Greenbelt cooperator (Greenbelt, Md.) 1941-12-19 [p ] · Henry Klumb, architect for the project,...
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GMNBELT tffdoOPERATM \ ilume 6, Number 18 December 19, 1941 Five Cents Rysticken Urges Power Economy As Defense Need Away has been pointed out in which each individual can do hit part to help in the defense of his country, beside adding a sizeable sum to his pockets. It has been estimated by the town administration staff that Greenbelt residents use from 50 per cent to 100 per cent more electric power than the average home anywhere' in the United States. If regular retail rates were charged in Greenbelt, the monthly electricity bill would be more than two times as much as the present charges. In a survey of the apartment basements as * jbrasible air-raid shelters, made by Ibwn Manager Roy S. Braden, Assistant Manager Arthur L. Ry- sticken, Town Chemist Harry Fpodes and Directs of Publir Sifety George Panagoulis, they found a hundred light bulbs burn- ing in the? basements, with no one using them, and in one basement alone five were burning. Many families turn on their ovens to heat their homes and dry clothes Mr. Rysticken, urging conserva- tion of power by Greenbelt resi- dents said: “All available power iB needed for the national defense program, since Government de- partments which formerly worked 40 hours per week are now work- ing 48; midnight shifts have been added in the War and Navy De partments, and building is increas- ing at a great rate to take cave of the piany defense workers mov- ing to Washington and the vicin- ity.” He also pointed out that constant use of the burners of the stoves when not actually in use kLburns them out more quickly, awj| jts are almost impossible to f j A H: off the radio, stove, statf'd, yog jpr hotry ami vouch WTown Appointments Approved By Council Ralph W. Powers and Arthui L. Rysticken were appointed Town Solicitor and Town Counsellor, re- spectively, by Roy S. Braden, town manager. Approval of the Town Council was given at the meet- ing on Wednesday, December 10 and the two newly appointed offi- cers were sworn in Thursday, De- cember 11, by Mayor Allen Mor- rison. Mr. Powers, a Hyattsville at- torney, is a native of Maryland and has been an aid to Greenbelt since its inception. Mr. Rysticken has already become known to local residents by his participa- tion r on the local civilian defense board, as well as his duties in the administrative office. He will serve in ljis new capacity without pay. It will be the duty of Mr. Pow- ,.--ers, with the aid of Mr. Rysticken to give legal guidance in the prep- aration of ordinances, and to give opinions on the legality of matters that come before the council. In announcing the appointments Mr. Braden said, “Both of these gentlemen are excellently fitted , for their jobs by reason of their ii v training and experience, and I feel- that the Greenbelt town gov- ernment is exceptionally fortunate to have the services of these ca- pable attorneys.” | Community Tree x Is Lit Tonight . At 8 o’clock tonight Greenbelt’s annual community Christmas tree Sil be lit with apropriate cere- onies. Mayor Allen Morrison is S residing over a program arranged y Mrs. F. A. Dejaeger. The Greenbelt Band will play, a short talk wil be given, and carols will be sung for the crowd which is gathering at the Shopping Center for the tree-lighting. Braden Asks FWA For New Town Structure Funds The Federal Works Agency has been requested by Town Managei Roy S. Braden to erect a man- agement maintenance building in Greenbelt, to house the expanded office force that will be necessary when the new homes are occupied The expected expansion will in- clude the tenant selection office the accounting office, the manage- ment and ,the engineers. An esti- mated 30 per cent increase ir personnel is expected. Beside housing the office force the new building must have a basement that will be used as a work shop and warehouse. More complete plans are await- ing an appropriation of funds by Congress, which is expected in the near future. 