Newspapers / Daily Herald (Roanoke Rapids, … / Jan. 4, 1945, edition 1 / Page 2
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THEODORE S. JOHNSON TELLS WHY STAMPS CANCELLED I Theodore S. Johnson, district director of the Office of Price Administration, in a special exclusive release to The Her ald today explains why the un used ration stamps were can celled. Said Mr. Johnson: “No one regrets the cancellation without notice more than OPA. But the simple fact is that the supplies of canned food and sugar for 1945 were too low on Decem ber 1 to permit spending the large backlog of stamps which would have occured when the new point values were announced. "The only alternative would have ^ been to take a large slice of the rationed foods away from the many people who do not have un spent stamps and who are on a current basis. “It is important that American consumers understand the reasons for our action in cancelling cer tain ration currency. Those who do—and most are beginning to— are in wholehearted support of it. “I want to say to ev^ry house wife,” Johnson continued, “that we genuinely wanted to give them notice of stamp cancellation. We had expected to do so. We had to act without notice for very real and compelling reasons. The pub lic is entitled to know what these reasons were.” “In a survey made several weeks ago, we found that the average ration book holder had 2% months supply of blue stamps good for buying canned foods, about the same quantity of red stamps good for buying rationed meats, and a two-months supply of sugar. Stamps and Home-Canning Coupons “The supplies of canned foods and of sugar for 1945 were too low by December 1 to permit the use of this large backlog or ex cess ration currency without de pleating stocks to the point of critical shortages. Rationing was necessary to spread stocks of canned goods evenly over the sev * eral months remaining before the new packs of fruit and vegetables are available next summer. But even with rationing, the use of outstanding surplus ration cur rency would have cleaned out the canned food stocks fr6m many a store several months before new packs would reach grocers’ shelves next fall. Thus the families who must depend on canned goods for an important part of their food supply would have suffered a real hardship. “This could have been prevented only by placing point values on canned fruits and vegetables high enough to “soak up” excess points in consumers hands. But to do this would mean point values so high that families needing each month’s stamps as they are issued would not have been able to buy nearly as much as they needed' "In its simplest terms, our prob lem as we faced the new year was that, with a tight 12-month sup ply of certain foods in prospect, •we had a 14% month supply of ration currency to absorb unless we cancelled the backlog of un spent stamps. Our conclusion was that, in the interest of the gen eral good, we had to cancel. “Our survey showed that the sur plus stamps were held mainly by four kinds of families. "One was the family producing a good deal of its own food from a garden, such as a surburban family or rural family with a vic tory garden or the farm family. Families of this kind which didn’t need all of their ration stamps in 1944 probably will go right along adding in an important way to the nation’s food supply by producing a large share of their own food. They likely will wind up the next year with a lot of unused ration stamps. None of these people will think it a hardship to begin the new year on an even basis with all other families. "Another kind of family had some accumulated ration stamps on hand for the simple reason that they felt the thing to do was to draw on the nation’s limited war time food supply to as little extent as possible. These people will con tinue to act in this fashion. They will not feel unhappy at the thought that in buying rationed foods in 1945 they will have use only the stamps to be ma/de good in 1945, and are sharing equally with all others in these supplies. “A third large group of families holding accumulated stamps was made up of people, war workers for example, whose wartime way of living demands that they eat a good many meals in restaurants. This same way of living is still open to them, and this group, like the others, will not deem it a hardship to have to depend only on 1945 ration currency to buy 1945 foods. “Still another group was made up of people who had been saving stamps to buy a