Evening star., 1944-06-15
By the Associated Press.

6y Inc ASS0Cldteu EteSs.
House passage of the bill ex-
tending price controls for an
other year helped clear the way
today for Congress to recess fol
the political conventions, but
Senator Murdock, Democrat, OF
Utah said the legislation still
faces the threat of a veto.
Senator Murdnck told a reporter
he doesn't beiieye President Roose-
welt will sign the measure If 1t
reaches him carrying an amendment
that would throw all OPA regula-
tions open for legal tests in the Fed
eral district courts.
That amendment, by Representa-
tive Dirksen, Republican, of Illinois
was adopted by 206-to-18l vote OF
the House late yesterday.
The administration earlier had
succeeded in killing the even more
controversial Bankhead- Brown pro-
posal to adjust cotton textile ceilings
in way the OPA called inf1ationary
and move by Representative Dis
ney, Democrat, of Oklahoma. to
force a 35-cents-a-barrel boost in
the price of crude oil.
BiII Goes to Conference.
The Senate last week passed a
separate 18-month extension bill,
and a conference committee will
now try to work out differences be-
tween the two. Without the legisla-
ton, price controls expire June 80.
Although the cotton amendment
had drawn the hottest administra-
tion fire, Senator Murdock assailed
the Dirksen provision as likely to
'bog down" stabilization machinery
through conflicting interpretations
of the act by the IS district courts.
THE war would be over before
any one would know for sure just
what the law was" Senator Muir
dock said.
But Mr.. Dirksen told the House
the provision would "re-estabish the
dignity of the courts" and give to
businessmen the same right of ju-
dicial process as in the case of any
other Federal statute. Under the
present law, only a special emer-
gency court of appeals can pass on
the validity of OPA price orders.
In place of the Bankhead-B Brown
cotton amendment, the House sub
stituted, with administration ap-
proval. provision by Representa-
tive Pace, Democrat, of Georgia, un-
der which professors who failed to
pay a parity price for any farm
commodity would be allowed to
charge only 80 per cent of the OPA
ceiling for the finished article
parity is price calculated to make
farm purchasing power equal to
that prevailing In 1909-1914)
COP Opposes Textile Jump.
Mr.. Pace said his plan would af-
feet cotton, wheat, rye, eggs and
peanuts and would mean hundreds
of millions of dollars" to farmers.
The Bankhead-Brown proposal
would have required adjustment OF
textile ceilings to reflect parity to
farmers and also to guarantee man.
ufacturing costs plus a reasonable
profit" to millers.
Virtually all the House Repub-
hcans joined with administration
forces against the textile pricing
change, which was beaten, 19l to 81
Representative Pace said his
amendment would accomplish the
primary purpose of the Bankhead-
Brown amendment - lifting the
price of cotton about a cent q
pound.
He also said his amendment
might we'll result in a reduction
in the cost of living, because
professors who fail to pay parity
would have to charge 10 per cent
less than the ceilings"
The House rejected, 9S to 10, a
second Senate-approved amend
ment which would have removed
the War Labor Boards jurisdic-
ton over wage increases mutually
agreed upon by employers and en-
ployes UP to the $37. so weekly level