Milford chronicle., 1948-11-26

The aftermath of an election,
like the aftermath of battle, is fill
ed with talk of what-might-have-
been. OF infinitely greater impor-
tance, however, is the question of
what is going to happen now that
Mr.. Truman has become President
in his own right, by mandate of
the voters, and has with him a
Congress which is sOlidly Demo-
cratic in both branches.
There are those who say that
Mr.. Truman, during the campaign,
took a stand which was somewhat
to the left of his natural position
that, in OTHER words, his bark
was worse than his bite will be
from the point of view of business.
Others take no stock in this atti-
tude. The very cOnservativeN.Wall
Street Journal, for instance, thinks
that Mr.. Truman meant precisely
what he said, and will do every
thing he can to put his election
promises into full effect. 1t said,
editOrially, that the idea that the
President may discount some of
the things he said in the heat of
the campaign wholly neglects one
of the outstanding characteristics
of Mr.. Truman. He keeps his COM
mitments and he hOnOTs his alleg-
j iances even when it is difficult to
do so. The prospects for the
immediate future are down in black
and white and it seems to us ra-
ther foolish not to believe the
words and sentences"
At the same time, it must be re-
membered that Mr.. Truman's leg
islative program must be approved
by Congress to become effective
Here is one of the big question
marks of the moment. Joe Martin
the present Speaker of the House
who will resume his old role as
minority leader next session, has
said that the President can get JUS
about anything he really wants
from Congress. others are no
where near so sure. A SiZablC
part of the Democratic strength il
the House is from the South, anC
it's leanings tend in a conservative
direction. A number of the Demo
cratic Senators are not in sympa
thy with much of the program Mr.
Truman described. At any rate
here is how the guessers are pre-
dieting the trend of coming events
Labor Legislation
1t is not likely that the Taft
Hartley Act will be repealed out
right. It will be subjected to majO
changes, of the kind labor wants
Special attention will be given t
the subject of critical strikes
that is, those in basic industr
: which directly affect the Who'll
country and economy.
Agriculture
} Price support is definitely her
to stay. All that is in doubt is tn
+ level at which farm prices will b
4 supported. Beginning in 1850,
\ flexible support policy, as contrast
: ed with the present policy of SUI
t porting prices at 80 per cent {
Z. parity, was to take effect 1t
possible now. however, that the 6
a per cent figure will be continued
Price Control
% It is likely, but it will be vel
II different from OPA. Probably a
G effort will be made to impose
:, at the source on certain key item
20 rather than at the consumer leve
~ This will stir one of the hottie
debates in Congress. Rent cOntrC
! of course, is certain to go on.
~ The Budget
10 Federal spending will inCreas
% and to a somewhat greater eXte
.0 than probably would have been Il
"a case in a COP administration. Du
10 ing the next fiscal year, outgO w
is be $45,OOO,OOO,OOO, perhaps muc
y more.
4 Taxes
81 Early increases in personal i
as come taxes are unlikely-th
" would be the toughest of all meC
lie cine for Congress to swallow. Co
a. pOratiOn taxes, however, are in f
1e a boost The President will ur
a. doing this through an excess pre-
m it's levy, rather than an increa
a in the regular corporate rate.
lg Social Security
IS There will be more of it, and