Evening star., 1941-09-23
The Political Mill
Price Control Bill One Of the Most
Difficult Tasks Before Congress
BY GOULD LINCOLN.

ny So0LD LlTNSoLIN.
Congress is about to do some
thing, constructive it is hoped, to
put a check to the dangers of in
f1ation, the most devastating thing
that can happen to a nation out
side of disastrous war The
House Banking and Currency
Committee has before it bill
to control prices. Omitted from
its provisions are farm products,
wages and rents. If the prices OF
these things skyrocket, the whole
price structure of the country
will be necessarily affected. There
are great and practical difficult
ties in dealing with wages, with
farm products and with rents.
And yet, Bernard M. Baruch,
head of the War Industries Board
in the last World War. who has
given the whole problem OF price
fixing, priorities and production
more study probably than any
other man in the country over a
period OF years. insisted before
the House Banking and Currency
Committee that any measure, to
be really effective, must be all
inclusive. There must be ceilings
fixed for all.
Undoubtedly Mr.. Baruch is
correct. He proposed that prices
on a given day be the ceiling.
Either some day in the past or
the future would have to be Sc
lected-unless the day of the
actual final enactment of the
proposed law were to be chosen.
The day might be arrived at,
without too much debate. But
when it comes to enforcing a
provision fixing wages, immedi-
ately there arises a problem that
would challenge the intelligence
of an EinStein. If wages were
fixed-what becomes of the right
to strike, and to strike for greater
wages? The bill necessarily will
carry penalties for violation of
its provisions. What penalties
and how could they be enforced
in connection with labor and
wages?
Delays Proved Costly.
AS a practical proposition, it
would be an Herculean task to get
either house of Congress to put
through a measure which would
say to labor thus far you shall
60 and no farther" in the matter
of wages. So far it has been
found impossible to get any leg
islation enacted which in any way
interfereS with, or even delays,
strikes in national defense indus
tries-so strong politically are the
labor unions. Yet strikes in de-
fense industries have caused al
ready delays in construction OF
planes and ships and products
which go into their manufacture.
These delays have been terribly
costly in time for the arming OF
this country and of the British
and others who are fighting Hit
Ter. There is no use blinking the
fact that politics is playing and
will continue to play a great part
unless the country becomes so
aroused, and the danger so appar-
ent, that the people rally to the
support of restrictive measures.
What the administration can
do, and what Congress can do, is
to put a stop to all encourage
ment of strikes on the part OF
labor, and to legislation that in
itself makes for price initiation Of
farm products. Neither Congress
nor the administration has been
willing up to now to take any
such attitude. Again, the proba-
bilities are they never will stiffen
their backbones against these
things unless the public becomes
renestfuI and demands action.
Members of Congress who are
now wrestling with the subject Of
price control have been unable to
see just how they can deal with
the subject Of wages-the placing