Evening star., 1942-09-08
Congress Split
|0n Roosevelt S
Price Control
Members Aroused
By Ultimutum on
Action by October !
(Tsrt OF President RooseUelts Ad-
dress on Page A-5.)

I gTL OF f5ESkuEWb lb1oocbCsko
dress on Page A-5J
Ps the Associated Press.
Widespread demands for sta
tutory control of wages came
from members today as an
aroused Congress awaited intro
duction Thursday Of legislation
to establish President Roosevelt's
drastic new program to stabilize
living costs and prevent imitation.
Senator Brown, Democrat, OF
Michigan, who had charge OF the
present price control act during It's
consideration in the Senate, said
that a bill to be offered in the
House and Senate Thursday may
be in the form of joint resolution
giving the President specific pow
ers to deal with prices If neces-
sary. He said details of the pro-
posal had not yet been worked out.
Mr.. Roosevelt's statement that he
would invoke executive powers II
Congress did not act by october
to knock down present statutory
farm price ceilings and provide new
taxes brought retorts that the Presi-
dent was pointing pistol" at Con-
gress, was waving CLUB" and was
setting out on "uncharted seas" OF
presidential authority.
Need of Control Seen.
But out of the storm of criticism
that arose over the language In
which he conveyed his objectives to
Congress in a message yesterday
and to the people in radio fire
side chat" last night these trends
were discernable among legislators:
influential Democrats and Repub-
licans appeared agreed that over
all controls of the Nations economic
machinery were needed, with many
contending that wages as well as
farm prices should be stabilized BY
legislation.
Farm State members rallied to
insist that if ceilings were to be
fixed on the prices of agricultural
commodities at parity levels, parity
returns for all crops should be guar
anteed to the farmers by the Gov
ernment.
parity is a price calculated to
give growers a purchasing power
equal to past favorable period,
usually 1909-14. The price-control
law provides that no ceilings can
| be placed on farm crops below
/ - rif ~ haIArrs fhA
average 1919-29 level, or below
the price prevailing on October l
| or December Is of last year,
| whichever is the more favorable)
Meanwhile, Presidential Secretary
Stephen Early said the White House
had received several hundred tele-
| grams this morning and that only
seven were not in agreement with
the Presidents proposals.
Rate Increase Opposed.
Members of the Senate Finance
| Committee, who already have de-
clined to close some of the tax loop
holes which the President cited in
his message, appeared unlikely to
accept his recommendation for rate
| increases which would limit individ-
ual incomes to $25, 900 a year.
In his message to Congress, the
President said he was prepared to
act in an executive capacity to
stabilize wages, but insisted that
farm prices must also be controlled
and asked specific legislative au-
thority to do this. He contended
that the present law would permit
the average of all farm commod-
tiles to rise to 116 per cent of parity.
Speaker Rayburn at once called
on all members Of the House yes
terday to return here by next Mon
day in connection with the Presi-
dents request. The House has been
in informal recess.
BY reconvening September IA the
House will have little more than
two weeks to meet the Presidents
October deadline.
Legislation to be introduced In
both houses this week to carry out
the Presidents objectives was ex-
pected to call for repeal of section 3
of the Price Control Act, which con-
tains restrictions on operation Of
price ceilings.
New Authority Expected.
Beyond that, the legislation was
expected to outline q broad new
economic authority which would be
headed by an administrator who
would take over much of the work
of controlling the cost of living.
Mr.. Roosevelt did not specify what
machinery he would use to stabilize
wages and farm prices when Con-
gress passes the legislation, or when
he moves himself in default of con-
gressioual action.
1t has been reported by reliable
but unquotable sources that he con-
templated setting up an economic
administrator or a board with
sweeping powers to police the anti
(see ROOSEVELT, Page A-l4)
Ian On~>AJ