Evening star., 1951-08-30
Prices With High Toxes
To Top Campaign Issues
Truman BIomss Congress;
Republicans Hit Back
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

SSSaS sttt~VV
High prices will be a companion issue
with high taxes in the national political
campaign next year. It is not surprising,
therefore. to find the President engaged
in an attempt to place the blame for
soaring prices on Congress and to pose
as the champion Of controls. Nor is it
any more surprising to find members Of
Congress, Democrats as well as Republic
cans, throwing the charge of RESPONSE
bility back in the Presidents face. Mr..
Truman's chief complaint is that Con-
gress has not given him the kind of con.
troll legislation he asked. The reply Of his
congressional critics is that Congress
on December 8, 1850, passed law giving
the President absolute powers to control
prices and that not until, January 26,
1851. did he order general price freeze.
BY that time the wholesale price index
had gone up Is per cent over June. 1850.
and the consumer price index had been
upped Sc per cent.
Senator Capehart of Indiana, Repub-
lcan member OF the Senate Banking and
Currency Committee which handled the
control bill in the upper House, has pre-
sented devastating chronological review
OF the administrations failure to handle
the inflationary rise in prices. The high
lights are that the President waited
almost month after the beginning of
the Korean war to ask Congress for
legislation to control production-and
said that price and wage controls were
not necessary. Even in that short inter-
val the consumer price index had jumped
1.9 per cent and the wholesale price in
dex had mounted "A per cent. On August
!, 1850, Mr.. Truman wrote to the
Senate committee saying price control
program was not necessary. And 10 days
later Mr.. Truman told press conference
the time was not in sight for price and
wage controls.
Price Advances Continued.
Nevertheless, Congress passed q law
giving the President price and wage con-
trolls early in September. BY this time,
the wholesale price index had risen rs
per cent and the consumer price had
jumped 2.6 per cent. The Chinese Com
munists entered the Korean war Novem-
Der II. BY that time the wholesale price
index had advanced nearly 8 per cent
and the consumer index 46 per cent.
The President still made no use Of price
controls, and it was not until December
16 that he declared an emergency. Price
controls were still not in effect, and in
the 80 days which followed Mr.. Truman's
letting 1t be known a price freeze was
coming, the wholesale price jump was
5 per cent and the consumer price per
cent.
Even after the price freeze order, the
wholesale price index moved up 81 per
cent. and consumer price index another
2.3 per cent in one months time The
administration on April 26 came forward
with its new defense production bill in
which the President called for stronger
controls.
BY that time, the horse was out of
the barn-priceS had scared and wages
had made many increases. This is a
record of lack Of accomplishment
when the tools were in the hands of the
Strationzwhich Senator Cape
hart and other members of Congress do
not intend to let the people forget. Not
all the shouting now for greater power
to control prices can wipe it out
Asks Why Administration Stalled.
What were the reasons for this lack
OF action by the administration? Sena-
tor Maybank of South Carolina, Demo-
crat, chairman of the Banking and Cur
A0AANJ NOAAAAiCCCC, Sdlu III CIle OeIldCe
month ago that the Congress had en-
acted bill to freeze prices or to roll
back prices to base period of May "a
to June "a. 1850, and that the adminis-
tration apparently did not desire to do
this. Senator Maybank added the adj
miniStration apparently wished prices
to rise so that increased taxes could be
collected and the budget balanced. An
other reason, he said, was that there
was an election pending" the election
of November, 1880
These are damning reasons, If true.
Further, the administration by its con-
slant reiteration of prophesies that prices
are going sky high has helped to bring
about the very imitation which it seeks
to prevent.