YOUR MONEY'S WORTH
Sheridan, Mary
Your Money's Worth By MARY SHERIDAN DECEMBER is a month of mixed emotions—a month of sadness, partly because of another year dying, and of joy because of the holidays. And if more of us told the...
...Harry Elmer Barnes, the old cynic, would probably say, "Bunk," to such falling-in with the profitable goings-on of the commercialized holiday season, but most of us would just as soon be consciously taken in once a year if the money spent reaps a little joy...
...Where housewives can get along with what they have, they are, to my knowledge, content, even grateful, that they can...
...Crowlie's OPA superiors who supposedly have authority to determine the quality and prices of consumer goods...
...In many cases where it is necessary to buy shoddy goods, housewives wouldn't mind if the articles were priced according to quality...
...But for the shopper, unless like me you settled on the dependable staples of books and cosmetics, Christmas shopping has meant paying too much money for inferior goods...
...Somewhere, somehow, the "d©> cree" has hit a snag...
...But if they haven't enough clothes to get through the Winter, or if little Danny's shoes are worn through, or if Jim's shirts can't be mended any more, they have to buy new things whether they want to or not...
...On her return from an inspection trip through the Western states, Mrs...
...P., "commits you to your program...
...Crowlie's Statement Prowling around stores this past week, I've blessed Mrs...
...I thought Thomas Jefferson was right...
...I thought of the times in recent months I've found myself reaching for scarce items on grocery shelves, not because I needed them but because they were scarce" and "might come in handy some time...
...And if more of us told the truth, it's a hectic month too, with hours spent shopping for gifts you can't find, the usual last minute blitz of activity no matter how well you've organized your plans, and that awful moment on Christmas morning when you realize, "Oh, Lord, I forgot Ed and Kitty...
...Thomas Jefferson's Advice When I was browsing around recently in a new collection of Thomas Jefferson's writings, I came across a list of maxims of personal conduct the great Virginian had recommended to a young relative...
...Telling it in advance, says Mr...
...All of them impressed me, but I paused for a long time over his advice never to buy anything you don't want, "for you will pay dearly for it...
...I do not agree with those cynical—or should I say realistic?— people who scoff at New Year's resolutions...
...Philip A. Crowlie, OPA's "typical South Dakota housewife," for her frank denunciation of the abundance of higher-priced, cheap-quality goods on sale in the nation's stores...
...That's a blunt statement and a serious indictment that should be reported not only to the public but to Mrs...
...I'll refrain, too, about making any guess on the number of quiet returns there'll be the day after Christmas...
...Appleyard that Christmas wouldn't be Christmas unless there was a last minute rush— those dashes through well-stocked stores, with throngs of good natured and jostling people, can be fun...
...Money spent for repairs, patches, mending, and remodelling will give you better and more lasting satisfaction...
...Women asked me why there are scads of cheap purses, neckwear, and women's dresses on the markets, when there are so few children's clothes and other utility garments...
...Shoddy Christmas Goods This year, though, Christmas shopping hasn't been fun...
...They have more money to spend, most of them, than they've had in a long time, and inflation or no inflation, who can deny the human urge to splurge once a year...
...This coming year, I concluded after that burst of virtuous reflection, I shall go back to a strict budget, and this time see if I can analyze the results instead of just writing down where the money goes...
...Luxury magazines have bulged as of old with perfume, liquor, and specialty Christmas advertising, and I don't think the newspapers have lost money either in their Christmas advertising...
...I thought of all the trash we fall for, because it's "smart" or amusing or like something someone else has...
...In an ordinary year, I'd agree with Louise Kent Andrews' Mrs...
...It has "decreed" that a clothing manufacturer produce the same quantity of items at a particular price level as he did before the war...
...I don't pretend to know why the OPA has been so ineffective in controlling quality and prices...
...As a result, one of the reasons clothes cost more than in pre-OPA days, according to Consumers' "Research Bulletin, is that under the present price control system, "manufacturers find it more profitable to turn out garments in the higher price ranges, for which there is good demand...
...They have therapeutic value, and, praise, the Lord, it is seldom too late to make some changes in your life...
...Happy New Year...
...I thought of the folly of a dress bought in a hurry, or a hat bought because someone with me liked it but I didn't...
...They asked me why isn't that labor and material used for making garments so needed for persons of all ages, particularly school children...
...Mrs...
...So I'm taking Angelo Patri's advice and announcing my New Year's resolution...
...That goes for toys, clothing, linens, purses, dishes, glassware, household gadgets, and those fascinating but expensive items in the special "gift departments...
...One sound prediction for 1944 whose surety involves no risk at all is that consumers will make the best use of their money by spending- as little as possible of it on consumer goods...
...I thought of the buying mistakes most of us have poked away in cellars or attics...
...Crowlie reported: "Housewives are dismayed to see the quality going out of shoes and materials, with prices remaining the same, or rising...
...Despite the lack of enthusiasm you sense everywhere this year about the holidays, for obvious reasons I'll refrain from mentioning, the stores have been packed and people have been buying...
Vol. 7 • December 1943 • No. 52
