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.