OPS Soon May Relieve
Small Retail Stores of
Detailed Price Charts
By tht Auociattd Prm
Thousands of small retail stores.
Including hardware dealers, prob
ably- will be relieved soon—per
haps today—of price control regu
lations requiring use of detailed
charts.
An Office of Price Stabilisation
official said final details of such
a regulation are now being worked
out.
Many small retailers, and espe
cially hardware dealers, have com
plained that the chart-keeping
methods of the retailers' margin
type pricing regulation worked
considerable hardships. They said
they did not have the staffs to
make up the charts and follow
the detailed formulas of, the order
in pricing their numerous articles
OPS officials indicated a new
order tailored for small retailers
would be issued well before the
retailers’ regulation goes into ef
fect May 30. The retailers’ ordei
listed many items of consumer
durable goods which are sold in
large and small stores and in
certain departments of hardware
stores.
These include housewares, noor
coverings, lawn furniture, sporting
goods, galvanized ware and cook
ing utensils. Other articles include
wearing apparel, clothing, musi
cal instruments and television and i
radio sets.
Under the expected new regu
lation. an official said, small re
tailers whose gross business does
not exceed $100,000 a year prob
ably will be exempted. They also
would be exempt if the business
they do in the items named in
the retail regulation does not ex
ceed $60,000 a year.
Such an order would not free
small retailers from price control.
They would use prices on the
general freeze base period—last
December 19-January 25. The up
coming order is also understood
to contain alternative pricing
methods of simple types.
District Man Indicted ;
In Virginia Shooting ;
A Washington man who chased s
| Virginia State police out of theirs
Groveton substation with gunfire ,
last October 16 was among six per- j,
sons mdicted by a Fairfax County e
grand jury yesterday. c
William Henry Proctor, 40, col- *
•red, of the first block of Fenton (
street N.E., was indicted on five
charges of felonious assault—one (
charge for each of the State troop- <
ers he is accused of trying to shoot.!
Police said Proctor had been ]
brought into the substation be- 1
cause he had attempted suicide, 1
and while he was being held there
he went berserk, grabbed a gun
' and started firing. It was 45 min
utes before police managed to
wound him. Proctor subsequently i
was sent to Gallinger Hospital for
observation.
Others indicted were Herman W.
Ellis, 23, colored, of McLean, Va.(j
charged with manslaughter in the
traffic death March 31 of Lt. Col.
Edward J. Lowe, 39, of 709 North
Oak street, Falls Church; Miss!
Thelma Norris Gross, colored, 24,
of Baileys Cross Roads, charged
with murder in the fatal shooting'
April 8 of Carrie Long, also col-i
ored; Albert F. Sudduth, 24, Hern-i
don, grand larceny; Leonard O.|
Simpkins, 24, Herndon, house
breaking, and Roy H. Leex, 40,
colored, Vienna, felonious assault.
Board to Hear Coming's
Detailed School Analysis
School Supt. Hobart M. Corning
will present a detailed analysis of
the city’s public school system to
the Board of Education at its
regular meeting tomorrow.
The report is the result of some
months of study by Dr. Corning
and his staff. It will be in two
parts, the school superintendent
explained.
The first part will recount what
has been accomplished in the Dis
trict schools in the last few years,
while the second will deal with
the problems still* facing the
schools—the need for new build
ings, the increasing enrollments
in the elementary schools and the
need for higher teacher salaries,
among other things.
The Board of Education docket
for tomorrow’s meeting promises
a long session. Also scheduled to
be considered are recommenda
tions for salary increases for
teachers and proposals to close
down the Corcoran Elementary
School, transfer the Gage Ele
mentary School from white to
colored pupils and change the
Slater Elementary School into an
annex for the Washington Voca
tional High School.
Absher's Campaign
Boomerangs, Gives
Him Hillcrest Post
After a campaign in reverse,
during which he nominated four
other men for the job, George W.
Absher was elected president of
the Hillcrest Citizens’ Association
last night.
The other men said they were
too busy, needed a rest and were
unable to give enough time to it.
One felt he couldn’t get to enough
metings because he teaches night
school.
Mr. Absher had all these ex
cuses, too, except the teaching.
He was elected anyway.
Eugene Ranskill and Victor
Snyder were elected vice presi
dents: Robert Little, treasurer;
Claud E. Cleeton and Mr. Ran
■ifill, delegates to the Federatior
of Citizens’ Associations. No one
would take the posts of secretarj
or financial secretary.
Earlier, the group had vote<
unamiously in favor of having thi
Federation appeal to the court
to stop a PUC-approved increase
in electric ntes.
AFTER COLLISION AT SEA—The Navy seaplane tender Valcour (top) and the collier Tracy
(bottom) stand afire after a collision 5 miles at sea off Cape Henry, Va. Navy and Coast Guard
rescue ships maneuver to give aid as small craft scurry about searching for seamen who went
over side in life rafts. —Navy Photo from AP.
