Evening star., 1953-03-25
90,Day freeze
Bill Acceptable
To Eisenhower
President Opposed
To Standby Controls
MobiIizer Testifies
By the Associated Press


The Eisenhower administra-
tion said today the President
would accept" authority tt
clamp a 90-day freeze on prices
and wages in an emergency, but
wants no detailed standby eco
nomic control law.
Acting Mobilization Director
Arthur S. Flemming delivered tc
the Senate Banking Committee
the administrations specific re-
quests for extension of mobiliza-
ton powers. The committee had
asked the administration to spell
out clearly what it wants on
economic controls.
Mr.. Flemming asked:
/. A one-year extension, until
June 80, 1854, of priority and al
location powers sufficient to pro-
tect production for the military
and atomic programs.
Would End Civilian ALLEGATIONS
2. Abandonment of the emer-
gency power to requisition and
condemn private property needed
for defense, and elimination of
the requirement that scarce ma
terials be allocated among civil
ian users, except in special cases.
3. Extension of the authority
to aid industrial expansion for
defense by loans, loan guaran-
tees and long-term purchase
contracts.
4. Extension of rent controls
until September 80 in areas
which have requested Federal
ceilings, and until April 80, 1854,
in defense housing critical areas.
5. Extension of the Govern
ment's program to aid small
business for one year, as now
operated by the Small Defense
Plants Administration.
Opposed by Eisenhower.
Mr.. Flemming and his aides
were lead-of witnesses for the
administration on controls leg
1slation being considered by the
Banking Committee.
Advising the committee that
President Eisenhower believes il
would be "unwise to ATTEMPT
at this time to write a detailed
standby price and wage control
law, Mr.. Flemming said:
1T is the objective of this ad-
m1n1Stration to rid the economy
OF direct controls"
But in recognition that the
country faces a possibly long
period of Naturalization and
half-peace. Mr.. Flemming said
the administration considers it
necessary to be alert for renewed
inf1ationary pressures.
Freeze Sponsored by Capehart.
1t probably would be impos-
sible to draft a law at this time
which would cope with the un-
toreseeable situations arising in
any defense emergency, Mr..
Flemming declared.
The 90-day freeze proposal
sponsored by Senator Capehart,
Republican, of Indiana, chair
man of the Banking Committee,
assumes there would not be
enough time for Congress to act
in case of all-out war, Mr.. Flem-
ming went on, and he added:
Congress is in the best po-
sition to determine whether or
not this is a valid assumption. 4"
While the administration
hopes that Congress will decide
it. could move quickly enough
without a freeze law on the
books, Mr.. Flemming said, if
Congress decides to provide Gen.
Eisenhower with the freeze au-
thority, lit would be accepted"
Agency Stats Cut.
The mobilizer reported that
the consolidation of the pro-
duction and mobilization
agencies has cut their stats from
12,500 to 7,795. Of those left,
5000 have received 30-day dis
missal notices, he said.
The authority to require that
plants give priority in the per-
formance of contracts to de-
fense orders, and to allocate
materials and plant facilities for
national defense should be ex-
tended for one year beyond the
present expiration date of June
80, he said.
But the progress already made
in the military build-up renders
it no longer necessary to keep
the condemnation and requisi-
tioning power, the mobilizer re-
ported. Mr.. Flemming explained
this has been used only once,