roast, or a ham, or a can of pineapple for use on some special occasion. For the mo ment, these people will feel a keen disappointment. We sympa thize with them. But had we not wiped out the old currency, and had a buying spree developed this very same housewife probably would not have been able, after all, to get the roast or the ham or the can of fruit. While our action seemingly deprived her of the special item she wanted at the moment, actually it preserved for her the opportunity to meet her day-to-day needs for rationed foods in an orderly way through the months ahead. rnese, then, are the types of families who feel the momentary disappointment of cancelled stamp In each case, however, we believe as Americans they would have us make no other decision. “We have looked at the four types of families who appeared to lose by this cancellation. We ought not to overlook the many who would have been placed un der severe hardship had we not canceled these unused stamps. If we had raised point values or had n—- - cut the value of stamps, families wholly dependent on current stamps simply would not have had the food they needed. “Again, had we failed to cancel, a rush of heavy buying was a dis tinct probability, since the pub lished facts on food supplies with the return of many foods to ration ing would have stimulated buying by those holding excess stamps. This would make more difficult the job of distributing the scarce supplies available. It would deprive many small families and city fam ilies of foods they will need dur ing the winter and spring. "Faced with the alternative of advanced buying by some, with resulting hardships for others, we believed that the general good of the public would be served best by cancelling stamps validated before December, leaving in consumers’ hands only the most recent stamps. “With sugar, consumers in somO parts of the country were haVi|jj| difficulty in finding it available M the stores. Immediately ahead U & m&ch tighter sugar supply sitiii tion than that of the last ye Old sugar stamps and 1944 h<j canning coupons in consum hands represented between and 600 million pounds. We re oned that when the story on 1945 sugar supply was publish advance buying of sugar beyot | current needs would be stimulate depleting stocks already low, result would have been more stores out of sugar and unable W meet consumers immediate neflfflBj' a3 the year advanced. “This, too, was a difficult steji; . for OPA to take. We regret beiljBt compelled to take it. But, the fs® is the public welfare demanded ft. “In the meat program our prob lem is somewhat the same. Wfe are convinced that the greatest good can only result from getting surplus ration currency out of cir culation, broadening rationing con trol, and thus giving each con sumer an equal opportunity to share. "We feel that all who stop W consider the reasons behind whR. seems to be an unpleasant action will agree that as Americans they are glad to face cheerfully what ever personal sacrifices are in volved,” Johnson said. We must expeet bad things, too. While MacArthur must depend on carrier based planes, carriers vaH be exposed to Jap bombers hap torpedo planes. '.g: U. S. MAX/f/BS "BLOOD, SWEAT, HAND GRENADES" - / . THAT'S HOW HIS REGIMENT DUG THE JAPS OUT OF i PELELIU CAVES, SAYS COLONEL LEWIS B. PULLER. 1 ONE OF THE MARINE CORPS FAMED FIELD OFFICERS... NATIVE OF WEST POINT, VA.,"CHESTY " x PULLER HAS BEEN A MARINE SINCE 1918... HAS SEEN ACTION IN HAITI, NICARAGUA, CHINA,GUADAL CANAL, CAPE GLOUCESTER ...DEVOTED TO HIS v . MEN, HIS CONSTANT FRONT-UNE PRESENCE INSPIRES THESE MEN TO PACE THE ATTACK ... ' W wMB Su mm FOUR-TIME WINNER OF THE NAVY CROSS-A RECORD IN THE MARINE CORPS T0 WUM mm MEAIM 7kE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS / ASSOCIATED PHARMACY WITH THE GOD, ANUB/S, CALLING HIM: 'THE APOTH The extraction of morphine from\\-^ THE OPIUM POPPY BY THE PHARMA CIST k |P SETURNER, IN 1616, HELPED PHYSICIANS jT, EVERYWHERE IN THEIR BATTLE WITH PA/A\ S OH JOHN.' IS, IT "•* “ \ DA NOE ROUS? ■? -The FIRST FRICTION MATCH WAS DEVELOPED BY THE SXW BRITISH PHARMACIST, JOHN i 1 i mlker, in is2.7. -Arrmn America's first pharmacist, GILES FIRMIIf, CAME TO THE MASS ACHUSETTS BAY COLOA/YIH /63Q. 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Daily Herald (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.)
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Jan. 4, 1945, edition 1
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