The Wilmington morning star., 1947-12-29
PRESIDENT PLANS
CONTINUED from Page One)

the Congress to pass legislation
adequate to perform this all i'm
portant task
81 trust that when the Con-
gress returns it will promptly
enact an effective, workable pro-
gram.
Presidential Press Secretary
Charles Ross said Mr.. Truman
would sign the bill tomorrow.
Mr.. Truman in his blast at the
measure, said it twill not reduce
the high cost of living and it
will not keep prices from going
even higher" !"
Extends Controls
The measure extends export
controls, ALLEGATION authority over
transportation facilities and
equiment and provides for ex-
pansion of the Agriculture De-
partment program for encourag-
ling conservation practices, to-
gether with authority to limit
the use of grain for distilled
liquors for period of about
five weeks.
The President criticized most
sharply the sections authorizing
the system voluntary agreements
among businessmen for the al
location and investory control
of scarce commodities, and a
section covering speculation on
the commodity exchanges.
These voluntary agreements,
if approved by the attorney gene
raj. would be accompanied by
an exemption from liability I'M
der the antitrust laws.
Mr.. Truman said that if men,
bers of an industry to make an
agreement, the government
would be powerless and that 1t
also would be powerless to i'm
prove any agreements that prove
inadequate.
Complaining that Congress
withheld authority to utilize, on
a selective basis, rationing and
price controls, Mr.. Truman de-
clared:
"It is far too late in the fight
against initiation, however, to
place our main reliance upon
voluntary action"
IT,. President also complained
of a section six of the bill propo-
sing that he submit to Congress
what he called Extremely de-
tailed and specific recommenda-
tions for mandatory conserva'
ton measures for scarce com
Imodities.
Reverses Process
"Presumably," he said, the
conservation measures proposed
bv the President should be adop-
ted and what the details OF the
measure should be, and pass
Il LEGISLATION authorizing them to
| be put into effect" :"
Mr.. Truman said this section
proposed to reverse the his
toric process" under which Con-
gress enacts regularly measures
| in general terms and leaves 1t
to administrative agencies to de-
termine when and how they
should be applied.
The effect, he said, would
limit the Presidents authority
when the need for mandatory
conservation measure "is SO
acute that they should be put
into effect immediately
Under the system laid down
in the bill, he said,. sit is hardly
possible that effective measures
can be taken in time.
Mr.. Truman referred to his
own ten-point program ne pre-
sented to Congress of November
III, calling for authority to re-
gulate consumer and business
credit, regulate distribution OF
scarce commodities affecting the
cost of living or industrial pro-
duction, extending and stergth-
ening rent control and authorl-
ty to utilize rationing and price
control for essential living items
and industrial products.
Points To Prices
"The bill which the Congress
has enacted fails to include any
of these necessary elements, ="
he said.
Mr.. Truman took the occasion
to point out what he said was
the alarming course of infla-
ton" since his message to Con-
gress Nov. II.
During that time, he said, the
cost Of a pound of butter in
Washington has risen from 88
cents to a new high of $1.05 last
week. In the last few weeks, he
continued, mems street shoes in
Pittsburgh went up from an
average of $8.72 to 1898 a pair.
In this same period, he con-
tinued, the, price of hogs in
Chicago "f.as risen from $24.75
a hundred pounds to $26.40." "
The price of steers in Omaha
Preached a new all time high
of $4,000 a hundred pounds, "
line has risen in Los Angeles
from 21.5 cents a gallon to 1913
cents"