The Pittsburgh Press (October 3, 1942)
President bars increases in salaries now above $5,000 a year
Bulletin
Washington –
Price Administrator Leon Henderson, acting under the President’s anti-inflation directives, today established 60-day emergency price ceilings, effective Monday, over virtually all food items. The order freezes quotations at the highest levels for the five-day period Sept. 28-Oct. 2.
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U.S. fliers spread ruin in North France; 18 Nazi planes downed
By Joseph W. Grigg, United Press staff writer
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (UP) –
The United States has ceded “many submarine chasers” to Brazil and two of them have already been incorporated into the Brazilian Navy, the Ministry of Marine announced today.
The announcement was made while United States Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox was in this country inspecting U.S. naval forces and installations and conferring with high Brazilian officials.
Brazil, which entered the war Aug. 22 against Germany and Italy, is cooperating with the United States in a naval and air campaign against Axis submarines operating off its long Atlantic coastline.
Chungking, China (UP) –
Wendell L. Willkie said tonight that the common man in all the United Nations “feels the time has come to take the offensive everywhere.”
Mr. Willkie spoke at a dinner given by Gen. Chiang Kai-shek.
He said this was the conclusion of his whirlwind trip that has taken him across Africa to the Middle East, up through Iran to Russia and finally across Asia to China.
Mr. Willkie met with Chiang for an hour earlier today in general discussion of the world situation.
Hollywood, California (UP) –
The weekly broadcast of Jack Benny’s radio program to the Pacific Coast has been canceled because if the American Federation of Musicians’ fight against transcriptions, Blue Network officials announced today.
The network said President James C. Petrillo of the AFM had demanded that both the early and the late Benny shows be produced with live talent or that the musicians be paid double wages.
Because the early broadcast reached the West Coast at 4 p.m. PWT, it has been repeated by transcription at 8:30 p.m. for western listeners. Network spokesmen said many of Benny’s programs were scheduled to originate from Army camps and that repeating “live” broadcasts would be impractical.
Cincinnati, Ohio (UP) –
An Army Air Forces band from Washington was prevented last night from broadcasting over a small radio station here by a ruling of an American Federation of Musicians local.
Oscar F. Hild, president of the local, said it was not the musicians who were banned, but rather the wire that would have had to be installed at the USO headquarters where the band was playing for a USO dance.
Mr. Hild said:
Both union and non-union orchestras play from there and, if the wire were installed, we would have to “police” the wire every night.
Earlier, the band had broadcast over another Cincinnati station, and the band was made up of some of these players.
New York (UP) –
Objections of the American Federal of Labor (AFL) has forced the war savings staff of the Treasury Department to abandon plans for a special musical program over a network of frequency modulated radio stations.
The Treasury had accepted the offer of the Perole String Quartet to give concerts free. The AFM refused “clearance” of the program, however, on the ground that FM stations do not regularly use musicians.
William Feinberg, secretary of the AFM’s Local 802, said the quartet could play for nothing for any station it chose, so long as the station employed some union musicians.
The war has curtailed FM broadcasting, because stations have few commercials, and most of them have been using recordings and transcriptions.
New York (UP) –
William Patrick Hitler is 31, a British subject, strong and eager to fight the Germans. But he has been rejected for military service because the American Army doesn’t like his Uncle Adolf. William’s father is Alois Hitler of Vienna, Adolf Hitler’s half-brother.
By Florence Fisher Parry
Years ago, I saw a motion picture Public Enemy. The Pennsylvania censors had hacked it to pieces, but even so, the performance of Jimmy Cagney burst through the celluloid like a lion through a flaming hope. The boy was show-stuff!
Ever since then, we’ve been seeing him – in brat roles, gangster roles, hoofer roles, whatnot. And never mind how cheap the picture, or how thin the role, Jimmy Cagney never missed. It’s funny how you can spot them, those born-to-bes-of-the-theater. You look at them, and you wonder what life could have held for them without the show business to live in. The Walter Hustons, the Georgie Cohans, the John Barrymores, the Mickey Rooneys…
Well, I saw Cagney last night in Yankee Doodle Dandy, and looking at his performance it seemed to me that all that had gone before in his life had been leading up just to this. You often feel that way about people.
Hamlet was Barrymore’s destiny, Andy Hardy Mickey Rooney’s, and Yankee Doodle Dandy is Jimmy Cagney’s. In George M. Cohan’s day, he’d have been George M. Cohan, or someone an awful lot like him!
I’ve seen a lot of memorable screen performances in my day – Huston’s Abraham Lincoln, Cooper’s Sergeant York, and-- oh, I could set down here a couple dozen others – but none of them took the versatility that is Jimmy Cagney’s to show when he undertakes to portray the life – and performances – of George M. Cohan!
