Milford chronicle., 1942-10-09
A WEEK OF THE WAR

Following passage by Congress OF
the Second Price Control Act President
Roosevelt ordered ceilings placed over
wages, salaries, profits, farm prices and
rents, and appointed Supreme Court
Justice James F. Byrnes as Director of
Economic Sterilization with the job of
developing a national economic policy.
Justice Byrnes resigned from the
Court to accept the new position. He
will have authority over all Govern
ment agencies in the economic field and
will be assisted by a 14-man economic
stabilization board composed of eight
agency heads and six private citizens.
Maximum Prices And Rents
Immediately following the Presi-
dents Executive Order, Price Admin
istrator Henderson imposed emergency
60-day price ceilings on virtually all
exempt food items, bringing go per
cent of the family food budget under
rigid control. Previously only so per
cent was controlled. Under control for
the first time are butter, cheese, evap-
GRATED and condensed milk, eggs, poul-
try, our, dry onions, potatoes, fresh and
canned fruits and juices, dry edible
beans, corn meal and mutton. Food re-
taiiefs, wholesalers, manufacturers and
professors are affected. Each dealers
price is frozen at the highest level he
charged in the five days September 2S |
to October 2, inclusive. The perma-
nent ceilings later may entail some
price reductions, Mr.. Henderson said.
Administrator Henderson also COM
pleted new orders freezing all uncon-
troIled urban and rural rents at levels
of last March 1. He announced the
Office of Price Administration would
amend existing regulations to prevent
eviction of tenants resulting from sales
of rental property, practice which
he said in many cases has become a
device to avoid the effect of rent con-
troll. Previously rent control was lin
tied to. approximately 400 designated
defense rental areas.
Sterilization OF Wages
The Presidents Order had the effect
of freezing all wage rates for the time
being until the National War Labor
Board has a chance to act in individual y
cases. Wage rates may not be changed
up or down-without the approval of
the NWLB. The Board may adjust
wages ito correct maladjustments or
inequalities, to eliminate substandards
of living, to correct gross inequities,
or to aid in the effective prosecution of
the war"
Salaries in excess of $4,000 a year
may not be increased without the ap- ,
proval of Sterilization Director ByrneS
unless an individual has been assigned
to more difficult or more responsible
work. Director Byrnes was given pow
er to place a $4,000 limit on salaries !
after taxes but with due allowance for
life insurance premiums and fixed
obligations previously incurred.
Farm Prices And Production
MIR. Roosevelt ordered prices of raw
and .processed agricultural commodi- ,,
ties Stabilized, so far as practicable"
at September IS levels and in con-
formity wit hthe standards laid down /,
in the new law. The new price con- ,
troll law provides farm price ceilings
cannot be set below parity or below the
highest market level between January :
and September IS, 1912, whichever is
higher. If such ceilings are too low to :
reflect increases in farm labor and l
other costs since January 1, 1941, the
President is directed to raise them. I
The legislation calls for a go per |
cent parity floor" under cotton, corn, l
wheat, rice, tobacco and peanuts, the S
floor to be established by means of a
loans. The loans may be held down to
IS per cent, however, on corn and S
wheat used for feeding livestock and '
poultry. v
Agriculture Secretary Wickard, a
speaking at Tylertown, Miss, said ag- v
riculture in wartime must be limited to g
producing only the farm products g
which are absolutely essential" He
said farm production for 1912, nearly d
a record, might not be exceeded for tt
years, and future production might not h
be sufficient for all needs at home and d
abroad. Next year we will need a
farm production even greater than this e.
years .. (but) | am not at all sure 81
that total production will be even as N
large" N
The War Front
The Navy announced that U. S. a.
Army troops, covered and supported e,
by units" of the U. S. Navy, have re- Of
Gently occupied positions in the An
1reanof group of the Aleutian Islands. pi
Occupation was effected without enc H
NY opposition. This chain of some "a
stands stretches for 240 miles and the N
argest of the islands is about 275 miles S
rom Japanese-occupied Kiska and is NJ
well adapted for use as an air base. h,
The Navy said U. S. heavy bombers
md fighter craft are already operating P
from air fields in these islands. al
During a week of heavy fighting in W
New Guinea, General MacArthur's al
ground forces drove the enemy back
ome 40 miles from a point 81 air h
niles from the Allied base of Port fC
Moresby past Efogi village, last i'm eI
,ortant Japanese base on the southern
ide of the Owen Stanley mountains, M
General MacArthur's headquarters re- W
,orted October S. American Flying W
7ortresses based in Britain attacked an a
lirframe factory at Meaulte and a d
air6eld at St. Omer October a
J, and returned without losses after
hooting down 13 enemy fighters. g,
U. S. submarines operating in Far "
Eastern waters sank five enemy ships N
ind probably sank two more, and 6
damaged another. Army, Navy and "
Marine Corps Aiers from September rs r
o 2S destroyed az japanese aircraft "
ind damaged three others in the Solo N