Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-09-15
Roosevelt Y
Farm Bloc
Just BIuffing
Favorable Compromise
Sought by Each
By PAUL MALLON

the extent OF powers to be
granted him TO stop farm prices.
is popularity called a fight, but
comes more accurately under
the head of jockeying.
Where Mr.. Roosevelt stood in
his message every one knows.
He wanted power to halt agri-
cultural prices just about where
they are, a little ahead for some,
but he did not say anything
about wages. except that he
would stop those in his own
way-better than he has so far,
no doubt.
Then his congressional manip-
ulator. Speaker Sam Rayburn,
announced with one foot on the
White House steps, that what
the President expected TO get
was "a broad. general resolu-
ton" letting him do about any
thing he wanted to do.
Rayburn might have hoped to
get such a resolution through
the House, but not through the
iron dukes of the farm bloc in
the Senate.
7 EADERS need not pay much
IL attention TO detailed objec-
tions in the House, when their
main purpose cannot be success
fully challenged. They just
adopt a rule barring any correc-
tive amendments to their propo-
Sition. forcing every one to
vote either yes" or mo-"
But they cannot stop either
amendments or discussion in the
Senate, as Rayburn well knew.
The proposal he offered was
purely dictatorial in nature
another blank check grant of
authority to the executive.
MIR. ROOSEVELT seems never
AV1 to be fearful that some one
will call him a dictator. He is
not self-consciouS on that SUBJ
ject.
Both he and Rayburn knew
this time they were asking for
something they could not get
because their own trusted aide.
Senator Prentiss Brown Of
Michigan, had canvassed the
Senate and was able to tell
them.
Browns warnings, first pri-
vate and then public, was that
any resolution, in order to pass,
must contain specified direc-
tive to Mr.. Roosevelt to stop
wages as well as farm prices
not just leaving it all up to him.
Democratic Senat tors Tom
Connally and Harry Byrd agreed
that Browns analysis of the
Senate situation was correct.
Unless a compromise on this
" basis was effected before
hand. there was every reason 10
expect the farm bloc would try
to offer some new definition of
parity, and further tie Mr..
RooSevelt'S hands.
A real fight, instead of sham
one like this, would then ensue.
Mr.. Roosevelt would be forced
to act on his own authority, and
democratic proce sses would
again be defeated.
The whole fray. therefore, has
the character of political maneu-
vering between Mr.. Roosevelt
and the farm bloc to get as
much out of each other as they
can. The compromise is as
much as he could expect to get.
The sham battle also tends to
keep out of the debate the fact
that Mr. Roosevelt has not acted
against initiation with any real
strength up TO now.
While he tried to blame Con-
gress for his failure (and theirs),
every one knows the facts of the
matter too well to even warrant
debate on that subject.
THE truth is the administra-
l. ton openly opposed anti
inflationary freezing-hard freeZ-
ing-at the beginning when it
should have been done. It's
economists said they wanted to
get wages and prices up a little,
meaning of course, only union
wages and farm prices.
You will recall this has long
been New Deal goal, which
never was reached through any
of the artificial economic hokus-
pocus, until the gigantic war ex-
penditures came along, and ac-
complished il too well.
Even now, most of the big
farm crops-the surplus crops
are not above the parity Mr..
Roosevelt wants, and hence a
further farm price advance is
possible in some lines, unless
freezing is done as of recent
date.
THE record shows that when
L the original Henderson price
legislation was up. and the Gore
proposal for real price wage
freezing was offered in the
House, the administration OPP
posed and defeated it.
Thus While the real question
Is whether Mr.. Roosevelt is 60
ing TO freeze hard enough TO
protect the people and the gov
eminent against rising living and
war costs. all the news and head