The President's News Conference

THE PRESIDENT. I have no special announcements to make this morning. I thought maybe you might have some questions you might like to ask me and I will try to answer them.

[1.] Q. Mr. President, can you now tell us the date of your Rio trip ?

THE PRESIDENT. NO I Can't. As soon as I can tell you, I will let you know, so you will have plenty of time to get ready. [Laughter]

[2.] Q. Mr. President, is there anything to the report that former Senator Mead may succeed Mr. Hannegan as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee?

THE PRESIDENT. I haven't heard anything about it.

[3.] Q. Mr. President, there have been consistent reports that Secretary Forrestal is going to head defense. How about that?

THE PRESIDENT. I haven't heard anything about that, either.

Q. You will, if you read the papers.

THE PRESIDENT. I will announce that when the time comes so you won't be in suspense for very long.

Q. You mean you will announce Mr. Forrestal's name ?

THE PRESIDENT. No. I will announce who is the head of it. [Laughter]

[4.] Q. Mr. President, is there any administrative action you could take on displaced persons, in the absence of the--legislative action?

THE PRESIDENT. No, there is not. If there were any such action possible, I would have taken it long ago.

[5.] Q. Mr. President, some months ago you made a statement appealing for cooperation between the Executive and Congress. Do you think that the desire and purpose has in any large degree been realized? Would you care to comment on that?

THE PRESIDENT. I think it has been realized to some extent. I wouldn't say just how far.

[6.] Q. Mr. President, sometime ago you said that if Congress did not take affirmative action on credit controls, particularly consumer controls, you would take action and remove them. And Congress--the House has repealed them in one form and the other has taken some action, but no final action has been taken.

THE PRESIDENT. Well, they haven't yet reached the completeness of what they are going to do. I can't tell you anything about it until I know what they are going to do.

Q. Your statement that you would take affirmative action--that you would take action'-

THE PRESIDENT. I will--I didn't say I would remove, I said I would take action. That is an entirely different thing.

Q. What action could you take, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT. Well, you will have to wait and see. I can't tell you until Congress has decided what it wants to do. Then I will let you know what I am going to--what I can do.

Q. Mr. President, didn't you say that you would vacate those controls?

THE PRESIDENT. No, I don't think I ever made such a statement as that.

Q. Would you ask Mr. Dickson to supply us with the original question?

Q. Mr. President, that is in your--

THE PRESIDENT. Wait now--just a minute--one at a time. [Laughter]

Q. Would you ask Mr. Dickson to supply us with the original question as we leave?

THE PRESIDENT. I will be glad to do that.

Q. That is in your message to Congress?

THE PRESIDENT. I don't remember any such statement as that in any message I ever sent to Congress.

Q. Mr. President, in your Economic Message you said you--there might be some necessity for controls over grains. Is anything doing on that ?

THE PRESIDENT. On what?

Q. Grains. Wheat and corn.

THE PRESIDENT. Well, I think that was in the manner of export controls and transportation.

Q. Rather than--no idea of any domestic--

THE PRESIDENT. No, no. That was for export controls and transportation controls so that it would be possible to get the export-the seashore for embarkation.

[7.] Q. Mr. President, have you given much consideration to Secretary Anderson's proposal for a world trade organization, whereby the Government would do their purchasing for grain and supplies for the Marshall plan ?

THE PRESIDENT. That is under consideration.

Q. Has it advanced very far ?

THE PRESIDENT. I say it is under consideration. That is as far as I can go.

Pause] Reporter: Well, thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT. Kind of a "dry hole" this morning.