Evening star., 1946-07-02
Time Is of the Essence

were appeals by the heads of busi-
ness and trade associations not to
begin price-raising spree Some
OF the appeals may have been in
response to the Presidents call, on
Saturday night, addressed to every
businessman, every producer and
every landlord to adhere to existing
regulations, even though for a short
period they may not have the effect
OF law" Part of them may have
been motivated purely by self
interest, in the knowledge that
nothing would so spur the efforts
of Congress to enact new price-con-
troll legislation as a sudden wave of
scandalous price increases.
But II the line Is to be held volun-
tarily for an interval after the sur
priSing events of Saturday, it will
be, for the most part, result of
the natural uncertainty over what
is going to happen. The sudden
death of price control on midnight
Of Sunday did not mean the return
OF free competition. 1t did not mean
that suppliers and manufacturers
and wholesalers and retailers are
now able to begin a new computa-
tion of costs, markets and prices and
on the basis of such studies work
out new pattern of trade. All it
meant was more uncertainty, more
waiting to see what lay ahead. And
it thus meant more delay in the
resumption of the only effort, heavy
production, that will guarantee
return to free enterprise and prices
fixed by the natural laws of supply
and demand.
There Is, of course, great danger
in this continuation of a delay that
has been marked during the long
months Of uncertainty over what
Congress would do with price con-
troll. 1t is the sort of delay that has
helped keep so many essential goods
from the shelves, brought about a
famine Of meat in land OF plenty
and produced new bottlenecks in
construction. And it is as much to
hasten the end of this uncertainty
as to prevent sudden break of the
price line everywhere that should
1mpel Congress to an immediate
decision on the future of price con-
troll for the next year.
The vote yesterday in the House,
which is most quickly responsive to
public sentiment, reflected popular
anxiety. That same anxiety will
serve to bring out in sharper relief
than in any Of the legislative crises
OF the recent past the Senate rules
and the advantage they give to a
few individuals to delay urgent
legislation.
Senator Barkley, whose advice the
President saw fit to repudiate on
Saturday, is placed in the position
now OF deciding whether to press
for the mere continuing resolution,
which returns price control tempo
rarily to its status before Sunday
midnight or to gamble with the
chance that in the next few days a
bill can be passed which will outline
the degree Of price control for the
next year. II he finds the support
he should have from Senators who
are concerned with the public in
terest and are not preoccupied with
the temporary opportunities for
political advantage, the second
course would seem wise.
But time, now, Is of the essence.
Having come so far toward creating
the conditions which will allow COM
plete decontrol of prices, it will be
tragic II this progress is wasted by
substituting, for reasonable and
gradual decontrol, state of eco
nomic chaos which holds such grave
dangers for everybody.