Beef Price Ceilings
In Force, Long-Range
Result in Doubt
Washington area consumers and;
retailers, after experiencing then
first taste of new price ceilings on.
beef, were undecided today howl
palatable it will be in the long run.!
“It will take a week or 10 daysi
to determine just what the long
range results will be,’’ said one
expert who wished to remain
anonymous.
By that time there should be
some idea as to how cattlemen j
are reacting to lower prices they’ll
get for their product at the stock
yards.
Some sources have predicted a
“strike” by cattlemen, which would
be reflected at the wholesale and
eventually the retail level. Office
of Price Stabilization authorities
have predicted they will send their
cattle to market as usual.
Big Run at Chicago.
Washington meat dealers were
cheered by a large cattle run at
Chicago yesterday. This was re
garded as a good omen by Joseph
B. Danzansky, general counsel for
the National Association of Meat
Processors and Wholesalers.
It assures a good supply locally
within a week or 10 days, and is a
strong indication that producers,
by and large, will comply with
Government regulations and pre
vent a serious meat shortage, Mr.
Danzansky said.
A suirey of chain stores revealed
adequate freezer stocks in the city,
which could be called on sparingly
if a supply shortage were immi
nent. After yesterday’s encour
aging news retailers probably will
have no hesitancy in using up
freezer stocks, Mr. Danzansky said.
Little confusion was noted here
as ceiling prices were slapped on
all grades of beef yesterday.
Generally speaking, prices at
chain stores and supermarkets re
mained about on a par, with a
penny or 2-cent reductions on some
cuts being offset by similar in
ciea&es on omers
Big Cuts at Fancier Stores.
In many cases, even where
prices were raised, they still re
mained under the OPS ceiling
standard. This was true at one
market which raised short ribs 1C
' cents, but at 49 cents they still
i were a cent under the ceiling
This store also boosted briskel
> from 45 to 69 cents, but still re
! mained 5 cents under the ceil
; mg- , «
; T-bone and club steaks were
' trimmed a cent to $1.24 a pound
at this store, but sirloin was liftec
1 2 cents to $1.17, which is the
‘ ceiling price.
’ Some of the most substantia
| cuts were at independent and the
! fancier stores, which had beer
' charging more to defray highei
5 overheads.
■\ For instance, one such store re
j’;duced steaks from $1.49 a pounc
to $1.24, rib roasts were choppec
'• from 93 to 74 cents and short rib,
s also were clipped 9 cents.
0 The CIO Committee on Economic
* Policy hit at reports of “a declara
r tion of war by the big cattlemei
e and meat packers” against pric
y control regulations.
:'j “The well-financed meat lobb
° in Washington is spending mone
e lavishly in an effort to convinc
n Congressmen and Government ad
* iministrators that it is evil to con
trol meat prices," the statemen
;said. “From the big cattleme
Navy Makes Revision 1
Downward in Ship '
Collision Death List ;
ly Associated Press
NORFOLK, Va.. May 15.—The
Navy today postponed attempts to
enter four compartments of the
fire-ravaged seaplane tender Val-|
cour. It revised downward the
number of known dead in yester
day’s collision between the vessel
and a collier.
Atlantic Fleet Headquarters an
nounced today the following offi-|
cial figures: One known dead, 51
missing and presumed dead, and
19 hospitalized.
The headquarters announce
ment said the latest check showed.!
149 enlisted men accounted for
in addition to those on the cas
ualty lists. Also accounted for
were 14 officers aboard the Val
cour, including two hospitalized.
It explained that last night’s an
nouncement of 11 known dead was
based on “an estimate’’ that nine
bodies were in the engine room.
Thus far, the engine room has
not been entered and a spokes
man said the bodies of crewmen
actually had not been seen there.
One body has been recovered.
: Earlier reports of two bodies being
! recovered referred to the same
body. The dead man was identi
: fled by Navy officials as Dale Eu
gene Caley, seaman apprentice,
son of Wallace Levi Caley, 222
.Jackson street, Riverton, Wyo.
Two Bodies Recovered.
It had been planned to send
salvage experts into the four
I spaces early today, but it was de
cided to postpone such action un
til after the ship had unloaded
i her gasoline and ammunition, a
! spokesman 6aid.
Attempts to get into the en
gine room and three other spaces
probably will be made late today.
Salvage workers have been kept
out of these compartments be
taudc ux uxc pxcocxxuc ux ixxgu
octane gasoline fumes.
Unloads Gasoline First.
