Evening star., 1946-06-29
Following is the tert OF Presi.

gTeSS DcLOtHg LHe OFA cTLSUStOH
bill,
To the House of Representatives:
I am returning without my ap.
proval H. r. 6042 amending the price
control laws and extending them fol
another year.
The choice which H. r. 6042 pre-.
sents is not a choice between con.
tinued price stability and imitation
1t is a choice between imitation with
statute and imitation without one
The bill continues the Governments
responsibility to stabilize the econ.
omy and at the same time it de.
stroys the Governments power tt
DO so.
If this bill were allowed to become
law, the American people would be.
lieve that they were protected by q
workable price control law. But
they would not be protected anc
they would soon come to bittel
realization of that truth. It is only
fair to tell them the facts now.
The lesson from our own expert
ence after the last war, disastrous as
it was to our farmers, our workers
our manufacturers, our distributors
and our consumers, has been toe
easily obscured by the annoyances
and irritations and the occaSiona.
inequities of price control. The fact
that imitation has already gutted the
economy of country after country all
over the world should shake oul
comfortable assurance that such
catastrophe cannot happen here.
For five years we have proved that
imitation can be prevented. 1t still
can be prevented if we have the will
to prevent it. Today the opportu-
nifty of completing the transition
from war to peace with an economy
which is stable, sound and secure is
within our grasp.
To avoid sacrificing this oppor.
tunity requires courage, wisdom ane
self restraint. This winter anc
spring the tensions have been more
acute than ever before. We are al
weary and impatient of Government
restrictions and controls We are
all eager for the day when we car
pursue our own affairs in our own
way. In such mood there is the
natural temptation to remove es-
sential safeguards, prematurely.
Bill Has No Safeguards
And Would Boost Prices.
This bill yields to that temptation
1t would provide us with no real
safeguards at all 1t would start
prices and costs climbing and keep
them climbing. 1t would start the
value of the dollar falling and keer
it falling. Far from helping pro-
duction 1t would retard 1t. In the
end this bill would lead to disaster
I shall not attempt to comment
on all the bills provisions. Some
of them are entirely appropriate
Many others reflect minor conces-
sions to special interest groups Of
the sort which the Congress ha.
heretofore resisted. To these lattel
provisions I object on grounds ol
principle. But in the last days be.
fore the expiration Of legislation 81
vital to the Nations welfare shoulc
not regard these concessions as 8
basis for withholding my approva
from an extension bill.
My fundamental objection to ths
bill is to the numerous amendments
which would raise the price of es.
sential cost-of-living commodities
OF those by far the most damaginl
is the price raising amendment fol
manufacturers introduced by Sen.
ator Taft (Section III, operating IL
conjunction with the revised price
raising amendment for distributor,
introduced by Senator Wherry (Sec.
ton 10, Par. 90, and with the spe.
cial cost-plus amendments for auto.
mobile and appliance dealers first
offered to the House Committee or
Banking and Currency by Repre-.
sentative Crawford (Section 10, Par
(q) and (r)).
The handspring of this combina'
tion is Senator Taft's amendment
1t is that amendment which woule
compel thousands of needless pric,
increases amounting to many bill
lions of dollars. The Wherry anc
Crawford amendments simply max,
sure that before the Taft amend
ment price increases for the manu-
facturers reach the consumer, the.
will be pyramided by generou
wholesalers and retailers markups
The provisions of the Taft amend
ment are complex but they wear ,
superficial reasonableness I an
sure, however, that Congress adopt
ed this amendment without full
appreciation of its consequences.
I wish it was possible to tell 20,
exactly how many billions Of dol
lars the American people woult
eventually have to pay for tn
Taft amendment and its companion
pieces. To attempt to do so, how
ever, would be like trying to es
innate the cost of a fire about t.
sweep a city before the first build
ing had started to burn. Even t,
estimate the total amount of all tn,
first round of price increases is no
now possible.
Here, however, are a few ex
amples which would enter into sucl
a total.
Effect on Housing Program Would
Be Devastating.
The first impact of the Taft ant
Wherry Amendments in the crucia
field Of housing would be little short
Of devastating. The prices of near
ly all building materials would b'
affected. The average increase oi
such materials, excluding lumber
would be approximately 20 per cent
This would completely disrupt tn,
program recently approved by the
Congress to provide veterans hous.
ing at reasonable cost.
Ceilings for steel would have to b,
raised an average Of 81 to So a ton
These increases would in turn be re
f1ected in the ceilings of everything
made of steel.
The average price of low-pricet
automobiles would be increased $22!
to $3.50, on top of the substantial in
creases already granted.
Household appliances such a.
washing machines and refrigerator
would increase from Is to 80 pc
cent. Floor coverings would 60 VI
about II per cent; plumbing sup
plies. about 16 Der cent. farm nna