Evening star., 1942-09-10
The Political Mill
Fight TO Write Wage Control Into Legislation
On Farm Prices Expected on CupitoI Hill
BY GOULD LINCOLN,


President Roosevelt's demand
that the cost of living be stabi-
lized, through control of prices, in
order to prevent disastrous in
f1ation for the people of America,
should win support in Congress
and out. Too long politics and
the interests of special groups
have initiated against that kind
of control.
1t was a foregone conclusion
that while farm prices and labor
costs remained to all intents and
purposes beyond the scope Of
price control, increased cost OF
living and imitation would hang
like a threatening cloud over the
country. Living costs have in
creased. Farm prices have gone
up-and so have the prices of
manufactured materials. Wages
have continued to increase.
The President has told Congress
to deal with farm prices through
new legislation and that he would
himself see that wages are stabi-
lized." He has fixed a deadline
for congressional action-October
l. For as slow a moving body as
Congress has shown itself to be
particularly in the matter of price
control-this is a brief period in
which to get action. But it can
be done.
Certainly, if the legislation is
well under way on October l, the
President would not insist on his
own control of farm prices with
out legislation. What he wants;
however, is assurance of speedy
and certain action.
Imitation Dangerous to Effort.
This country is at war. Mill
tary defeats, however, are not the
only measures of disaster in the
present emergency. Imitation,
with its attendant sufferings for
all the people, would react terribly
against the war effort of the
country.
1t is of little value now to
criticize Congress or the admin
istration for their failure to place
adequate controls on prices and
labor costs. Congress and the
President had their opportunity
months ago to 60 to the front
for the very thing the President
is now advocating, and which
majority of the members of Con-
gress will admit is vitally nee
essary.
Bernard Baruch, head of the
War Industries Board in the First
World War, strongly urged the
enactment of a law covering all
prices and costs, including labor.
Representative Gore, Democrat,
of Tennessee, a member of the
House Banking and Currency
Committee, labored in vain to
have such a bill put through.
The farm bloc and the labor
lobby were too strong.
The Price Control Act finally
was adopted, after long delays,
containing provisions which per-
NIT the prices of farm products
to rise and rise, and without any
effective provision whatever re-
garding wages.
II Two Lines of Attack.
The Presidents demand for
new legislation dealing with the
problem of imitation and rising
living costs has been attacked
from two angles. He is charged
with threatening to assume die
tatorial powers-to override a law
of Congress. And he is charged
with favoring labor as a group,
in that he is not proposing to
have the control of wages COW
cred by law while he is demand
ing that law be enacted to give
more stringent control of farm
prices.
The war powers of the Presi-
dent are great. Other Presi-
dents in the past have made use
of these powers in time of emer-
gency.. Abraham Lincoln did,
and so did Woodrow Wilson. The
Constitution makes the Presi-
dent not only the Chief Execu-
tive of the Nation, but also the