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Inflation Threat Will Become a Dread Reality If
Everyone Scrambles for Excessive Profits and Wages
Only Controls of OPA
Prevented Runaway
Prices During War.
By WALTER A. SHEAD
VVNU Staff Correspondent
During the war years, if we be
came peeved with rationing and
price control it was the national hab
it to cuss OPA. During reconver
sion, people, from the captains of
industry on down the line and into
the ranks of congress, blame many
of our ills on OPA.
There have been ridiculous and oft
time funny jokes cracked about the
OPA and the controls instituted for
the protection of the American peo
ple. And, as is the case in any hu
man institution, the OPA has made
mistakes, errors of judgment.
Congress has been deluged with
letters from constituents, business
men and consumers, concerning
real or fancied ills and discrimina
tions which were laid at the door of
the Office of Price Administration.
And congressmen, being human too,
let the blame rest on OPA, passing
the buck along. But despite all this
criticism, despite verbal beatings
which tore to shreds the actions and
policies of OPA, congress dared not
eliminate the agency, despite strong
pressure, and by an overwhelming
majority voted to continue OPA and
the price control policy until next
June. And every poll taken of the
American people showed, despite
their beefings, their sound com
mon sense prevailed and 75 out of
every 100 people favor continuing
price controls for at least some
months to come.
Only in recent weeks various
groups in trade and industry have
been increasing pressure in calling
for an end of price controls, particu
larly in the building and housing in
dustry, preferring to let prices find
their own level.
As a matter of fact and record,
had it not been for the OPA and the
policies of rationing and price con
trol, the American people would
never have been in the favorable
position they are in today to face
whatever may come in these months
of reconversion growing pains. For
price controls have held the line
against inflation and rationing con
trols have seen this country the best
fed in its history.
Most folks don’t understand infla
tion and what it means, but most
people do understand and resent and
fear high prices. The records show
that every major war in which the
nation has been engaged has been
HOLDING THE PRICE LINE'
-e-
ON THE THINGS YOU BUY M K
X
Stable prices for farm products are best for the farmer. Any tem
porary profits he might make through rising prices would be eaten up by
the increasing cost of manufactured things that he has to buy.
accompanied or followed by a ma
jor inflation, followed by deflation of
equal proportions.
Rise Held to 29 Per Cent.
And for the first time in our na
tion’s history, thanks to OPA, the
cost of living, during and immedi
ately following this war, has been
held fairly steady. From the out
break of the war to the end of 1944,
living costs, as measured by the bu
reau of labor statistics, rose less
than 29 per cent, and most of that
rise came before May, 1943, when
teeth were inserted into the price
stabilization program. By compari
son, living costs rose more than 84
per cent in a like period after the
outbreak of the First World war
when there was no rationing or
price control. Labor unions declare
the rise in the cost of living has in
creased more than 29 per cent,
reaching a 40 per cent figure, but
even so, if that Is true, It does not
reach the dazzling heights to which
living costs went after the last war.
Farmers, because of the nature
of their business, suffer more
than any other group from infla
tion and the crash which inev
itably follows. As a matter of
fact, it makes little difference
what the price level may be, so
long as it remains stable . . .
and assuming that the incomes
to the various occupational
groups are fair and equitable.
The more specialized and the
more commercialized the busi
ness is, the more desirable it is
STABLE PRICES gjp & M|| T
ENCOURAGE ( &?q\ AS*
STEADY BUYING y/Tgwf f\ . A U ->
s' MAKE GOOD MARKETS
IflJ II r industrial workers FOR FARM PRODUCTS
1920 1921
FARM earning;
cur IN HALF/
453.000 farmer;
U*r THEIR LAND/
During World War I prices rose swiftly. After the armistice on No
vember 11, 1918, there was a sudden dip, lasting only three months. Then
the upsweep was resumed, soaring until midyear of 1920. The price
level more than doubled between 1917 and 1920. When prices broke in
er months of 1920, a toboggan slide began that brought ruin to
millions.
that the general level of price
fluctuation remains steady.
Farming has become one of these
specialized industries, relatively,
and a great many of the things used
on the farm and in the farm home
are purchased. Too, many farm in
vestments and obligations incident
to the farm business are long term
obligations, and so the behavior of
the price level means much to farm
ers. For instance, I was talking to
a Pennsylvania dairy farmer in
Washington recently. He lives in
the potato country of Pennsylvania
and when I asked him how his potato
crop was he said:
“Well, I didn’t plant any. I figured
my business is dairying and I let
the potato farmers raise potatoes.”
