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Show lative department. 3. When we consider that we have been constantly in and out of "emergencies" for 20 years, the danger of delegating such broad powers in advance is emphasized. 4. Stand-by controls are inflationary infla-tionary because they tend to curb productivity and push both wages and prices up. 5. If a war emergency should develop, de-velop, that is the time we need our greatest productivity. Indirect controls will curb inflation with the least interference with productivity. produc-tivity. 61. The control agencies proposed in the two bills under consideration considera-tion . are themselves inflationary since they will needlessly increase government expense by duplicating duplicat-ing facilities which already exist, "such as Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statis-tics, Bureau of Agriculture Economics," Econ-omics," etc. Their presence will perpetuate the control philosophy in government and actually create a climate of fear that will unstab-ilize unstab-ilize our economy. The experience of grocers under both OPA and OPS supports the facts that price controls do not prevent inflation, they are too complex and too difficult to be administered successfully or to be applied by those against whom they are directed. Grocer Comments On Stand-By Price Controls "The only conceivable result of stand-by controls would be decreased de-creased productivity, higher costs, and higher prices to consumers." These were the words of Ray Cowpertwaite, Bushnell, Illinois grocer, who testified before the Senate Banking and Currency Committee on S-753 and S-1081, two bills which would provide for stand-by price and wage controls. Mr. Cowperthwaite appeared in behalf of the National Association of Retail Grocers of the United States, the Cooperative Food Distributors Dis-tributors of America, the National Association of Food Chains, and the Super Market Institute, Inc. These organizations represent some 150,000 stores, accounting for 85 per cent of all retail food sales. Mr. Cowperthwaite, a former i food chief of the Peoria, Illinois district offices of OPS, testified: I There are six important reasons for opposition to any plan for stand-by price and wage controls: 1. Stand-by controls are unnecessary unnec-essary and would create more problems than they could correct. ' 2. Both of the bills under consideration con-sideration give to one man the President sole discretion as to when to pull the switch putting our 350 billion dollar economy back under controls. This is a continuation continu-ation of the trend established over the last few years of building, up the power of the executive department depart-ment at the expense of the legis- |