Evening star., 1951-01-28
Tobin and Wilson Aides Struqq|e
Over Manpower Setup Control;
Pay Freeze to Be Eased Quickly
New Wage Boosts
Up First; Price
RoIIbucks Hinted

ne llISL LIldW Ol Ifle new price,
wage freeze will come early this
week in the form of policy to deal
with wage increases of newly eX-
ecuted labor contracts now caught
in the tight clasp of controls, Fed
eral officials revealed last nigt.
They also limited that some price
will be made later when
the general freeze is gradually re-
placedby individually tailored"
ceilings prices for all comfortable
products.
The first amendments to the
full wage freeZe-due late tomor-
row or Tuesday-will provide for
Wage Sterilization Board approval
of the S160 a day wage increase
that John L. Lewis got for his
100000 coal miners. 1t was caught
in the freeze because it was made
effective February /.
Catch Formula.
Many other pay increases, re-
Gently negotiated. also will be
approved. including the one
granted 5000 Washington tele-
phone workers. Wage Board Off
cials conferred on that one yes
terday.
Before the week is over, board
officials hope to issue policy which
will permit resumption of hun
dreds of labor-management con-
tract negotiations, halted by the
freeze, 1t will be in the form of
a "catch-up" formula to allow
those employees whose pay has
Jagged behind the recent national
pattern of wage increases to get
1t If they can. The pattern since
start of the Korean war has been
a 10 per cent raise.
Price stabilizers were working
on series of general orders to be
issued in the next few weeks. They
predicted the orders would relieve
businesses pinched by the freeze.
They also will bring rollbacks to
those dealers found to be making
a swollen profit.
Enforcement Chief Quits.
Shortly after the controls pro-
gram became effective, the price
wage enforcement chief, retired
Vice Admiral John H. Hoover. re-
signed. He refused to elaborate
on cryptic statement that poll
tics has no place in an organiza-
ton affecting every American
home"
The admiral's statement fol-
lowed a newspaper report that the
Economic Sterilization Agency,
parent of the price and wage con-
troll offices. is being built into a
Nationwide Democratic machine.
The story, promptly denied by a
spokesman who pointed out that
some top ESA officials are Repub-
llcanS, said the Democratic Ma
tional Committee passes on every
control job paying over $4,000 a
year.
Admiral Hoovers chief in the
ESA legal department, General
Counsel Francis P. Whitehair.
denied that ANY political pres
sure has been brought on me,
either from Republicans or Demo-
Gratis"
Trouble Getting Men.
He said that Admiral Hoover,
under whom he served in World
War II, had come to the agency
at his request to take over the en-
forcement department. "One of
the admiral's many problems was
recruitment" Mr.. Whitehair said.
Several days ago, he added "Ad-
miral Hoover came to see me and
told me that he was having
trouble getting the men he wanted.
l just told him that this was a
big job and asked him to keep
going. The next thing I heard was
that he had handed his resigna-
ton to Mr.. Di Sale"
The letter of resignation was not
made public.
The price-wage freeze brought
hostile comment from labor and
farm organizations. Apparently it
was generally well received by
Congress and business. Stocks and
grains spurted upward in ex-
changes. Cotton markets closed
to await clarification of the price
order.
Sees Some Rollbacks.
Price Director Michael v. Di
Sale said rollbacks will be handled
on an individual commodity basis.
He said Immediately "the dire
need is to stop the onrushing
price advance in it's tracks,"
That was the purpcxe of the
twin orders to freeze wages and
prices at current levels-all except
list of basic foods and other COM
modities which cannot be effect
lively controlled because Congress
gave them special treatment in
the control law.
The fact that prices are now
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