Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS ANALYSES GOP takes over congress president cuts I 1 wartime vl artime powers industrial pay reaches peak EDITORS NOTE when opinions opinion are te expressed in these co columns alumns they are those ot of western wester newspaper News union dew news s analysts and sol riot necessarily ol of tills this new newspaper CONGRESS ready to go co taxes and labor legislation 7 were scheduled for early consideration as the congress convened under republican leadership veteran GOP luminaries held the reins as the session got un ty while seniority was ac V ledged in the naming of the ps y s congressional command the men named have proven their mettle in legislative wars and qualify for the positions one of the outstanding figures in the bipartisan bi partisan foreign policy developed by secretary of state byrnes arthur mich was the choice for president pro tern of the senate quiet able wallace white me took over the majority leadership of the senate while aggressive conservative kenneth wherry neb was in line as the party whip in the upper chamber joe martin mass was the unanimous choice for speaker of the house but a battle developed for the majority leadership between the taft and dewey ggs although charged with it a dewey man charles A habeck haibeck ind vowed impartiality and obtained the position after a brief struggle it is within the power of a majority leader to advance or push certain legislation hence the importance of the post to factions seeking to build up their prestige FOREIGN AFFAIRS border problem As first intimated in secretary of state byrne s historic stuttgart address september 6 the U S will press tor for revision of germanys germanas Germ anys eastern border when the big three meet in moscow march 10 to discuss a peace treaty for the reich backed by britain the U S will seek restoration of ian and brandenberg farmlands given to poland by russia after the end of the war while the U S intends to press for a return of this territory it will accede to the ce ces sion of the rith rich industrial section of sile silesia sla and half of east prussia to the poles the U S position for restoration of and brandenberg to germany is based on the fact that oarl regions comprise 25 per cent 01 0 1 S best farmland and the country of would suffer a serious food deficiency if the land is not returned since poland is predominantly agricultural it does not need additional farmland to bolster its economy it is pointed out LIVESTOCK halt mexican imports veterinarians were scheduled to check every mexican animal imported into the U S since reopening of the border october 17 tor for the dreaded hoof and mouth disease following reports that the malady had broken out in three mexican states at the same time republican coni con i gressmen revealed their intention to probe president Tr reopening of the b border 0 ader last fall in the effort althe t vide ide additional livestock to re acute meat famine then prevailing it was charged that mexico never has eradicated the disuse use a because of lax supervision of imports from other south american countries afflicted with the sickness of seven outbreaks ot of the hoot hoof and mouth disease in the U S since 1870 the last two occurred in 1924 highly communicable hoof and mouth disease blisters the feet and mouth of cattle affecting their ability to move inove freely and eat cat normally va va 2 k ekr opening of congress saw republican majority in limelight at top senators 5 lich wherry neb and white in middle senators robertson wyo bricker ohio and taft ohl bottom senators cain wash thye minn and mccarthy wio WHITE HOUSE steals thunder beating congress to the punch president truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities to terminate government powers under 20 laws and mark 33 others far expiration within six months to five years mr truman did not call for an immediate cessation of the states ot of emergency proclaimed in 1939 and 1941 nor of the state of war revealing that he would recommend action on these measures to congress A state of emergency Is designed to gover cover any situation deemed critical ato 0 the country while a state of war is considered to prevail until the signing of peace treaties in terminating hostilities the president I 1 reduced wartime taxes on liquor baer wines fur luggage jewelry telephone and telegraph service transportation electric bulbs and billiard and pool tables to prewar levels ended government power to to seize privately owned mines and plants scheduled the end of of price supports for farm products tor for 1948 COLLEGE peak enrollment taking full advantage of the GI bill of rights vets constitute a large percentage of undergraduates attending educational institutions a survey of universities and colleges dise disclosed lose d compiled by y dr raymond walters president of the university of cincinnati the study showed that of students at the schools were ex GIs in addition 1000 v vets ets were enrolled at junior colleges and thousands more at several hundred other s schools i bringing the grand of Ms G ls to slightly more than half of students I 1 I 1 with ambitious vets availing themselves of generous educational opportunities current full time enrollments roll ments at the top universities and colleges are at peak levels the survey showed roughly they are 57 per cent above the 1939 figure and twice that of 1945 two men are enrolled to every woman whereas the wartime ratio was three women to two men LABOR pay up losses of man days of work during the first 11 months of 1946 due to strikes partly were offset by increased wages and shorter hows hours over the comparable 1945 period the department of labor reported time lost in walkouts wal kouts set an all time peak even topping the embattled postwar year of 1919 the department part ment said As against the man days lost this year were lostin 1945 in 1944 and for the prewar period industrial pay hit new tops following the years bitter labor disputes average weekly earnings in the bituminous tu coal industry rose to on onan an increased work week but other pay jumped appreciably despite shorter time figures for different industries follow average average weekly fo weekly earnings change hrs change all 28 iron steel and I 1 products 4 76 60 blast furnaces steel works mills 82 92 12 electric machy 4 8 autos 2 meat packing 39 oil refining 4 80 51 tires tubes 4 51 mining anra anthracite alte 99 46 metal etal iron cop copper lead 49 58 68 08 76 lele phona ope t 63 75 DEBT war tells showing the effects of total war the nations indebted indebtedness nesi stood at billion dollars at the end of 1945 according to a survey of the department of commerce while total debt doubled dur ing the period federal debt jumped five times in 1945 alone federal debt rose 42 billion dollars while state municipal and private obligations