83 Turn Out For First Aid Miss Doris Dungan this week anounced that the schedule for first aid classes is nearly com- pleted and wil be given out soon. There are 83 now enroled for first aid training in connection with the defense program, and others will be accepted as additional instructors are secured. Minor injuries which might re- sult from a possible local air atack wil be treated at the basic first aid stations to be set up in each air raid shelter. More serious wounds will be treated at the cas- F.S.A. Income Nay Affect 52 Survey Indicates Based on replies received from 25 percent of Greenbelt families to the questionnaire on income limits, 52 percent of the town families will be affected by the Farm Security Administration’s recent ruling on “excessive” in- comes. About 25 percent of those not affected now will be affected within the next six months. That the majority of Green- belters do not approve of the F. S. A. ruling to expel families earning more than the established maximum income, is indicated D> the replies to the questions asking opinions on th" order. To the question “Are you in favor of the F. S. A. regulation,” 75 per cent replied “No.” A major- ity of 90 percent indicated that they were “in favor of an upward rental ajustment in proportion to tile income above the F. S. A. limit.” Those who have not turned in their coupons are requested to do so, in order to expedite the com- pletion of the survey. The fol- lowing are members of the com- mittee who will receive question- naires: Harry B. Hyman, chairman, 21-J Ridge Road; Mrs. Linden S. Dodson, 2G Gardenway; H. Eu- gene Hesse, 6J Hillside; John Marshall, 20F Parkway. The questionnaire is reprinted in this issue for the convenience of readers desiring to submit it: ualty station to be set up at the medical center. A base hospital to be located at College Park is being considered. Homeowners Go-op Cuts Red Tape Building Will Start In January After a delay of nearly two years the Homeowners’ Co-Op has secured a land lease from Farm Security Admin- istration which is also acceptable to the Federal Housing Administration. Administrator Baldwin signed for FSA last Monday afternoon the document which deeds to the' Co-op for 99 years some 15 acres north of Parkbelt for home building. The individual lots will be leased to home builders at about sl4 a year. 300 Volunteers Attend Opening Of A. R. P. Approximately 300 defense vol- unteers were reached this week in air-raid defense classes held by Safety Director George Panagou- lis. * Giving preliminary instruction? foil precautions to be taken in the event of an emergency, the clashes were attended by 50 people each. Instructions included handling of bombs, air-raid warnings, shel- ters, and the effects of chemical warfare. In the bomb instruc- tions, incendiary bombs were given the most attention. It was pointed out by Mr. Panagoulis that there are only two ways to put one of these out of commission. One is to smother it with sand, the other to cause it to bum faster—thus depreciating its damage —by spraying it with a very little wa ter. A direct splash of water causes the incenditary type of bomb to explode, according to these instructions. Greenbelt’s air-raid warning will be the siren. Air-raid ward- ens will be appointed from the vol- unteer registration list, their du- ties being to discover and report all “incidents,” know the people in their territory and educate them for emergency precautions, and enforce black-outs. The apartment basements were decided upon as the best blasi- proof shelters available in Green- belt. Windows will be sand-bag- ged, so that nothing short of a direct hit will injure occupants of the basement-shelters. The so- cial room at the elementary schoo' will be used as a shelter for the school children. Volunteers were requested for the air-raid warden service, first aid, and motor unit. Prom these volunteers selections will be made Mr. Panagoulis emphasized that although the danger of an air at- tack on Greenbelt in the immedi- ate future is small, all precautions must be taken against any even- tuality. Assisting in the instructions were S. H. Downs, deputy chief air warden, and the police per- sonnel. Band Feted at Xmas Party A Christmas party, sponsored by the Parents’ Board of thf Greenbelt Community Band and the Feeder Band, was held in the auditorium last Friday. Higl lights of the evening included a musical program by the Commu- nity Band, introduction of the founders and leaders of the twi bands, and a speech by Town Man ager Roy S. Braden about the pari the band children have played in making better citizens of theii parents. S. Hartford Downs, presiding a; master of ceremonies, presented Paul Garrett with a musical in- strument repair kit, on behalf of the two bands. Guests included the parents of the band members Arthur L. Rysticken of the ad- ministrative office, Paul Barn- hart, high school principal, Mayoi Allen Morrison and members of the Feeder Band who did not par- ticipate in the musical program “To cure one’s self of worry is not an easy task; it is not to be removed in two or three applica- tions of the quack medicine of any cheap philosophy, but it requires only clear, simple, common-sense applied to the business of life.” The new lease supersedes the one given the Cooperative last summer by FSA, which was dis- carded when FHA refused to ac- cept it as a workable lease. FHA approval was obtained in advance on the revised lease. Plan* Submitted