Evening star., 1952-12-10
Fate Of WSB in Air
As Lee Urges Business
To Refuse Board Seats
By Froncis P. Douglas

plllZatlon BoarQ appeared IN QueS-
ton again today, despite the
statement by Economic Stabilizer
Roger L. Putnam that he hoped
to have the board operating once
more by the end of the week.
Soon after Mr.. Putnam'S state
ment was made yesterday, 1t was
followed by one issued by Laurence
F. Lee, president of the United
States Chamber of Commerce,
urging immediate scrapping Of all
wage and price controls.
Mr.. Lee also called on business
men not to lend their services to
any effort to reconstitute the
WSB. Mr.. Putnam had said he
had applications from we'll over
a dozen" businessmen for appoint
ment to the six places to be filled
by industrial members on the
board.
He said he was confident 1--WE
are going to have a program"
He added he hoped to have the
board functioning again before he
left Washington at the end Of this
week.
Disable Report Discussed.
Whether the businessmen would
heed the statement by Mr.. Lee
remained a question. If they do,
presumably it would be impos-
sible to re-establish the board
which must be composed Of equal
numbers from industry, labor and
the public.
President Truman is due back
in Washington tonight from In
dependence, Mo-, to face the task
Of dealing with the Wage Board
crisis. An aide said he hopes to
announce soon requirements for
the industry members who quit
last week.
There has been no comment
from the President about the
Wage Board crisis since he left
last Saturday to attend the
funeral of Mrs. Truman's mother
in Independence.
AS the furore over the Wage
Board crisis continued. two in
dustry members of the Kansas
City Regional Board announced
they were resigning. Industry
members of the Atlanta Regional
Board, however, voted to say on
the job.
Mr.. Putnam's statement wasI
made at a news conference. att
which Mr.. Putnam and Michael
V. Disable. former price stabilizer,
discussed the report on price con-
trolls Mr.. Disable had just COM
pleted.
Mr.. DiSalle's report answered
an emphatic no" to the question
whether price controls should be-
ended before the new Republican
administration comes in on jan
uary 20.
Mr.. Disable said price and wage
controls should go together.
The wage board-with many
cases awaiting approval-has been
imperative since the resignation of
industry members last Saturday.
This was in protest against Presi-
dent Truman's action granting
coal miners a pay raise of $1.90 a
day, overruling the board which
had limited the increase to $3.50.
Mr.. Lee, in calling on business
men not to serve on the board, |
said:
THE administrators wage and
price control program is but a
sham and any service on the wage
board would be but a waste of
time.
Acceptance by businessman
of an appointment to the Wage
Sterilization Board may be con-
sidered by some persons as a re-
pudiation of the industry mem
bers. They showed magnificent
courage by refusing to be party
to a wage increase which all Gov
eminent StabiliZation agencies
had ruled to be inf1ationary."
Statement Surprises Putnam.
Mr. Putnam said he was sur
prised by Mr.. Lees statement. He
said Mr.. Lee had promised yes
terday morning not to make a
statement without consulting him.
Mr.. Putnam still maintained
the board would be reconstructed,
but he modified the time angle.
Discussing price controls, Mr..
Disable said at the conference that
both Senator Capehart and Rep
resentative Wolcott, slated to be
chairmen respectively of the Sen
ate and House Banking Commit
tees, plan full hearings on controls
in the next session.
Mr.. Disable estimated that, in
view Of this, nothing would be
done about controls by Congress
before the April 80 expiration date.
LiaisOn Considered.
He said he had talked to no
Republican who wants to scrap
controls Immediately.
Mr.. Disable listed 81 persons
whom he consulted in preparation
of his report, in addition to men,
bers of the Economic Sterilization
Agency and the OPS. One was
Bernard Baruch. He said Mr..
Baruch was pretty much in agree
ment that controls are necessary
now and that only future develop
ments would indicate need for
their continuance.
Mr.. Disable was called in De-
cember l for his advice on the
future of controls. He returned
to Toledo last night.