declined 7 billion for the war period non corporate short term commercial and financial loans were nearly one and one half times their earlier figure while corporate short term obligations were slightly higher the department survey revealed during the same same period however consumer loans were down 32 per cent farm mortgages 22 per cent state and local government 16 per cent corporate U UN N pursue disarmament the question of disarmament proceeded on its labryn thine course in the united nations As a struggle shaped over formulation of an atomic control measure the russians asked the 11 na tion security council to proceed full stearn steam ahead on disarmament without waiting for final action on nuclear energy declaring that disarmament is the most important factor for peace and security the reds called for an agreement within three months at the latest meanwhile the pesky question of the veto snagged deliberations on control of atomic energy while the united nations atomic energy commission approved of the U S plan and sent it to the security council to be worked out russia expressed opposition to the provision that no big five power be permitted to apply the veto to escape punishment tor for violating regulations since the reds can use the veto in shaping control in the council however prolonged discussions loomed HOUSE assail reds noting a softening in t the he russian attitude following U S implementation of a get tough policy with the soviets the special house comm committee attee on postwar economic planning headed by representative colmer dem miss and dominated by democrats urged a further tightening of relations with moscow until it meets its international obligations and agrees to full control of atomic energy drawn after a group of committee members had toured europe russia and the middle east the report declared that an affirmation of reports that the soviets were using german plants for re arming would justify a renunciation of the potsdam agreement and a demand for the communists to vacate the eastern occupation zone pointing up russian rearmament policies the report stated thit that the soviets were concentrating on development of heavy industry convertible for war la in their new five year plan until the russians agreed to play ball with the allies ailles the committee recommended that the U S withhold appreciable financial assistance from the soviets curb the extension tension n of technical assistance and industrial exports and license the sales of american firms to the reds the russians were rapped for religious and political terrorism in eastern europe expulsion of american corres correspondents imposition of totalitarian economies te in puppet states blocking of trade and waterways by monopolistic practices and infiltration of such countries as iran by terrorist tactics news ir in n brief 1 the anniversary of the monroe auto equipment company largest independent producer of hydraulic dra shock ab points up the phenomenal growth of the motor vehicle bd and allied industries during the last three decades in 1939 the industries sales topped 4 pillion dollars to lead all other manufacturing enter enterprises installation af of new facilities has enabled monroe to boost shock absorber output to daily with farm faim wage rates rising faster during war years than the price of agricultural ties one third more mord products was required to pay for fop a ih h hour of hired labor in 1915 1945 than tha n in 1941 cost cos t of operating a farm is now flow nearly twice as high as it was avas in 1941 0 0 livestock production averaged pounds of meat per capita in 1946 approximately pounds went to consumers 11 pounds to for export and 5 pounds to storage discontinuance of in 1947 should increase consumer supplies by 5 pounds per capita 1 POTATOES huge loss As much as 20 million bushels of government owned potatoes may go to waste following U S support ot of the 1946 crop in the face of a sagging market originally the government held title to million bushels as the result of a bumper harvest mak mg good on its agreement to maintain prices at at least 90 per cent of parity the U S bought substantial bial stocks and covered other commitments mit ments with loans redeemable it if the market rose the huge waste is expected to follow from rotting of the potatoes in inadequate storage on the farms 1 to escape total loss the government resold millions of bushels bof to distillers and livestock feeders at bargain prices distillers of beverage and industrial alcohol bought over ver 26 million bushels about bushels were resold tor for export to famine areas with the amount held down by and high transport costs public institutions and school lunch programs received about one million bushels of the surplus poti potatoes free POLITICS liberals unite liberal organizations joined hand in a common front at a convention in new york city and left open the possibility of forming a third party for achievement of their goals g known as the progressive citizens of america the new group represent an amal ga matlon mation of the 4 national citizens Citi zeni political action committee the independent catiz zens committee ot of the arts sciences science and professions and eight other organizations zat ions lons headed by dr frank kingdon author and jo davidson sculptor the directorate includes florello fiorello la guardia former mayor of new york and chief 0 philip murray president of the CIO A F whit ney president ot of willace wallace and the brotherhood ot of kingdon railroad trainmen fredric march movie actor and ex gov elmer benson of minnesota while holding no office to in the henry A wallace looms as one of its militant leaders in addressing the convention he called tor for an uncompromising fight tor for liberal principles he said pro gres would prefer the election ot of a reactionary in 1948 to a lukewarm liberal to raise a clear cut issue between liberal and conservative philosophies POWER increase service the year 1946 ivas was a period of f phenomenal growth in the electric utility I 1 industry in the number of customers served with nearly new customers added another high record established in 1946 was the increase of kilowatt hours in average residential consumption of electricity to set an all time high average of 1330 kilowatt hours used per customer most of the new customers connected in 1946 were in the rural areas area with less than of the new residential customers within city limits in excess of farms were connected during the year bringing the total number 0 electrified farms at as defined defir fed by the bureau of tife the census to more than electric companies to seive serve another farms during the next two years and electric cooperatives and other public agencies are expected to add an equal numbering num number berin in the same period I 1 released by western newspaper union |