Henry Klumb, architect for the project, has submitted the de- tailed house plans and specifica- tions for contractors’ bids. The project’s water, street, sewer and electrical systems have been drawn up by Pierre Ghent & Co., and are also ready to be bid upon. The contract for survey- ing and staking the lots is ex- pected to be assigned early next week. Shortly after Christmas the clamor of steam shovels will be heard in still another part of town as Greenbelt’s newest hous- ing development gets under way. Road Cleared During the past several months members of the cooperative, work- ing on their own, have done the preliminary clearing on the road., which will extend about 700 feet into the woods at the terminus of Woodland Way, then curve to meet an extension of Northway. The first 22 lots along the prospective builders road have been staked out roughly and assigned to pros- pective builders. Each, ftew member desiring to build must submit an application to the cooperative accompanied by S9O. Of this amount $lO is a serVlde charge, $lO is for the first share of capital stock, S2O is for utility designing, and SSO is for the architectural fee. Of this sum S7O is credited to the down payment. ' Members are using two basic plans for building. One is a three-bedroom house estimated at approximately SO,OOO, the other is a two-bedroom house at about $5,500. Plans and specifications may be seen by calling at the homes of Mr. D. W. Hull or Mr. W. R. Volckhausen. Down pay- ments on the homes will be 10 per cent of the cost of building, and closing charges before moving in will be about $125 in addition. Both of these sums are included in the total house costs. Financ- ing is being arranged through the Credit Union National Associa- tion. 200 Home* Planned Originally conceived as a means of permitting over-income fami- lies to remain in Greenbelt by building their own homes here, the project has attracted wide at- tention in Washington. Ultimate- ly it is hoped to build at least 200 houses through the facilities of the cooperative, but the members at present are bending their energies toward getting the first 25 con- structed. Boys Called To Join Messenger Corps As part of the local defense organization a messenger service is being formed, Dr. James W. Mc- Carl, chairman, announced this week. Boys, 10 years and up, are be- ing recruited for the job of in- suring Greenbelt’s defense groups efficient messenger service. The importance of this work was stressed by Dr. McCarl who stated that the success of the various local volunteer services .would de- pend greatly on a loyal and ac- tive corps of patriotic boys will- ing to give their time and effort to aid their country. All boys who wish to join this corps should report to the fir house at 10:30 Saturday morn- ■' ing, December 20. Consumers Report On Prices Places Blame for Inflation ' ‘ tm il nidM ■■ l ** ‘Profiteers and monopolists art largely responsible for rising prices, charges Consumers Union in a special report on inflation prepared in co-operation with the National Lawyers Guild. “Inflation is not some abstract theory that interests only econo mists and students; it is a bread and butter problem affecting every household and every pay envelope,” says Consumers Union “It can slash living standards with blitzkrieg speed and destructive- ness.” Prices of basic raw commodi- ties are more than 50 per cent above the pre-war level, points out the report. “This increase is a red light to the country, giving advance warning of a future sharp rise in the cost of living unless effective action is taker by the Government.” Labor, Comumers Blamed The defense program, labor’s demands for higher wages, and consumer hoarding have all beer blamed for price increases. These factors are unimportant, CU shows, compared to the inroads of speculation and monopoly. “Big business and eculators have raised prices, fostered artificia 1 scarcity, and made huge profits from shortages which in most cases could have been avoided if the Government had taken actior in time. The American people are now paying for the early fa lurr to expand production of eritica 1 items like steel and aluminum, and to develop such transporta- tion facilities as freight cars and pipe lines.” The report lambastes the policy of giving most defenst contracts to the corporations which have been gouging the nub lie, while many small plants re main idle. “The rising tide of profits is the best proof that profiteering and speculation have been per- mitted to run rampant,” says the report. “The Federal Reserve Board reports that the net profits of large industrial corporation; for the first six months of 1941 were 25 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of 1940 (which was an unusually good business