The Washington herald., 1917-12-07
. Nonessential Industries.

The American business world will soon be pounding
away at interrogation that will break into the pot
tails of the White House before it is answered with
6nality.
Briefly, the question is this Is the War Trade
Board supreme court of business all war
questions, is it court of appellate jurisdiction?
Can its fat deterine beyond dispute what essential
and nonessentia industries, is there to be review
OF its decisions when urgent appeals made-dec-
sons which affect the very warp and woof of American
economic ifea
On the face of it the War Trade Board is court
of final jurisdiction. If it declares that certain in
dusty is nonessenta and secondary that industry has
but accept the declaration 1t is by
certain that hearings will be granted the various
industries involved before the question is decided An
industry declared to be nonessential in war times
virtually be brought the verge of rn il the war
needs of the nation so require.
1t is in spirit OF protest against sacrifice TO the
cause feeling that private gain and interest
should stand in the way of the public good that The
Washington Herald urges that the War Trade Board
with extreme caution and conservatism in WELD
ing the immense power that is apparently entrusted to
it, 1t is pleading only the interests of the nation itself
when it asks that willfu discrimination against any
great industry during times be made only after
thorough canvass of the results of that discrimination
and not alone the basis of analysis covering the
relation OF that industry TO production.
For instance, there is the question of labor. Con-
ceivaby hundreds of thousands of can be thrown
out of work by decisions of the War Trade Board
That will not conduce to efficiency. Perhaps the
administration takes different point of view perhaps
it is determined that labor shall be forced out of employ
ment in the socaed nonessentia industries into those
which vital to the prosecution of the war There
is talk of the "eonscrption of labor" heard in Wash
ington This means that bookkeeper in button fac
tory can be forced to work harvest hand as a
Stevedore, switchman a railroad. Short OF such
CONSUMPTION it is within the power of the government
to create such conditions in so-called nonessentaI in
dustres that their thousands of idle employees NAV be
forced to take whatever work they can get. The rail-
roads harried by shortage" of labor and COM
plain that their employees desertng them for more
remunerative employment elsewhere Is the remedy to
be the dislocaon of those industries that are able to
offer more remunerative employment?
Then, again, there is the question of the small dealer
the corner merchant who may be forced to the wall by
the indefinite holding up OF freight shipments, and by
other Will thousands upon thousands of small
bankruptcy cases conduce to efficiency: Will the,
promote support for the government?
There is to be meeting of the war board Of the
Chamber of Commerce of the United States in Wash
ngton next week. and its proceedings will be awaited
with interest There is doubt that in the existing
war situation business is going suffer- but the suf
ferrg should be reduced to the lowest possible point