Evening star., 1943-12-13
Senate Group Opens
Executive HEARINGS
On Subsidy Measure
BY the Associated Press.

Executive hearings on the
food subsidy repeal bill began in
the Senate Banking Committee
today, with administration lead
ers conceding privately that they
had little chance to block its
ultimate Senate passage.
Concurrently, as the House joined
the Senate in tackling legislation
directly affecting President Roose-
velt's sterilization program, House
Majority Leader Mccormack warned
Congress against releasing the
floodtides of initiation"
A prosubsidy group in the Senate
Banking Committee, headed by
Chairman Wagner, prepared to
wage fight to retain at least mart
of the s1,000,000,000 year program
of Federal price control payments
claimed by the administration to be
a vitality needed safeguard against
imitation
Their hopes of putting through
the committee at least a limited
program were bolstered by an an
nouncement by Senator Murdock
Democrat, of Utah, that he would
vote for a continuation of the
present policy.
Seek to Delay Vote.
A last-minute effort by the ad-
ministration to delay final vote on
the subsidy issue until after the
Christmas holidays was scheduled
later today in the Senate. SEN
ator Ellender, Democrat, of Louisi-
ana, announced he would offer a
resolution to defer consideration of
the legislation by the full Senate
until February 5, with view to
letting members sound out home
sentiment during the Christmas
holidays
Under the Ellender plan Congress
would pass a simple resolution con-
tlnulng the Commodity Credit Corp.
and the subsidy program-until
that date. The legal life of the CCC
otherwise would expire December 81.
The chances of success for Sena-
tor BLENDERS move appeared remote,
since the farm bloc leaders are
staunchly opposed to delaying a
showdown and War Food Admins
traitor Marvin Jones also has ap-
pealed for early disposition of the
bill. Politics can wait" says Mr.
Jones. Food can't"
Taft Indicates Support.
Administration forces battling the
farm bloc's drive to pass a fiat ban
on subsidies, similar to that voted
Overwhelmingly by the House
month ago. were assured of some
Republican help. Senator Taft. Re-
publican, of Ohio has declared for
limited program of subsidies tied to
support prices for farmers, with
subsidies to depress consumer prices
eliminated. Republican Senators
were continuing a series of informal
conferences to seek an accord on
the legislation
Two weeks Of public hearings on
the legislation made it obvious that
committee members are more hos
tile to the price rollback subsidies
on meats and butter-than to anv
of the other subsidies being paid to
hold prices stable on some Is key
food items.
Senator Murdock said he had de-
cided to back the administration in
the subsidy row because he was
convinced that no better way has
been found yet to prevent price
imitation"
Mccormack Sees Disaster.
With the administrations wage.
price, tax and subsidy programs
under fire, House Leader Mccormack
bluntly asserted that the pressure
groups are operating"
Imitation. if it comes" he said
will have a serious effect on the
conduct of the war and simultane-
ouslv will deal a devastating blow
to the fiXedincome group, particu-
larly the dependents of service
men
His statement came as:
!. The House prepared to act on
A bill shifting control of oil and
coal prices from the Office of Price
Administration to Secretary of the
Interior Ickes.
2. The House Interstate Com
merce Committee called a public
hearing on measure to give more
than 100000 incorporating rail-
road workers pay boost amount
ing to 8 cents an hour. Despite
sharp opposition from Sterilization
Director Vinson this resolution has
received Senate approval by the
overwhelming vote of "A to 4.
3. House agriculture members de-
manded immediate action on their
measure to create an overall food
car, with control over prices as
we'll as production and distribution.
Passage Of this bill would reduce
OPA to skeleton.
Keenly aware of the many sided
onslaught on the administration S
program, Representative McCor-
mack deplored the failure of the
public to rally to the President S
support as demonstrated, he said,
by the slight volume of mail he
has received on the issues.