The Wilmington morning star., 1946-07-21
RENTS TO REVERT
TO FORMER LEVEL
Recommend Establishment
OF Decontrol Prices
Board Over OPA

WAOi111N1 YIN, OG1y V
Senate-House conferees agreed to-
night on compromise legislation to
revive OPA until next June 80, with
a complex formula for handling
price controls for various major
food items.
In agreeing on the bill. Sen Bark
ley said the conferees voted to re-
store federal rent controls without
changes. Previously the Senate had
voted to eliminate Federal controls
where states had entered this field,
but the c~onferees struck this out.
In announcing the end of a stale
mate over a bill to put OPA back
in business, Democratic leader
Barley said this would be done
with major food items which the
Senate had proposed to emove en-
tirely from price controls:
Controls would 60 back automati-
cally on Aug. 20 on meats, dairy
products, grains, ~cottonseed and
soybeans, and food and feed prod
ucts made from them unless a
I'LL SS-ll1d1 QCSOllLl VI UOdlu QCIlGSo
before then that they should be re-
imposed sooner-or should remain
free of controls. If the board fails
to act, the controls are reinstated.
Price ceilings on genaral COM
modities would go back into effect
Immediately after the bill became
law at the level fixed by the OPA.
Poultry, eggs and tobacco would
remain free of ceiling until the Sec
rotary of Agriculture and the pro-
posed new decontrol board agree
that controls on them should be
restored. Petroleum also remains
free of sontrols until the Decontrol
board and the OPA administrator
agree to restore ceilings on it.
Shortly before the committee
completed it's work an Influential
official said President Truman had
indicated he reluctantly would ac-
cept such a compromise.
Whether the ceilings would be
those in existence o. last June 80,
when OPA expired, or whether they
would be fixed at some other level
would be up to the price admins
traitor to determine, Barley said.
The conferees agreed also that
the administrator, in establishing
maximum prices for wholesalers
or retailers, should permit the cur
rent cost of purchase to them plus
the percentage mark-up or discount
in effect on May 81, 1916. That rep
resented a change in the date,
from June 20.
Decontrol Standards
Standards set up for the decontrol
board would let it restore controls
if:
The price of a food item has
risen unreasonably above the cell
ing price in effect June 30, plus the
amount per unit of any subsidy
paid prior to June 30.
The commodity concerned is
scarce and recontrol is "practi-
cable and enforceable"
The public interest will be served
by suca recontrol.
The compromise version of ths
bill, will 60 first to the House for
it's consideration. Previously the
House had voted a 20-day extension
of the OPA authority which ex-
pires July l with President Tru-
mans veto of an extension bill.
The Senate-House committee also
made a minor change in a pricing
provision the Senate had inserted
in the bill as a substitute for the
amendment by Senator Taft (R.-
Ohio) which President Truman had
criticized as the most damaging
of the sections of the original ex-
tension bill he vetoed June 20.
Provide Adjustments
AS it came out of the conference,
this provision still contained dis
c%retionary authority for the OPA
against which Taft had protested
vigorously in the senate. Under it
the agency could make reason
able adjustments to meet abnor-
NAL production. In cases where
! Continued on Page Two; Col. 81