Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-26

traders" the protective tariff
lobby, and others Of that ilk
were not so often successful,
their arguments would seem
almost funny.
The letter of William Gross
is a case in point. Mr.. Gross
paints a sad picture indeed
Of the plight Of the small re-
taller driven out Of business
by more efficient competitors.
He fails to spell out, however,
what 1t costs consumers to
keep such people going.
II ] can save $50 a month
by patronizing supermarkets
and discount houses / have,
In effect. increased my
monthly salary land stand
ard of liVing) by $50. ! can
use the extra income for
more furniture or to take my
wife out to dinner OCCASION
ally, or I can salt it away
for my old age. If fair
trade" does away with super
markets and discount houses,
I am $50 per month poorer.
I don't get the new furni-
ture. My wife doesn't get as
many evenings out. / won't
be able to retire as soon as
I'd like to, And what hap
pens to the owners and en-
ployes Of the supermarkets
and discount houses, Mr..
Gross? What about the fur
niture makers and restaurant
people who don't get my BUSH
ness? What is the effect on
the economy Of their loss Of
purchasing power? Fair
trade" has kept Sans Cor
ner Market and Joe's Neigh
borhood Hardware Store in
business at the expense of
my standard Of living. Why?
If they can't survive as in
dependent businessmen they
can go to work for someone
who can. No one ever gave
me a pay check unless I gave
him full value in return.
What is SO sacred about any
mans business. anyway?
The high standard Of liv-
ing we enjoy in this country
is the result Of ever greater
efficiency in the production Of
goods and services, and in
their distribution. Free, or
nearly free. competition has
made this possible by weed
ing out the slow-pokes and
hangers-on. The Europeans,
on the other hand, have made
q mess Of capitalism by try
ing to protect such foot
draggers. The National Fair
Trade Bill Is q big step in
that direction. It appears to
be doomed but the fact that
such g reactionary bill has
been introduced teStifies to
the power of the Hobbies and
is an insult to the consumer.
L. L. Dean.
y n i 4
Isn't 1t surprising how The
Evening Stars status as q
good newspaper becomes open
to suspicion the moment your
editorial views run contrary
to those of someone else? I
refer to the letter from Will
liam Gross wherein he de-
cries the integrity Of The
Star, and supposedly proves
the value Of proposed fair
trade regulations by quoting
the prices Of Washington's
three newspapers.
I personally fail to see any
connection between the de-
STABILITY, or otherwise, Of
proposed fair trade regula-
tons and the newspapers
here. One is q morning paper,
another is an evening paper.
the third Is a tabloid. They
are only slightly in compete
ton with each other. Their
prices of 5 or 10 cents hardly
begin to pay for their oper-
ating expenses. It would seem
to me that the prices are
specified to prevent vendors
from charging more, and that
the prices are just high
enough to assure the vendors
a reasonable return.
MIR. Gross could have
brought out a more striking
example Of the need for legis-
lation by referring to the
practice Of drug
firms which prey on the
afflicted by charging them so
cents for a medical pill.
If the law of supply and de-
mand is no longer operable,
and we need fair trade regu-
lations, let's do q thorough
job. If we need Government
Intervention in business to
set price floors, we need
Government control, too, in
order to set reasonable price
ceilings to protect the con-
Don't settle for one
the otherl
- Samuel ShapirO.