MOBILIZATION: Anti-Freeze

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Less than four months after freezing wages to head off inflation, the Wage Stabilization Board essayed a back-wrenching feat of economic gymnastics, cartwheeled over to the stove, and began thawing wages out to compensate for the rising cost of living. Last week by a vote of 8 to 4 (with industry members in opposition), it granted 220,000 meat-packing workers a raise of 9¢ an hour, thus boosted their pay 14% above the levels of January 1950, and thereby violated the board's own 10% raise limit.

The board's majority report announced, in explanation: "We are fully aware that this decision looks in the direction of a general policy." While vague, this gobbledygook could not honestly be considered incomprehensible. Presumably, the board would not want any of its decisions looking around in vain, and when decision looked in the direction of policy, policy would look burningly back in the direction of decision. Or in other words, we don't mean to be starting something, but are we?