The Wilmington morning star., 1945-08-24
DURABLE GOODS
AT 1912 PRICES
CONTINUED from Page One)

The OPA chief laid down the
government policy on the prices
at which consumer durable goods
can come back on the market.
He listed only few of the items
and the price level they must
sell at-but more will follow. 1t
was the policy which was most
important to know.
'BoWles. put a ceiling-at 1912
levels-on washing machines, iron
ers, and aluminium pots and pans.
This first pricing of consumer
durable goods by the government
also set another precedent:
Every ironer, washer and pc:
must be tagged with its retail cell
Ting, right at the factory.
To disgruntled manufacturers OF
durable goods Bowles said: make
a lot Of goods at low prices. BY
selling lot, you'll make good
money. s,5e5,
He said:
eve have our teeth set in tie
cost of living. And we are going
to hang on like a Boston bull pup
until our services as inflationary
watchdog are no longer necessary.
Let me say fatty that during
this critical reconversion period,
the cost Of rent and food will re-
main at present levels, that cloth
ing prices will be firmly held"
New small Observation-Disclosures
they make television sets or mouse
traps-''will get their business
fast"
Bowles said they would be al
lowed to peg their prices at the
levels charged by makers of similar
products.
These prices will be set by OPA.
Factories which run at a loss
when working at normal volume
will get price increases big enough
to let them break even financially.
And price ceilings will be dropped
entirely next week on aluminium,
Magnesium and mrcury.
ma gnesium and mercury.
These metals are SO plentiful that
OPA doesn't consider ceilings nee
essary for them.
An oversight-when the Selective
Service law was rewritten last
spring = is endangering the job
rights of homecoming veterans.
President Truman went to work
today to correct it. He said he
has specific recommendations to
make the job rights ironclad.
The original draft act-it was
60 expire May Is, 1945-guaranteed
each veteran his old job if ne ap.
Piled for it within 80 days after
leaving the service.
1t. said this right would continue
even if the rest of the law was
wiped out by the President or Con
gress declaring the war at an end
But his clause was lost when
the act was rewritten in the spring
to continue it in operation until
May Is, 1916.
So now if Congress officially ends
; the war-by saying it's ended-the
veteran coming out of the service
!, after the date of that declaration
has no right to his old job, unless
the lost clause is back on the books,
This can be done by amending
the present draft law-to put back
= the missing clause-or through .
special law.
Congress can be expected to act
quickly on this when it returns
!. next month. .
The Eastern coal pinch will b
with us again this winter.
. So said Interior Ickes. He sale
the Army was :'ill-advised'' in it,
report last week that lower mill
tary demands probably would enc
the civilian shortage. -
The 80 per cent limit on Eastern
household coal therefore stick
;, this winter. There's no such imi
f on Midwest or western coal.
= Maybe but only maybe - Con
+ gress will be able to do something
O about the sugar shortage. Senate
# Stewart D-Tenn.), chairman OF
V Samall Business subcommittee
), said:
We've got to turn our attention
e to curtailing overseas shipments.
:, This came after .OPA said tina
y for the rest of 1915 there was n
II more sugar in sight for civilian
s than they have been getting.
q Shoes and window screening =
n About as scarce as anything i
u recent months fairer chance!
" The Army cancelled orders TO
q 10000, 900 pairs of footwear. WP
:. said screening might come bac
~ soon, and revoked. the limitation
~, ~, on its use.
- But the Army made big cor
-. tribution to the future well-bein
- of America by declaring surplu
70 l IL billion dollars worth of WE
4 plants. ~ .
~ If converted from shells ar
n radar to civilian things, 252 govern
!, rnent- owned factories could provid
n. hundreds OF thousands Of jobs:
The government promptly 81
,e out to interest businessmen in sale
le cor leases.
tn More plants will be. dumped Q