Detroit evening times., 1941-12-02
Credit Sales
Face Strict
u. S. Scrutiny
Firm VioIotors TO Lose
lnstaIment Licenses
BY PAUL MALLON

w House crushed the. price
bill amendment for the licensing
Of business on the ground it
would impose Hitleresque
government control. II was de-
-feated so loudly by voice. the
leaders did not seek a roll call
confirmation. But no one, in the
debate. said anything about the
federal licensing Of 250,000 to
300, 900 businesses starting to-
day-without any recent au-
thority of Congress.
Regulation w, il is called. As
imposed by the federal reserve
board, it provides that any firm
in this country selling on the
instalment plan or making
loans. must register and receive
a blanket license.
No certificates are to be is
sued, but if any firm violates
the rulesso of the board, it will be
notified its license has been re-
voked. 1t will be out of the in
Stalment business. if its officers
do not go-to jail -and-pay fine
for their waywardness from Of
fetal regulation.
THEa legal authority for this
Il federal licensing is an ex-
ecutive order issued by Mr..
Roosevelt last August 9. The
relatively remote legal spot
where his attorney general dis
covered a legal peg upon which
to hand such a regulation is
THE Trading With the Enemy
Act, passed "a years ago by
Congress for other purposes of
another war (Oct. 6. 1910
Some question will no doubt
arise as to whether you. can put
a man. in Jail by executive order.
without specific authority of
Congress.
Regulation w will no doubt
get into the courts. &But mean
while all automobile. furniture,
refrigerator radio. jewelry and
what-not concerns selling any
thing on the instalment plan
excepting real es tat and
houses) will feel the weight Of
executive decree. -
At the top of the list will be
department stores, finance COM
panies and auto dealers. The
$4,000 banks ofGr the country.
making instalmene loans, will
also be affected.
% Purpose of the licensing is to
give the government control Of
small credit in order to cut down
consumption of sum e r s
goods. G
The defense regime is already
working that way in making al
locations of raw materials, and.
of course, no one objects to that,
as the authority of fresh law is
behind ii But this may be just
the beginning of the history of
Regulation w" "
-
DHONIEST of all defense-era
L legislation is the one passed
by the House, still laughingly
called a price control bill" 1t
fooled no one, least Of allfthe po-
ltical pressure groups which
sponsored it (the cotton bloc
and the inflationists). They
readily confessed il would not
accomplish its only purpose and
stop initiation.
Such a legal hodge-podge
would never haveA passed the
House. however. if two peculiar
background circumstances had
not arisen. One was the politi-
cal personality Of Leon Hender-
son, price control man for Mr..
Roosevelt, who expects TO head
the new setup in one way or
another.
The real fight against a good
bill was made on him. and
largely in the cloakrooms.
MO ONE has proved exactly
~ how radical Mr.. Henderson
is at present but a large ma aior-
ity in Congress is suspicious
about giving him control Of the
nations business.
Long in circulation have been
whispers that. he was at least
once a fellow traveller. Old also
are the stories that his division
is filed with assistants whose
arm-in-armp fellowship with left
wing idealyvis more evident.
Whatever degree of truth lies
in these congressional murmur-,
ingS. Mr.. Roosepelt's price cons
troll effort was lost in the House
primarily because he did not
offer some one with an eco
nomic reputation like Baruch
TO lead IT,
This situation inspired the sec
ond circumstance !. in order 10
ret any bill through on the sub
iect. the administration had 10
accept foolish or divergent oppo-
Sition mend m cntS, openly
saying the Senate would correct
these later.
THERE is no reason 10 expect
i much from the, Senate un-
less those citizens who want TO
avoid the national destruction
of initiation ,Mr. Roosevelt said
il would ruin the defense pro-
gram) bring more pressure than
was evident in the House.
Inflationist Senator Elmer
Thomas. for instance. is talking