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Weekly Market Review and Farm Outlook - page 2. 



President Roosevelt's Navy Day speech left the impression 

 that a shooting war is much nearer than many peoxDle anticipated. 

 Remembering experiences of the first World War when many prices sky- 

 rocketed as soon as American participation was assured, there would 

 "be a tendency for prices again to rise if for no other reason than 

 because they rose in 1917* If £ind when i^re become further involved 

 in the present struggle, it will probably be done without an early 

 declaration of war, but the effect upon prices would be very much the 

 same as if war were declared. It should be recalled at this time 

 that we have more apparent interest in controlling prices thaji we had 

 in 1917. We are making a greater effort to finance the V7ar out of 

 taxes and savings of individuals and also a greater effort to arbi- 

 trarily hold prices down. 



From the standpoint of future farm prices, the price control 

 bill before Congress is probably more important than the President's 

 speech. Part of the rise of prices Wednesday v;as br.sed upon the 

 report that Republica.n members of the House Banking Co;;jmittee were 

 said to be in opposition to inclusion of wages in the price control 

 bill, and indications were that they would also try to exclude control 

 of farm prices. If both wage control and control of farm prices are 

 left out of the bill, the chance of preventing a further rise in the 

 price of farm products is rather slim. 



._^ The key to controlling prices is really the control of 

 expendable income. The Secretary of the Treasury has indicated that 

 he hopes to finance two-thirds of the total cost of the federal 

 government and armament program out of taxes. If it is possible to 

 accomplish this and also sell defense savings bonds and other govern- 

 ment securities to the general public to cover most of the remaining 



