Show 9 Personal Mail bail Exerts Everts Big B Influence on Congressman By BAUKHAGE Nc New es Analyst and Commentator Service 1616 Eye Street NW NN Washington D. D C. C There Is a great mail mall mystery In Washington which public reaction sleuths are trying tryIng trying try- try Ing to solve Recent Recent Re Re- Recent cent reactions of congress presents presents pre pre- preA A- A a paradox In fact a pair of paradoxes Gradually one x s 's by one like a maiden P pluckIng plucking pluck pluck- luckin luck luck- in Ing g dais daisy Y P petals et als to learn earn he her r fate r rand Y and fortune congress congress congress con con- gress has been stripping the 4 poor office of price administration administration administration adminis adminis- of its powers until said agency has little more control overprices over overprices overprices prices than man over a skidding car on an icy pavement And yet according to recent polls 82 per cent of the public is in favor of ot holding the line The March survey by that reliable National Opinion Research Center of ot Denver university among other similar groups points this out When the house virtually stripped OPA of its powers late in April letters letters letters let let- I poured in supporting the agency agency agency agen agen- cy since then Its head P Paul ul Porter Porter Porter Por Por- ter using the publicity machine built up by his predecessor Stabilization Stabilization Stabilization Director Bowles has omitted omitted omit omit- ted no word or act to keep his side of the arguments against ceiling- ceiling smashing before the consumer Although Although Al Al- though congress Is b not now being needled as aa heavily as It was at the peak of at the house debate plenty of people are still sUll asking for tor OP OPA A con con- At the same time of course anti- anti control forces are keeping up their pressure both through lobbyists of the Interested groups and through the paid advertising of the N National Manufacturers' Manufacturers association and other industrial organizations But as far tar as any anyone one can gauge the people themselves still want price control Nevertheless congress congress con con- I gress has managed to whittle it down and many observers at this writing consider it as among the dead already That is one mystery Another was provided in the recent move on the part of ot the President with his emergency emergency emergency emer emer- gency strike bill and on the part of congress with the reinforced Case bill Up until the unions threatened to tie up the railroads and ignored government government gov gov- government orders there was no chance to get any labor-control labor measure through congress But the people wanted something and when the President offered it he received a response in the way of letters and telegrams such as the White House has not known in the memory of its present staff some of whom have served there since the days of Woodrow Woodrow Woodrow Wood- Wood row Wilson Now I know that some of ot m my readers like many of my listeners will see nothing strange in this apparent apparent apparent ap ap- parent indifference to the popular will on the part of congress A lot of letters I receive Indicate that a great many people think congress congress con con- congress gress pays no attention to the voter This Is laughably inaccurate The voice of the voter Is the one thing a congressman obeys obes In spite of ot this fact 51 per cent of the people If it our old friend Is right as it has proved to be on many occasions occasions occasions oc oc- believe that congress depends depends depends de de- more on on Its own judgment than on public opinion Of course the reason for this impression impression im im- is that the organized voters the ones which some organization organization organ organ- controls form fonn the congressman's congressman's congress congress- mans man's judgment because they are the most vocal They make themselves themselves them- them selves heard in person through their membership and the people whom they influence In the two recent questions I have mentioned labor control and price control you have two powerful power- power ful lobbies at work the unions and the Industrial organizations but pulling in opposite directions I am not saying that either Is right or wrong In the views they express and the causes they advocate cate I am saying that they are active and powerful And also that tha t they naturally promulgate ideas in in their own Interest If It these Interests Interests interests Inter inter- ests happen to be the publics public's a awell as aswell aswell s well fine If It not Most of the congressional secretaries secretaries secretaries sec sec- I know well enough to to talk lk with frankly support this view Except Except Ex Ex- of course when some strange political deal Is Involved whereby y the congressman feels It safer t to o displease some of his constituency because of Its Indifference than to disregard the pressure brought upon him by other forces In or out of congress This particular inquiry by the Quarterly showed legislators rated the various influences on them as follows 1 personal mail 2 visits TO the public 3 newspapers 4 visIts visits visits vis vis- its FROM t tie the e public and 5 public public pub pub- lic lie opinion polls The bearing which these figures I have on the importance of writing I your congressman in my opinion is this they show that mail IS im important important im- im im-I im and that when letters at atone atone atone one end of the spectrum of importance Importance tance jibe with the poll at the theother theother theother other end it certainly puts a burr under the legislators legislator's vote More People in Buying M Market Recently I said over the air that America was eating better and eating more than it had ever eaten before Immediately I received a n squall of ot stormy letters vehemently vehement vehement- ly denying my statement All of the writers regaled me with the same talc tale which my my wife brings home each day that the grocers grocer's and the butchers butcher's shelves I are almost bare Nevertheless America is eating better and more food Americans who ate a yearly average of pounds of meat before the war arenow are arenow arenow now gobbling it at the rate of ot pounds apiece This statement is from rom Fortune magazine a periodical cal not noted for makin making false statements state state- ments You and I cannot get everything we want but we arent aren't all of America Amerita Amer Amer- ira ica by a long way You and I have always had meat virtually everyday every everyday everyday day in the week But millions of people In this country never had meat more than tb-an once or twice a week These mil- mil PUBLICS PUBLIC'S INCOME 1939 e 1946 S Estimate mate baaed arils m BILLION BILLION- u from d rl Commerce lions Ions of people have more money today than they have ever had but you If II you are one of the people who wrote me probably n never ver were conscious of that fact The little graph raph shows the facts These figures on which it is based are compiled by the department of commerce and the most anti admin banker you know wont won't doubt them They show ts ins you see that in 1939 the publics public's income was 68 billion dollars The estimate for tor 1946 Is billion Now your common sense will tell teU you that the people who ate meat every day didn't get all of that 71 billion dollar increase in their spending money The low income groups got a large part of it In other words America as n q whole Is is eating more meat and other things than it ever eve did before and because so many MORE people are eating so much MORE meat there isn't as much left for the people who ate all they wanted before I The discussion of how much America is eating arose In connection connection connection tion with the question as to our ability abilIty ability abil abil- ity to help feed starving Europe and Asia Some people believed that because because because be be- cause they couldn't buy as many things at nt the store as they were accustomed to buying America didn't have enough to spare I But the people you and I n who cant can't get all of what we want are In no danger of starving We can cnn get things we may not like but which will be just as good for us And also we the can be assured that the people who in Americas America's past have been near the danger lines are getting a lot more than they ever had before And they weren't starving then either cither So dont don't think that we haven't enough to spare for the Invisible guest |