year).” This would be even higher, points out the re- port, if corporations declared theii entire profits. Many set aside “tax reserve” funds which are much larger than any taxes the., can be called upon to pay. Wage Raises Met Most wage increases have been more than met by increases in production. Big corporations run- ning at full capacity have been able to decrease their unit labor costs tremendously. And, in ad- dition, says the report, “the Dig corporations have also gained from increased labor productivity Workers have been turning out more goods and products per working hour and day. Output per man-hour was 3 per cent higher in May, 1941, than in May 1940; it was 8.5 per cent above the 1939 average and 16 per cem above 1938. That is, 86 workers today are producing as much in one hour as 100 workers did three years ago.” Consumers Not Raising Prices Consumer hoarding is another favorite argument of, profiteers when raising prices. But there is no factual basis for the argu- ment. “In the first place, low- income consumers spend abou* one-third of their incomes for food, which is plentiful,” points out CU's report. "Secondly, many other consumer purchases besides food can in no way be considered as diverting materials away from armaments production. * * * The fact is that most critical short- ages are due to the deliberate failure of big business to exoand vital production. * * * Shifting the blame to consumers simply conceals the actual culprits; the monopolists and profiteers.” “Price control is no cure-all for inflation,” says the report. “But an immediate, overall ceiling or prices would be the most impor- tant move that the Government could make right now to stop the rush to inflation.” In releasing the report, Consumers Union urges that consumers work foi the immediate passage by the Senate of the original adminis- tration-proposed Emergency Price Control Bill, H. R. 5497, but with- out the weakening changes tha' were made in the House bill, and without the wage ceilings oi other curtailments on purchasing power which reactionary Con- gressmen will try to introduce.
Transcript of Greenbelt cooperator (Greenbelt, Md.) 1941-12-19 [p ] · Henry Klumb, architect for the project,...
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GMNBELT tffdoOPERATM\ ilume 6, Number 18 December 19, 1941 Five Cents
Rysticken UrgesPower EconomyAs Defense Need
Away has been pointed out inwhich each individual can do hitpart to help in the defense of hiscountry, beside adding a sizeablesum to his pockets.
It has been estimated by thetown administration staff thatGreenbelt residents use from 50per cent to 100 per cent moreelectric power than the averagehome anywhere' in the UnitedStates. If regular retail rateswere charged in Greenbelt, themonthly electricity bill would bemore than two times as much asthe present charges. In a surveyof the apartment basements as
* jbrasible air-raid shelters, made byIbwn Manager Roy S. Braden,Assistant Manager Arthur L. Ry-sticken, Town Chemist HarryFpodes and Directs • of PublirSifety George Panagoulis, theyfound a hundred light bulbs burn-ing in the? basements, with no oneusing them, and in one basementalone five were burning. Manyfamilies turn on their ovens toheat their homes and dry clothes
Mr. Rysticken, urging conserva-tion of power by Greenbelt resi-dents said: “All available poweriB needed for the national defenseprogram, since Government de-partments which formerly worked40 hours per week are now work-ing 48; midnight shifts have beenadded in the War and Navy Departments, and building is increas-ing at a great rate to take caveof the piany defense workers mov-ing to Washington and the vicin-ity.” He also pointed out thatconstant use of the burners of thestoves when not actually in usekLburns them out more quickly, awj|jts are almost impossible to fj
AH: off the radio,
stove,
statf'd, yogjpr hotry ami vouch
WTown AppointmentsApproved By Council
Ralph W. Powers and ArthuiL. Rysticken were appointed TownSolicitor and Town Counsellor, re-spectively, by Roy S. Braden, townmanager. Approval of the TownCouncil was given at the meet-ing on Wednesday, December 10and the two newly appointed offi-cers were sworn in Thursday, De-cember 11, by Mayor Allen Mor-rison.
Mr. Powers, a Hyattsville at-torney, is a native of Marylandand has been an aid to Greenbeltsince its inception. Mr. Rystickenhas already become known tolocal residents by his participa-tion ron the local civilian defenseboard, as well as his duties in theadministrative office. He will servein ljis new capacity without pay.
It will be the duty of Mr. Pow-,.--ers, with the aid of Mr. Rysticken
to give legal guidance in the prep-aration of ordinances, and to giveopinions on the legality of mattersthat come before the council.
