pena or otherwise the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of documents at any designated place, may require persons to permit the inspection and copying of documents, and the inspection of inventories, and may, by regulation or order, require the making and keping of records and other documents and the making of reports. No person shall be excused from complying with any requirement under this section because of his privilege against self-incrimination, but the immunity provisions of the Compulsory Testimony Act of February 11, 1893 (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 49, sec. 46), shall apply with respect to any individual who specifically claims such privilege. (b) The Administrator shall not publish or disclose any information obtained under this Act that he deems confidential unless he determines that the withholding thereof is contrary to the interest of the national defense and security. REGULATIONS AND ORDERS SEC. 212. The Administrator may, from time to time, issue such regulations and orders as he may deem necessary or proper in order to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act, and to prevent the circumvention or evasion thereof. Any regulation or order issued under this Act may be amended or rescinded by the Administrator whenever in his opinion such action is necessary or proper in order to carry out the provisions of this Act or to prevent the circumvention or evasion thereof. ENFORCEMENT SEC. 213. (a) Whenever in the judgment of the Administrator any person has engaged or is about to engage in any acts or practices which constitute or will constitute a violation of this Act, or any regulation, order, or requirement, thereunder, he may make application to the appropriate court for an order enjoining such acts or practices, or for an order enforcing compliance with this Act or such regulation, order, or requirement, and upon a proper showing a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order shall be granted without bond. In cases of actual controversy, a like application may be made by any interested person, and upon a proper showing a like order or decree shall be granted. (b) Any person who willfully violates any provision of this Act or any regulation, order, or requirement thereunder, and any person who willfully falsifies in any material respect a document or report required to be kept or filed thereunder, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. Whenever the Administrator has reason to believe that any person is liable to punishment under this subsection, he may certify the facts to the Attorney General, who may, in his discretion, cause appropriate proceedings to be brought. (c) The district courts shall have jurisdiction of violations of this Act and and Territorial courts, of all civil proceedings to enforce any liability or duty of regulations, orders, or requirements thereunder, and concurrently with State created by, or to enjoin any violation of, this Act or any regulation, order, or requirement thereunder. Such civil proceedings and any criminal proceedings may be brought in any district in which any act or transaction constituting the violation occurred. Any such civil proceedings may also be brought in the district in which the defendant resides or transacts business, and process in such cases may be served in any district wherein the defendant resides or transacts business or wherever the defendant may be found. No costs shall be assessed against the United States Government in any proceeding under this Act. (d) No person shall be held liable for damages or penalties in any Federal, State, or Territorial court, on any grounds for or in respect of anything done or omitted to be done in good faith pursuant to any provision in this Act or any regulaiton, order, or requirement thereunder, notwithstanding that subsequently such provision, regulaiton, order, or requirement may be modified, rescinded, or determined to be invalid. The Administrator may intervene in any suit or action wherein a party relies for ground of relief or defense upon this Act or any regulation, order, or requirement thereunder. TITLE III-APPROPRIATIONS, SEPARABILITY, EFFECTIVE DATE, AND TERMINATION DATE APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED SEC. 301. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act SEPARABLITY SEC. 302. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. EFFECTIVE DATE SEC. 303. This Act shall become effective on day following the day on which it is enacted, except that title III shall be effective with respect to all defense contracts completed within taxable years beginning after December 31, 1940. TERMINATION DATE SEC. 304. This Act shall cease to be in effect after June 30, 1943. Senator BROWN. Did you have something else to present? Representative Gore. The principal arguments in the House against the bill were that it was unworkable, that the people were unprepared for it. But I will say we were prepared a week ago for whatever may happen. Senator TAFT. There has been a good deal of objection on the part of the cotton people to freezing prices. Representative GORE. There are objections from almost everybody, I realize, but we now have to forget a lot of objections and try to win this war. Senator TAFT. You said they were prepared to accept it, but I think they are not. Representative GORE. The special groups will probably never be prepared if we try to make a parity, one against the other. We must make it straight across the board. Senator BANKHEAD. Senator Taft, why didn't you include wheat with cotton? Senator TAFT. I only mentioned cotton because the commissioner of agriculture of Georgia was just heard by us. Senator BANKHEAD. Oh, but I think you were not putting it on his statement but on all Southern products. Senator TAFT. Well, he made a statement here just a few minutes ago. Senator BANKHEAD. People engaged in agriculture have the same viewpoint, whether wheat or cotton. Senator TAFT. I was only using cotton as an illustration at the moment. I did not mean to say cotton is different from any other product. I quite agree with you that wheat and everything else has taken the same position. Senator BANKHEAD. I am glad to hear you say that. (Thereupon Representative Gore left the committee table.) Senator BROWN. We will now hear Mr. C. Donald Dallas, representing the national defense committee of the National Association of Manufacturers. STATEMENT OF C. DONALD DALLAS, PRESIDENT, REVERE COPPER & BRASS CO.; CHAIRMAN, PRICES SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS Senator BROWN. You may proceed, Mr. Dallas; and I hope you may be able to conclude your statement within 15 minutes. Mr. DALLAS. I think I can do that, Mr. Chairman. My name is C. Donald Dallas. I am president of Revere Copper & Brass, Inc., and chairman of the prices subcommittee of the national defense committee of the National Association of Manufacturers. In order to be of maximum assistance to the committee we shall try to make the presentation of our position as brief as is consistent with the importance of the subject and shall endeavor to avoid unnecessary details. We start with one assumption that in the paramount public interest we must have continuous operation of the industries which are employed in production of war goods, in maintaining the civil population, and in maintaining the economic life of the Nation. It logically follows that in the public interest, as a measure important to the maintenance of the morale of the Nation, and as a helpful measure in avoiding disputes between labor and management, strenuous efforts should be made during this wartime emergency to keep down the cost of commodities, services, and rentals which affect the cost of living of the average citizen. In this connection let me cite a pertinent observation made in a recent issue of the London Economist: There is a great deal of public talk in America about the menace of inflation and the necessity of avoiding it. But there is painfully little willingness to face the steps that will have to be taken to achieve that end. Public opinion is still attached to what may be called the King Canute theory of price control. In view of references which have been made in previous testimony before this committee as to changes in industrial prices which have taken place, I direct your attention to certain key comparisons dealing with price and cost changes between June 1940 at the beginning of our defense program, and November 29, 1941. This analysis shows: 1. During this period raw materials increased 27.6 percent in cost, unit labor cost increased 17.3 percent, finished goods prices, however, that is, the prices received by manufacturers, increased only 16.2 percent (chart 1). 2. During this period the wholesale prices of all commodities increased 19.3 percent, whereas the prices of finished goods increased only 16.2 percent (chart 2). 3. During this period manufacturing costs increased 19 percent as compared with a price increase of 16.2 percent (chart 3). 4. In other words, during this period the increase of prices in manufactured goods was only 85 percent as great as the increase in manufacturing costs (chart 4). This is an average figure for all manufactured goods and while there are naturally variations up and down, we submit that the over-all picture of the behavior of manufactured goods prices during our defense and pre-war period has been good. (Charts 1, 2, 3, and 4 are as follows:) |