The union times. (New Haven, Conn.) 1941-1948, 1943-12-04
AFLUrgesAII
.LOcaIsTOSend
Urgent Wires
Defeat Of Subsidies Means
Increase Of 1920 In Cost
Of Living In 3 Months

ALL, CLIO, and cOnsum-
er organizations throughout
Connecticut and the rest of
the nation modified their
forces this week behind Presi-
dent Roosevelt and high-rank-
ing government officials for a
last-ditch fight to save subsi-
dies, as the Commodity Credit
Corporation bill neared a vote
in the Senate.
Subsidies have already been
banned by the House of Repre-
sentatlves, with all of Connect
cuts congressman voting for the
bill, which if enacted, will mean
an increase of from seven to ten
per cent in the cost of living
within the next three months.
The measure is now before the
Senate, and an urgent call has
been sent out by the American
Federation of Labor, urging all
bodies to lombard Senators
Francis Maloney and John A.
Danaher with kilograms in favor
of subsidies.
Despite these appeals, it was re-
ported as this edition went to press
that the Senate would strike out
all subsidy provisions from the
pending bill.
Egged on by the farm bloc, which
represents the large farmers, and by
powerful groups demanding inhation-
airy profits, the members of the Sen
ate appeared determined to ignore
all warnings as to the disastrous eff
fects of eliminating subsidies.
ALL. President William Green.
in a letter to House Majority Leader
Mccormack, declared that it seemed
uncomfortable that Congress should
fail to authorize subsidies at this crit
ical stage of the nations war economy
when destructive imitation menaces
the consuming public.
Secretary Treasurer George
Meany, in nationwide radio adj
dress, charged that Congress would
be betraying the American people
and treating the economic Stabiliza-
ton Act as ''scrap of paper" if it
neglected to pass the subsidy pro-
gram.
OPA Administrator Bowles issued
a fiat warming that if Congress
bitches subsidies prices of many basic
food commodities will be boosted al
most Immediately and the cost of 1iv-
ing mount at least another 10 per
cent.
War Production Board Chairman
Nelson pointed out that Government
expenditures for all kinds of supplies
and munitions will be increased heav-
lily by failure of Congress to back UP
the price control program with sub
sides.
DiSregarding these warnings and
the most powerful message ever sent
by President Roosevelt in behalf of
subsidies, the House of Representa-
tives last week lined up solidly in OPP
position
1t was reported that sentiment in
the Senate also was in favor of throw
ing the subsidy program overheard.
If such action should take place,
it is considered certain that the
President will veto the pending bill
and send it back to Congress. Then,
it is expected that an attempt will
be made to effect a compromise
providing for limited subsidies.
However, organized labor feels that
unless real and comprehensive sub
sidy program is authorized, Congress
will be repudiating its own promises
to the people contained in the CO.
nomic Sterilization Act of 1912.
This law declares that prices and
wages were in equitable relationship
as of Sept. Is 1912 and should be
stabilized at the levels then prevailing.
While the Little Steel'' formula
has kept wages at last years levels,
prices have continued to go up. Re-
lection of the subsidy program
would be the signal for even more
dangerous initiation of prices and
would unquestiOnably force aban-
dOnunenf mr. ravisiOY1 Of Tho SsT sRHI0