Atlanta Daily World

Understanding
Of Price
Control Program
Urged

Facts-Figures
Office Releases
Information

Shopper, Seller
Advised to Reach
Try Agreement

Hundreds of thousands of Negro housewives and shoppers will join millions of other American women in the nation’s wartime price control program, set up to protect the nation’s citizens against the rising cost of living.

General price control meant that the Government can plan its war program without the confusion and difficulties that attend constantly increasing prices and cost for the vital machines and products needed to defeat the enemy.

“Long-run success of the program requires the complete cooperation of all consumers. The housewife and the shopper can help by understanding how price ceilings will operate and by showing patience while program so vast is getting under way.” Price Administrator Henderson advised “the public.”

TREMENDOUS TASK

“The regulations impose novel and difficult burdens of retailers and their suppliers. Shoppers should realize that by the last of May every retailer must reprice merchandise in keeping with price regulations, and after May 18 he can not make sales above the ceiling. This is a tremendous task, especially for small merchants whose records may be incomplete.

“The consumer, on the other hand, has no such problem. The Government, by establishing ceilings, is doing a job for the consumer that he or she can not do alone. But the consumer has an obvious duty to become familiar with the basic provisions of price regulation.

“During the first few weeks after May 18 it is only to be expected that there will be many perplexities, questions and there will be instances of disagreement between customer and seller over maximum prices. These are inevitable even when the retailer has established his ceiling prices in strict keeping with rules set down.

GET TOGETHER

“When disagreements arise shopper and the seller should get together and see if they can reach a common understanding. Only after that has been done should the shopper have facts to warrant a conclusion that price regulations are being violated should the incident be reported to enforcement authorities.”

An outline of the part the housewife and shopper can play in making the overall ceilings program effective was contained in three-point guide from the Office of Price Administration:

EDUCATE YOURSELF

1. Before July 1: Educate yourself and your neighbor on price regulations and how they operate. Don’t try to be a policeman. Leave the policing to the Office of Price Administration. From the very start prices will be under close surveillance by OPA, which will use trained technicians of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to check trends.

2. After July 1: By this time the War Price and Rationing Boards will be operating and handling complaints. Know how, and in what detail to report violations. The Boards will settle disputes where possible, but will turn over to OPA enforcement agents for final action.

3. Work with Rationing Boards.