Evening star., 1944-06-21
Congress Recess Goal
Brought Nearer by
Price Control Accord

Price Control Accord
Congressional plans to clean up
stack of must" bills by Friday or
Saturday and recess for month
were brighter than ever today as
the result of White House co-opera-
ton with Senate and House confer
ees in reaching agreement last night
on the price control extension bill.
! At the same time another group
of conferees settled differences over
the war contract termination bill
and both houses prepared to put
the finishing touches on eight big
appropriation bills. which also must
go to the President before a recess
is possible.
War Mobilizati ton Director James
F. Byrnes was credited with having
brought about compromise on the
Bankhead cotton-teXtile amend
ment which had become the main
stumbling block to an agreement on
the price control bill.
To Adjust Textile Ceilings.
| The administration had called the
amendment inf1ationary and there
was fear its retention would have
brought presidential veto, upset.
ting recess plans or necessitating
a temporary continuing resolution
to keep OPA alive after June 80.
The compromise provides for an
adjustment of cotton textile ceilings
but without the detailed formula
in the Bankhead proposal.
According to Henry M. Hart, as
sociate general counsel of OPA, the
compromise may raise ceilings on
some cotton textiles but he pre-
dicted the increases would not be
serious.
Asks More Data on Canol.
Most important of the remaining
appropriation bills-the $49, ,107, 1885,
795 Army budget for the next u
months-probably will pass the Sen
ate today. 1t was held up last night
by last-minute protest from Sen
ator Ferguson, Republican, of Mich
igan, who wanted to know more
uSoub Wlide IlC CdllCO u SCClCt III
lowance" of SIC, ,439 ,68S for the Canol
oil project in Canada, which has
provoked controversy in the Truman
War Investigating Committee.
Senator Ferguson said the funds
for Canol were included in a ST.
799 ,000, 900 blanket item for the
Corps of Engineers.
1t was only within the last day"
that the Truman Committee learned
of the items, Senator Kilgore, Dem
ocrat, of West Virginia said, from
secret reports"
Senator McKellar, Democrat, of
Tennessee maintained, however,
that the information was available
in hearings Of the Appropriations
Committee,
Senator Ferguson told the Senate
the Canol refinery had not yielded
any 100-octane gasoline, that little
or no oil would be available to the
Pacific Fleet from the project and
that I'VE could buy and ship to
Alaska for about 5000, 900 the same
amount of oil that will be produced
at a cost Of 81, 900 900 at Canol."
Appropriation Hump" Over.
Although this session of Congress
will have appropriated about $66,-
0OO, 100000 when remaining supply
measures are completed, Chairman
Cannon of the House Appropriations
Committee declared today that ap-
propriations definitely have passed
the hump and will beaon the down
grade from here on, regardless of
future developments in the war
He explained, however, that spend
ing from outstanding appropriat lions
probably will continue during the
next fiscal year at the same rate as
IN previous war years.
In the first war year after Pearl
Harbor Congress supplied $l47,07l,-
208, ,96l. Last year the first session
of the Seventh Eighth Congress
made available s114,564, ,008 ,5s4.
The conference agreement on
price-control extension for another
year knocks out the Dirksen amend
ment, which sought to subject OPA
rulings to review by regular Fed
eral courts instead of by the special
emergency Court of Appeals.
The bill sets up, however, a re-
view board to hear protests against
OPA orders and permits protests to
be filed against past, present or
proposed regulations.
Other OPA Changes.
Other agreed changes In the ex-
isting law include:
Penalties for violations of price
ceilings would be reduced from
minimum Of $50 to $25, or the actual
amount Of overcharge, whichever is
larger, for merchants who establish
in court that the violati tions are not
willful or the result Of negligence.
OPA itself would be authorized to
initiate damage suits for overcharges
and to purchase evidence.
Rent ceilings would be adjustable
upon a showing that they are sub
stantially higher or lower than pre-
vsiling rates, or If landlords costs
or taxes were increased substan-
TALLY.
The OPA's highest price line"
regulation would be abolished as to
retailers, but retained as to whole
salers and manufacturers.
Present wage provisions of the
Sterilization Act would be left sub
stantially unchanged, since the con-
ferees rejected Senate amendment
that would have Cancelled War Labor
Board control over increases in
wages up to $3.50 week.