What is inflation? There are many
long and technical answers to that
question. But about the simplest
answer this writer can find is that
it is a situation which creates an
unfair change in the purchasing pow
er of money.
For instance, a farmer who bor
rowed some money in 1913 could
have taken $5 of that borrowed mon
ey and bought 40 pounds of meat,
152 pounds of flour, 91 pounds of su
gar or 77 yards of gingham. If
he paid back that loan in 1920 dur
ing the period of inflation, the lender
could have taken the same $5 and
bought only 21 pounds of meat, 62
pounds of flour, 26 pounds of sugar
or 23 yards of gingham. The bor
rower returned the same number of
dollars, but he did not return the
same amount of purchasing power.
V/t Million Farms Lost.
Inflation during and following the
last war lost to the farmers of this
country approximately a million
and a half farms. Why? Because
prosperous farmers during the war
invested their money in land at in
flated prices. They went into debt
for machinery, for homes, barns
and other commodities at inflated
prices. Then the purchasing power
of the dollar changed and the defla
tion which followed the inflated val
ues brought about the inevitable
crash.
Chester Bowles, the boss of the
OPA, is a business man. He was
the head of a large advertising agen
cy which was in daily contact with
big business. So he knows big busi
ness practices and he has become
the rock upon which the pressure
groups are dashing themselves in an
effort to break price control.
Chester Bowles has taken his
stand against price inflation and for
price control, because his office is
flooded with hundreds of letters ev
ery week testifying to the fear with
which people view inflation or high
prices . . . and these letters come
from big and little people alike . . .
from farmers, workers, housewives,
consumers, small business men. One
theme predominates . . . they want
THE HOME JOURNAL. PERRY, GEORGIA
to be assured that the cost of living
or the cost of operating a farm or
a business will not be permitted to
go up into an inflation spiral. They
want price controls continued for the
present.
All three of the major national
farm organizations have strongly
supported the price control pro
gram. Labor organizations, too,
have given unstinting support. The
farmers in the older age brackets do
not easily forget what happened
when what few controls existed were
dropped shortly after the armistice
in the last war. At first, prices
slumped rather sharply in some
commodities, but within a few
months, after reconversion and
workers returned to their jobs in
peacetime plants, the downward
trend was reversed and within sev
en months the inflation boom was
in full swing. Prices rose skyward;
manufacturers, wholesalers and re
tailers were forced into a wild
scramble for inventories. Prices
soared higher and higher. Farm
prices skyrocketed 109 per cent be
tween 1914 and 1920.
If farmers, merchants, manufac
turers can be certain that the costs
of things they buy will not skyrocket
and threaten a major crash later,
they can make long-term plans for
large-scale operations and produc
tion and full employment. If work
ers can be certain of this full em
ployment at adequate wages, then
they also can feel secure of the
value of their purchasing power . . .
will feel free to spend for reconver
sion goods and this free spending
will stimulate more employment.
Farm and City Linked.
On the other hand, if swiftly ris
ing prices make production costs un
predictable, business will not be able
or willing to plan ahead, full produc
tion will falter and fear of’ unem
ployment would make consumers
afraid to spend. We have often re
marked about the analogous rela
tion between the farmers’ income
and full employment in cities, for
it is a fact that when income of work
ers is high, farm income also is
high. When there is heavy unem
ployment, farm prices toboggan.
Price Administrator Bowles has
given his word that OPA is going to
use every resource at its command
to continue an effective job with the
ultimate goal of keeping a sound
price structure upon which can be
built sound prosperity. When dan
ger of inflation is past,‘then OPA
plans to step out of the picture. (The
present act ends June 30, 1946.) To
do this he plans (1) wherever neces
sary to continue price controls over
goods and services which have been
controlled in war time; (2) to set
prices on reconversion goods; (3)
to work out simple dollar-and-cents
ceiling prices for building materials
and as many consumer goods items
as possible; (4) to require manufac
turers to tag consumer goods with
easy-to-read retail ceiling prices.
Continued control over tractors,
other farm implements and machin
ery, fertilizer and seeds so long
as they are in short supply is on the
program. It may be necessary to
increase some prices as compared
to prewar, but the plan is to keep
all prices as near prewar level as
possible.
Bowles says that price control
alone cannot guarantee prosperity,
but he believes that it can help to
control inflation by keeping the buy
ing power of each dollar and Mil
enable industry, agriculture and la
bor, together with government, to
work together toward a sound post
war prosperity.
IMPROVED
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY I
chool Lesson
By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST. D. D.