Before the spaces can be en
tered the ship first will go to the
Craney Island naval fuel storage
installation to discharge the re
.maining gasoline of the more than
70,000 gallons aboard when the
Valcour and the Thomas Tracy
collided about 5 miles east of Cape
I Henry. The Valcour was on her
way to operational exercises in
jthe Atlantic. The Tracy was en
route from Newport News to New
York.
j The Valcour then will return to
anchorage off the Norfolk Naval
Base and lighters will remove her
ammunition. Afterward she will
:be towed to the Norfolk Naval
Shipyard at Portsmouth.
Records Aboard Cutter.
A factor making it difficult tc
[ get the exact figure on the number
I of dead and missing is that the
i Valcour’s personnel records were
put aboard the Coast Guard cutter
:! Cherokee yesterday. The Cherokee
was one of the first rescue ship!
1 to r&ich the Valcour after the
: collision. Atlantic Fleet head
quarters said these records have
'j not been received from the Chero
kee.
"I The Valcour was towed t<
. Hampton Roads last night,
t A gaping hole in the bow anc
i j evidence of severe fire damage
ijwas found aboard the Tracy whei
- she docked late yesterday unde:
ner own power at Newport News
Jut there were no serious in
uries to crewmen.
A court of inquiry composed of
hree aircraft carrier skippers was
lamed to investigate the collision.
Members of the court are Capt.
Jromfleld B. Nichol, of the Wright;
2apt. Paul L. Dudley, of the Leyte;
md Capt. M. A. Nation, of the
tfindoro.
Three Vessels in Collision
rn River at New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, May 15 (/P>.—
rhree ships collided in the Mis
iissippi River today, damaging one
severely and demolishing a large
section of a wharf.
The collision occurred near the
Dumaine street wharf. The An
irew Jackson Higgins was driven
ibout 40 feet into the wharf, and
the roof collapsed on the bow
if the ship.
The Bisso Towing Co., which
sent two tugs to the scene, said
the other vessels involved were
the Tillie Lykes and the Successor.
Harbor Patrolman J. R. Stoltz
said the Tillie Lykes was moving
up river with two tugs and the
Successor, a British vessel, was
Homing downstream with one tug
at the time of the crash.
When the Lykes and the Suc
cessor collided, he said, “that
forced the Successor in toward
the wharf and it plowed into the
port bow of the Higgings.”
D. C. Man Held on Charge
Of Murder After Fight
Harry L. Thomas. 26, was held
for the grand jury on a charge of
murder after an inquest yester
day.
' Thomas, an electrical parts
clerk, lives in the 1300 block of K
street S.E. He is charged with the
death of James J. Corbett, 26, a
printer, of the 1200 block of Four
teenth street N.W.
Police said Corbett's skull was
fractured during a light on the
sidewalk in the 1400 block ol
Fourteenth street N.W. on May 6
Mr. Corbett died Friday in Gallin
ger Hospital.
The coroner’s jury brought in s
verdict of justifiable homocide ir
the death of Clyde Cheek, 28
colored of the 1700 block of Cor
coran street N.W. He died of nec*
injuries yesterday in Freedmen’s
Hospital, following a fight Satur
day in the 1400 block of P street
N.W. The verdict cleared Charles
W. Moore, 29, colored, of the 150(
block of S street N.W.
A wife dashed through police lines at the Norfolk Naval
Base to embrace her husband, a survivor of the Valcour crash.
—AP Wirephotos.
OPS Warns 150 Cafes
Here fo Obey Price
Order or Be Closed
One hundred and fifty Washing
ton eating establishments were
warned today to comply with Of
fice of Price Stabilization regula
tions or have their places of busi
ness closed.
fhe District OPS sent out let
ters to the 150 owners threatening
injunction suits unless they filed
by Friday statements required by
Ceiling Price Regulation No. 11.
“This is a real crackdown,” an
office spokesman said. “We've
written these people twice and
they refuse to send us the simple
forms required by law.”
Actually, there are more than
150 delinquents in the District,
but the present action is being
undertaken in accordance with a
national office directive to take a
"sampling” of violators, it was
said.
Most of the 150 selected offend
ers are small restaurants and
grills, some of whose owners per
haps do not understand what is
required of them, OPS said. How
many of them are willful violators
i is not known.
OPS ordered restaurant owners
to file the statements by April 30
They were to choose a base period
either during the calendar yeai
> .. '—■■I' II ' 1 111
■' ' — ■-■—— 1
1949, or the fiscal year, 1949-50, to
use as a guide for ceiling prices.
From that criterion, the estab
lishments were required to main
tain the same ratio of food costs
to the total volume of sales.
Cruiser St. Paul 1$ Due
Back From Korea Today
By the Associated Press
LONG BEACH, Calif., May 15.
—The 13.000-ton heavy cruiser St.
Paul returns from the wars today.