In announcing the appointmentsMr. Braden said, “Both of thesegentlemen are excellently fitted
, for their jobs by reason of theiriiv training and experience, and I
feel- that the Greenbelt town gov-ernment is exceptionally fortunateto have the services of these ca-pable attorneys.”
| Community Treex Is Lit Tonight
. At 8 o’clock tonight Greenbelt’sannual community Christmas tree
Sil be lit with apropriate cere-onies. Mayor Allen Morrison is
Sresiding over a program arrangedy Mrs. F. A. Dejaeger.
The Greenbelt Band will play,a short talk wil be given, andcarols will be sung for the crowdwhich is gathering at the ShoppingCenter for the tree-lighting.
Braden Asks FWAFor New TownStructure Funds
The Federal Works Agency hasbeen requested by Town ManageiRoy S. Braden to erect a man-agement maintenance building inGreenbelt, to house the expandedoffice force that will be necessarywhen the new homes are occupied
The expected expansion will in-clude the tenant selection officethe accounting office, the manage-ment and ,the engineers. An esti-mated 30 per cent increase irpersonnel is expected.
Beside housing the office forcethe new building must have abasement that will be used as awork shop and warehouse.
More complete plans are await-ing an appropriation of funds byCongress, which is expected in thenear future.
83 Turn OutFor First Aid
Miss Doris Dungan this weekanounced that the schedule forfirst aid classes is nearly com-pleted and wil be given out soon.There are 83 now enroled for firstaid training in connection withthe defense program, and otherswill be accepted as additionalinstructors are secured.
Minor injuries which might re-sult from a possible local airatack wil be treated at the basicfirst aid stations to be set up ineach air raid shelter. More seriouswounds will be treated at the cas-
F.S.A. IncomeNay Affect 52Survey Indicates
Based on replies received from25 percent of Greenbelt familiesto the questionnaire on incomelimits, 52 percent of the townfamilies will be affected by theFarm Security Administration’srecent ruling on “excessive” in-comes. About 25 percent of thosenot affected now will be affectedwithin the next six months.
That the majority of Green-belters do not approve of theF. S. A. ruling to expel familiesearning more than the establishedmaximum income, is indicated D>the replies to the questions askingopinions on th" order.
To the question “Are you infavor of the F. S. A. regulation,”75 per cent replied “No.” A major-ity of 90 percent indicated thatthey were “in favor of an upwardrental ajustment in proportion totile income above the F. S. A.limit.”
Those who have not turned intheir coupons are requested to doso, in order to expedite the com-pletion of the survey. The fol-lowing are members of the com-mittee who will receive question-naires:
Harry B. Hyman, chairman,21-J Ridge Road; Mrs. Linden S.Dodson, 2G Gardenway; H. Eu-gene Hesse, 6J Hillside; JohnMarshall, 20F Parkway.
The questionnaire is reprintedin this issue for the convenienceof readers desiring to submit it:
ualty station to be set up at themedical center. A base hospital tobe located at College Park is beingconsidered.
Homeowners Go-op Cuts Red TapeBuilding Will Start In January
After a delay of nearly two years the Homeowners’Co-Op has secured a land lease from Farm Security Admin-istration which is also acceptable to the Federal HousingAdministration. Administrator Baldwin signed for FSAlast Monday afternoon the document which deeds to the'Co-op for 99 years some 15 acres north of Parkbelt forhome building. The individual lots will be leased to homebuilders at about sl4 a year.
300 VolunteersAttend OpeningOf A. R. P.
Approximately 300 defense vol-unteers were reached this week inair-raid defense classes held bySafety Director George Panagou-lis. *
Giving preliminary instruction?foil precautions to be taken in theevent of an emergency, the clasheswere attended by50 people each.
Instructions included handlingof bombs, air-raid warnings, shel-ters, and the effects of chemicalwarfare. In the bomb instruc-tions, incendiary bombs were giventhe most attention. It was pointedout by Mr. Panagoulis that thereare only two ways to put one ofthese out of commission. One isto smother it with sand, the otherto cause it to bum faster—thusdepreciating its damage —byspraying it with a very little water. A direct splash of watercauses the incenditary type ofbomb to explode, according tothese instructions.
