Evening star., 1948-06-27

for authority to ration scarce
products and to put price ceilings
on the most important cost-of- living
items. Neither proposal received
more than perfunctory hearing from
the Republican-c controlled Congress.
Last December, at the special
session called by the President.
Congress did pass voluntary
agreements act which was supposed
to meet the imitation problem. 1t is
obvious that its effect on the cost
of living has been zero, though 1t
has helped to bring about a more
rational ALLEGATION of steel, with
priority for housing, freight cars.
atomic energy projects and other
important users.
This is what the COP platform
says about high prices:
present cruelty high prices are
due In large part to the fact that
the Government has not effectively
used the powers it possesses to conf
bat imitation, but has deliberately
encouraged higher prices"
The platform then pledges "an
attack upon the basic causes OF In
flation," including these measures:
Elimination of waste to cut the
cost of Government; stimulation OF
production las the surest way to
lower prices; sound fiscal policies;
sound currency; debt reduction; an
end of overlapping, duplication.
extravaganza and excessive CEN
tralization'; more efficient govern
ment and "the roofing out of COM
munism wherever found"
Truman Program Unlikely
From this declaration, which ex-
presses the views of the Republican
majority, it can easily be seen that
another Republican-controlled Con-
gress hardly is likely to swallow
any such program as Mr.. Truman
suggested.
| What 1t will do will depend on
what the new President asks it to
do, if anything,
| On housing the new Republican
! platform says:
Housing can best be supplied and
financed by private enterprise; but
Government can and should en-
courage the building of better homes
at less cost. We recommend Fed
eral aid to the States for local sfum
clearance and low-rental housing
programs only where there is a need
that cannot be met either by pr1-
vate enterprise or by the States and
localities
/ Taft Plan to Revive
This plank is pretty much the
antipublic housing position of Rep
resentative Wolcott, the Michigan
Republican who heads the House
Banking and Currency Committee.
1t was Mr.. Wolcott who effectively
kept the House from voting on the
Taft -Ellender- Wagner housing bill
with it's Federal public-housing and
slum- clearance provisions. But the
public housing drive will be on again
when the Eighty-flrst Congress
meets. The TEW bill. with Senator
Taft's backing. has twice passed the
Senate. A third battle is in prospect
because the housing shortage Will
certainly still be with us in Janu-
airy.
Republican platforms in the past
have contained pledges to enact
civil rights legislation. But the only
such measure approved IN the
Eightieth Congress was an amend
ment to the draft law which freed
soldiers from payment of any poll
tax as a voting requisite.
The new platform favors aool-
ton of the poll tax (but does not
specifically say by Federal law.
disapproves of lynching and calls
for "the prompt enactment of legis-
lation to end this infamy," and
finally is opposed to the idea OF
racial segregation in the armed
services of the United States"
FEPC Backed
One thing to consider in the civil
rights fight is that Gov. Dewey Is
from New York, State with It's
own Fair Employment Practices Act.
sponsored by the Governor and by
the man he put in the Senate, sena-
tor Ives Of New York. With Gov.
Dewey in the White House, the
pressure for similar Federal legls-
Ilation is likely to become intense.
The Senate approved a bill to
grant Federal financial aid totalIng
5000 900, 900 a year for improving
/ primary and secondary education.
But the bill never got to House
vote because of disapproval by the
powerful House Rules Committee.
The present crowded condition OF
schools, with the large crop of war
time babies not far from school
age. is certain to assure demand
for Federal aid.
Congress twice overrode presi-
Dental vetoes of social security leg
islation, but did not act on his
request to expand the coverage Of
| fered by the social security plan.
The question may come up in the
new Congress, depending on the
new President.
! Health insurance is In pretty
much the same situation as the
social security legislation.
fOleo Tax Cut Certain
| Oleomargarine tax repeal is cer-
tain to come up in January. The
bill passed the House by more than
two to one, and on two test votes
has a clear Senate ma jority. but
was never brought to final vote.
! The bill is almost certain to pass