He’s as fresh and American as Cohan ever was – he dances and mugs just as well. He possesses the same born showmanship. The picture is grand, but Jimmy is grander. Here’s my little Blue Ribbon for the best piece of acting the screen has produced in a decade.
Ah, yesterday!
Maybe you have to have lived about a half-century to care for Yankee Doodle Dandy – I don’t know. I sat beside youngsters; they liked it all right – they were really surprised that the old songs had so much to them. They found themselves swaying to “The Warmest Baby in the Bunch” and “Harrigan.” They found themselves melting when they heard “Mary Is a Grand Old Name” and “Give My Regards to Broadway.” And when they listened to “It’s a Grand Old Flag” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy” they felt like joining something or other – and then when they heard “Over There” they knew what it was they wanted to join, all right – this crusade, this war! It was interesting to watch these youngsters and the way they responded to those wonderful old tunes that George M. Cohan wrote 30 or 40 years ago.
Of course, you might know that the best thing in the picture is that part that shows how “Over There” came to be written. Georgie has had a flop, an awful flop. He is sick and stunned, and he can’t take it – and he walks out of the theater and there are the extras – THE LUSITANIA SUNK!
And he stands on the corner of 42nd and Broadway, with the feverish crowds jostling him, and on his face is registered on the face of all us Americans last Dec. 7. Why, what does his own life, or its success or failure, amount to now? Nothing matters but American – nothing matters but saving America.
And he walks over to the recruiting office, as millions of our boys are doing today, and he tries to enlist. And they won’t have him because he’s too old – that’s happening today too, all over.
Well, he stands there near his theater, and the bugler is blowing, and the soldiers start marching past him. There’s something in their step, there’s something in the note of the bugle, that catches his ear; and in that seizure of creativeness that only artists know, he walks back into the theater and sits down on the empty stage at a piano – and with one finger he starts to drum out “Ta-ta-ta, Ta-ta-ta.”
And then occurs one of the finest moments the screen had ever created: you see, you hear – you feel – a song take shape that is to shake the world – “Over There.”
It pays to have lived
We know what the power of that song was, and what it is today, revived as it has been for this bigger need. But you have to see that show, if only for that moment.
Is it because I love the theater so, that pictures like these have such a special power to move me? Be that as it may, it’s something insupportably sad to me in being shown a glamorous page of the past, when you know the ending. In Yankee Doodle Dandy, we see Fay Templeton, a great star on Broadway, the toast of the town. We know she died penniless and forgotten – yes, right here in Pittsburgh, where she spent most of her wealth – forgotten and neglected.
We see in Yankee Doodle Dandy a sharp-toned boarding-housekeeper, in just a little instant – and we remember her as a cyclonic young musician with a violin, singing in a voice of fire and passion “Play, Gypsy, Play” – and we know it is Odette Myrtil, forgotten now, a bit player in Hollywood.
It is memories like this that make the picture Yankee Doodle Dandy take on even a greater loveliness. Those younger ones around you may be laughing, and vastly entertained. But you are sitting there among them lost in memories that tear at your heart and filly our eyes, and make you a ridiculous object to those short-memoried ones around you.
Washington (UP) –
The Navy today published its 13th casualty list of the war – 932 names – bringing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard casualties to 14,466 for the period Dec. 7 to Sept. 21.
The list includes 162 dead, 67 wounded and 703 missing. Casualties were from all states except Arizona, Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming. There were also some from Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
The Navy recapitulated total casualties as follows:
| Dead | Wounded | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy | 3,698 | 931 | 7,268 |
| Marine Corps | 370 | 294 | 1,864 |
| Coast Guard | 31 | 7 | 3 |
Some of those classified as missing may have been rescued at sea and landed at isolated spots or otherwise made their way to safety, the Navy pointed out.
Most of the casualties resulted from direct action with the enemy but the total included the names of those who were lost in accidents at sea and in the air, on duty directly connected with wartime operations.
Aussies push deeper into New Guinea mountains
By Don Caswell, United Press staff writer
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Members rap Roosevelt anonymously
By Lyle C. Wilson, United Press staff writer
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Leaders hope to get measure into statute books before elections
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Iowa farmer gets medal for gallantry while leading U.S. Ranger snipers in raid on French coast
By Leo S. Disher, United Press staff writer
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Yankee charm or continental enthusiasm – which do you prefer on screen?
