The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1947-06-05
Morse Says COP
Reoc+ionory Line
Invites Disaster

III al HOuI-iOHS SpccCH OH tIls
floor of the Senate, Sen. Wayne
Morse (R., Ore.) threw down thu
gauntlet tothe Republican major
ity on the Joint Committee on the
Economic Report, set up under the
Employment Act of 1916.
The committe is supposed to take
action on the report Of the Presi.
dent and his Council of Economic
Advisers. This action was due un-
der the law by Feb. /, and has
still not been taken by the Com
mittee, which is headed by Sen
Robert A. Taft, (R., Ohio).
The Truman report is "filed
forgotten and forlorn," Morse
charged, although it deals with
"the livelihood, the happiness, the
bread, and the butter of the peo-
pie who elected each of us to his
position in Congress.
"If my party thinks it can long
stay in power with only a mega
tive legislative program, it will
learn in due course of time at the
ballot boxes of America that the
overwhelming majority of the
American people expect my party
to keep pace with the march of
time and to recognize that human
events are moving ever forward
and not backward"
So far, the Joint Committee on
the Economic Report has taken
only three steps: lit allowed a
Wall st. financial reporting
agency to send out in the name of
the committee QUESTIONABLE,
heavily loaded with prejudicial
questions, on what business pros
poets were for the second half of
this year, compared with the Sec
ond half of 1916; Pit will send
out this week QUESTIONABLE on
economic prospects to 400 econo-
mists; 3-some time before the
end Of July, it may hold hearings
on economic prospects.
Morse in his speech pointed out
that President Truman had warn
ed of dangerous depression
ahead unless both short-range and
long range actions were taken by
government and industry. These,
he charged, have been completely
ignored by the Republican leader
ship. Morse criticized Congress for
it's inactivity on extension Of rent
control, raising of the minimum
wage, FEPC, increasing benefits
under the social security system
to compensate for rising living
costs, passage of the Wagner-El-
lender-Taft General Housing Bill,
and tax reduction based on reliev-
ing the tax burden on the lower in
come groups.
The Republican rebel raped
Truman for his vagueness in adj
vocating price cuts by industry
without any guidance as to how
much of a cut is needed, and at
what stage in the productive pro-
cess. He was skeptical about the
1esirability Of wage increases
which have been eaten up by ris-
ing costs of living. Industrial
peace will not come, he warned,
until business and labor and the
government itself come to grips
With this whole problem Of adopt
ng an economic program which
will make it possible for US to
maintain high level of purchas-
ng power on the part Of all con-
'umers, fair profits to employers,
md a decent standard of living
or workers and farmers.
81 think the control of mono
,olies is unquestionably the most |
economic problem on
he domestic 'front.'" Morse assert
ID. II say that because rapidly we
IRE becoming an economy of |
monopoly" He pointed out that he
$ co-sponsor with Senators Aiken
r., VT, LANCER and Young (R.,
\. d., Murray 3D., Mont.), Tay-
or 3D., Idaho), and Kilgore 3D.,
". Va.), of an antimonopoly bill,
'-72 which is moving very slowly
hru the Senate machinery.
He publicly urged on his Repub-
lean colleagues enactment of such
program as that outlined by the
'ruman Economic Report.
CAS- long as ! am in the Sem
te," Morse concluded, 81 shall
to urge my party to be-
ONE a progressive party. ] want
to be party which places hu-
nan rights and interests above
elfish interests and partisan poll
ics."