Evening star., 1942-07-25
Putterinq Around

OtASIIuS 7IOuuO
The Senate this week has been the
forum for some very plain talk on
the subject of imitation and what
Congress should do, but has not
done. in safeguarding the country
against it.
Senator George, chairman of the
important Finance Committee, told
his colleagues that II think we
are remiss in not meeting the ques-
tion squarely, in resorting time after
time to some patchwork system of
meeting the problem in part, either
by granting subsidies to industry or
by increasing wages beyond what
they should be.
"A great many people, he con-
tinued, will say that if so and so
is done and we deal with this problem
In realistic way we shall be retired
from public life. I think that is
almost Of no consequence. So far as
anti-inflation measures are con-
cerned, we are doing nothing what
soever with that problem. We are
simply adding fuel to the fire, making
1t impossible for price control to
operate and have any effective check
on the rapidly rising cost of living.
I believe that the American people
want us to face this problem-that
they are eager to have us face it,"
Speaking in the same vein, Senator
OMahoney, Democrat, of Wyoming
warned against half measures" that
lead only to disaster "The people
Of the country" he said, "are ahead
Of the administration. They want to
put an end to all this tomfoolery
OF dealing with the terrific problem
Of imitation by little movements here
and little movements there. The
people are ready to make the neces-
sary sacrifices, while we are puttering
around in vain endeavors to forget
the crisis in which we are"
No one in the Senate took issue
with these accusations, with the
exception OF Senator Thomas of
Oklahoma, who insisted that we are
still In period of deflation and that
danger OF imitation exists only in
newspaper headlines designed ito
scare the people" AS Senator Thomas
was the only one to voice dissent, it
might reasonably be assumed that
the Senate as a whole was in agree
ment with Senators George and
O'Mahoney, but it remains to be seen
whether the sentiments which they
expressed will be translated into
action when the critical test comes.
Senator O'Mahoney contended that
the only substantial hope of prevent
ing disastrous imitation lies in "freez-
Ing all prices, all costs, all profits, all
rents. all wages" This Is a program
which treads on the sensitive toes
OF labor and the farm bloc. Spokes-
men for the national labor groups
already have declared their opposi-
tion to any change in the existing
machinery for settling wage disputes,
and the past record of the Senate
itself testifies to the power of the
farm bloc in securing favored treat
ment for farmers. II either or both
OF these inflationary influences is to
be curbed, it will call for political
courage OF high order.
The first test of whether the Senate
means business may come in it's ham
ding Of the tax bill which has been
passed by the House. The tax bill
Is the first line of defense against
imitation, and in its present form it
Is inadequate. Secretary Morgenthau
has asked the Senate to change the
measure in order to raise an addi-
tional $2,400 900 900, but the Treasury
wants to do this without adding to
the direct tax burden which the mass
OF the people will have to bear. That
Is not the effective way to use taxa
ton as a weapon against imitation.
II the bill is to serve this purpose it
Is essential, even in an election year,
that the great majority Of the people
be taxed more heavily than is con-
templated by the measure in its
present form or by the Treasury's
proposals. Thus. the tax bill will
provide the acid test OF the Senate's
determination to deal realistically
with the danger of infiation. II this
hurdle, supposedly source Of polit-
ical danger, Is cleared. then there will
be real reason to hope for an end to
this "puttering around with the
farm and labor aspects OF the infla-
ton problem.