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Establishing the Office of Economic Stabilization
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, and particularly by the Act of October 2, 1942, entitled “An Act to Amend the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, to Aid in Preventing Inflation, and for Other Purposes,” as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and in order to control so far as possible the inflationary tendencies and the vast dislocations attendant thereon which threaten our military effort and our domestic economic structure, and for the more effective prosecution of the war, it is hereby ordered as follows:
TITLE I: Establishment of an Office of Economic Stabilization
There is established in the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President an Office of Economic Stabilization at the head of which shall be an Economic Stabilization Director (hereinafter referred to as the Director).
There is established in the Office of Economic Stabilization an Economic Stabilization Board with which the Director shall advise and consult. The Board shall consist of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, the Price Administrator, the Chairman of the National War Labor Board, and two representatives each of labor, management, and farmers to be appointed by the President. The Director may invite for consultation the head of any other department or agency. The Director shall serve as Chairman of the Board.
The Director, with the approval of the President, shall formulate and develop a comprehensive national economic policy relating to the control of civilian purchasing power, prices, rents, wages, salaries, profits, rationing, subsidies, and all related matters—all for the purpose of preventing avoidable increases in the cost of living, cooperating in minimizing the unnecessary migration of labor from one business, industry, or region to another, and facilitating the prosecution of the war. To give effect to this comprehensive national economic policy the Director shall have power to issue directives on policy to the Federal departments and agencies concerned.
The guiding policy of the Director and of all departments and agencies of the Government shall be to stabilize the cost of living in accordance with the Act of October 2, 1942; and it shall be the duty and responsibility of the Director and of all departments and agencies of the Government to cooperate in the execution of such administrative programs and in the development of such legislative programs as may be necessary to that end. The administration of activities related to the national economic policy shall remain with the departments and agencies now responsible for such activities, but such administration shall conform to the directives on policy issued by the Director.
TITLE. II: Wage and Salary Stabilization Policy
No increases in wage rates, granted as a result of voluntary agreement, collective bargaining, conciliation, arbitration, or otherwise, and no decreases in wage rates, shall be authorized unless notice of such increases or decreases shall have been filed with the National War Labor Board, and unless the National War Labor Board has approved such increases or decreases.
The National War Labor Board shall not approve any increase in the wage rates prevailing on September 15, 1942, unless such increase is necessary to correct maladjustments or inequalities, to eliminate substandards of living, to correct gross inequities, or to aid in the effective prosecution of the war.
Provided, however, that where the National War Labor Board or the Price Administrator shall have reason to believe that a proposed wage increase will require a change in the price ceiling of the commodity or service involved, such proposed increase, if approved by the National War Labor Board, shall become effective only if also approved by the Director.
The National War Labor Board shall not approve a decrease in the wages for any particular work below the highest wages paid therefor between January 1, 1942, and September 15, 1942, unless to correct gross inequities and to aid in the effective prosecution of the war.
The National War Labor Board shall, by general regulation, make such exemptions from the provisions of this title in the case of small total wage increases or decreases as it deems necessary for the effective administration of this Order.
No increases in salaries now in excess of $5,000 per year (except in instances in which an individual has been assigned to more difficult or responsible work) shall be granted until otherwise determined by the Director.
No decrease shall be made in the salary for any particular work below the highest salary paid therefor between January 1, 1942, and September 15, 1942, unless to correct gross inequities and to aid in the effective prosecution of the war.
In order to correct gross inequities and to provide for greater equality in contributing to the war effort, the Director is authorized to take the necessary action, and to issue the appropriate regulations, so that, insofar as practicable no salary shall be authorized under Title III, Section 4, to the extent that it exceeds $25,000 after the payment of taxes allocable to the sum in excess of $25,000. Provided, however, that such regulations shall make due allowance for the payment of life insurance premiums on policies heretofore issued, and required payments on fixed obligations heretofore incurred, and shall make provision to prevent undue hardship.
The policy of the Federal Government, as established in Executive Order No. 9017 of January 12, 1942, to encourage free collective bargaining between employers and employees is reaffirmed and continued.
Insofar as the provisions of Clause (1) of section 302 (c) of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 are inconsistent with this Order, they are hereby suspended.
TITLE III: Administration of Wage and Salary Policy
Except as modified by this Order, the National War Labor Board shall continue to perform the powers, functions, and duties conferred upon it by Executive Order No. 9017, and the functions of said Board are hereby extended to cover all industries and all employees. The National War Labor Board shall continue to follow the procedures specified in said Executive Order.
The National War Labor Board shall constitute the agency of the Federal Government authorized to carry out the wage policies stated in this Order, or the directives on policy issued by the Director under this Order. The National War Labor Board is further authorized to issue such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the speedy determination of the propriety of any wage increases or decreases in accordance with this Order, and to avail itself of the services and facilities of such State and Federal departments and agencies as, in the discretion of the National War Labor Board, may be of assistance to the Board.
