Evening star., 1947-04-26
|Newblurypo,rt System
spreads as Buyers
Resist High Prices
BY me Ass.oeio,.d ]. Pres.

More communities adopted the
"Newburyport plan" for q fiat 10
per cent retail price cut today.
Some businessmen, however, ques-
toned the soundness Of the current
drive for lower prices.
Newburyport, Mass, announced an
indefinite extension of the original
10-day limit on its 10 per cent
across-the-board retail price slash.
New communities joining the plan
included: Multnomah, Oreg.:: Old
Town, Me-; Mechanicville, N. Y;
Chester, Pa. and Virginia, MINI.
Many merchants in Culver City
Calf, and Liberty, Mo-, joined the
price cut plan, and some merchants
in and around Memphis, Tenn, and
Bloomfield, N. j., will meet Monday
to consider joining.
5 Presidents Town Holds Out.
Merchants in President Truman s
home town of independence, Mo-,
however. almost unanimously re-
jected a 10 per cent price cut to
fight imitation. His old friend, Mayor
Roger T. Sermon, veteran grocery
operator, said he didn't see how the
plan could succeed in independence
Independence groceries operate
on II to 20 per cent markup. The
average cost is IA to Is per cent
There Is no way for them to start
an overall 10 per cent reduction. ;
Commodity prices throughout
Ohio skdded today and merchandise
ing experts credited the reduction to
buyer resistance-both on part OF
the consumer and retailer-reachine
the manufacturer and wholesaler
"A buyers market has started to
knock the price structure back into
balance" said Fred Lazarus, jr.
president Of Federated Department
Stores, Inc.
Declaring both consumer and re.
taller had been resisting high prices
he said the manufacturer soon woulo
find himself in buyers market
too," and added:
Hell put pressure on the pro.
ducer Of raw materials. Then the
cure-you'll have a balanced price
economy"
In Cleveland, another department
store spokesman said.
There is some evidence that some
manufacturers are beginning to turn
out merchandise that can be solo
in familiar price categories-those
in effect when OPA control was
killed"
Won't Buy Fall Items Now.
Other Cleveland retailers said
they were refusing to buy some late
summer and fall items at this time
The CLAM Style Shop, Cleveland
store INSTITUTED 10 per cent across
the board price cut.
Triangle Food Stores-which op-
crates lis groceries in the Ohio
West Virginia and Kentucky area
announced price cuts averaging 10
per cent
Some shirt manufacturers, ac-
cording to Murray Rabbino, counsel
for the Shirt Institute, Inc, feel
that agitation" for lower prices
may be misleading the public into
expecting "drastically" lower prices.
Price changes announced by man
ufacturers included:
Wesson Co., in New Orleans--2
cents a pound reduction in shorten-
ing and threE cents a pint on salad
oil.
Glidden Co. in Cleveland-Three
cents pound cut in Durkee's Mar
garine, rejecting recent declines in
vegetable oils and milk.
Lumber Firm Cuts Prices.
L. w. Foster sportsmear, Inc, ir
Philadelphia line prices to be
"leveled to the 1914 and 1945 av.
erages."
Dierks Lumber & Coal Co., ir
De Queen. Ark.-A general redue.
ton In prices for pine lumber arc
hardwood of 5yto $40 per thousane
board feet.
Suppliers to the mail order and
fetdA SGore cIlaln company OF Mont
gomery Ward have begun to reduce
prices, its president, Wilbur Norton
told stockholders. The trend started
in textiles, he said, and is spreading
to home furnishings and durable
goods. He added that increases
were still coming through in some
lines, particularly those recurring
steel.
Price reductions In the United
States, which last week had the
coffee growers of Santos Brazil. ir
a turmoil, brought repercussions this
week IN Manila, where govern
ment spokesman said "copra specu.
lators" were in "near-panic" ovei
price cuts by American soap manu-.
facturers and slump in the price
OF copra, used in the manufacture
|of soap.
nhor