Evening star., 1951-02-17
Emil Rieve.
Elmer Walker.

members, and Mr.. Murphy was
president of the AFL bricklaye
can only be dissatisfaction and Sc
rious unrest in industry.
The formula blocks any fair ad-
iustment of wage inequities nov
and in the future affecting millions
of employees in the loW-income
brackets. 1t freezes such injustice
We are convinced that the wage
order of the WSB was dictated by
the Director of Defense Mobiliza-
ton. The people. the Congress. ano
the President must act quickly to
repair this damage before 1t ruins
the entire defense production
program.
PRICES.
In the past. the United Labor
Policy Committee has repeatedly
pointed to the serious shortcomings
of the Defense Production Act
which serves as the basis for oul
anti-infiation program.
We warned that loopholes ano
deficiencies In the act rule out any
chance of It's effectiveness as q
barrier to imitation. The act must
be changed. Until it is changed
we can expect no fundamental i'm
provement in our anti-inflation
program.
The price stabilization program Is
a cynical hoax on the American
people. A so-called freeze on prices
was announced at a moment when
prices were higher than ever before
In history. Although frozen prices
are rising steadily, Economic Sta
bilizer Eric johnson and Price
Stabilizer Michael Disable have both
announced that nothing they car
or will do under the Defense Pro
duction Act will stop the cost o1
living from rising another 6 PEI
cent by next summer.
We point out that, from March
IS, 1850, to December Is, 1850, liv'
ing costs also rose per cent-with.
out any freeze. Profit margins are
being guaranteed. Every considera.
ton possible Is being given by Gov.
ernment price agencies to enhance
the position of business and to pro-
tect fat profits. Flexibility which
has been denied in the Wage Stabili.
zation orders.
RENT CONTROL.
The present Federal Rent Con-
troll Act expires on March 81. Large
sections of the Nation have already
been exempted from rent control
No authority exists to permit the
Government to control rents in de-
fense areas. Instead Of moving
quickly to extend and to tighten
the rent control law, the Govern
ment is moving placidly toward the
March 81 deadline, when all rent
controls expire.
TAXES.
individuals already have received
a stiff increase in their taxes. The
Congress is now considering a pro-
gram to raise all taxes in such a
manner that people in the lower
income brackets will be forced to
bear a still heavier share of the tax
burden. In 1943, individuals and
corporations paid an almost equal
share of the expenses of Govern
ment. Today, individuals are asked
to bear 68 per cent of the expenses
Of rearmament.
Among individuals, the Congress
is considering raising income taxes
another 20 per cent on low In
come groups, while the increase to
families with incomes OF $25 900 a
year would be only IA per cent. This
proposal would lift tax rates on low
income families As per cent over
pre-Korean rates. The increase on
the highest incomes would be al
most nil. Many industries are es-
Gaping their taxation through spe-
cial privilege loopholes in the law
No serious attempt is being made
to plug these loopholes.
MANPOWER.
The utter lack of concern with
the viewpoints and experience ol
American labor was clearly showr
in the arbitrary decision Of Mobil-
ization Director Charles e. Wilson
to transfer control of manpowel
policies from the Department OF
Labor to his own agency. There
was no need for such move. Ths
Department of Labor, with its ex'
pert knowledge of manpower prob
lens and its deep-seated belief II
traditional American policies o.
voluntary cooperation, is ideally
equipped to formulate and direc'
the Nations manpower policies.
There can be no justification fol
Mr.. Wilson's transfer of the man
power functions to the once of De-
fense Mobilization other than de-
sire for monopoly power in prepara'
ton for the possible imposition o.
compulsory job controls upon thu
workers of this Nation.
SMALL BUSINESS.
Small business, whose facilitie!
played an important part in ths
success of armament production ir