,000 car would profit by 5000 under
the planned OPA prices, while his
prewar profit = after considering
losses on trade-in cars-would be
only Sis.
'I am very certain" Mr.. BowIes
said. that the automobile dealers
do not really understand that they
are asking us to accept one of two
impossible alternatives:
4 Either abandon the basic prin-
ciple of price control which has en-
abled us to hold. the line against the
most dangerous inf1ationary pres
sures this country has ever seen, or
to bow before their organized power
and exempt them from a rule to
which legitimately and legally there
can be no exceptions.
/ We are sitting uneaSily on keg
of dynamite, and they are asking us
via Western Union to put the fuse
to the keg
Basis of Needs Stressed.
Were we free to exempt auto
mobile dealers-which we are not
the requirement of equality of treat
ment would then compel us to aban-
don cost absorption for all trades,
and industries"
He said he wanted to declare,
with all possible emphasis" that:
I'VE believe that price control poll
icies, like other national policies,
should result from careful consid-
Grafton of the needs of the Nation,
not from the numerous kilograms
and phone calls a pressure group
can pour into Washington
The dealers, saying they were
"gravely concerned" over the threat
ened cut in their established trade
discount. had led the committee
last week to request Mr.. Bowles to
delay any final action on automo-
bile ceilings until "all the facts" are
IipuoSfiuated