Evening star., 1947-10-25
Mr.. Trumun BIunders

Inere was notnlng IN Cne PTeSlQenGS s
speech last night to dispel the original
impression that Mr.. Truman is guilty of
what we'll may prove to be tragic blunder
in calling on Congress to deal with both
the cost of living and emergency aid to
Europe in the special session set for
November IT,
Without a doubt, our domestic price
structure is too high and this is an i'm
portant factor in the mounting imitation
that is eating into the consumers dollar.
But it is equally clear that this condition
cannot be materially affected by anything
the Congress might do during the six
week period between November II and the
opening of the next regular session in
January.
Action on prices at the special session
is not essential. If our economy has held
up under the impact of excessively high
prices until now, it is not going to collapse
before January. Congress will meet in
regular session then, and that is when it
should take up the problem of imitation.
But France and Italy cannot wait. If one
accepts the Presidents own words, the
point of imminent danger is to be found
in those countries France, the President
says, can squeeze through until the end
of December, but then the French must
have $357 100000 from us to carry them
to next March 81. The plight of Italy is
worse Again according to Mr.. Truman,
the Italians must have from us $142 100000
to tide them over until December 81, and
then they will need an additional $143 ,0oo,-
600 to get through the first quarter of 1948.
If these are the facts, and the President
says they are, it is dismaying thing to
have Mr. Truman link aid to France and
Italy with the problem of domestic infla-
ton, and with priority given to the latter.
Mr.. Truman says that "the major cause
of high prices in this country is the great
demand among our own people for AVAIL
able goods" What is Congress going to
| do about that in six-week special session?
Will the President have program to pro-
| pose on November II that will amount to
| more than an effort to saddle the Re-
publicans with blame for rising prices?
| The Republicans think not, and some of
them impute to the President an ambition
to play politics with prices at the jeopardy
of European relief. That is an indictment
of Mr. Truman which one cannot accept
| on the basis of the evidence. 1t Is an
! Indictment which asks us to conclude that
| the President would sacrifice the starving
people of France and Italy for the sake
of some partisan political advantage, and
that is simply beyond belief.
It is fact, however, that the program
| oiL 1ho nv
as we'll as by design. 1t Is idle to suppose
that Congress, in six weeks, can evolve
program for lowering the price structure
1t is equally doubtful that Mr. Truman
will be able to propose any feasible way OF
doing it in that short period OF time II
he cannot, then he should beware OF
seeming to want to put Congress in the
position of doing something" for Europe
after failing to "do something" for the
people of this country. The Republicans
are not going to accept that political dis
advantage, and Mr. Truman must know
| it, If anything is to be done for the people
of Europe this winter, it is imperative that
first things be put first. And the f1rst
thing is to keep starvation out OF France
and Italy. There is more than little
reason to doubt that Congress can get that
much done in a special session. To ask
that Congress do more, to insist That the
LEGISLATORS also deal with the enormously
difficult problem of initiation before Jan
uarv. is a blunder of the first magnitude
a blunder which is all too apt to result ir
needless political deadlock that will
produce neither aid for Europe nor ar
answer to imitation.