Evening star., 1946-07-11
By J. A. O'Leory

Majority Leader Barkley will
urge the Senate to pass the new
price control bill today, although
1t is so laden with exemptions
1t may never become law.
Senator Barkley apparently is
counting on a conference with the
House to eliminate some of the
amendments by which the Senate
has banned any revival of price
ceilings on meat, poultry, dairy
products, cottonseed, soy beans and
their products. and petroleum as
long as supply exceeds domestic de-
mand. The majority leader told
reporters:
We got better bill in conference
than either the Senate or House
passed last time Maybe we can
still improve on that this time"
Sees Rent Control Only.
From the House side, however,
came news that dampened Senator
Barkley's optimism. 1t was from
Representative Wolcott of Michigan.
ranking Republican on the commit
( tee handling price control, who pre-
dicted that only rent control is
likely to remain when Congress and
/ the President finish their battle
over OPA. Mr. Wolcott said a move
in the House TO accept all Senats
amendments might carry. That
would send the skeletonized price
control bill back to Mr.. Truman
without the chance for improvement
in conference
Although Mr.. Truman is with.
/ holding judgment on the bill until
it reaches him, informed sources at
the Capitol do not see how he could
sign bill leaving everyday neces-
sites free from control when he
already has vetoed a measure that
did not go that far.
/ While Senator Barkley is hopeful
of getting the bill off the Senate
operating table by evening. there
are several amendment hurdles still
to be cleared.
Further exemptions for tobacco
and wood pulp may be sought today.
Profit Formula Faces Fight.
I Another major fight remains to
/ be settled over the profit formula
to be applied to articles which OPA
could still control. President Tru-
mans veto message vigorously at
tackled the original Taft formula.
which took the basic prices of the
first two weeks of October. 1941,
and added the average increase in
unit cost of production.
Senator Barkley got through the
Banking Committee q substitute.
using the entire year 1910 as the
| base period and allowing the av.
erage overall increase in costs of an
industry. On the floor Senator
Taft. Republican, of Ohio will fight
for modified version of his ole
plan, changing the base period to
the first two weeks of July, 1910.
The President had argued that tbs
tall of l94l was high-price period.
/ Hawkes. Seeks Rent Increases.
/ Senator Hawkes., Republican. Of
/ New Jersey also announced he viii
propose a Is per cent rent increase.
20 be allowed gradually-5 per cent
as of June 3d. last. another PEI
cent in November and the final 5
per cent on March 81. 1947. HIS
amendment also would bar Fedora,
rent control where States have
taken action.
In a session which ran until s
pm, the Senate yesterday voted:
To exempt milk and dairy prod
ucts, 81 TO 27; to exempt cottonseed
and soy beans, and their products,
AZ to "a; to exempt petroleum, while
the supply exceeds domestic de-
mand, 40 to 80.
The only round the administra-
ton won was to defeat, 40 to 80, the
effort of Senator Reed, Republican,
of Kansas to exempt grains and
their byproducts.
! The milk and dairy products
amendment was sponsored by Sem
ator Wherry. Republican. of Nebras-
ka. who succeeded in getting meat
and poultry decontrolled the day
before. Senator Eastland, Demo-
crat, of Mississippi sponsored tha
cottonseed-soy bean amendment.
3 n