Evening star., 1946-05-02
BarkIey Takes 10 Task
Witness Saying 0PA
Officials Seek Power
By J. A. o'Leory


Senator Barkley, Democrat, of
Kentucky took a witness to task
before the Senate Banking
Committee today for suggesting
that OPA officials want to per-
petuate their power over prices.
The witness. Mark w. Pickell,
executive secretary of the Corn Belt
Livestock Feeders Association, was
urging approval of House amend
ments to relax price controls on
agricultural commodities, especially
beef cattle.
Senator Barkley picked up a
pamphlet which had been dis
tributed to committee members dur
ing Mr.. Pickell's testimony and
read the following quotation:
Caesar also became ruler of the
destinies as absolute despot over
his people. So did Mussolini. So
did Hitler. They all died violent
deaths. A few men who have proved
their inability to lead but have
brought chaos, confusion and short
ages in food have seized control of
the destinies of America by caus-
ing confusion of prices. They want
to perpetuate their power. That
hold must be broken. OPA must CO."
Urged to Be More Specific.
The Kentucky Senator asked the
witness to name single individual
In the Government who wants to
perpetuate price control in order
to continue in power.
Mr.. Pickell said the gentlemen
in OPA want to maintain their
power until supply and demand get
into balance" That will never hap
pen, he argued, as long as present
controls continue in the case of
meat.
The Senate majority leader
pressed the witness to be more spe-
cific, asking if he thought Stabili-
zation Director Bowles, former OPA
head wanted to perpetuate his own
power.
Mr.. Pickell replied, mot necessar-
lily his own power, but the power to
control prices"
Senator Barkley told Mr.. Pickell
he might agree with some of the
facts he had given the committee,
but suggested that the reference to
perpetuating power, ''impugns mo-
tives" and in such case he thought
a witless should specify who he
means.
Predicts Acute Meat Shortage.
Mr.. Pickell predicted this summer
will see "the worst meat shortage of
any time in American history" be-
cause cattle feeders and other farm
ers can't make money on meat un-
der present OPA regulations.
"All you have to do is to give
these fellows assurance that price
ceilings are going to come off," Mr..
Pickel said.
A spokesman for the National
Association of Real Estate Boards,
James c. Downs, asked the commit
tee for an amendment allowing rent
increases of not exceeding 10 per
cent wherever an owner can show
that percentage of increase in his
costs since the freeze.
Declaring that residential rents
constitute the only segment of the
economy that has been frozen sue
cessfully, Mr.. Downs said rents have
increased only per cent since 1899
while the cost of living has gone
up 80 per cent. He said he was not
urging the removal of rent control
or any general horizontal increases.
He told the committee, however,
that the present level of rents is
forcing persons to buy places to live.
Mr.. Bowles urged consumers last
night to continue their protests
against weakened price act. He
said public reaction to the bill passed
by the House had caused foes of
OPA to beat seeming retreat.
"But-and let me make this warn
ing absolutely clean-let's not be
fooled by former opponents of firm
price control who suddenly protest
that they are really on our side, "
he asserted in radio address.