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In the spring of 1943 there was a black market in poultry in 

 New York City because the market price was above the legal 

 ceiling price. At that time there was no black market for 

 milk in New York City because the market price was below 

 the legal ceiling price. When this occurs, the ceiling price is 

 ineffectual and might as well not exist. 



NRA tried to fix the price of used cars. The dealers offered 

 the blue-book allowance and bet the customer $50 he couldn't 

 spit beyond his toes. 



With the present policy of fixing innumerable price ceil- 

 ings, black-market operators breed faster than they can be 

 caught. An honest soul walked into a wholesale market in 

 New York City and innocently asked a produce broker where 

 the black market might be found. The response was imme- 

 diate : "Look around, New York City is a black market." Our 

 black markets are not organized institutions that can be 

 easily observed. They are a good deal like "chiggers," which 

 the Indians call "no-see-um bugs." 



Black markets take many forms. Some are large and some 

 are small. Some are no more than short cuts around red tape 

 and others are malicious. Some violations are committed un- 

 knowingly and others willfully. Many of the activities are 

 simple and some are intricate. 



To most people, the black-market operator is typified by 

 the two-gun masked cattle rustler in the West. In reality he 

 is more likely to be, say, a steel worker rustling a piece of 

 beef in one of a dozen devious ways, so as to make his red 

 coupons go farther. There are many more of the latter than 

 of the former. 



Price ceilings on used machinery are neatly circumvented 

 by selling two articles together. A used tractor with a price 

 ceiling of $500 is auctioned off together with a bale of hay 

 worth perhaps a dollar. The combination brings $800 and 

 the clerk's records show this innocent entry: 



