Evening star., 1952-12-03
Better Business Bureau Can Prevent Woes,
Sally Muchnoore, New Head, Explains
By Betty Miles

Since the hand that rocks the
cradle sometimes rules the purse.
women have a special interest in
sound buying advice.
They can get it from the Better
Business Bureau. Mrs. Sally
Muchmore. newly appointed di-
rector of the Washington Bureau.
wants the public to know that the
bureau exists to prevent, as well
as to investigate. unethical busi-
ness practices.
The really important thing is
that a person come to us before
taking a step, not afterward,"
she said. preventive work is the
most important part Of our job"
Now a lawyer. brown eyed.
fortnight Mrs. Muchmore began
her career with the Bureau as
secretary in 1925, when the Or
ganization was in its infancy. For
many years she was assistant to
the director. The level of busi-
ness ethics has risen in the last
Is years, she declared emphati-
cally in crisp tones that still carry
a hint of her native New England,
but the unscrupulous die hard.
Not long ago." she said, "a
woman called from Virginia about
a pending transaction she was be-
ginning to question. She was
about to enter into a contract
with a man who had answered
her ad to sell her home, which
was worth $4,000. He offered
5000 in cash, with the balance to
be taken up by mortgages. He
also talked about his woodlands
down South. 1t began to look
more and more as if she would
really end up exchanging her
house for his worthless woods.
She consulted her bank, who re-
ferred her to the bureau.
1--WE had data on the man, who
was a fraud" Mrs. Muchmore
went on. And another thing.
This same man was advertising
for real estate himself in the
classified columns. When told
the story. the papers stopped TAX
ing his ad."
Women are more susceptible to
this type of thing than men, she
believes, because they are less eX-
perienced in financial matters
which involve large transactions.
Many widows believed to have in
herited healthy nest egg become
prey for these ''con" men.
The new director is a regular
weekly guest on Diane Cameron's
television show, discussing cur
rent practices of which con-
sumers should beware. Her con-
slant message there, too, is ask
the BIB first when in doubt,
buy later. A nationally know
furnace company, for example,
has been guilty of approaching
the housewife with an offer toI
clean her furnace. When told toI
go ahead, the company's repre-
sentative promptly begins the
tear down technique. dismantles
the furnace, and announces that
a new one is needed.
Right now," she said. I'm
working with MI. McGarraghy,
chairman of the inaugural execu-
tive staff, to spot the rackets re-
lated to the inaugural that are
bound to develop"
If you check with the bureau.
you'll be in good company. So
do the FBI and Army Intelligence
The District Attorneys Office, the
Federal Trade Commission and
the Bureau of Standards cooper
ate with the bureau.
Although the public may bel
most familiar with the shopping" "
in the stores members of the staff
do in order to investigate ques-
tionable advertising, the Bureau
has much broader functions. Bet
ter Business Bureaus don't lobby,
but I'VE do work to have laws
passed that we believe necessary. y
Mrs. Muchmore said. The Better
Business Bureaus worked for the
passage of the Securities Act in
1888, which prevented phony firms
from selling stock. Until then,
residents of the District had no
law whatsoever to protect them
from such adventures. Fake auc-