TRUMAN LAYS HIS PLAN BEFORE CONGRESS

Wanganui Chronicle, 7 January 1949, Page 5

TRUMAN LAYS HIS PLAN BEFORE CONGRESS

Higher Taxes; More Economic Controls; Heavier Expenditure More Liberty; Social Reforms WASHINGTON, Jan. s.—President Truman today laid before a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives a series of sweeping proposals for higher taxes, more economic controls, heavier Government expenditure, widespread social reforms, increased civil liberties and freer opportunities for organised labour.

The proposals, which constitute point-by-point fulfilment of Mr. Truman’s election campaign promises, were contained in his “State of the Union” speech—the traditional address given every year by the President to outline legislation he wants passed in the next 12 months—which surpassed any of the late President Roosevelt’s programmes in both scope and liberalism. Specifically, Mr. Truman called for authority to raise taxes by 4,000,000,000 dollars, mainly from additional corporate taxes, an eight-point antiinflation programme, including standby price controls and limited wage controls, outright repeal of the antiLabour Taft-Hartley Act, an expansion of the social security laws, the institution of a national health insurance scheme, more Government aid to provide better schools, low rent, housing and slum clearance, and a comprehensive civil rights programme to end racial segregation and discrimination. The President declared that the American people had “rejected the discredited theory that the fortunes of the nation should be in the hands of a privileged few,” and went on to spell out a programme that was largely a repetition of futile requests he had made to the Republicandominated 80th. Congress •

Mr. Truman' dealt only sketchily with foreign policy and failed to mention at all the projected North Atlantic Pact, the military aid programme for Western Europe, or additional funds for the Marshall Plan. He did say, however, that during the course of the current session “I shall have occasion to ask Congress to consider several measures in the field of foreign policy.” His only specific foreign policy recommendations were firstly a request for a three-year extension of the reciprocal trade agreements programme which empowers the Government to negotiate tariff lowering pacts with other Governments; secondly, a more liberal admission of displaced persons into the United States.

He repeated his requests for a universal military training programme, but at no stage of his 4000-word speech did he refer to Russia by name. He did assert, however: “It should be clear by now to all nations that we are not seeking to freeze the status quo. We have no intention of preserving the injustices of the past. We welcome the constructive efforts being made by many nations to achieve a better life for their citizens.”

“In the European recovery programme, in our good neighbour policy and in the United Nations we have begun to batter down those national walls jvhich block the economic growth and social advancement of the people of the world We believe that if we hold resolutely to this principle of international cooperation we will eventually command the approval even of those nations which are now seeking to weaken or subvert it.” OPENING OF AN ERA Then he added: “We stand at the opening of an era which can mean either great achievement or a terrible catastrophe for ourselves and all mankind.”

The following is a summary of the main points of the speech. Taxation: An additional 4,000.000,000 dollars should come principally from additional corporate taxes. Portion should come from revised estate and gift taxes. Consideration should also be given to the raising of personal income tax rates in the middle and upper brackets. Labour: The Taft-Hartley Act should be repealed. Mr. Truman urged, that the more liberal Wagner Act should be re-enacted, but said it should be amended to prohibit jurisdictional strikes—strikes resulting from inter-union disputes and secondary boycotts walk-outs of workers in sympathy with strikers in unrelated industry. He added that the minimum wage should be raised from 40 to 75 cents, an hour. FAIR CHANCE FOR PEOPLE.

National Economy: “The State of the Union is good. Our nation is better able than ever before to meet the needs of the American people and give them a fair chance in the pursuit of happiness. The Government must see every American has a chance to obtain his fair share of our increasing abundance. Our private enterprise system has reached new heights of production. We are turning out far more goods and more wealth per worker than we have ever done before. This progress has confounded th® gloomy prophets who predicted th® downfall of American capitalism. The American people have achieved the greatest prosperity the world has ever seen, but we can keep our present prosperity and increase it only if free enterprise and a free government work together to that end. We cannot float along on the post-war boom until it collapses. It is not merely enough to prepare to weather a recession if it comes Government and business must work together constantly to achieve more and more jobs and more and more production, which will mean more and more prosperity for all the people. The business cycle is man-made and men of good will, working together, can smooth it out.”