Of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
Lesson for November 25
Lesson subjects and Scripture texts se
lected and copyrighted by International
Council of Religious Education; used by
permission.
CHRISTIANS WORKING TOGETH
ER IN THE COMMUNITY
LESSON TEXT: John 17:20-23; AcU
15:22-29.
GOLDEN TEXT: We are laborers to
gether with God.—l Corinthians 3:9.
Unity within the Church is God’s
plan and purpose, but that does not
mean that some man-made plans
for unity are either scriptural or de
sirable. There is much pressure be
ing exerted now to unite the Church
on the basis of a vast ecclesiastical
organization, quite apart from any
doctrinal or spiritual unity.
Such unity was not in our Lord’s
mind. He wants spiritual unity, and
in such fellowship the Church will
find its only real bond of united life
and action.
I. Unity in Spirit (John 17:20-23).
Here we enter the veritable holy
of holies of Scripture. Facing the
time of His departure and death, the
Lord prayed for those who believed,
or would believe (v. 20) on Him.
What was His prayer? That they
should be one with the Father, with
Him, and with one another. This
had to be accomplished while they
remained in this wicked world (see
John 17:13-16). How? By the
cleansing and sanctifying work of
the truth.
The Word of God—the Bible—is
the instrument used by the Holy
Spirit in this work of sanctification.
Small wonder that there is little
holiness and spiritual unity when the
Word has so little opportunity to
touch and to cleanse. Reader, do you
study God’s Word?
Such separation to God will result
in real spiritual unity between those
of all denominations and creeds. It
is not some artificial thing to be put
on from the outside. It comes from
the heart of man and reaches out
into his life and into the lives of oth
ers.
11. Unity in Action (Acts 15:22-27).
Satan tried to thwart the mission
ary efforts of the Church at the very
outset by starting a doctrinal con
troversy.
Although the first council at Jeru
salem (Acts 11) had decided that "to
the Gentiles also hath God granted
repentance unto life,” the question
did not stay settled, for there were
persistent Judaizing teachers who
now contended that even though the
Gentiles could be saved, they had
to come into the church byway of
Judaism and first fulfill the Jewish
rite of circumcision.
The story of how this vital and fun
damental question came up is found
in the early verses of Acts 15. The
entire future of the gospel ministry
was in a sense dependent on the so
lution of this problem. Christianity
is the only religious faith in the
world that presents justification by
grace as the way of redemption; all
others follow (more or less) the path
of salvation by works.
The question now was: Shall
works of the law be mingled with
grace? Can Jesus Christ alone save
men, or is salvation through Jesus
Christ plus something else?
How was such a serious question
to be settled? Should argument and
strife be permitted to go on until
the stronger party prevailed? Bet
ter judgment indicated the desira
bility of a Christian method of set
tlement.
The final decision of the council is
sent not only by Paul and Barnabas,
but also by a committee from Jeru
salem, a gracious gesture of fellow
ship.
As a matter of record (a wise pro
cedure in such a case), a letter was
sent which, after addressing the
Gentiles as “brethren,” reviewed
the history of the matter and then,
without mentioning circumcision at
all, put upon the Gentiles “no great
er burden than the necessary
things.” And what were those?
Those things which relate to purity
of life as those who were enjoying
Christian liberty. The law of Moses
need not be kept as a ground of sal
vation. They were saved by grace.
But grace can never be the cloak
of careless living, nor can liberty
in Christ be interpreted as license
to live in sin. We are set free in
Christ, not that we may sin, but that
we may “go and sin no more.”
111. Unity in Doctrine (Acts 15:
28, 29).
In non-essentials we should exer
cise toward other believers the
greatest love and consideration. Men
have a right to differences of opin
ion, and must follow the dictates of
their own consciences. Let us not be
betrayed into controversy on such
matters.
There are certain foundation doc
trines which must be held if a
church is to be Christian; concern
ing these we stand together. There
is a faith for which we are to ear
nestly “contend” (Jude 3). We are
never, even on the grounds of sup
posed courtesy, to give aid and com
fort to false teachers (II John 9-11).
Kindly, tactfully, but definitely the
Christian Church must stand true to
its doctrinal convictions, standing
united against an unbelieving world,
and if need be, an unbelieving re
ligious world.
Stunning Fur Accessories Are
Worn With Unfurred Costumes
By CHEItIE NICHOLAS
.asl
I# 1 f
pUR is playing a spectacular role
1 in the fashion world this season.
There are so many breath-taking
ways in which fur is being ma
neuvered by designers, adjectives
fail to do justice to the theme. Only
seeing is believing how smartly and
attractively fur accent is being
worked into the scheme of costume
design.