Greenbelt’s air-raid warningwill be the siren. Air-raid ward-ens will be appointed from the vol-unteer registration list, their du-ties being to discover and reportall “incidents,” know the peoplein their territory and educatethem for emergency precautions,and enforce black-outs.
The apartment basements weredecided upon as the best blasi-proof shelters available in Green-belt. Windows will be sand-bag-ged, so that nothing short of adirect hit will injure occupantsof the basement-shelters. The so-cial room at the elementary schoo'will be used as a shelter for theschool children.
Volunteers were requested forthe air-raid warden service, firstaid, and motor unit. Prom thesevolunteers selections will be madeMr. Panagoulis emphasized thatalthough the danger of an air at-tack on Greenbelt in the immedi-ate future is small, all precautionsmust be taken against any even-tuality.
Assisting in the instructionswere S. H. Downs, deputy chiefair warden, and the police per-sonnel.
Band Feted at Xmas PartyA Christmas party, sponsored
by the Parents’ Board of thfGreenbelt Community Band andthe Feeder Band, was held in theauditorium last Friday. Higllights of the evening included amusical program by the Commu-nity Band, introduction of thefounders and leaders of the twibands, and a speech by Town Manager Roy S. Braden about the parithe band children have played inmaking better citizens of theiiparents.
S. Hartford Downs, presiding a;master of ceremonies, presentedPaul Garrett with a musical in-strument repair kit, on behalf ofthe two bands. Guests includedthe parents of the band membersArthur L. Rysticken of the ad-ministrative office, Paul Barn-hart, high school principal, MayoiAllen Morrison and members ofthe Feeder Band who did not par-ticipate in the musical program
“To cure one’s self of worry isnot an easy task; it is not to beremoved in two or three applica-tions of the quack medicine of anycheap philosophy, but it requiresonly clear, simple, common-senseapplied to the business of life.”
The new lease supersedes theone given the Cooperative lastsummer by FSA, which was dis-carded when FHA refused to ac-cept it as a workable lease. FHAapproval was obtained in advanceon the revised lease.
Plan* SubmittedHenry Klumb, architect for the
project, has submitted the de-tailed house plans and specifica-tions for contractors’ bids. Theproject’s water, street, sewer andelectrical systems have beendrawn up by Pierre Ghent &
Co., and are also ready to be bidupon. The contract for survey-ing and staking the lots is ex-pected to be assigned early nextweek. Shortly after Christmasthe clamor of steam shovels willbe heard in still another part oftown as Greenbelt’s newest hous-ing development gets under way.
Road ClearedDuring the past several months
members of the cooperative, work-ing on their own, have done thepreliminary clearing on the road.,which will extend about 700 feetinto the woods at the terminus ofWoodland Way, then curve to meetan extension of Northway. Thefirst 22 lots along the prospectivebuilders road have been stakedout roughly and assigned to pros-pective builders.
Each, ftew member desiring tobuild must submit an applicationto the cooperative accompanied byS9O. Of this amount $lO is aserVlde charge, $lO is for the firstshare of capital stock, S2O is forutility designing, and SSO is forthe architectural fee. Of thissum S7O is credited to the downpayment. '
Members are using two basicplans for building. One is athree-bedroom house estimated atapproximately SO,OOO, the other isa two-bedroom house at about$5,500. Plans and specificationsmay be seen by calling at thehomes of Mr. D. W. Hull or Mr.W. R. Volckhausen. Down pay-ments on the homes will be 10per cent of the cost of building,and closing charges before movingin will be about $125 in addition.Both of these sums are includedin the total house costs. Financ-ing is being arranged through theCredit Union National Associa-tion.
200 Home* PlannedOriginally conceived as a means
of permitting over-income fami-lies to remain in Greenbelt bybuilding their own homes here,the project has attracted wide at-tention in Washington. Ultimate-ly it is hoped to build at least 200houses through the facilities of thecooperative, but the members atpresent are bending their energiestoward getting the first 25 con-structed.
