Evening star., 1950-12-20
Emergency 'Rollback
Held Newest Torture
Applied 10 Business
Administration Using
Device Due to Failure
To Set Up Control Unit
By Dauid Laurence

INV tS h0isuiC
To Set Up Control Unit
By Dauid Laurence
'Rollback" is the newest piece
OF torture which the administra-
ton has just applied to American
business under the guise Of aiding
the national emergency.
The Constitution Of the United
States bars "rollbacks." In fact
it bars the making of any law
and, Of course, any regulation
derived from q law-that prohibits
transactions which have already
occurred and which were lawful
at tAe time they were made. The
Constitution says under Section 9,
Article I:
mo ex post facto law shall be
passed"
The dictionary defines lex post
facto" as something that is done
afterwards" as, for instance, any
law enacted with a retrospective
effect"
Idea Used in Last War.
The "rollback" idea was used
during World War II but only
after our entry into the war in
194l. The reason it was not chal-
lenged constitutionally then was
that the administration had set
up an agency to correct inequities.
war was on, and the Government
p rolled back both wages and prices.
Today there is no machinery to
handle rollbacks Of prices or
wages.
The heavy hand Of the Govern
ment has been imposed on the
automobile industry mostly for
psychological effect. The industry
has been used as the whipping boy
to warn other industries that they
must hold prices. The word has
gone out that there must be "vol-
untary" restraint until such time
aS official orders in other lines
can be issued. There are hints
that complete records must be
kept now In the event that roll
backs are ordered later and the
Government asks for data as to
what has happened to prices.
Much speculation has begun as
to whether the administration will
have the nerve to roll back any of
the recent wage increases OBJ
tanned by national unions. AS
usual, political pressure has it's
effect here. That's one of the
reasons why the morale of the
country isn't lifted to the pitch Of
wholehearted cooperation that it,
should be nowadays. Anything
that smacks Of discrimination
leaves q bad taste.
Thus today the auto industry is
asked to roll back its prices at
the manufacturing level, but the
dealers can sell at the advanced
prices the cars they may have on
hand which were purchased from
the manufacturer prior to Decem-
ber /. This hands over to the
dealers some unexpected profits.
It transfers them from the COM
pany to the dealers. The public
pays the high prices just the same.
On cars shipped since December
1. it isn't clear whether the dealers
can be estopped from charging
whatever they wish. Likewise, tit
is evident that the companies
which furnish materials that go
into the making of cars are not
restrained as to prices they may
charge.
Lack Of Foresight Blamed.
AL in all, the auto industry has
been Disseminated against. One
reason may be that the Govern
ment hasn't the machinery ready |
as yet to impose overall price |
controls. But the real reason is |
incompetence and lack OF fore
sight.
The administration has known
since last summer that. the mo-
ment the law was passed touching
the subject of price controls, there |
would be a panicky movement to
start prices upward so as to get in
ahead of the deadline. To an
nounce a rollback now only as far
back as December l is illogical be-
cause prices started to increase
last June when the Korean war
broke out. If any rollback Is JUS
titled at all, 1t is a rollback of
both wages and prices to pre-
Korean war levels. This is as |
impractical now as the rollback
to December l..
The administration didn't want |
to tamper with the price structure |
or wage increases during the re-
cent congressional campaign, so
it did nothing except talk about |
eventual controls of both wages
and prices. The unions, in nu-
merous instances, sought reopen
ing Of contracts and, even where
there was no legal right to open
them, economic pressure was
exerted through slowdowns and
so-called unauthorized" strikes
to compel employers to increase
wages. None of this, of course,
will come in for scrutiny because
the morals Of the Democratic ad-
ministration do not permit even
handed application of controls to
all groups.
AS long as the administration
can hit at the big fellows In indus
try. it thinks the country will be
satisfied that a genuine effort is
being made to stem the inflation-
ary spiral which the Government
itself set in motion by threatening
instead Of applying controls. This
is mistaken view. The harmonyI
that should prevail in war will be
impaired. It will take much more
drastic action and fair deal for
all in order to restore and retain