Evening star., 1943-06-25
Murray Sets July IS
For RoIIback or End
OF HoId-Line Order
CIO Chief Says Labor
Cannot Meet Living
Costs on Present Pay

/ BY the Associated Press.
CIO President Philip Murray
served notice on congressional
committee today that unless an
effective rollback and subsidy
program are operating by July Is
organized labor would be COM
PEELED to demand that the hold
the-line order against imitation
and the Little Steel" wage for
mula be scrapped.
Mr.. Murray delivered the ulti-
matum before special congressional
committee studying consumer prob
lens.
Insisting that Congress support
the Presidents price rollback pro-
gram, supported by subsidies. he said
that labor could not meet increased
living costs under present wage CELL
ings unless Congress acted imme-
| diately.
He was followed by Mayor
Fiorello H. LaGuardia of New York
who testified that hell will break
loose in this country" unless Con
gress gives immediate attention" to
the food and price situation.
| Murray Accuses Congress.
What other course is there for
labor to follow" Mr.. Murray asked
after stating labor's position He
said he spoke for all organized labor
in demanding that something be
done to hold down living costs.
Mr.. Murray accused Congress of
having failed to live up to its COM
mitments' to stabilize prices and
hold down living costs.
Growing Senate opposition to
using Government funds to srbSidize
lower retail food prices today threat
ened the administration plan to
roll back the cost of living.
Originally given but an outside
chance, proposal by Senator Clark,
Democrat, of Missouri to strip Fed
eral agencies of subsidy paying au-
thority appeared to have gained
strength through eleventh-hour in
clusion of a clause retaining pay
ments for commodities essential to
the war effort.
Price Administrator Brown in a
radio speech last night defended
subsidies as a benefit to consumers.
He said they also would back up
President Roosevelt and the War
Labor Board which have "coura-
geously held the line" against infia-
ton.
While administration forces ac-
knowledged strong support for the
Clark measure, they assured that
another proposal to authorize sub
sidy payments by the Reconstruction
Finance Corp. up to $500,000,00 and
up to SITS 100000 by the Commod-
ity Credit Corp. is still very much
in the running"
Offered as Amendments.
These proposals, together with an
other to prohibit the present sub
sidy- -rollback on meats, butter and
coffee after the growing season. were
offered as amendments to bill ex-
tending the life of the CCC two more
years and increasing it's borrowing
power from s2,65O 900, 900 to $780,
900 900.
Calling the rollback IAN engine of
hell" Chairman Smith of the Agri-
culture Committee asserted the Of
flee of Price Administration assumed
authority for subsidies to support
price rollbacks from false interpre-
| tations of the price control law and
said the orders amounted to for
geries"
1--WE are now asked to approve
and vindicate these forgeries," he
declared in support of the Clark
amendment.
Brown Appeals for Program.
Upholding the subsidy -rollback
program, Mr.. Brown said in his
radio address that price control will
be crippled into uselessness" if the
Senate sustains the House in cutting
OPS's 1894 budget to $l30,000, ,000
$47, 100000 less than the amount re-
quested for OPA by the Budget Bu-
reau.
IF present opposition results in
the end Of price control" Mr.. Brown
said, every American will suffer.
Those who oppose us say they are
against imitation. All they want is
higher prices. We have had to
fight this thing many times. We
must win this last battle. Americans,
(see SUBSIDIES, Page A-1s0