A PEEK AT THE 1945 HOME FRONT
Sheridan, Mary
A Peek At The 1945 Home Front By MARY SHERIDAN ANYONE who watched the crowds of people in stores before Christmas knows that they were buying, not just looking. "People will buy anything," I heard...
...More beef but less pork and lamb are.pre-dicted...
...Brass wire shortages will hold up toasters and fans...
...Probably few families, or individual family members, agree on what is "essential...
...It's no news to any clothes shopper that both adult and children's clothing is overpriced in relation to quality and limited in selection...
...Among other reasons are psychological factors...
...I silently agreed with her...
...Maybe hats, or more than two pair of shoes, or more than one suit aren't essential...
...Why Do We Buy So Much...
...During 1944, according to a report of the Department of Commerce, American consumers spent 97 billion dollars for goods and services...
...Sleazy toweling, flimsy fabric handbags with wooden handles priced as high as $7.50, rayon pajamas at $5, poorly made but highly priced shoes—those are just four headaches familiar to shoppers...
...Army demands are bigger...
...WPB says not one automobile will be manufactured in 1945...
...We spent nearly 6 billion dollars more than in 1943 but got less for that money because of higher prices and cheaper quality...
...People will buy anything," I heard one clerk say to another...
...More alarm clocks are being made, but not enough to catch up with current demand...
...Fewer supplies are predicted in the months ahead...
...About 55,000 ice refrigerators are expected to be available...
...This is a peek of what we can expect: * * * Clothing...
...Sugar and coffee supplies are low...
...Deny it as you and I will, shortages tend to make us feverishly eager to buy...
...So demand is one reason why people go on buying, whether they want to or not...
...Yet we go on buying, despite the sensible advice from many quarters to buy only what is essential...
...Also, OPA has asked the WPB to restrict the use of fabrics to suitable uses (to prevent, for instance, 59-cent men's shorts of cheesecloth) and has asked the Mead Committee to investigate the clothing price dilemma, particularly the casualty of low-priced textiles and clothing...
...Add to that group bit by the competitive bug the non-smokers who buy cigarettes whenever they can and the people, like me, who under the pleasant rationalization of foresight have acquired supplies of spices to last about 10 years...
...Food...
...Army demands for wool are high, the Government has frozen wool yarn, and cotton supplies are short of needs...
...Shoes...
...Household Goods...
...If there were one, there wouldn't be any tires to put on it...
...Over-night rationing announcements have forced the OPA to assure civilians that airplane stamps 1, 2, and 3 will remain valid indefinitely...
...Another psychological reason for buying is the very human one of wanting to spend and enjoy money when more is being earned now than in many a year...
...Civilians have* complained in vain about the purge of the two-pants suit ordered by the War Production Board...
...In another column I mentioned the shoppers who automatically buy bananas and Hershey bars now, although they passed them by in pre-war days...
...About 2,000,000 electric irons are expected to be manufactured (be careful of the plastic handles), but production of electric refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and electric stoves will be delayed...
...Other predictions: fewer chickens, high egg prices, possible canned vegetable shortages...
...War reverses in Europe have altered the fairly optimistic plans of three months ago for civilian supplies during 1945...
...I wouldn't drag home, if the store gave them to me, the things people are paying good money for...
...Errett P. Scrivner, Kansas Republican, wrote the WPB that the two-pants suit is an important economy and conserves on clothing, which is certainly true, but he won't have any support from the clothing trade whose profits are boosted by the WPB's foolish regulation...
...All reports of the moment emphasize that this year will be a lean one for consumers...
...Production of cast iron, enameled, and galvanized ware is permitted but not realized...
...War orders will also delay production of aluminum ware...
...Shoe rationing will probably be prolonged indefinitely if present leather shipments abroad continue, and Bread and Butter predicts a smaller supply for this year, with an increased trend toward leather substitutes...
...On the brighter side: an OPA regulation has been issued to reduce "over-finishing" and "fancying-up" of cotton and rayon fabrics...
...Bigger shipments of bananas and pineapple are expected...
...Miscellaneous...
...Tire makers can't keep up military and essential civilian (doctors, police) needs . . . Previous hopes for 2,000,000 radio tubes a month have been blown up by increased war needs . . . Manufacture of farm equipment is lagging 25 per cent behind plans . . . Limited furniture supplies are snatched as soon as they reach stores, but shoppers, bless them, have not laid down their money for the padded springless—and uncomfortable—furniture...
...Shortage of material and manpower plus increased war needs mean that WPB's "spot authorization" plan for increased civilian production will decrease from a trickle to a drop—to practically nothing...
...But children outgrow clothing and shoes, clothing and linen and rugs eventually decay beyond the mendable state, and household equipment won't last forever...
Vol. 9 • January 1945 • No. 5
