Evening star., 1947-12-31
Probe Of Speculation
In Grain Proves Only
Campaign Has Begun
Republicans Scored
By Showing OPA Death
Didn't Skyrocket Prices
By Da,id Laurence

The country Is being treated to a
piece Of political jockeying which
indicates that the presidential cam
paign Of 1948 has already started.
For 1t isn't because there Is any
thing wrong in speculating In COM
modify markets that caused the
Republicans to force the exposure
OF the names Of spectators. Actu-
ally the Republicans are not a bit
concerned about the fact that the
Presidents physician or any partic-
ular individual traded In grain.
What the Republicans are really
trying to do Is to hand the Demo-
cratic administration q dose Of the
same kind OF medicine which the
Truman supporters have endeavored
to force on the Republicans for the
past several months by accusing the
Republicans Of responsibility for
high prices and the rising cost Of
living generally.
Everybody knows that the Repub-
licans aren't any more responsible
for the scarcity Of wheat than are
the Democrats. Everybody who
cares to get at the facts knows that
farm prices have been rising all over
the world and that the adninistra-
ton has not wanted to hold down
farm prices, because it was politi-
cally unpopular to do so.
Bitterly resenttng the Truman
charges that the repeal Of OPA sent
upward the cost Of living, the Re-
publicans seized on the Presidents
remark about grain spectators and
demanded to know whether insid-
ers In the Government were specu-
lating. AS usual in politics, some
one blundered and in the end what
should never have been a mystery
became a subject of wide curiosity,
with implications that something
wrong had occurred.
Denunciation Was General.
When Mr.. Truman denounced
spectators, he, Of course, did not
have any individuals in mind and
probably didn't think any one would
want to check to see whether the
spectators included Government
officials or persons close to the ad-
ministration. In denouncing specu-
lators, the President naturally Of
Tended many persons who trade in
grain as a regular business. Out of
the vast number of individuals in
volved, doubtless the spirit of re-
sentiment led to whispers among
brokers about persons inside the
Government also engaged in trad
ing. Word of this undoubtedly got
70 Republican sources. Among these
was former Gov Stassen, who didn't
hesitate to demand that the persons
inside the Government be exposed
The White House and the admin
istration would have been well ad-
vised to have made public OF its own
initiative several weeks ago the
names Of all persons it knew about
who have any connection with the
Government and we're trading in
commodities, and to have requested
them and all others In the Govern
ment service to refrain thereafter
from specializing In grain. This
move would have made less impor-
tant the subsequent action of con-
: gressional committees in pressing
for names that were at first with
held and finally disclosed only after
a resolution was put through both
houses-much to the surprise of
those who thought the blocking of
such a resolution in the closing days
Of the special session would see the
end Of the matter.
Weakens Campaign Argument.
The smear on the administration
isn't likely to be of lasting duration
as such, but it certainly weakens
the Democratic campaign argument
that high prices for food are the re-
sponsibility of the Republicans for
helping to kill OPA. The Republi-
cans will answer that one by crying
out that speculation by the Govern
ment itself, especially in the way it
bought wheat, forced prices upward
so that insiders in the Government
and large number of people out
side recognized the Government
tactics as likely to bring higher
and higher prices.
What the episode does is to mud
dy the waters in the political argu-
ment over responsibility for high
prices. It doesn't make out the
Presidents physician or any one else
as guilty Of any wrongdoing. For
the chances are a thousand to one
that nobody in the list got any tip
from inside the Agriculture Depart
ment. AS matter of fact, the con-
tinued publication of crop data and
facts about European needs and the
publicity given to the Marshall plan
told the spectators that wheat
would become more and more scarce
which, it seems, does have some
thing to do with rising prices.
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