Friend in Need

In his fight to keep reconversion prices close to 1942 levels, OPA Boss Chester Bowles last week caught a tartar and found a potent ally. The tartar was sandy-haired, aggressive Edward N. Hurley Jr., board chairman of Chicago’s Electric Household Utilities Corp. (Thor washers and ironers).

When V-E day came, President Hurley had 6,000 unassembled 1941 washing machines in his plant, leftovers from prewar production. So he assembled the washers, shipped them to his distributors ahead of all other appliance makers. Before shipping them he asked OPA to set a price that he could charge.

When it did not come quickly enough, he pinned his own price on them—25% above the 1942 price. But he left himself a loophole. If the OPA did not allow this increase on washers, Hurley promised to refund the difference.

Last week, the OPA issued its ceilings on washers and household electrical appliances, a modest 7.7% increase over prewar prices. OPA also sideswiped President Hurley. It filed suit in Chicago’s U.S. District Court against Hurley for violating price ceilings, asked triple damages of $150,000. Hurley said he was “damn mad,” got set to fight OPA “until the cows come home.” He wants OPA to retract and admit that, under the circumstances, there were no dirty dealings. Many an other appliance maker got ready to side with Hurley, turn this into a full-scale test of OPA’s reconversion price policy.

But OPAster Bowles got help from an unexpected source — dynamic, jut-jawed Ray Wright Turnbull, president of Edison General Electric Appliance Co. (Hotpoint ranges and heaters). In a cheerful statement. President Turnbull approved the new ceiling. Said he: “The company is willing to take its chances on this loss because it feels that within a short time the increased volume of domestic and foreign sales will more than offset the low selling prices and high production costs.”

In 1941 Edison produced 6,000 ranges a week. Turnbull hopes to reach this output again by midwinter, and exceed 1941’s peak next year. With his sights set so high. Turnbull was sure he could turn a profit at the OPA prices.

This was exactly what OPAster Bowles had been preaching right along. But there is one catch in this theory: there are small manufacturers of electrical appliances who may not be able to hike their production much above their prewar output. For them the OPA price ceiling may mean losses.