Evening star., 1946-01-21
BY ]. A. FOX.

oy d. f1s Io<1s
President Truman today asked
Congress to approve a nearly
balanced budget involving ex-
penditures of $35.86O. 100000 fol
the fiscal year ending June 80
1947, figure which will permit
the Federal Government to
fupction for the first time since
1880 without an increase in the
public debt.
In a 25,000-word document COM
bining the traditional State of the
Union and budget messages, in
which he dashed any hope of fur
ther tax reduction ''at this time, y
the PRESIDENT estimated the Gov
ernment's income in the next fiscal
year at s31, ,513, 900 900, and said the
$4,347, 600, 900 gap between receipts
an& outlay would be absorbed by
dipping into the Treasury cash
balance.
Mr.. Truman said also that the
same source would be tapped to
cut the public debt, which now
stands at $278,O00 100000 - the
statutory limit is 100000, 900, ,0OO-
to approximately $271 900 ,0oO, 900
in the next 18 months.
This cash balance is estimated to
be s11.90o,o 100000 as of June 80
next.
Stresses Lagging Measures.
In submitting the legislative rec
concentrations which ordinarily
make up the presidential State of
the Union message, Mr.. Truman
laid principal stress on the postwar
measures he has advocated since
assuming Office nine months ago,
and on which he urged voters in
his radio address of January 3 to
prod Congress into action.
He topped list ofs2I pieces of
tagging legislation with his plan for
fact-flnding machinery to cover
labor disputes in the major indus
tries. He also reiterated his support
for such controversial proposals as a
permanent Fair Employment Prac-
tice Committee, full employment,
universal military training and
unif1cation of the armed services.
Urging "early consideration" he
said that "some are more urgent
than others, but all are necessary"
Hopeful for Fact-Finding.
Against the backdrop of spread
ing industrial warfare, President
Truman discussed management
labor relations at length, as he
referred to his fact-finding recon-
mendation as "the procedure best
adapted to meeting the threat of
work stoppages in Nationwide in
dustries without sacrificing the fun
damental rights of labor to bargain
collectively and ultimately to strike
in support of their position"
Despite the success that has at
tended efforts of the Cancellation
Service to settle labor disputes, the
President said, everyone who re-
alizes the extreme need for a swift
and orderly conversion must feel a
deep concern about the number of
major strikes now in progress. If
long continued, these strikes could
put heavy brake on our program y
On the contrary, the Chief Execu-
tive continued, "if we manage our
economy properly, the future will
see us on level of production half
again as high as anything we have
ever accomplished in peacetime
Business can in the future pay
higher wages and sell for lower
prices than ever before. This is not
true now for all companies, nor will
it ever be true for all, but for busi-
ness generally, it is true"
The message said that "the most
serious difficulty in the path of re-
conversion and expansion is the es-
tablishment of fair wage struc-
ture," and stressed the special in
terest" which labor and manage
ment have in developing wage and
price policy which will guarantee a
fair return to both by stimulating
production and consumption.
Cites Wage Increases.
Again the President asserted his
belief that most industries and
most companies have adequate lee
way (within the present price struc-
ture) to grant substantial wage in
creases." About 100000 workers,
or more than 20 per cent of all in
(See MESSAGE, Page A-5D