She cruised up and down the
Korean coasts for six months,
with only 14 days off, blasting
the Korean Reds with 17,616
rounds of 8 and 5 inch shells.
Some of her shot was fired as far
as 14 miles miana, striding enemy
supply centers, communication
lines and troop concentrations.
Commanded by Capt. Chester
C. Smith, the C Paul was on a
Midshipman cruise when the Ko
rean War broke out. She was
refitted quickly and reached For
mosa last August 27 to serve as
part of the 7th Fleet protecting
! Formosa against invasion by the
Chinese Reds.
j “*
Australians Flown to Korea
SYDNEY, Australia, May 15 fj9»)
—Twenty Australian soldiers lefi
by plane today as reinforcement)
for the Australian battalion serv
ing with United Nations forces ir
Korea. They are the first of 201
troops who are being flown t<
Korea to keep the Ausrtaliai
strength up to 1,000 men.
Austrian Castle Offer Brings ^
Bids From All Over America
Ey the Associated Press
PASADENA, Calif.. May 15.—
rhe demand for castles in the
Austrian Alps is tremendous.
Prom all over the United States,
>y telephone, telegrams and air
nail, have come responses to an
>ffer last week frpm Count Paul
Umeida to trade use of his ances
;ral castle for a good used car.
The count and his family want
*> come to the United States this
iummer to visit a friend, Dr. Rob
*rt K. Yeaton, English professor
it Pasadena City College.
Today Dr. Yeaton reported he
vas busy all week end answering
i flood of inquiries about the
jount’s proposal.
Dr. Yeaton said a Detroit mil
lionaire apologized for not being
ible to fly here immediately to
iiscuss the matter. A Hollywood
producer wanted to send different
couples to occupy the castle every
two weeks as a radio show prize.
A telegram signed Dan Platt,
“the Krazy Auto King” of Eliza
beth, N J„ asked Dr. Yeaton to
phone personally. A colonel’s wife
in Washington, D. C., telephoned
that she had just returned from
Europe and didn’t want to go back,
but she’d be glad to loan the count
and his wife a car without cost.
Count Almeida cooked up the
exchange plan because Austria’s
financial restrictions will not per
mit him to take enough money
out of the country to finance a
visit here.
For a good used car—he would
tour the country in it then sell it
to pay his fare home—he offered
! the castle, complete with servants,
; food, several lodges, bathhouse,
lake and fishing and hunting
rights. The ancestral estate is on
Moon Lake on the main road be
1 tween Vienna and Salzburg.
Caribbean Commission
Reports Work Concluded
The Special Caribbean Commis
sion of the Organization of Amer
ican States yesterday submitted a
report to the American Govern
ments, terminating its existence
because of marked improvements
in the once-tense relations of the
Caribbean countries.
In concluding its work, f the
commission cited a joint declara
tion of the Dominican and Hai
tian presidents, made at a meet
ing on the border between the
two countries last February, and
negotiations involving Cuba, the
Dominican Republic, Guatemala
and Haiti, as evidence that the
Caribbean countries are seeking
harmonious solutions to differ
ences which on more than one
occasion threatened their peace.
The Caribbean commission was
created from a five-nation in
vestigating committee, composed
of representatives of Bolivia, Co
lombia, Ecuador, Uruguay and the
United States.
—
Pearson Doubts Success
Of MacArthur Program
By tho Associated Press
OTTAWA, May 15.—Lester B.
Pearson, Canada's external affairs
minister, said last night he does
not believe the bombing of Chinese
bases in Manchuria, blockading
the Chinese mainland and the use
of Chinese Nationalist forces
would bring an end to the war
in Korea.
He told the House of Commons
he believes the United Nations
would be "profoundly mistaken"
to adopt such a oolicy.
Mr. Pearson made his state
ments in concluding a debate on
Canada’s foreign affairs.
He made no reference to Gen.
MacArthur, but he said some in
Canada and United States had
advocated the bombing of Man
churian bases, the blockading of
China and the use of Chinese Na
tionalist troops in Korea to end
the war.
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This year is the telephone’s seventy-fifth and busi
est birthday. *
What began as a line between two rooms in a
Boston attic in 1876 has developed, in one life
time, into a Long Distance network that covers
the nation—and extends to most of the world’s
telephones.
This great system has grown in answer to the
needs of a people. And it’s a good thing it has. In
these threatening times, the Long Distance lines
that bind this country together are more vital
than ever.
For today they are helping to speed production
and guard the nation’s security—jobs that call
i for nothing less than the best telephone service
in the world.
I The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone CompanyI
I To help speed your Lop? Distance call, please give
\ the operator the out-of-town telephone gnrpK#-r.
Telephone lines are busy with national defense.
- >
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4 1
•> < " . . 4 • ' ' ' * • * ' * • . VV'
Helping the nation
get things done
I for 75 years