The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-08-31
By ALyAINE HAMILTON

Washington (LPA)-Almost ex-
actlv a month after President Iru-
man asked for new powers to con-
troll the threatened scarcities and
initiation growing out of the kor-
can fighting, the Senate by an "a
to 8 vote passed the Defense Pro
duction bill. 1t now is in conference
where differences between Senate
and House versions will be resol-
we'd.
The bill contains much more than
the President originally asked. 1t
gives him power to control prices
and wages if he finds it's neces-
sary, to institute rationing of goods
sold at retail, provides penalties
for boarding, and authorizes a con-
tinuing survey of the effects of de-
tense production on our anti-mon-
opoly laws.
On the other hand, even after
House and Senate bills are combin-
ed, the final measure may still con-
tain provisions the President will
find binding and perhaps danger
Gus to any anti-inflation or pro
duction-increasing steps he may
wish to take. Most of these are
limits on initiation controls written
into the bill in either Senate or
House by special interest lobbies
representing agricultural produc-
ers, oil and metal producers, the
real estate lobby, and others.
President Truman, in a letter to
Vice President Barkley before the
Senate voted, indicated he would
apply wage-price powers only TO
meet future conditions" He pro-
badly would use the powers to al
locate and assign priorities to
scarce materials and facilities need
ed for the national defense imme-
diately; he probably would clamp
price ceilings on rubber, zinc, and
o t her essential raw materials
whose prices have been soaring.
here and abroad. The Federal Re-
serve Board, almost az soon as the
President signs the measure, is ex-
pecsed to re-impose controls over
consumer credit by setting the|
amount of down payments and the|
period of time over which such pur-
chases can be made. The govern
ment also will start rapidly on II
program of loans to key producers
of defense materials for plant ex-
pansion and development of newl
processes, though the full So bill
ions authorized by the bill won't
be used right away. +" ~
There are four major differences
between the Senate and House yer
sions: THE Senate, on motions
by Senators Kenneth Wherry OR
Nebr.) and John Bdcker,(R, Ohio
voted to eliminate any selective
item-by- item price or wage con
trolls. Intent of their action was t
force the President to stabilize "al
or nothing" the vote was % to 36 |
The conferees, and later the Pres
ident's legal staff, will have to take
a long, cold look at the wage-price
control sections before they can be
certain what they've got.
2-The power President Truman
requested to control excessive spec
ulation on the commodity ex-
changes - which determine the
prices of many key things like
corn, wheat, rubber, cotton, sugar
coffee, and many others-is notl
given to him in the House bill. The
Senate approved proposal by Sen.
Guy Gillette Cd, Iowa. for volun-
tary controls by the boards oper
ating the particular exchange, but
with penalty Of $4,000 or a year
in Jail for any violation of the re-
strictions on excessive speculation
The Secretary of Agriculture would
keep an eye on the exchanges, but
according to Gillette's explanation