Early Licks

This week, Harry Truman reluctantly and with "deep disappointment" signed the anti-inflation bill sent to him by the Republican-led Congress, and then set out to make some political ammunition from his action. In a note to Congress he said:

"At a time when nearly everyone in this nation is feeling the pressure of exorbitant prices, the Congress has enacted a bill that is pitifully inadequate. . . . The meager authority contained in the bill will be utilized to the fullest extent by the Government, but the public must not be misled into believing that this bill will do the job. I would be shirking my responsibility if I did not protest. . . ."

Too Little? The only reason he signed the bill at all, the President wrote, was because it covered three of the ten points contained in the program he submitted to Congress in November: extended export controls, extended control over rail facilities, authority to promote increased farm production. These three measures, he said, "are needed now." But "they are of minor importance compared with . . . the key measures which are essential to an effective anti-inflation program." In particular, the President wanted stand-by authority for compulsory allocations, rationing and wage-price controls.

What he actually got from Congress was 1) power to authorize "voluntary" industrial allocation agreements, and 2) a suggestion that he submit-for future consideration by Congress, detailed proposals for specific mandatory measures. These provisions of the bill, he cried, were "an excuse for delaying the enactment of a sound anti-inflation program. They will do far more harm than good."

Too Late? The President said he had already done his best to get voluntary action from businessmen. These efforts had produced "some results," but it was now "far too late in the fight against inflation ... to place our main reliance" on them.

As everyone knows, inflation will be a central issue in the 1948 campaign. Harry Truman got his licks in early: "Inflation and the high cost of living confront the American people--all the American people--with a grave danger. Unchecked inflation can bring on a serious depression that can cause untold hardship. . . . The American people look to the Congress to pass legislation adequate to perform this all-important task. I trust that when the Congress returns it will promptly enact an effective, workable program."

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