Evening star., 1943-03-25
Brown Warns
OF Price PeriIs
In Farm Bills
OPA Head Says
Z Measures Would
Boost Food Costs

opposing the Pace and Bankhead
bills, told Congress today that
their enactment would add more
than S3,750,000000 to consumer
budgets and destroy the anti
imitation program.
Mr.. Brown wrote congressional
leaders that these two farm bills
call for so radical a change in the
price Of foods" as to mean the end
Of sterilization of prices and the
end of "stabilization Of wages as
we'll"
The Bankhead bill, passed by the
House yesterday, would eliminate
Government benefit payments in
figuring parity prices and ceilings
on agricultural productions, while
the Pace bill would increase parity
prices through the inclusion of farm
labor costs in the parity formula
Mr.. Browns letter went to Senator
Lucas, Democrat, of Illinois, Presi-
dent Pro Tempore of the Senate,
who promised the stiffest kind of a
fight" if farm bloc leaders insist
on calling for a Senate vote today
on the Pace bill.
Also receiving the letter were Ma
jority Leader Barkley, Speaker Ray
burn and Majority Leader McCor-
mack
The House has approved the Pace
bill and both branches have ap-
proved the Bankhead bill, though
in somewhat different versions.
Would Boost Food Costs.
Taken together, Mr.. Brown said,
the Bankhead and Pace bills would
raise the retail price of food between
II and Is per cent. increase the an
nual food budget of consumers by
50, $50 900 900 and cost the Govern
ment an additional $3.50 100000
year.
I'VE must face the fact that radi-
cal change in the cost of food
means radical change in the Little
Steel Formula as WELL" Mr.. Brown
wrote. IF Congress requires the
one, it must accept the responsible
ity for the other"
The Little Steel formula is the
War Labor Boards yardstick for
allowing a cost-of living wage ad-
justment. 1t permits an increase
OF IS per cent over the wage level of
January !, l94l. Further increases
are permissible if the board is con-
vinced the IS per cent Goes not cor
rect manifest injustices.
Mr., Brown said he feels farm
prices and farm income already
have been raised to fair levels, in
creasing l10 per cent between Au-
gust, 1899, and January, 1943, while
prices farmers pay increased 26 per
cent.
Farm Prices Soar.
LAS result" Mr.. Brown said
farm prices which were 30 per cent
below parity at the time war broke
out in August, 1899, reached a level
Is per cent above parity In January
Of this year.
Not only have prices the farmers
received risen four times as much
as the prices farmers pay" he con-
tinued, but they have also risen
four times as much as farmers cost
OF production, including the cost of
hired labor. The prices farmers
receive, therefore, yield to the farm
er for his own labor and that of his
family a better return than he has
ever before known. ="
Mr.. Brown said he is deeply con-
vinced not only that the economic
position Of the farmer is more IA
vorable than it has ever been before,
but that farm prices and farm in
comes are fair"
Our job" he said, "is to keep
them fair and to preserve the posi-
ton which the farmer has reached.
We can't do so if the stabilization
program is destroyed. If that pro-
gram is destroyed, farm prices will
go up-there is no doubt of that
but so will the prices farmers pay
and so will farm costs. In the end,
the farmers will lose, just as they
did during and after the last war"
IF this bill becomes law we might
as we'll give up the fight to try to
control imitation" Senator Lucas
declared
Il sincerely hope it will be held
up for some time. There have been
no hearings on the bill before either
House or Senate committees and to
my mind it is about the most i'm
Nf LnF
Congress"
Senator Thomas, Democrat, Of
Oklahoma, one Of the principal Sen
ate hackers Of the measure intro
duced in the House by Representa-
tive Pace, Democrat, Of Georgia,
said he believed the farm State
Senators should strike while the
iron is hot
We've got the votes to pass it,"
he added.
Nevertheless. wires were being
pulled behind the scenes in an effort
to delay consideration. Some of the
farm State lawmakers we're repre-
Sented as becoming concerned over
the legislatiOn's possible effect on
general price stabilization in the
face Of labor demands for wage
increases.
President Philip Murray Of the
/ Congress of Industrial Organiza-
tons, testifying before the Truman
Committee yesterday, predicted that
approval of the Face and Bankhead
| bills would raise the cost of
living for all people approximately
20 per cent Senator Thomas, how
ever, has declared that the Pace
bill is not likely to have any i'm
mediate effect on living costs,
though he observed it would give
the farmer the benefit Of larger
| Government loans on crops har-
vested this year
Majority Leader BarkIey told the
Senate Tuesday that the bill is
on our doorstep and should be dis
posed of"
The Bankhead bill provides per-
manent legislation stipulating that
farm benefit payments might not
be included IN computing farm
parity price ceilings.