United States. Office of Price Administration. Hartford Branch.

The Office of Price Administration, a federal agency, was established in 1941 by Executive Orders 8734 and 8875. During its existence, the OPA was responsible for setting maximum prices on most products. The OPA and several other agencies were consolidated to form the Office of Temporary Controls in December 1946 by Executive Order 9809 and disbanded in 1947.

The Office of Price Administration ( OPA ), a federal agency, was established in 1941 by Executive Orders 8734 and 8875. During its existence, the OPA was responsible for setting maximum prices on most products. “Ceilings were also imposed on residential rents. The regulations were gradually modified and extended by OPA administrators—notably Leon Henderson (1941-1942), Prentiss H. Brown (1943), and Chester B. Bowles (1943-1946)—until almost 90% of the retail food prices were frozen.” “Besides controlling prices, the OPA was also empowered to ration scarce consumer goods in wartime. Tires, automobiles, sugar, gasoline, fuel oil, coffee, meats, and processed foods were ultimately rationed.” [ Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001]

The national office in Washington, D.C., generated the majority of the documents in this collection. Many of the documents were printed pages, leaflets or booklets sent by the main office to the regional branches, one of which was located in Hartford, Connecticut . The regional offices also received teletypes providing interpretations of the price control regulations based on specific cases. The OPA and several other agencies were consolidated to form the Office of Temporary Controls in December 1946 by Executive Order 9809 and disbanded in 1947.

Chester Bowles was the Connecticut State Director for the Office of Price Administration from 1942 to 1943. He also served as the general manager of the OPA in Washington, D.C., from July to October 1943, at which time he was appointed by President Roosevelt to be the price administrator of the OPA . He held the position until February 1946.

Dr. William Harrison Carter, Jr. professor of economics at the University of Connecticut, served as the state price economist for Connecticut (1943-1944) and as a consulting economist from 1944 to 1946. Employed by the University in the Economics (Agricultural) Department since 1931, Dr. Carter was Head of the Economics Department from 1945 until 1954, when he became Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a position he held until his retirement in 1966.