Newspaper Page Text
IKE S SENATORIAL FOES THREATEN TO BLOCK ATOMIC MEASURE WASHINGTON, D. C.— (LNS) — The fight against President Eisen hower's order to the Atomic Energy Commission to sign a 25-year con tract with a private utility combine which would supply power to TVA has mushroomed in Congress. Senatorial foes of the plan threat en to block atomic legislation and a House foe has called for a Securities and Exchange Commission probe. If the administration persists in carrying out the plan, Congress will "not place any more discretionary authority" in any agency headed by AEC Chairman Lewis L. Strauss, Sen. Albert Gore (D-Tenn.) warned Admiral Strauss has put himself on record as opposed to AEC partici pation in the power business but as favoring the controversial contract labeled by critics one that would make AEC a "power broker" in a move to undercut TVA. Sen. Lister Hill (D-Ala.), predicted that there "will be no additional legi- j slation" amending the atomic law "if this outrageous order is to be carried out." Hill charged that: "The administration is sacrifie ing the national defense in order to serve the selfish interests of the private power lobby." LANGER JOINS DEMOCRATS Sen. William Langer (R-N. D.) once again displayed his rebellious independence of the GOP by joining the Democrats' attack on the c'on tract. Langer charged one reason for the 25-year contract is that the GOP is afraid it will lose the 1956 elections and its wants to assure the private power group's "greedy profits" for the next 25 years. The Langer charge was similar to the charge made by farm co-op and labor participants at the recent elec tric consumers' workshop in Washing ton, one participated in by Langer. These consumer group spokesmen had charged that the utilities were rush ing to get as many grabs nailed down ; as they can before the Republicans get whipped this November and a Democratic Congress next year starts probing the giveaways. Langer told the Democratic sena tors they could count on his aid in opposing revision of the atomic en ergy law. Meanwhile, Rep. Chet Holifield (D-Calif.), the member of the Joint House-Senate Atomic Energy Com mittee who did most to bring out the nature of the administration plan, wrote to Chairman Ralph Demmler of the Securities and Exchange Com mission. Holifield asked for "full hearings by SEC into the proposed contract with the utility combine. Holifield told Eisenhower-Ap pointee Demmler that the presidential order would involve AEC "in trans actions for utility services not neces sary for its own program nor author ized by the Atomic Energy Act. He recalled that previous long term contracts by AEC with two yy ' • CANDIDATES FOR STATE AND NATIONAL OFFICES AT JULY 20 PRIMARY ELECTION U. S. SENATE Republican Democrat JAMES E. MURRAY, Butte RAY E. GULICK, Joplin SAM G. FEEZELL, Great Falls WESLEY A. D'EWART, Wilsall ROBERT YELLOWTAIL, Lodge Grass CONGRESS, FIRST DISTRICT WINFIELD PAGE, Missoula LEE METCALF, Helena PAUL CANNON, Butte CONGRESS, SECOND DISTRICT LEROY ANDERSON, Conrad THEODORE JOHNSON, Lindsay JAMES T. HARRISON, Malta WILLARD E. FRASER, Billings ORVIN B. FJARE, Big Timber ALDEN G. GOODWIN, Great Falls CHARLES MAHONEY, Jordan f RAILROAD & PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER W. P. PILGERAM, Helena JOHN H. CASEY, Great Falls W. W. CRAWFORD, Great Falls DAN J. SULLIVAN, Butte AUSTIN B. MIDDLETON, Butte GEORGE A. DAVIS, Helena STATE TREASURER EDNA J. HINMAN, Helena GERALD HOLLAND, Butte LEON E. CHOQUETTE, Havre HORACE CASEY, Helena ASSOCIATE JUSTICE (Non-Partison) R. V. Bottomly, Helena —John B. McClernan, Butte— Dean King, Kalispell other utility groups to supply pow er to AEC installations were ap proved by SEC on an interim basis because "the facilities to be con structed were urgently needed for the national defense and that there fore a liberal interpretation of the applicable provisions of the hold ing company act was justified." AEC HAS "FIRM" CONTRACT properly rely upon such an argument" because AEC already "has a firm contract" with TVA to supply AEC's Paducah, Ky., installation's require ments. But, Holifield pointed out, the pending contract proposal "cannot | The proposal for the contract with Sweepings Used to Increase Bulk of Costly Coffee WASHINGTON, June 25.—The Food and Drug Administration an nounced last m0 re than 12,000 pounds of adul ucts night it had seized f ! terated coffee and coffee by-prod since coffee prices started _ match sticks and wax paper had been roasted with the coffee to make it go farther and thus take advantage of the booming market. FDA inspectors picked up 10 batches, totaling 8,152 pounds, of coffee padded with chickpeas, bar ley, chicory, soybeans or used cof fee grounds. The agency said the packages bore such labels as "su perior coffee" or "100 per cent shooting upward. Such things as j fresh roasted coffee." Multi-Lingual Ballots In addition, the FDA recovered 43,408 pounds of bug-infested chickpeas and is looking for the rest of a 100,000-pound shipment sold to the coffee trade. Another 4,320 pounds of by-products of powdered coffee were seized in Brooklyn where they were stored for a cof fee roaster. One batch contained (N. Y.) warehouses, brush fibers, match sticks and other sweepings, the FDA said. The other two consisted of coffee chaff and coffee dust containing insects.— ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Ballots printed in six languages featured a recent wage-and-working condition agreement signed by the AFL Meat and Cannery Union with the Seabrook Farms at Bridgetown, N. J. The local has 1,150 members composed of 17 nationality groups, so on the vote on the new contract the ballot had to be printed in Eng lish, Japanese, Esthonian, Latvian, Polish, and German. If the nations of the world would spend one penny for peace every time they spend a hundred dollars for war, there would be an end to war. They would not have to wait for the H bomb to end both war and civiliza tion. the combine headed by Middle South Utilities, Inc., and the Southern Co. "contemplates that the new corpora tion" to be set up would be "the nomi nal purchaser of the electrical ener gy." The power would be delivered to TVA for use in supplying "the commercial, industrial and domestic needs of the Memphis area," Hoîi field noted. "In other words, this device would make the Atomic Energy Commission a 'power broker' involving it in trans actions for its own services not neces sary for its own program, and in my opinion, not authorized by the Atomic Energy Act," Holifield commented. LEGALITY QUESTIONED He questioned the "legality and propriety of a directive" to AEC to "enter into such a contract against the better judgment of a majority of the commission and without a clear mandate in the Atomic Energy Act." He challenged further the "le gality and propriety of this direc tive in view of the fact that the subject companies, both holding companies within the purview of the Public Utility Holding Com pany Act of 1935, have not ob tained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for the | proposed arrangement." Holifield said the arrangement "ap parently involves the formation of a new operating company, acquisition of stock interests therein by the spon soring companies, and the flotation of bond and security issues." Holifield asked SEC to "determine whether the public interest is ade quately protected" under terms of the Holding Company Law. F TUltS Of UfljOlliSm Ten years of militant unionism by the United Packinghouse Work ers—CIO has brought many bene fits to the men and women who process much of the nation's meat and sugar supply. Wages, on an average have been increased by about one hundred per cent since October 1943 when UPW became a self-governing in ternational union. Membership has grown from 70,000 to 150,000. The regional wage differential between the lower wage areas of the south east and metropolitan areas of the north and west has been cut from 25 to 8 cents per hour The wage gap between women doing the same work as men has been reduced from an average of lOIjj to 5 cents. In 1943 there was no premium pay for Saturday in the packing and sugar processing plants. Today there is. At that time there was no provision for paid holidays, sick pay, severance pay. Today the Sat urday scale is time and one-half; sick leave is now paid at the rate of two weeks at half wages for every year of service; severance pay ranges from one week for first year employes to 7 Vt weeks for 10 years service. Over 10 years, 1weeks for every year of serv ice thereafter. Other improvements include larg er shift premium, clothes-changing time of 12 minutes allowed daily on company time, improved an nual vacation clauses. Monopolies Don't Worry U. S. Agency WASHINGTON, D. C.— (LNS) — Rep. Wright Patman (D-Tex.) warned 12,000 independent grocers here that a Federal Trade Commission majority "is not disposed" to enforce the Rob inson-Patman Act against monopolis tic and discriminatory business prac tices. "Apparently, those now in control believe the previous administration went too far in applying the law," he said. Unless FTC does a better job, "it might be better to abolish it en tirely and give local United States attorneys the job of enforcing the act." Patman, coauthor of the 1936 act, told National Association of Retail Grocers that eight bills pending in Congress would "weaken or destroy the measure. Watson Rogers of National Food Brokers Association and Henry Bison, NARG associate counsel, sounded similar warnings. ' ' U. C. G. DENIES COMPENSATION TO EAST HELENA WORKERS IDLED IN REGENT DISPUTE Eligibility of claimants for unem ployment benefits was before the Un employment Compensation Commis sion at its June meeting in Helena this week. Involved were claims of workers idled in construction and smelter labor disputes at Billings and East Helena earlier in the year. Adverse finding was announced on the claims of 153 smelter em ployes out of work in May and early June at the East Helena plant of the American Smelting and Refining Company, to the ef fect that the claimants were par ticipating in, financing, and di rectly interested in a strike. Briefs to support oral arguments were called for in the appeals of four Billings construction employes to whom benefits have been denied be cause of strike participation. De cision will follow the filing of briefs, for which ten days to appellants and ten days for reply were granted. Participants at the hearing on the Billings case Monday were J. F. Ryan, William Bowman, and Clark M. Carpenter, construction contract ors of Billings; Charles V. Huppe POWER TRUST BLOCKS LANCER'S PROBE OF MONOPOLIES WASHINGTON, D. C.