In effect November 26. It so happens that the November 26 prices are 

 the lowest for some weeks, and considerably below the prices on December 

 11, the last day of unrestricted trading. Although the establishment 

 of the prices at the recent low rather than at the current level may 

 lead one to suspect unnecessary recourse to the emotions, the fact that 

 imports of tropical vegetable oils will be greatly restricted by the 

 outbreak of the war with Japstn suggests that some sort of control was 

 desirable. It may be that after the Office of Price Administration has 

 time to study the relationships between the various fats and oils, the 

 need for increased production and the alternative methods of bringing 

 about increased production, there may be some upward adjustment in 

 prices, both of leird and soybean oil. It is not probable that there 

 will be any further reduction in the prices of these fats and oils. 



It would hot be surprising to see mor^ and more regulation, 

 particularly in connection vilth imported commodities or those of quite 

 limited supply. Prices of staple agricultural products will doubtless 

 be tied to parity by legislation. 



The House and Senate conferees a,greed upon an extension for 

 five years of the S5 per cent of peirity loans for the five basic com- 

 modities, wheat, corn, cotton, tobacco, and rice. The bill also pro- 

 vided for a five-year extension of the Federal Soil Conservation Law, 



Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., made a plea 

 for citizens of the United States to invest in defense bonds to the "... 

 very limit that each person can afford without actually taking food or 

 other necessities from his family." The secretary had two objectives 

 in mind: first, to finance the enormously increased expenditures for 

 ^ war purposes, and second, to prevent inflation by withdrawing people's 

 incomes from the consumer market. Although he indicated that a volun- 

 tary method would be used, it was also pointed out that there would 



