Leighty, George E., representing Railway Labor Executives Associa- Lucas, Hon. Scott W., representing the American Finance Conference- McCawley, J. F., Indiana State president, Property Owners of Amer- 1521 1764 2011 Mann, J. L., president, Sturgis Posture Chair Co., Sturgis, Mich.... 1720 2171 Martin, Ned, Akron, Ohio. 1990 Mitchell, Hon. Hugh B., a Representative in Congress from the State 2155 Morris, Hon. Toby, a Representative in Congress from the State of 2117 Murchison, Claudius, American Cotton Manufacturers Institute.. Myers, Hon. Francis J., representing National Foundation of Con- National Retail Furniture Association_ National Retail Hardware Association_ Nau, Carlton L., general manager, American Public Power Association. Patman, Hon. Wright, chairman, Select Committee on Small Busi- Pinkston, Jack, Home and Property Owners' Alliance.. Porter, Elizabeth K., president, American Nurses Association Powers, Edward H., representing Kansas State Real Estate Board. Ramoneda, Louis V., president, American Motor Hotel Association. Rankin, James L., American Cotton Manufacturers Institute.. Rees, Hon. Edward H., a Representative in Congress from the State Riggle, John J., assistant secretary, National Council of Farmer 1716 1815 Schiff, Philip, representing American Association of Social Workers. Sherrard, Glenwood J., representing American Hotel Association - Snyder, Calvin K., secretary, Realtors' Washington Committee, Sparkman, Hon. John J., a United States Senator from the State of 1767 1462 1575 2026 Tait, Robert C., president, Stromberg-Carlson Co-- Vanderslice, R. L., representing Chicago Residential Hotel Associa- Victor, Catherine, Detroit, Mich. 1999 Wagner, Edmund F., representing the Commerce and Industry Asso- 1742 Wagner, Walter, Central Labor Union and Metal Trades Council of Weight, Burtram A., representing Apartment House Association of 1969 Wright, Mrs. Leslie, representing General Federation of Women's Miscellaneous information submitted to the committee by- Exhibit I. Spot check of current hospital nursing, January 1951.. Exhibit II. Salary data-teachers, librarians, dietitians, factory workers, and office workers (women) __ Exhibit III. Platform for the American Nurses' Association. Anderson Cattle Co., Inc., letter of May 24, 1951, to Hon. Edward H. Blake, W. R., National Cotton Council of America, supplemental state- ment_ Burger, George J., National Federation of Independent Business, letter 2165 1473, 1491 1569 Cotton, John, letter of May 24, 1951, to William Russell. 1819 1823 Christensen, William S. L., letter of June 1, 1951, to Hon. August 1986 Congress of Industrial Organizations, letter of June 18, 1951, and 2178 Crawford, Hon. Fred L., speech in House of Representatives, entitled 1511 DeLaval Steam Turbine Co., Trenton, N. J., letter of May 26, 1951, 1715 Engle, Hon. Clair: Additional contracts as a result of certification by the Defense 2134 Cattleman Supports Beef Price Roll-Back, article from New National Association of Real Estate Boards: Control-Folklore Versus Economic Reality (excerpts from 1535 1634 Miscellaneous information submitted to the committee by-Continued Page Housing in areas adjacent to military installations and contact List of military and defense plant areas where housing might be 1627 Rent control and the distribution of income (excerpts from article 1586 The housing situation, 1950.. 1624 Weekly earnings and consumers' prices (chart) 1585 National Savings and Loan League, letter of June 8, 1951, to Hon. Brent Spence.. 1569 Property Owners' Association of America: Rent Control in War and Peace (article by John and Richard 1692 Sibley, William A. L., letter of June 1, 1951, to Hon. Paul Brown... - 1469 Electric range and refrigerator factory sales: Actual and adjusted Indices of automobile and furniture production: Actual and 1562 1561 1563 1566 1567 1560 1563 1565 1565 Television sets: Factory sales monthly, end-of-month factory inventory, and ratio of inventory to sales, January 1950 through Television sets: Factory sales monthly, end-of-month factory inventory, and ratio of inventory to sales, January 1950 through Wilson, Charles E., Director of Defense Mobilization: Report of the four-member committee, appointed February 26, 1951... 1484 DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1951 THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1951 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY, Washington, D. C. The committee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Paul Brown, presiding. Members present: Mr. Brown, Mr. Patman, Mr. Rains, Mr. Deane, Mr. McKinnon, Mr. Bolling, Mr. Wolcott, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Betts. Mr. BROWN. The committee will come to order. Mr. Clerk, call the first witness. Mr. HALLAHAN. The first witness is Mr. Herman W. Steinkraus, representing the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. STATEMENT OF HERMAN W. STEINKRAUS, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES Mr. STEINKRAUS. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, my name is Herman W. Steinkraus. I am chairman of the executive committee of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, and am president of the Bridgeport Brass Co., Bridgeport, Conn. I believe the chairman and the gentlemen of the committee know that the Chamber of Commerce of the United States is a national federation which at present has 3,133 local chambers of commerce and trade associations as members, with an underlying membership of 1,350,000 individual businessmen. Because the chamber in membership and direct interests embraces every important activity in our economy; and, through its membership-small business as well as large-it presents the opinion of a cross section of our entire economy, thus it is that policies of the chamber do not represent the views of some special group or particular interest, but are drawn from the diverse interests of the country as a whole and are voted by its membership. This voting, incidentally, is so regulated that no geographic concentration of interests or economic concentration of power can override the broader interests of the entire membership. At a recent annual convention here in Washington, the chamber voted upon a set of policies, with over 600 delegates from all over the United States present, to take part in the discussion of these policies. So, Mr. Chairman, I was somewhat surprised when arriving in Washington last night to read in the papers that a prominent officer of a great labor union took it upon himself to make statements about the United States Chamber of Commerce which are entirely out of line with the facts. In the official release of this organization he stated there was a complete irresponsibility and a narrow greed that could wholly wreck our defense program if the ideas of the United States Chamber of Commerce were adopted. I believe this is a just trick on the public for any CIO official to make such a statement about this organization. I have had many years of experience with Mr. Carey. I have been in debates with him numerous times, and I have read much of what he has had to say. I think his statement to the Senate committee yesterday is typical of the insidious type of remarks he makes. In this case he said something cleverly with the purpose of giving the public a wrong impression. There is absolutely no ground for the insinuation in his statement that the National Chamber proposed any such deal with organized labor, or with anybody else, and Jim Carey knows that to be a fact. Such a statement, I believe, discredits anything else he may have to say. Business believes that wages do not need to be controlled any more than prices need to be controlled. Union leaders like Jim Carey are doing a disservice to the American worker by advocating that he accept further regimentation from the Government. The chamber is interested in keeping both the workingman and the businessman free from Government control. We believe that neither wage nor price controls will check inflation. What will do the job are tighter credit controls; reduced Government spending; higher taxes, and increased production. I thought that I ought to take up this challenge which Mr. Carey so loosely tosses about, because it really is a disservice to the American people for a man high in the councils of a great labor organization to make such statements. In enacting the Defense Production Act, Congress said: The United States is determined to develop and maintain whatever military and economic strength is found to be necessary to oppose acts of aggression and to promote peace. The Chamber of Commerce of the United States endorses that statement of the Congress and urges every practical means available for increasing our military might and, at the same time, maintaining a healthy, growing civilian economy. While the point is one on which no one disagrees, we cannot overemphasize the fundamental necessity, in this period of our testing as a free and democratic people, of maintaining a vigilant concern for the strength and efficiency of our home front. Our military strength itself can be no greater than the strength and efficiency of that home front. We are without rival in industrial capacity, in technological knowledge, and in the productive skills and versatilities of our free labor force. The test is whether we can maintain the smoothness and efficiency of over-all coordination required for the continued translation of unrivaled resources into unrivaled production. We would do well to remind ourselves that it was our enemies' crack-up on the production front that brought them down to hopeless impotence in the final stages of the last war. It is on that level of importance that we must appraise the danger of neglecting to give full consideration to the vital matter of keeping our civilian economy in the soundest possible condition. |