The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1946-03-01
MUCH TALK
ABOUT O.P.A.

You may find some strong medicine
in the statement below, taken from
the Joan News Letter, published in
the interests Of the Furniture Trade
by the Joan Plush Mills of Woon-
socket, r. l. We quote only excerpts
from the December Is, 1945 issue:
Scarcely a day goes by that the
OPA is not under attack from some
quarter-the press, the radio, trade
papers, columnists, and in general con-
versation among business men. These
are the usual springboards for launch
ing such attacks The OPA is also re-
ceiving the big -gun-barrage from Con-
gress. Either these attacks on OPA
are warranted and price control should
be turned back to business simply be-
cause it is better for our economy
and the peoples welfare to do so, or
the attack is unwarranted, and the
benefits obtained by eliminating OPA
will go to limited number at the
expense of the many. In either case,
the strategy of sacking OPA has been
cleverly organized and is being ex-
pensively executed.
mo one can deny that the preven-
tion of any substantial initiation thus
far has been remarkable achieve
ment, wholly unprecedented, for in all
previous wars we have experienced far
greater price initiation than during
the recent conflict. Inequities Ger
tainly. But, it is difficult to plan and
administer any program so vast as
price control without a few getting
hurt or squeezed some place along the
line. At the same time, it is difficult
to find business, large Or small, re-
taller or manufacturer, that isn't MAX
ing the largest profits in it's history.
We are in the throes of the second
phase of initiation, and we might add,
the most dangerous.
To-day, with many controls relaxed
and increasingly under attack, the
price front is wavering. Indicative
of the pressure that threatens to blow
off the lid is the simple fact that we
have today almost FOUR TIMES THE
PURCHASING POWER that we ever
had in good times.
"People not only have plenty of
money, but they also need all kinds
of things badly. When merchandise
does start moving out of the factories
and into the stores, there will be
mad scramble for goods, resulting in
some tension in the price structure.
AS the National City Bank of New
York SO aptly puts it: The response
bility of working out sound price
structure belongs to everyone
"If initiation hasn't come by the
time demand drops off, competition
on price basis must follow, and the
need for price ceiling may all too soon
turn to a need for price floors.
g. under conditions of scarcity,
black markets flourish. But, after
January 1, there will not be need to
buy because items may not be available
later on. Large investments will be
unnecessary in items which will again
be available when needed. True, there
will be sizeable demand for products,
but it may shock many to find this
demand dry up in a comparatively
short period of time in certain cases.
O.. the intelligent view, it would
seem, is to support economic stability
by withdrawing from the attack on
OPA now, and turning the expenditure
and effort in the direction of how to
maintain purchasing power SO that
the goods and services that are going
to be produced can be bought and paid
for"