Local Prices Hold as O.P.A. Dies; Mike's Club Vacillates on Frappes

Coincident with the fourth atomic bomb blast on this planet, Cambridge was rocked by a major quake of its own. Late Sunday evening, Mike's Club announced the famous 15 cent frappe would cost 20 cents. For 24 critical hours, while public opinion massed solidly behind the frappe, this institution, which cost your fathers 15 cents, your grandfathers 15 Confederate you, and your great-grandfathers 15 wisps of golden grain, seemed destined for history. On Monday afternoon the bells tolled. The frappe had returned to 15 cents.

Said Frank Sarantos, genial owner of the club, "We may not be able to hold prices down much longer. They want your right arm for a piece of ham these days." With a deft stroke of his pen he marked up ham and egg sandwiches from 35 to a tentative 40 cents. "All but a few sandwiches will stay the same," he continued, adding that he would await further moves by his competitors. Normally a power behind the scenes, Sarantos had appeared during the current crisis in Washington to take personal command of his forces.

The Line Holds Elsewhere

Elsewhere on the Square, the passing of OPA controls occasioned less of a flurry. Shoeshine boys were holding the line, and liquor stores generally agreed that profits were satisfactory at present price levels. Clothiers opened Monday morning in a public spirited mood. Leopold Morse promised no immediate changes, and J. August planned, to hold all merchandise stock at the OPA levels. Tedford-Harvard remained adamant.

Most interesting slant on the economic merry-go-round came from the Ofgant Chevrolet Company. Unable to share Truman's pessimism, Ofgant held that with the death of OPA, automobile production would rise and there was hope for increased sales soon.

Liggett's was taking inventory Sunday night with a sadistic gleam in its eye, but Monday morning found tooth-paste still within bounds, and the girl behind the counter still booked solid through July.

Army targets remained deflated.