This year fur craft is making a
striking new gesture in way of ac
cessorizing the unfurred suit or coat
or smart wool dress with a strik
ing fur hat-and-bag ensemble, or the
fur hat may be teamed with a muff
or a belt of matching fur that gives
a nipped-in waistline to a smart
wool tunic coat.
You will be seeing more fur hats
worn this winter than you have
ever seen before. The types range
from youthful berets to most im
posing fabulous hats styled of the
choicest of furs. The big idea is to
wear a fur hat with your winter cos
tume, the simplest types with day
time wool casuals and the more
elaborate fur chapeau with your
most fetching dress-up gowns and
evening wraps.
Centered in the picture one sees
just how intriguing a fur hat can
look with a brown and beige striped
jersey dress which is softly tailored,
with a fly-front bodice and gathered
skirt. The wider brimmed hats
I usually have a fur facing with a felt
top. The handsome mink facing for
the hat tunes to the brown color
scheme of the costume.
It is hard to imagine anything
more eye-appealing, more refresh
ingly new looking, more appealing
to discriminating taste than the
stunning suit which is accessorized
with a “last word” fur hat and bag
j set, as shown to the right in the
illustration. It has that patrician
look of elegant simplicity which is
so characteristic of the better fash-
Satin-Brocade Suit
You will see a lot of brocaded
satin this season. It is used here in
solid black for a chic, sequin
trimmed cocktail or after-five res
-1 taurant suit. The sequins trim the
j collar of the jacket, which is closed
i with three brocade-covered buttons,
i These charming dress-up suits are
! worn under fur top-coatq.
ions this winter. The suit is of soft
beige wool. The four-button jacket
has three bands of the self fabric
applied* to resemble pocket flaps.
The beret and bag are beaver, a
favored high-fashion fur this sea
son. It’s a grand idea, if you hap
pen to have a worn and out-of-style
fur garment, to take it to your fur
rier, who perhaps will find enough
good fur in it to make one of the
now-so-fashionable hat and bag sets.
This season’s styling technique
also calls for fur used in a trim
ming way. It’s quite the smart thing
to prettify the simple black velvet
gown, both the formal long-skirted
type or the ingenue short-length
dance frock with lovely white er
mine, as shown in the illustration.
The deep rounded neckline and short
sleeves are edged with lovely white
ermine. "]
This is a season when scraps of
fur are to be treasured and not light
ly thrown away. Now that acces
sories and trimming accents of fur
are so outstanding, it’s worth one’s
while to turn every swatch of fur
into costume decor. This year clev
er items that add the touch that
tells to even a simple dress include
a whole host of intriguing ideas. The
fur headband is a novelty brought
out this year. If you have a strip
of ermine, tie it about your coiffure
with ribbon at the back or con
ceal an elastic fastening under a
cluster of ermine tails that dangle
over one ear. A belt of spotted leop
ard fur will impact swank to your
cloth suit or dress. If you have
enough mink or Persian lamb to
make a costume bow you can use
it to advantage in many attractive
ways, pinned on your cloth coat in
stead of a jewelled clip, worn on
the bodice of your dress just be
low the shoulder. You’ll find lots of
ways to use a white ermine bow.
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
Hair Ornaments Made
Of Feathers, Jewels
What with the many gala events
planned for a brilliant winter social
season, there is a steadily increas
ing demand for festive hair orna
ments, that reflect the elegance that
fashion demands. The handsome
feather fantasies shown in the new
collections are very “great lady’’
■looking. Women of fashion are
wearing ostrich tips, ostrich plum
age, simulated birds with dramatic
trailing tail feathers in exotic colors
and other varied feather clusters.
These all have comb or clip anchor
age. The new headbands are just
as gorgeous as jewels and sequin
embroidery can make them. These
include scroll designs, butterflies
and flowers worked in a solid all
over patterning. Topping everything
in evening swish is a clip-on band,
or call it wreath if you will, of sequin
flowers in black or multi-color. Fur
headbands are very attractive and
new looking.
Subtle Neutral Tones Are
Favored for Day Wear
In the better dress collections, the
emphasis is on subtle neutral tones
for daytime dresses and sweaters.
The favorite soft tones are subdued
grhys and beiges, winter blond and
oatmeal shades. Then there is a
green that is grayed into a soft in
definite effect that is most attrac
tive. Dresses and toppers made in
these refined tones fascinate with
their striking simplicity and their
patrician appearance. There is wide
call for fine cashmere sweaters in
these fashionable neutrals. They
are perfect for the college girl. •
