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Truman Declares Hostilities Ended, Terminating Many Wartime Laws

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« on: December 31, 2009, 08:13:44 am »

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Aphrodite
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« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2009, 08:14:21 am »

Truman Declares Hostilities Ended, Terminating Many Wartime Laws; Republican Chiefs Commend Action
51 Statutes to Die Government's Power to Seize Plants and 1 1/2 Billion Taxes to Go 18 of Laws End at Once States of Emergency and War Continue-Sudden Action a Surprise to Washington
By BERTRAM D. HULEN
Special to The New York Times


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President's Proclamation
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Washington, Dec. 31--President Truman in a surprise proclamation terminated formally the period of hostilities in World War II as of noon today.

The action was announced by the President personally at a suddenly called news conference this forenoon at which he said:

"The time has come when such a declaration can properly be made, and it is in the public interest to make it."

At the same time he emphasized that the states of emergency that were proclaimed by the late President Roosevelt in 1939 and 1941 and the state of war itself, which presumably will run until peace treatise have been terminated. They would require action by Congress, he pointed out.

The state of hostilities, a term covering the period of actual fighting and one used in defining the duration of many war-time statues, alone was involved in the President's proclamation, but this served to terminate immediately eighteen emergency laws and scheduled for expiration six months from now or later provisions of thirty-three other statutes.

End Set for Farm Price Support

One effect of the official ending of the period of hostilities will be to reduce the consumers' tax bill by $1,500,000,000 when excise taxes on scores of luxury items will revert to peacetime levels on July 1, 1947, through lapsing of provisions of revenue laws, unless Congress continues them in the meantime.

It will also end automatically at the end of 1948 wartime price supports for agricultural products. This program, it had been estimated by officials, might be worth between $1,000,000,000 and $1,500,000,000 to the farmers by that time.

The President's action was generally applauded in the national capital. Republicans in Congress saluted it but said it would not change their plans for proceeding in the new Congress to get rid of all the special war powers as soon as the safety of the country would permit.

Many of the laws affected by the President's proclamation have for some time been of relatively little importance, while those that are considered to be of some importance at the present time continue on for periods, a considerable number of which are for six months, so that any additional need for certain laws will be satisfied by the additional period in which they will continue to be effective.

Smith-Connally Act to Die

The most important law affected is the War Labor Disputes Act, popularly known as the Smith-Connally Act. It will end six months hence. However, under the operation of that law the Government will be unable to take over any new operations of plants or industries from now on.

Thus, the Government must turn back the coal mines to the owners within six months, unless Congress passes new laws on the subject in the meantime. These mines, with the Great Lakes tugboats, are the only industries now in Government hands.

Tax laws are also affected. In six months a series of emergency taxes will drop to old rates, such as levies on liquor and other distilled spirits. On the other hand many laws are not touched, because they are tied either to emergency declarations or the sate of war itself. Many of the laws that are affected no longer are considered of valid use and presumably the Administration is glad to have them erased as so much surplusage.

An Administration official who has worked closely on the problem explained the significance of the action informally at the request of The New York Times.

"The proclamation terminating hostilities affects fifty-one laws," he said. "Twenty-nine of these laws are of relatively little importance, and have not been used for some time. Those considered to be of some importance at the present time continue on for periods, the majority of which are for six months so that any need for certain laws in the immediate future will be satisfied by the additional period in which they will continue to be effective.

"The most important law affected is the War Labor Disputes Act, commonly called the Smith-Connally Act. It will end July 1, 1947. However, under the operation of that law the Government will be unable to take over any new operations inasmuch as hostilities have now been declared to be terminated. It can continue to operate, however, in the meantime in any industry now in possession of the Government--the coal mines and the tugboats on the Great Lakes.

"There are three technical 'states' that have existed since 1939. The first is the state of emergency that consists of limited and unlimited emergency and special emergency. Those are still in existence. The second is the state of war, the third is the state of hostilities, now ended.

"The termination of a state of emergency continues to be a joint responsibility of Congress and the President. That doesn't mean it takes concurrent action to terminate. But the President should consider the attitude of Congress, and Congress should consider the attitude of the President in so far as state of emergency is concerned.

