Letter from W. R. Scully to President Harry S. Truman

2/15 SCULLY BROS., INC. ESTABLISHED 1907 M ANUFACTURERS OF LEATHER APPAREL AND GLOVES 725 EAST WASHINGTON BOULEVARD LOS ANGELES 21, CALIFORNIA February 12, 1946 28 Honorable Harry S. Truman White House missed Washington, D. C. Bowles Dear Mr. President: Cow-S We have before us a letter addressed to you under date of February 4, 1946, by Albert H. Ostermann, Chairman of the Board, National Heavy Outerwear Ase sociation, who is also Chairman of O.P.A. Industry Advisory Committee, Heavy Outerwear and member of C.P.A. Industry Advisory Committee, Heavy Outerwear. This letter is to merely reiterate the substance of Mr. Ostermanns letter to you and to endorse everything he has said in the letter. The letter is quite lengthy, but we are going to repeat two paragraphs in the same as follows: "The Civilian Production Administration scheduled a joint Industry Advisory Committee meeting of the Men's and Boys' Clothing industry, the men's and boys' pants manufacturing industry and the men's and boys! Heavy Outerwear manufacturing industry for January 31, 1946, at 1:30 P1M. in room 4140 Social Security Building, Washington, D.C. This meeting was called, according to the agenda, to discuss and rew view the proposed second quarter low cost clothing program. Also, according to the agenda, there was to be a "discussion of changes in prices.". Approximately twenty-five of the country's leading men's and boys' apparel manufacturing executives came to Washington for this meet- ing, from as far away as San Francisco, Chicago, Cincinnati and New York to help the bureaus in Washington solve their problems - BUT THE OFFICE OF PRICE ADMINISTRATION was TOO BUSY to send any repre- sentative across the street (from Federal Office Building No. 1) to meet with us. At the meeting, the manufacturers were advised by the presiding officer of C.P.A. that O1P.A. had been asked to be present, but had refused and therefore it would necessitate another meeting in Washington in a week or ten days so that O.P.A. could be presento Allo In the meantime, we should return thousands of miles to our homes and we would be called back to Washington for another meeting when the O.P.A. had time to send representatives across the streeto Is it little wonder that the majority of the manufacturers, in disgust, left the meeting as soon as they received this informationt* The letter further states that the shortage in men's apparel is due largely to the diversion by the mills of fabrics into women's wear as higher ceiling prices are allowed on women's wear, both for the mills and the manufacturerso This causes a shortage of all types of men's apparel, which is now very apparent. It further states that new concerns starting in the mens field are enjoying