—(LNS) — The Senate Rules Committee last week continued its blockade of Sen. William Langer's (R-N. D.) proposed study of the ability of the nation's anti-monopoly laws to cope with to day's business world. It again re fused to take action on Langer's re quest for authorization and funds for his subcommittee. In February, 1953, the Langer Anti-Monopoly Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked for $75,000 for its study. Such requests must beacted upon in the Senate Rules Committee, headed by Sen. William Jenner (R-lnd.). The request was bottle necked BIG POWER OFFENDED Last week's action, when the com I mittee met and considered the re quest and failed to act, in effect put off decision at least until July 14. the next regularly scheduled meet ing. Congress is straining to wind up its work and go home by mid-August at the latest. Rules committee action would still have to be followed by ac I tion by the Senate itself. Time there fore is running out. When Congress came back this January after failing to act all last year, there were indications that Langer would get his money. He con tinued, as best he could, his investiga tions into the electric power field. There he stepped on the toes of the big power company tycoons as well the administration's proprivate pow er policy authors. They didn't like it. The result was that Langer's re quest for $75,000 was buried deeper in the rules committee. Meanwhile, pressure has been building up to get the request released. At last Jenner a* decided to delay a showdown vote. He told the committee he was refer ring the proposals to Attorney Gen eral Herbert Brownell, Jr., for advice. Brownell's antitrust division is the executive arm of government which handles antitrust cases. It is conduct ing its own study of the antitrust laws, using a protrust commission to do so. It probably doesn't welcome investigations made by the legislature. The Langer Anti-Monopoly Com mittee had scheduled probes into power, oil, gas, and other indus tries before being blocked by lack of funds. SE5HSZ5HSZSHSZ5Z5Z5Z5H5a5ZSH5HSH5SSZSHSZ5HSZSH5H5HSaSE5Z5ÏSH5H5aSÏ!SH5H5?i KNOW THE SCORE IN '54 Renew NOW -so you won't miss a single issue. THE PEOPLE'S VOICE Box 838, Helena, Montana Enclosed find $3.00. Please send Voice for one year. Name Address and James S. Umber of Helena, R. E. MojJious of Billings on behalf of the claimants. Claims in the ap peal are those of Peter D. Jaborski, Eugene V. Madsen, Calvin E. Stan ton, and Adam Bender, all of Bil lings. Members of the state commis sion attending the hearing were Chairman Wesley Castles and Com Paul R. McClure. Ab missioner sence of Commissioner Albert F. Root was reported due to illness. Western Historian To Conduct Workshop At MSU, July (9-24 A new kind of student is walking the halls of the liberal arts building at Montana State University this summer, according to H. V. Larom, director of the Roundup of the Arts program. The stockman, the old tim er and the mountain man are coming to see him about attending the sixth annual writers' conference. They are bringing him reminiscences of Mon tana pioneer days, stories of their parents who came to Montana in cov ered wagons, diaries of early times, and short stories with pioneer west ern backgrounds. This interest is due, Larom says, to the fact that J. Frank Dobie is to handle the non-fiction workshop at the conference from July 19th, through the 24th. Dobie, who has edited more than 20 volumes for the Texas Folklore society, is the author of many books about the West includ ing Colorado's Children, Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver, The Voice of the Coyote and The Mustangs. His work during his week at the University will include the reading of these old diaries and stories to see whether they can be re-written or edited for publication. As the old timers disappear, it is more important than ever, Larom said, that these records be published if possible. Dobie's experience in writing and editing, plus his sym pathy and understanding of all things western should be of tremendous help to those who have authentic manu scripts. Conferees who send manu scripts to the University by July 14th can have them read by Dobie. Then, while attending the conference, each registrant will have a personal interview with him concerning the manuscript and can ask questions and get all the help possible. During the conference sessions, Dobie will discuss the theoretical problems involved in publishing such material, as well as give a talk in the Music School auditorium, open to the public. Those wishing to attend the con ference and send in manuscripts should get in touch with Larom at the earliest opportunity, he said, be cause the number of manuscripts that Dobie can read during one week will be limited Other members of the conference staff include Walter Van Tilburg Clark, author of the Ox Bow Incident and The Track of the Cat; Jessamyn West, author of The Friendly Per suasion, The Witch Diggers, and Cress Delehanty, the Book of the Month Club selection for last Jan uary; and Alan Swallow, poet and publisher, and director of the Den ver University Press Rug Prices May Rise NEW YORK.—Industry wide ad vances in the price of carpets is in the offing as four of the seven big gest producers have announced plans to hike their quotations.