The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-12-28
Controls Picture Still
Chuotic At Xmas Weekend

Ox 4 ~ Il ~
Washington (LPA)-At Christ
mas weekend the Controls" pic
ture remained chaotic. The Econ
omic Sterilization Agency, headed
by Alan Valentine, announced "fair
pricing standards, asked industry
to hold the line at Dec. / price
levels or set prices to yield profits
at the 1946-49 annual average, and
asked that proposed price rises be
announced at least a week in ad-
vance. But, actually there were no
controls at all except in the auto
industry.
Nevertheless, persons inside and
outside government insisted that
controls were in force on "volun-
tary basis" Only trouble was that
nobody believed voluntary controls
would work. A few firms rolled
prices back to Dec. l levels, pious-
ly announced they were "doing
their bit" and walled that the roll
backs were causing hardships.
Michael V. Disable, Director of
Price Sterilization under Valentine,
summed up feeling about "fair
pricing standards" by terming
them a conscience guide" To
many observers, industry's con-
science seemed a slender bulwark
against more initiation.
However, everybody knew that
controls soon would be mandatory
in many fields, perhaps before the
holidays were over. After extensive
talks with spokesmen for the meat
industry, Valentine said his staff
was studying ways to hold meat
prices down but refused to admit
he was preparing control order
to meat packers. Nevertheless,
Washington buzzed with rumors
that the prices of meat, scrap steel
and a number of other key items
were about to be regulated.
What brought the control issue
to head was the price order Val
entine issued to the auto industry
after price rises were announced
early in December. First General
Motors raised prices on 1861
models. Then came Ford, and later
Chrysler and Nash. Valentine
ordered the prices rolled back to
Dec. 1. General Motors baked, re-
fused to obey the order, took Cad
illacs, Pontiacs and Chevrolets off
the market (other 1851 GIN models
weren't out). But finally the giant
corporation caved in on Dec. 21.
Chrysler followed suit next day.
GINS protests were not entirely
without merit, many observers
Walter Reuther, president
of the Auto Workers, pointed out
that "pinpointing" the finished pro-
ducts of one industry for price con-
troll failed to get at the heart of
initiation. Overall controls were re-
quired Immediately, said the UAW
head, especially on the raw mater
ials that go into automobiles and a
thousand other things. Spelled out,
this would mean controls on steel,
copper, rubber, aluminium and the
like.
However, neither GIN nor the
rest of the industry had necessarily
caved in forever. The order roll
ing back prices only suspends in
creases until March l. That's when
the next cost-of- f-living index will
be issued. The Auto Workers may
be due a raise. And by then GIN
may have persuaded Valentine and
Disable that auto prices should be
lacked up. Whether Congress will
have amended the Defense Produc-
tion Act by then is another matter
Valentine said his agency was
about to issue an order stabilizing
the wages of a million workers in
the auto industry. His announce
ment caused intense speculation
across the nation for federal wage
policy in autos might well set a
pattern for much of industry. (Thel
United Auto Workers represent APP
proximately third of the workers
who will be in defense production,
according to union spokesmen.)
Also, the Auto Workers major con-
tracts are five-year agreements
"escalator" clause esl
hitched to the Labor Departments
cost-of- living index and annual
Improvement" clauses calling for