Shortcomings Of Economy: “We are suffering from excessively high prices. Our production is still not large enough to satisfy our demands and our minimum wages are far too low. Small business is losing ground to growing monopoly. Our farmers still face an uncertain future, and too many of them lack the benefits of modern civilisation. Some of our natural resources are being wasted. We are acutely short of electric power, although means for develop-

ing it are abundant. Five million families are still living in slums and fire traps, and 3,000,000 families share their homes with others. Our health is far behind the progress of medical science and proper medical care is so expensive that it is out of the reach of the great majority of our citizens. Our schools in many localities are utterly inadequate.” CONTROL OF CREDIT. Inflation: “I recommend legislation for the following purposes: (1) To continue power to control consumer bank credit. (2) To grant authority to regulate speculation on the commodity exchanges. (3) To continue the export control authority. (4) To continue the priorities and allocation authority in the field of transportation. (5) To authorise priorities and allocations for key materials in short supply. (6) To extend and strengthen rent control. (7) To provide a standby authority to impose price ceilings for scarce commodities which basically affect essential industrial production or the cost of living, and to limit unjustified wage adjustments which would force a break in the established price ceiling. (8) To authorise an immediate study of the adequacy of production facilities for materials in critically short supply such as steel, and if necessary, to authorise Government loans for an expansion of production facilities to relieve such shortages.” Foreign Affairs: “The United States is the foremost among the nations of the world in search of peace. The world today looks to us for leadership because we have so largely realised within our borders those benefits of democracy for which most of the peoples of the world are yearning. The heart of our foreign policy is peace, and our guiding star is the principle of international co-opera-tion. To this concept we have made a national commitment as profound as anything in history. To it we have pledged our resources and our honour. Until a system of world security is established, on which we can safely rely, we cannot escape the burden of creating and maintaining armed forces sufficient to deter aggression. Further improvements in our national security legislation are necessary, and universal military training is essential to the security of the United States.”

Civil Rights: “The civil rights proposals I have made to the 80th Congress I now make to the 81st. I stand squarely behind these proposals.” Farming: “Farm price supports are an essential part of our programme. To achieve these ends we should give special attention to extending modern conveniences and settees to our farms.” SHOCKING HEALTH. Health: “In a nation as rich as ours it is a shocking fact that tens of millions lack adequate medical care. We need and must have without delay a system of pre-paid medical insurance.” Social Security: “We should expand our social security programme both as to the size of benefits and the extent of coverage against economic hazards due to unemployment, old age, sickness and disability. At present one-third of our workers are not covered and old age payments are only 25 dollars monthly.” Education: “It is shocking that millions of our children are not receiving good education. Millions are in overcrowded, obsolete buildings. We are short of teachers because teachers’ salaries are too low to attract new teachers or hold the ones we have. I cannot repeat too strongly my desire for prompt Federal financial aid.” Housing: “Congress should enact provisions for low rent public housing, slum clearance, farm housing, and housing research. Building costs must be lowered.” Mr. Truman himself provided a name for his administration today. He called it the “Fair Deal.” The President appealed to Congress to co-operate with him, saying: “It is absolutely essential that your President have the complete co-operation of Congress to keep peace in this world and keep this country powerful.” Congressmen applauded this remark. WARM RECEPTION.

A cheering Congress gave Mr. Truman a warm-hearted reception, in striking contrast to the coolness which greeted him a year ago. Legislators rose to their feet with a sustained burst of applause as the President mounted the rostrum. Republicans joined with Democrats when Mr. Truman said the United States stands foremost in the world in the search for peace. The President was repeatedly interrupted by applause, mainly from Democrats, as he ticked off his reference to the “privileged few” and “unfair prejudice.” Most Democrats in Congress expressed whole-hearted support for Mr Truman’s proposals, but a few were critical of his civil rights and universal military training proposals. Republicans criticised the message, and the most severe reaction came from Representative Charles Halleck, the House majority leader in the last Congress, who said: “The complete recklessness of the President’s proposals, taken as a whole, is clear evidence that the anti-Radicals in Congress have a real job to do if the country is to avoid disaster.” Translations of Mr. Truman's message are being broadcast to the world throughout the day.