No provision with respect to wages contained in any labor agreement between employers and employees (including the Shipbuilding Stabilization Agreements as amended on May 16,1942, and the Wage Stabilization Agreement of the Building Construction Industry arrived at May 22, 1942) which is inconsistent with the policy herein enunciated or hereafter formulated by the Director shall be enforced except with the approval of the National War Labor Board within the provisions of this Order. The National War Labor Board shall permit the Shipbuilding Stabilization Committee and the Wage Adjustment Board for the Building Construction Industry, both of which are provided for in the foregoing agreements, to continue to perform their functions therein set forth, except insofar as any of them is inconsistent with the terms of this Order.
In order to effectuate the purposes and provisions of this Order and the Act of October 2, 1942, any wage or salary payment made in contravention thereof shall be disregarded by the executive departments and other governmental agencies in determining the costs or expenses of any employer for the purpose of any law or regulation, including the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 or any maximum price regulation thereof, or for the purpose of calculating deductions under the Revenue Laws of the United States or for the purpose of determining costs or expenses under any contract made by or on behalf of the Government of the United States.
TITLE IV: Prices of Agricultural Commodities
The prices of agricultural commodities and of commodities manufactured or processed in whole or substantial part from any agricultural commodity shall be stabilized, so far as practicable, on the basis of levels which existed on September 15, 1942, and in compliance with the Act of October 2, 1942.
In establishing, maintaining, or adjusting maximum prices for agricultural commodities or for commodities processed or manufactured in whole or in substantial part from any agricultural commodity, appropriate deductions shall be made from parity price or comparable price for payments made under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended, parity payments made under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, and governmental subsidies.
Subject to the directives on policy of the Director, the price of agricultural commodities shall be established or maintained or adjusted jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Price Administrator; and any disagreement between them shall be resolved by the Director. The price of any commodity manufactured or processed in whole or in substantial part from an agricultural commodity shall be established or maintained or adjusted by the Price Administrator, in the same administrative manner provided for under the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942.
The provisions of sections 3(a) and 3 (c) of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 are hereby suspended to the extent that such provisions are inconsistent with any or all prices established under this Order for agricultural commodities, or commodities manufactured or processed in whole or in substantial 'part from an agricultural commodity.
TITLE V: Profits and Subsidies
The Price Administrator in fixing, reducing, or increasing prices, shall determine price ceilings in such a manner that profits are prevented which in his judgment are unreasonable or exorbitant.
The Director may direct any Federal department or agency including, but not limited to, the Department of Agriculture (including the Commodity Credit Corporation and the Surplus Marketing Administration), the Department of Commerce, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and other corporations organized pursuant to Section 5d of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act, as amended, to use its authority to subsidize and to purchase for resale, if such measures are necessary to insure the maximum necessary production and distribution of any commodity, or to maintain ceiling prices, or to prevent a price rise inconsistent with the purposes of this Order.
TITLE VI: General Provisions
Nothing in this Order shall be construed as affecting the present operation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Walsh-Healey Act, the Davis-Bacon Act, or the adjustment procedure of the Railway Labor Act.
Salaries and wages under this Order shall include all forms of direct or indirect remuneration to an employee or officer for work or personal services performed for an employer or corporation, including but not limited to, bonuses, additional compensation, gifts, commissions, fees, and any other remuneration in any form or medium whatsoever (excluding insurance and pension benefits in a reasonable amount as determined by the Director); but for the purpose of determining wages or salaries for any period prior to September 16, 1942, such additional compensation shall be taken into account only in cases where it has been customarily paid by employers to their employees. “Salaries” as used in this Order means remuneration for personal services regularly paid on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis.
The Director shall, so far as possible, utilize the information, data, and staff services of other Federal departments and agencies which have activities or functions related to national economic policy. All such Federal departments and agencies shall supply available information, data, and services required by the Director in discharging his responsibilities.
The Director shall be the agency to receive notice of any increase in the rates or charges of common carriers or other public utilities as provided in the aforesaid Act of October 2, 1942.
The Director may perform the functions and duties, and exercise the powers, authority, and discretion conferred upon him by this Order through such officials or agencies, and in such manner, as he may determine. The decision of the Director as to such delegation and the manner of exercise thereof shall be final.
The Director, if he deems it necessary, may direct that any policy formulated under this Order shall be enforced by any other department or agency under any other power or authority which may be provided by any of the laws of the United States.
The Director, who shall be appointed by the President, shall receive such compensation as the President shall provide, and within the limits of funds which may be made available, may employ necessary personnel and make provision for supplies, facilities, and services necessary to discharge his responsibilities.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
The White House
October 3, 1942