Evening star., 1947-12-20
Truman Likely
To Sign Mild
Initiation Curb
$40 Million Voted
For Stopgop Aid
As Congress Quits
By J. A. O'Leoy

President Truman is expected
to sign the mild inf1ation-con-
troll bill Congress sent him, along
with $540,OOO,o0O for stopgap
foreign aid, before the legis-
lators started home today for
Christmas.
In customary last-day rush, the
House and Senate put the finishing
touches yesterday on both of these
subjects Mr.. Truman had placed on
their desks when he called them into
session on November II.
The President did not get all he
asked for in either case, but Jared
better on stopgap aid than on his
10-point plan to check rising prices.
The anti-inf1ation bill authorizes
Mr.. Truman to seek voluntary agree
ments by industry and agriculture
to control scarce basic commodities,
to allocate transportation facilities,
and to regulate speculative trading
on commodity exchanges.
Devoid of Standby Power.
1t was devoid, however, of the
standby power the President rec
commended to restore price and wage
controls on a selective basis.
Although informed sources be-
lieve the President will regard the
bill as far from adequate to hold
the line, they predicted he will sign
it because it continues his eXpir-
ing authority to control exports and
to regulate transportation. It also
reinstate his wartime power to
restrict use of grain for liquor.
Apparently unwilling to go home
for the holidays with nothing &C
complished on the imitation front,
102 Democrats joined 178 Republi-
cans to put the voluntary" con-
trolls through the House on the last
day. New York's American Labor
ite, Representative Marcantonio,
also voted for it, Voting against it
were A Democrats and 20 Republi-
cans.
S1S,OOO,000 Provided for China.
The final agreement on interim
foreign aid makes S522, 100000 avail
able to tide France, Italy and Aus
tria over the winter, and a token
allotment of $18,0O0,00O for China,
to indicate the United States is in
terested in checking communism on
both fronts.
This is $75,00O,0O0 less than the
administration for Western Europe.
On the other hand, the $18,000,000
for China had not been asked for
by the President, because the State
Department was still working on a
program for China to be presented
in January.
Led by Chairman Bridges, the
Senate Appropriations Committee
decided, however, the bill should
include something to indicate to
the Chinese government that the
United States is against Communist
encroachment in the Orient as well
as in Europe.
Provides Interim Relief.
The stoppage bill is>intended only
to keep the economics of free"
areas OF Western Europe going until
the January session has time to act
on the long range Marshall plan to
take effect April l.
A substantial part of the stopgap
program is to provide food and fuel,
and this prompted Congress to
write into the appropriation a re-
quirement that wheat shipments
abroad must be watched, with a
view to keeping in this country a
reserve carry-over of 100000 600
bushels on July l.
The general appropriation bill
containing the stopgap aid for
France. Italy, Austria and China
also carried $34O,000,OOO to sustain
the occupied zones of Germany
Japan and Korea for the rest of the
fiscal year. Here also, Congress
welded the economy knife. The
Army had asked for $4eO 900, 900.
and the Senate allowed it. A COM
promise was necessary to get final
agreement with the House
The House accepted the final
draft of the foreign aid appropria-
ton bill, 233 to 2, as one of its last
tSee CONGRESS, Page A-3.1