Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1946-05-02

continuation as we'll as the many
favorable arguments which rec
ommends it's continuation to the
# public. In the
Should We long run it is
Continue perhaps healthy
A The OPA for the public to
learn more about
OPA. Certainly it is that had
not the prices of many items and
services been controlled we
would have been into spiral of
initiation the likes of which no
living being can recall in
America. Had it not been for
OPA'S efforts to keep a close
watch on producers, wholesalers
and retailers many of us who
find OPA regulations obnoxious
would be "paying through the
nose" for many, if not most, of
i the normal articles purchased
daily. 1t is not that OPA has
done a perfect job in the sense
of enforcement. Top officials
admit that the job was too i'm
mense to challenge every viola
ton. But they have managed to
be on the job to an extent which
held down the practice of "chis-
cling" to minimum. Right in
our own neighborhoods we have
seen instances
Held w ere OPA
ChiSeling called to account
To Minimum one or more
merchants who
had violated regulations. Even
though the violation might have
been innocent it was nevertheless
corrected and many dollars have
been returned to purchasers who
paid above the ceiling" and
goodly amount has been paid to
the Treasurer of the United
States" by merchants who failed
to conduct business by the set
of ceiling prices made available
to them.
The Office of Price Admins
tration has been under fire from
the beginning. 1t is still under
fire. That there have been UNI
necessary hardships placed on
business cannot be denied. And
yet we must always measure any
program by what it develops for
the general good rather than by
hardships it imposes on some
group. We have
Inconsistent been through the
On most trying time
Ceiling Prices of recent his
tory and all of
us have had almost what we de-
sired. Denial of a few items of
food or clothing or services
measures the extent to which the
American public has been re-
quired to make sacrifices. Ger
talnly that man or woman who
dares complain over restrictions
and denials will find quick con-
domination in almost any group.
so much for the benefits of
OPA. On the other side of the
question where there is no par
ticular complaint by individuals
there has developed, as a natural
course, scarcities which might
have been avoided by longer
range vision on the part of top
officials. This is particularly re-
lated to the insistence of main
tanning ceiling prices on such
items as butter when no restric-
tons are maintained on the price
of cream. Of maintaining cell
ings on meats and poultry while
letting the price of feed soar.
Evidence of i'll effects of this
shortsighted policy is in the fact
that more public sales have been
held this year than in any year
OF record. And most of the farm
sales offered milk cows. And
many of these cows have been
Duochered for the meat market.
'skes only one season to re-
p'ehisn the poultry market but
II lakes at least three years to
rebuild a herd of dairy cows.
we can therefore stand by
ORA IN the battle to hold infla-
tlom away from our doors and
sun nope that some corrective
measures will be adopted looking
forward toward the future IN the
all-over picture.