The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-11-22

on meat. But as a grade-A example
of the workings of modern, wartime
government by directive and as
specific example Of one of the issues
on which the coming congressional
battle over subsidies will be fought,
this meat directive case offers a
perfect subject for your high school
civics class of your adult study club
to hash over in the long winter
evenings.
In special hearings before a house
subcommittee on agriculture, pre-
sided over by cowman- Congressman
Richard M. Kleberg Of Corpus
Christi and the King Ranch, Texas,
the fiat charge was made that the
Vinson order is illegal, in the sense
that it was not issued in compliance
with the acts of congress. Well, let's
see.
Under the Emergency Price Con-
troll act Of 1912, as passed and
amended by congress, it is speciflcal-
ly provided that no action shall be
taken with respect to the price of
any agricultural commodity without
the prior approval of the secretary
of agriculture.
TICKLISH TECHNICALLY
1t is admitted by the ONCE Of
Price Administrator that the Vim
son directive was not approved by
the secretary of agriculture. This
is a technicality, but in American
legal practice, lot of cases have
been thrown out of court on much
fimsier technicalities, so maybe the
Vinson directive is open to ques-
ton.
The Office of Price Administration,
however, maintains that the techni-
cality is not valid because after the
Price Control act was passed, the
President by executive order created
the War Food Administration and
he transferred to the war food adj
ministrator many Of the powers of
the secretary of agriculture. The
question then becomes whether the
President can do this. A curbstone
lawyers opinion Is that under the
various War Powers acts, he probably
can.
That being so, did the war food
administrator give his approval to
the Vinson directive? The VIA
Office has no comment on this ques-
ton for publication, but the an
swer seems to be that while OPA
consulted VIA, VIA didn't like
the order, or was afraid of 1t, and
War Food Administrator Marvin
Jones never gave 1t his formal ap-
prevail. Does that make the Vinson
directive no good?
In trying to get an answer to
that one, you run into a maze of
presidential executive orders which
no mere layman can hope to under
stand. In issuing his beef direc-
tive on Oct. 25, Judge Vinson cited
as his authority for SO doing not
only the Price Control act, but
executive orders creating the Of
flee of Economic Sterilization and
giving it powers over OPA and
VIA, and the Hold the Line" Or
der. In final showdown, therefore,
the Vinson beef directive may be
said to have been issued under exc
cutive order as part of the stabili-
zation program. The question then
becomeS-Which takes precedence,
an act of congress or presidential
order issued under authority granted
/ the President by congress?
DOUBTS AND POUTS
The position in which the Vim
son directive has put War Food Ad-
ministrator Marvin Jones and the
whole VIA is slightly embarrassing,
to say the least. VIA people and
Department of Agriculture people
have been awfully scared about try
ing to put ceilings on live cattle,
for the simple reason that they
don't believe it can be administered.
Also, VIA is given further assign
ment by the Vinson directive to in
stitute an ALLEGATION of live cattle
to slaughterers, and VIA hasn't
the slightest idea of how that can
be done, either.
To the cattle raisers, the Vinson
directive looks like a backhanded
plot conjured up in OPA and put
over without hearings, without their
approval, to aid small slaughterers,
but as a slick trick to impose indi-
rect price ceilings and drive down
the price of live cattle, just to APP
peaSe labor.
What the cattlemen won't con-
cede is that maybe this thing is
going to work. Dec. ! should give
the answer on that. The plan Is in
effect this month, and subsidies will
be paid in accordance with the new
schedules when the books are bal
anced by the slaughterers at the
close Of business Nov. 80.
An effort to explain just how it is
working will be made in this space