Statement About the Cost of Living Council's Quarterly Report on the Economic Stabilization Program

TODAY'S report by the Cost of Living Council shows that we have made an important beginning to our national effort against inflation.

The battle has not yet been won. But we are on the way toward winning it.

The 90-day wage-price freeze that I imposed on August 15 met its objectives of braking the rise in wages and prices, of turning around the inflationary psychology that had gripped the Nation, and of making it possible to establish the machinery for post-freeze stabilization.

The controls established by the Cost of Living Council are now in place, and public support and cooperation for them continues.

In the months ahead, the Council, the Pay Board, the Price Commission, and all those associated with the stabilization program will face many tough decisions. They will have to be persistent in their efforts, keeping the public interest first in making those decisions. They will need the help and support of the American people.

This Administration is determined to defeat inflation. I am confident that the American people share that determination.