"The termination of all of the states of emergency would be a more serious matter than the termination of hostilities. It would affect a greater number of laws and would also create serious questions of policy in various industries, wages in shipyards, for example. The termination of hostilities does not have that effect.

"The third and most important is the state of war. Termination of this would affect something in the neighborhood of 250 statutes and also would create a number of important policy questions. It must be worked out gradually between Congress and the President."

President Truman told his news conference the time had come when the Executive Branch should give up some of the powers exercised during the war. He then announced his proclamation, gave out a list of the laws affected, and read a prepared statement which emphasized that his action was "entirely in keeping with the policies which I have consistently followed, in an effort to bring our economy and our Government back to a peacetime basis as quickly as possible."

In a few instances, he continued, the statutes affected contained powers that should be maintained during peacetime or for the remainder of the period of reconversion and in these instances he would make recommendations to the new Congress. Also, he said, he would make recommendations to Congress. Also, he said, he would make recommendations to Congress "in the near future" with respect to the still-continuing states of emergency and the state of war itself."

An Example to Other Nations

Upon concluding the reading of the statement, Mr. Truman sought to bring the conference to an end by wishing those present a happy New Year and saying he would meet them at another press conference on Thursday afternoon. But he finally yielded to persuasion and replied to a few questions with answers along the lines of his formal statement.

Asked whether this was a step in his promise to cooperate with the new Republican- controlled Congress, he replied that this was co-operating with Congress.

The President's action was generally regarded here as chiefly important from the psychological standpoint. It was viewed as a move to demonstrate that he wants to be a constitutional President and not to hold on to excessive powers granted to the Chief Executive through emergency proclamations and a state of war.

In addition, it is looked upon as an example to other nations to return to a peacetime structure. In effect, it was remarked in political circles, the President has said to Messrs., Attlee, Stalin and others that it is time for all the countries to get back to normal.

Politically, the action was regarded as anticipating any move the Republicans in Congress might have made to put Mr. Truman into a position of clinging to powers that they want to take away. The President for his part now says that he will tell Congress in a few days about the powers he needs to retain.

Delayed-Action Importance

On some instances the proclamation has a delayed-action importance. By acting before the close of 1946, the President cut a year from the Government's guaranteed price support program for farm products. This program will continue for two years but, had he waited one more day, it would have run through 1949 at a cost perhaps of a billion and a half dollars in a big crop year, since the law operates in each year from Jan. 1. Also there was a provision for ending the Surplus Property Act later.

Laws, which pursuant to the proclamation ceased to be effective at once, included those permitting the Government-seizure of strike-bound industries, for the training of nurses for the armed forces, permitting reductions by corporations for tax purposes of certain contributions, for the maintenance of instruction camps for reserve officers training by the Army, for the right of personnel of the armed forces to serve abroad no more than two years, for the extension of educational benefits to children of war veterans, for extending citizenship to children of a member of the armed forces, for waiving immigration restrictions for workers from other countries of the Western Hemisphere, and for permitting disposal of materials or resources on public lands.

Laws Ending in Six Months

Laws which will terminate in six months included those authorizing the Government to operate strike-bound plants, suspending sections of the Federal Reserve Act relating to assessments on deposits and reserve requirements, providing penalties for violations of harbor and waterfront regulations and providing for leases of silver held or owned by the United States.

Laws which will terminate in one year or less included certain internal revenue tax provisions on distilled spirits, providing overtime pay for Saturday for certain postmasters and postal service workers, and excluding income prior to the seventh calendar month after termination of hostilities from agricultural labor and nursing in considering State payments of old-age assistance.

Laws terminating in more than one year included making it unlawful to secrete or destroy certain records of war contractors and purchasers, the Surplus Property Act of Oct. 3, 1944, suspending the running of the statute of limitations in cases involving defrauding the United States, authorizing two additional Assistant Secretaries of State, and Section 780 of the Internal Revenue Code providing for post-war excess profits tax refund bonds.


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