Boys Called To JoinMessenger Corps
As part of the local defenseorganization a messenger serviceis being formed, Dr. James W. Mc-Carl, chairman, announced thisweek.
Boys, 10 years and up, are be-ing recruited for the job of in-suring Greenbelt’s defense groupsefficient messenger service. Theimportance of this work wasstressed by Dr. McCarl who statedthat the success of the variouslocal volunteer services .would de-pend greatly on a loyal and ac-tive corps of patriotic boys will-ing to give their time and effortto aid their country.
All boys who wish to join thiscorps should report to the firhouse at 10:30 Saturday morn- ■'ing, December 20.
Consumers Report On PricesPlaces Blame for Inflation' ‘ tm il nidM ■■ l **
‘Profiteers and monopolists artlargely responsible for risingprices, charges Consumers Unionin a special report on inflationprepared in co-operation with theNational Lawyers Guild.
“Inflation is not some abstracttheory that interests only economists and students; it is a breadand butter problem affectingevery household and every payenvelope,” says Consumers Union“It can slash living standards withblitzkrieg speed and destructive-ness.”
Prices of basic raw commodi-ties are more than 50 per centabove the pre-war level, points outthe report. “This increase is ared light to the country, givingadvance warning of a futuresharp rise in the cost of livingunless effective action is takerby the Government.”
Labor, Comumers BlamedThe defense program, labor’s
demands for higher wages, andconsumer hoarding have all beerblamed for price increases. Thesefactors are unimportant, CUshows, compared to the inroads ofspeculation and monopoly. “Bigbusiness and eculators haveraised prices, fostered artificia1
scarcity, and made huge profitsfrom shortages which in mostcases could have been avoided ifthe Government had taken actiorin time. The American people arenow paying for the early fa lurrto expand production of eritica 1
items like steel and aluminum,and to develop such transporta-tion facilities as freight cars andpipe lines.” The report lambastesthe policy of giving most defenstcontracts to the corporationswhich have been gouging the nublie, while many small plants remain idle.
“The rising tide of profits isthe best proof that profiteeringand speculation have been per-mitted to run rampant,” says thereport. “The Federal ReserveBoard reports that the net profitsof large industrial corporation;for the first six months of 1941were 25 per cent higher than inthe corresponding period of 1940(which was an unusually goodbusiness year).” This would beeven higher, points out the re-port, if corporations declared theiientire profits. Many set aside
“tax reserve” funds which aremuch larger than any taxes the.,can be called upon to pay.
Wage Raises MetMost wage increases have been
more than met by increases inproduction. Big corporations run-ning at full capacity have beenable to decrease their unit laborcosts tremendously. And, in ad-dition, says the report, “the Digcorporations have also gainedfrom increased labor productivityWorkers have been turning outmore goods and products perworking hour and day. Outputper man-hour was 3 per centhigher in May, 1941, than in May1940; it was 8.5 per cent abovethe 1939 average and 16 per cemabove 1938. That is, 86 workerstoday are producing as much inone hour as 100 workers did threeyears ago.”
Consumers Not Raising PricesConsumer hoarding is another
favorite argument of, profiteerswhen raising prices. But thereis no factual basis for the argu-ment. “In the first place, low-income consumers spend abou*one-third of their incomes forfood, which is plentiful,” pointsout CU's report. "Secondly, manyother consumer purchases besidesfood can in no way be consideredas diverting materials away fromarmaments production. * * * Thefact is that most critical short-ages are due to the deliberatefailure of big business to exoandvital production. * * * Shiftingthe blame to consumers simplyconceals the actual culprits; themonopolists and profiteers.”
“Price control is no cure-all forinflation,” says the report. “Butan immediate, overall ceiling orprices would be the most impor-tant move that the Governmentcould make right now to stop therush to inflation.” In releasingthe report, Consumers Unionurges that consumers work foithe immediate passage by theSenate of the original adminis-tration-proposed Emergency PriceControl Bill, H. R. 5497, but with-out the weakening changes tha'were made in the House bill, andwithout the wage ceilings oiother curtailments on purchasingpower which reactionary Con-gressmen will try to introduce.
