Evening star., 1951-08-18
Wages toFo||ow
Prices in New
PayFormu|a
Increases Up to l1&
Permitted in Nutionu
EscoIotor' Policy
By jones Y. Newton


The country today had a new
wage control policy in which
workers pay is allowed to follow
the cost of living.
Since Federal officials have pre-
dicted that living costs will rise
from 4 to 10 per cent in the
next year under the new price
control law, this means that
wages, too, can go substantially
higher.
Living costs already have risen
II per cent since January, 1850,
base date for wage controls. So
workers who have not received a
boost in pay of similar size are
entitled to it under the new
policy.
Economic Stabilizer Eric A.
Johnston. in approving the policy
adopted by the Wage Sterilization
Board, said it was "in line with
the overall stabilization objective
of keeping the American economy
in balance"
Disable to Tighten Cattle Controls.
Price Stabilizer Michael V. Di-
Sale, meanwhile, disclosed plans
to tighten price controls on cattle
and to investigate what he called
growing signs of a black market
in beef.
Mr.. Disable said he is throwing
a large part of the Office of Price
Sterilization enforcement staff
into drive to head off violations
of price ceilings.
The Justice Department is being
asked to give priority handling to
cases involving cattle and beef
ceiling violations.
Mr. Disable announced he was
calling beef slaughterers to Wash
,ington Wednesday to talk over
possible changes in existing ceiling
rules. The proposals include CELL
ings on cattle sellers as we'll as
buyers. and on individual beef ami
mails, rather than on average sales
prices as now.
Entire Program to Be Reviewed.
Reductions in freight allow
ances, which the OPS said may
now be overgenerous for Eastern
and Far Western markets, also are
being considered to curb the flow
OF cattle out of the Midwest.
Mr.. Johnston said the whole
wage stabilization program would
be reviewed next spring. He ap-
proved the WSB policy until
March l, 1852.
In the meantime, the Wage
Board will approve wage increases
OF IL per cent granted by en-
ployers. 1t is estimated that costs
have risen about 2 per cent since
the price-wage freeze of last
January.
The board Immediately applied
the new policy and granted wage
increases at Northern cotton and
rayon mills. 1t approved a 6h
per cent boost, giving about 10000
workers about 812 cents per hour
more pay, effective last March
when the contract was signed.
Full Increase Turned Down.
The board also approved a con-
tract clause tieing the textile
workers pay in the future to the
rise or fall of living costs.
The WSB refused to approve the
full 7H- per cent increase nego-
ltiated by the CIO-Textile Workers
and thr Northern manufacturers
saying that would exceed the cost
Of living formula.
Under the cost of living policy
workers may get a pay boost in
these three ways:
/. If they were working under
a contract with an escalator
clause in effect before the January
Is wage freeze. (Under such a
clause, pay adjustments are
usually made every three months.
at the rate of l cent an hour
for EACH rise or fall of LA points
in the Government price index
A new one will be out next week,
measuring prices as of July 15.)
About 4 million workers already
are under some form of escalator
clause, including most of the rail-
road and auto industries.
Pacts May Be Reopened.
2. If the employer and union
want to gear their pay rates in
the future to such an index, the
board will approve the contract
provisions.
3. II employers and unions
want to make long term contracts
without such a binding clause
they may open their agreements
every six months, take a look at
what has happened to living costs
and make adjustments limited to
those fluctuations. The board
would approve that arrangement
Mr.. Johnston cautioned the
board in a letter to Chairman
George w. Taylor to live up to
the spirit and the letter of the
cost of living principle"
1--WE all know that wage in
creases are reflected in price in
creases, and that price increases
lead to wage increases" Mr.. John
ston said. Rigorous enforcement
of the program is essential to pre-
vent the cost of living from sky
rocketing to new heights"