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Show IfOULD EXTEND LEVER CONTROL 'aimer Asks Continuation of Law in Fight on High Costs. WASHINGTON, Nov. 7. Extension of io Lever food and fuel control law for lx months after the proclamation of aacc is necessary to protect the country o:n high prices. Attorney General Palmer today told the Jiouao agricultural committee. commit-tee. "Unalterable economic conditions." the attorney general said, would be taken "advantage "ad-vantage of by unscrupulous people" to make prices high unless the powers granted grant-ed under the act are continued in force. These conditions. he said, prevailed throughout the world. "The conditions in the country Immediately Imme-diately following peace make it even more necessary that the law be continued than the conditions that prevailed and led to the enactment of the original act," the attorney general said. "The act originally had for its purposes the increase of production and to protect the people from -wartime condition.5 that result in very high prices. Since the armistice prices have very largely increased, in-creased, and. unless the government control con-trol is continued over some commodities, the after-war conditions may result in higher prices than during the war itself." Suggestions by committeemen that extension ex-tension of all sections of the iaw was uSSSecessary were answered by the attorney at-torney general urging blanket extension, for, lie said, unexpected "situations might arise" and that the mere existence of the law would be of wholesome influence. "The main purpose of the extension would be to stop profiteering," declared the attorney general. Answering questions regarding the bituminous coal miners' strike, the attorney at-torney general said that the department of Justice had no legal plans, other than its injunction suit at Indianapolis, for dealing with the strike situation. "The failure of the men to carry out the contract to work at a certain wage during the war is the primary cause," he added, in reply to a question as to whether the strike was due to war conditions. con-ditions. Under f.ie law, the attorney general declared in response to a Question, the president had power to "take over the coal mines if he saw fit." He also said that under the law the resurrected fuel administration conld continue for several sev-eral months after peace. Price fixing of food also is possible under the law. but the attorney general said he "knew of nothing that contemplates use'' of this authority. Mr. Palmer said that he was not certain cer-tain that the conditions making extension of the Lever law advisable would end in six: months, but he declared that such a period would be as "short as congreso would undoubtedly wish to make it." No suggestion was made about an effort ef-fort to block the president in lifting wartime war-time prohibition, but in referring to the section of the , Lever act prohibiting manufacture or import of intoxicating-liquor intoxicating-liquor the attorney general said facetiously facetious-ly "it would not be needed next January," Janu-ary," when constitutional prohibition becomes be-comes operative. Action on the attorney general's requests, re-quests, both as to the extension of the food control and making funds available for an educational campaign on the high cost of living through combatting of "buy now" campaigns, was deferred until Monday by the committee. |