The Wilmington morning star., 1946-10-15

come into this country. Most Of
them will be thin, but they can
be sent into the feed lots to re-
place the domestic cattle which
have been sufficiently fattened to
be shipped to the slaughter houses.
For many months representa-
tives of the livestock and meat in
dustry have insistently demanded
the lifting of controls from Their
products. They have made the
definite promise that the lifting
of controls on livestock and meat
would bring to market the meat
which our people want, at reason
able prices. The American people
will know where the responsibility
rests if profiteering on meat raises
prices so high that the average
American cannot buy it.
The lifting of controls on meat,
however, cannot be treated as an
isolated transaction. Meat is SO
important a part of u cost of
living that removing price con-
trolls on it may have an effect on
our economic structure generally.
Tell Of Plans
The price administrator and the
secretary of agriculture have been
lifting controls on thousands OF
items on their own initiative. Re-
Gently, they have been telling me
their plans for relaxation OF con-
trolls in the future. The action
which will be taken tomorrow in
freeing meat from controls means
that their programs of lifting con-
trolls will have to be accelerated
under existing legal standards. l
have directed all the agencies of
government to cooperate in speed
ing up those plans to an extent
compatible with our economic Sc
curity.
This does not mean the end of
controls now. Some items, like
rent, will have to be controlled
for a long time to come. Other
items, consisting of certain basic
materials and Other commodities
of which there is now a grave
shortage, will have to remain
under control until production of
them has been greatly increased.
We all recognize the close rela-
~tionship between wages and prices.
If either one rises too high, the
other is certain to be affected.
Price control and wage control are
largly dependent upon each other.
As we speed up the removal OF
price controls, the removal of
wage controls will also be accel-
lerated. In this way we shall move
steadily-and as quickly as we
safely can-toward a free economy
and free collective bargaining.
Gap Closing
The risk in the action we are
taking in removing meat controls
is less than it would otherwise
be because production in general
is now increasing at a significant
rate. The constantly growing
stream of goods from our factories,
our mines, and our farms is rapid
ly closing the gap between demand
and supply. There r now SO mil
lion people at work-an all-time
high. Industry has provided jobs
for IN poilliop retIIrped veteropc
National income, business profits,
farm income-all these are at an
alI-time high. Total production OF
private industry has also reached
a new high level The improvement
in production has been steady and
in numerous instances spectacular.
AS the shortages continue to dis
appear, the inflationary p~ressures
will ease and the need for gov
e~nment controls will pass. No one
is more anxious to get rid of these
controls than I am. But before
we get rid of them we must be
sure that the American people
as a whole-not some special in
terest-Will be benefited.
If industry should 60 on a strike
in any commodity and refuse
either to make the goods or to sell
them freely - if by slowing down
production, or by boarding products
for higher prices, scarcities should
be continued - industry would be