Evening star., 1950-08-19
Congress Studies Plea
From Truman for Full
Power Over Controls
By Cecil HolIond

BY Cecil HolIond
Congress today weighed force
full appeal by President Truman
for the enactment of homefront
controls without special privi-
lege" amendments and others
whiting away his powers to ad-
minister the program.
Mr.. Truman expressed his con-
Germ over the form of several
amendments to the pending legis-
lation in a letter to Vice President
Barkley yesterday. He added:
1T would undoubtedly be useful
to have stand by powers which
were broad enough and flexible
enough to work in any situation
which might arise. But If many
Of these amendments are added to
the Senate bill, its price-wage pro-
visions will fail completely to meet
that description. The enactment
Of inf1exible, patchwork price con-
trolls would be a dangerous de-
ception."
Vote Scheduled Monday.
The Senate is scheduled to vote
Monday on the legislation. 1t
already has been approved in the
House in a form giving the PreSi-
dent broad authority over the allo-
cation of scarce materials needed
for defense and standby powers to
invoke price e-wage-rationing con-
trolls If he deems they are needed.
Chairman Maybank of the Sem
ate Banking Committee, which
drafted the bill being considered
by the Senate, predicted there
will be mo real special privilege
amendments" favoring any in
dustry or commodity in the meas
ure finally enacted by Congress
But he added he would make no
move to meet Mr.. Truman's plea
for authority to curb commodity
initiation.
Senator Fulbright, Democrat,
Of Arkansas. said. however. the
administration will have only it.
self to blame if any special treat
ment amendments are written into
the legislation.
Flanders Backs Truman.
"a good many of us don't have
confidence that the adminiStra-
ton will handle this program the
way Congress wants it handled
unless we spell it all out in great
detail" he added.
Support for the Presidents call
for legislation without special
privilege amendments came from
Senator Flanders. Republican. Of
Vermont. There's just no room
or rightful place for them in this
BILL he commented.
In his letter to Mr.. Barkley, the
President said:
Two things seem to be hap
pening. First, the powers for
which I asked, on July 10, in Or
der to meet the immediate situa-
ton, are being whitfield down in
certain important respects. Sec
ond. it appears that the wage and
price controls which the Congress
proposes to add, may be so cir
cumscribed by a host of detailed
limitations and provisos as to con-
fuse and hamper administration
should it become necessary to in
woke them.
Defense Production Stressed.
1T would be tragic If the Con-
gress were to reject controls we
need right now, while voting
standby measures which could
neither do the current job, nor be
applied successfully to the con-
tingencies which may arise"
The President pointed out that
the chief problem now is to in
crease defense production without
bringing on imitation in an econo-
my already running close to ca
pacity.
He added that he had asked
authority to control consumer and
real estate credit, allocate scarce
materials and other production
measures and said:
Amendments now pending in
the Senate would weaken the pro-
duction features of the legislation
Actions Of this sort tend to weaken
the effectiveness of the whole pro-
gram and bring us closer to the
day when we might have to clamp
down general price and wage con-
trolls"
Several amendments pending in
the Senate would spell out what
has been described as special
treatment for such commodities as
meat. fish. milk and tobacco.