Word: esa
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...ESA. Economic Stabilization Agency. Coordinates and supervises wage & price policies. Administrator: Eric A. Johnston...
DiSalle also got help from President Truman. The President ordered all Government agencies to contribute lawyers, economists and other experts to the ESA until its own staff is complete, and authorized DiSalle to use FBI men and other Government investigators to comb the country for price-control violators. With that kind of help, the OPS hoped to root out violators early and punish them heavily (maximum penalty under the law: a year in jail, $10,000 fine) to discourage other violators. "There will be no wrist-slapping," promised a price official...
Stabilizer Valentine, whose zeal for mandatory controls had caused him to freeze auto prices over DiSalle's objections, now objected to DiSalle's plan. He said it would be impossible to enforce, with ESA's small staff. DiSalle and Valentine passed the argument to Charlie Wilson for a ruling. Sighed DiSalle: "I've been working so hard I don't know if I have any manhood left...
Haberdasher's System? International Harvester Co., which had raised prices 4% only a few days before, promptly announced that the price increases would be withdrawn while it studied ESA's proclamation. Most other businessmen who had raised prices did nothing; they simply did not know what the proclamation meant...
...they were unjustified, Economic Stabilizer Alan Valentine gave a flat no. His reason: "Earnings of your company in the [third quarter] are running at the reported annual rate of $1.9 billion, as against an annual average rate of $827 million in the best three years prior to 1950." While ESA had "no interest in control of profits arising from increased volume, greater productivity or decreased expenses . . . sellers should not increase prices in order to make greater profits than were made before the Korea outbreak...