The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-06-16
Brown Takes OPA
Row To Congress
Continued from Page u

the September IS. 1912, levels is to
substitute through the packers and
professors, he SAID.
Taft argued that prices should be
allowed to rise above the Sept. Is,
1912, levels. Brown insisted that
the law specifically forbids that, but
Taft quoted from the law that
notifications shall be made in
maximum prices whenever there is
any increase in production costs"
Taft said There is no meat today
in New York City and won't be any
all because of the inefficient ana
ineffective attempts to roll back the
prices through subsidies"
THE packers al over the coun-
try have stopped buying livestock
because they don't know yet wheth-
er they are going to get the sub
Sides" Taft added.
Brown said there was no doubt
that the packers would get the
subsidies "but 1t won't be any finan-
cial advantage to them"
The price administrator was testi-
flying before a committee OF which,
as senator from Michigan, he was a
prominent member for several years.
The committee is studying propoS-
ais to amend a commodity credit
corp. extension bill to prohibit use
Of CCC or Reconstruction Finance
Corp. funds for food subsidies.
Browns defense of OPA came in
the midst of these other related
developments:
/. Food administration officials
we're trying to break price-jam
which is holding corn in the mid
die west and threatening eastern
dairy and poultry production. Re-
ports to farm organizations here said
farm cooperative elevators in the
east have only about a l0-days sup
ply of corn and that shipments
from the corn belt are small. War
Food Administrator Chester C.
Davis, Brown, Sterilization Direc-
tor Fred M. Vinson and corps Of
aides conferred yesterday and
scheduled another meeting today to
complete details of a program to
move" the corn.
2. Representatives Of wholesale
and retail food industries were
scheduled to present price control
recommendations at the end Of
their two-day conference here to-
day. They have been studying the
new community wide prices under
the auspices Of OPA. Brown told
them yesterday that the new price
program will be pushed with the
utmost vigor"
3. Eighteen congressman formed
q Committee to protect the con-
sumner" and scheduled meeting for
four OF its members with Vinson
today to discuss plans for placing
congressional pressure behind the
administration of effective price
control" The committee was
formed, Chairman Thomas F. Scan
lon, D., Pa, said, by those who be-
lieve that consumers interests are
being threatened by other congress
scional blocs."
Scanlon was to be accompanied
BY Reps. Howard j. MacMurray, D.,
Wis, Vito Marcantonio, American
Laborite, M Y, and Chef Holifield,
D., Calf, to the Vinson confer
ence. They plan to call conven-
ton Of consumers groups here on
June Is.
Brown, who was appointed Price
Administrators in move to appease
Congress when OPA was under fire
last year, made plain yesterday that
he had cast aside conciliatory tao
tics In dealing with the assaults
against his authority. He told the
retail and wholesale food industry
representatives that price control is
impossible without subsidies and
that he fully intends to stand his